The Trust is justly proud of its military history.

Two holders of the Victoria Cross are buried at Ford Park; Capt Andrew Henry VC, Royal Artillery and Quartermaster George Hinckley VC, Royal Navy. The Trust supports memorial services which are held each year by the Royal Artillery Association and Royal Naval Association respectively. Relatives of George Hinckley, who still live locally, regularly attend the services of remembrance.

We maintain strip gardens, and over nine hundred war graves, for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, this being one of the pillars of the Trust's finances.

Research volunteers working on behalf of the Trust have been creating an archive of information on all First World War casualties buried in the Cemetery. These biographies, which include service histories, census records, newspaper cuttings and some photographs, can be viewed in the Visitor Centre.

In a ceremony held at the Cemetery on 23rd November 2014 the Plymouth Branch of the Normandy Veterans Association officially closed their group by laying up their standard in the Victorian Chapel. Surviving veterans later chose the Chapel for a ceremony during which they were presented with the Legion d'honneure by the Honorary Consul of France.

                                                  Presentation of Legion d'Honneure

Notable military graves which are part of our heritage include:-

Captain Darrell Jago (1795-1850) Waterloo veteran.
Whilst a Second Lieutenant, he fought at the Battle of Waterloo as part of Captain Sandham's Brigade.

                                      Darrell Jago Battle of Waterloo 200th Anniversary Service

Captain John Fencott James (1832-1880) Zulu Wars
Fought at the Battle of Ulundi during the Zulu War of 1879.

Lieutenant Reginald Lucy (1893-1915) World War 1
2nd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment. He was fatally wounded in 1915 at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle.

Flying Officer Ronald O'Donnell (1924-1945) World War II
A Flight Engineer on a Lancaster bomber, he was killed when his aircraft crashed in Wednesfield, Staffordshire on 17th May 1945

More details of these, and other notable military graves, can be found in our two self-guided Heritage Trails or in a History of the Forty-nine Airmen Buried at Ford Park. These booklets, published by the Trust, can be obtained from the Cemetery Office or Visitor Centre or our website shop.