This large war cemetery was established by the military authorities in 1942. It contains mainly the graves of those who died in the Concord Military Hospital, either of wounds received in operational areas, or through sickness or accident. The war cemetery was taken over by the Commission in December 1946. SYDNEY WAR CEMETERY contains 732 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the Second World War. Those members of the United Kingdom Forces who are buried in the cemetery died while prisoners of war in Japanese hands and were cremated. After the war the Army Graves Service arranged for their ashes to be brought by H.M.A.S. NEWFOUNDLAND to Sydney for interment.
Sydney War Cemetery is in the grounds of Rookwood Necropolis, about 17 kilometres west of Sydney. By road the route is along the Great Western Highway (Parramatta Road), turning south into Marlborough Road which continues direct to the cemetery. The main entrance is at the western side, on the necropolis roadway.