The Commonwealth War Cemetery is a haunting place where more than 7240 tombstones stand in regimented rows between beautifully tended desert plants. Most of the Commonwealth soldiers who lie here died in the Battle of El Alamein at the end of October 1942 and in the period immediately before that. As you enter, a separate memorial commemorating the Australian contingent is to your right. The cemetery is about 1km east of El Alamein's War Museum.
At the Australian memorial a small plaque with a relief map gives an insightful overview of the key battlefield locations. The cemetery itself was a rear area during the fighting; the front line ran from the Italian memorial and wound its way 65km south to the Qattara Depression.
The cemetery can supposedly be visited outside of regular hours as the police guard outside the gate should have a key, but don't count on it.
