Canadian War Cemetery Beny-sur-mer

Route de Reviers (D35), 14470 Reviers

France Normandie Reviers

Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, despite its name, is located near the village of Reviers in Normandy, France. It was established in 1944 following the D-Day landings, serving as a permanent resting place for Canadian soldiers who had initially been buried in temporary battlefield graves.

The cemetery was designed by Philip D. Hepworth, one of the principal architects of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, whose work is known for its quiet dignity and classical symmetry.

The site spans roughly 2.5 hectares and is laid out in a square plan with sixteen plots of graves arranged in precise rows. At the entrance, visitors pass through two columned gateways and a name stone, leading to a central axis that runs sixty meters through the cemetery. Along this axis stand the Stone of Remembrance and the Cross of Sacrifice—two architectural elements common to CWGC cemeteries that symbolize collective mourning and spiritual resilience. On either side of the grounds are small shelter buildings that house the cemetery register and offer elevated views of the site. A raised terrace with benches invites reflection, and the entire cemetery is framed by hedges, pines, and maples that blend it into the surrounding countryside.

Within its bounds lie 2,048 graves, including 2,025 Canadians—mostly from the 3rd Canadian Division—alongside 15 airmen, three British soldiers, and one French resistance fighter named R. Guenard. Guenard died fighting alongside Canadian troops and had no known relatives; his grave bears the inscription “Mort pour la France – 19-7-1944.” The cemetery also contains nine sets of brothers buried side by side, and one Canadian soldier whose remains were misplaced during the transfer from temporary graves. His tombstone stands apart, acknowledging his presence in the cemetery even though his exact burial spot is unknown.

Many of those interred at Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery were men of the 3rd Canadian Division who died either on 6 June or during the early days of the advance towards Caen, when the Division engaged a German battle group formed from the 716th Division and the 21st Panzer Division.

Among the most poignant graves is that of Reverend Walter Leslie Brown, chaplain to the 27th Armoured Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusiliers), who was murdered in cold blood by members of the 15. SS-Panzer Grenadier Regiment on the night of June 6–7. His body was not discovered until July. The cemetery also includes the graves of Canadian soldiers who were murdered at Abbaye d'Ardenne by men of the 12. SS-Panzer Division.

Soldiers who died later in the Normandy campaign were buried at the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery.

On June 6, 1984, the cemetery hosted a major commemorative ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the Normandy landings, attended by Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the Duke of Edinburgh, and French President François Mitterrand with his wife Danielle.

Bény-sur-Mer cemetery was featured in the second season of The Amazing Race Canada, where contestants paused to pay their respects before continuing their journey.

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