This article is about the Chunuk Bair Cemetery, Gallipoli and will look at some of the soldiers buried there. I have also written other articles about Gallipoli and guides to help you research soldiers who served in the British Army during the First World War:
Chunuk Bair Cemetery, Gallipoli
The Chunuk Bair Cemetery, ANZAC was created after the end of the First World War on the site of a mass grave of Commonwealth soldiers who were killed during the Battle of Sari Bair (6-21 August 1915). The Chunuk Bair Cemetery can be reached by following the road which runs across the Sari Bair Ridge and there is ample parking close to the site. Of the 600 men buried on the site, only 10 are identified and their graves are located at the bottom of the slope. Of the 10 identified casualties, eight are New Zealanders, one is British and another Nepalese (serving in the Indian Army). Two of the graves belong to soldiers who were only 17 when they were killed, Privates Basil Ernest Mercer and Martin Andrew Persson.
The Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial is to the rear of the photograph above on which are the names of over 850 New Zealand soldiers who died on the Gallipoli Peninsula and who have no known graves. I have written a separate article on the memorial here: Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial. The vast majority of soldiers commemorated on this memorial were killed during the Battle of Sari Bair (6-21 August 1915). Just behind the Cross of Sacrifice can be seen the New Zealand National Memorial. The Turkish flag marks the site of the Ataturk Memorial which has been completely blotted out by the tree.
One of the graves is to Havildar (Sergeant) Punahang Limbu, 10th Gurkha Rifles who was killed on 10 August 1915. Graves to Gurkhas, not including British officers, are uncommon and this may be the only one on the Gallipoli Peninsula. This is because Gurkhas are Hindus, and along with Sikhs would be cremated after death. The Indian Army tried as far as possible to observe the correct burial practices for Sikhs and Hindus, but this was not always possible. There is no additional information on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in regards to where Punahang Limbu was from. However, his surname or clan name of Limbu shows that he was from Eastern Nepal where the Limbu people live. 