Ranville War Cemetery

The Ranville War Cemetery is a Second World War cemetery containing predominantly British soldiers killed during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy. It is located in and named after Ranville in the Calvados department, east of Caen in lower Normandy.

A large proportion of those interred were members of the British 6th Airborne Division.

Contained within the cemetery is a Cross of Sacrifice, a piece of architecture typical of memorials designed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. As is typical of war cemeteries in France, the grounds are beautifully landscaped and immaculately kept.

History
The village of Ranville was the first to be liberated by elements of the British 6th Airborne Division on the morning of 6 June 1944 (D-Day) when the nearby bridge (Pegasus Bridge) was attacked and captured. The churchyard was immediately used to accommodate battlefield dead. Following the end of the war, the war cememtery was created which gathered burials from locations including Amfreville, Colleville-sur-Colombelles, Houlgate, Orne and Villers-sur-Mer.

The cemetery contains the grave of Lieutenant Den Brotheridge - considered to be the first Allied death on D-Day.

The final interments were made in 1946.

Location
Ranville is north-east of Caen.