# Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery
**Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery** is a [Commonwealth War Graves Commission](https://www.edgepedia.org/commonwealth-war-graves-commission) cemetery at Reviers in the Calvados department of Normandy, France, holding the graves of Canadian soldiers killed on [D-Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/d-day-military-term) and in the early battles of the Normandy campaign of 1944. Despite its name, it lies near the village of Reviers rather than the commune of Bény-sur-Mer, whose name it bears.[1](https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/overseas/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery?wbdisable=true)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | About 1 km east of Reviers, on the Creully–Tailleville–Ouistreham road (D.35), roughly 4 km south of Courseulles-sur-Mer and 15 km northwest of Caen[2](https://qormuseum.org/history/cemeteries-with-riflemen/france-cemeteries/) • [3](https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery.html) |
| Burials | 2,049 headstones according to Veterans Affairs Canada; the Commonwealth War Graves Commission figure is 2,048 Second World War burials, 19 of them unidentified[1](https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/overseas/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery?wbdisable=true) • [3](https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery.html) |
| D-Day dead | 335 soldiers of the 3rd Canadian Division, which landed on Juno Beach on 6 June 1944 and were killed in the landing fighting[4](https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/cimetiere-militaire-canadien-de-beny-sur-mer-reviers) |
| Other burials | 1,694 Canadians and 15 airmen killed in the advance inland, plus one airman, three British soldiers and one French soldier[4](https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/cimetiere-militaire-canadien-de-beny-sur-mer-reviers) |
| Origin | Concentration of graves from two temporary cemeteries established in 1944 near Bény-sur-Mer and Reviers[5](https://www.normandie44lamemoire.com/2014/01/26/reviers-beny-sur-mer/) |
| Establishment | One of two permanent Canadian cemeteries set up in Normandy at the end of 1944, the other being Bretteville-sur-Laize at Cintheaux, south of Caen[6](https://bayeux-bessin-tourisme.com/fr/visites/sites/beny-sur-mer/canadian-war-cemetery) |
| Architect | P.D. Hepworth[3](https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery.html) |
## The D-Day dead
The Allied invasion of northwest Europe began on 6 June 1944 with landings on the Normandy coast. The 3rd Canadian Division and the 2nd Armoured Brigade formed Canada's major ground contribution to the D-Day landings. Under command of the British Second Army, and supported by artillery, rocket-firing landing craft and naval guns, the [Canadians](https://www.edgepedia.org/canadians) came ashore at [Juno Beach](https://www.edgepedia.org/juno-beach), in the center of the British sector. By nightfall they had secured a beachhead that, although short of the planned objectives, withstood enemy counter-attacks; by 11 June the bridgehead was judged secure enough to receive new formations for the next phase.[1](https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/overseas/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery?wbdisable=true)
The cost was heavy. On D-Day alone Canada suffered almost a thousand casualties, of whom 340 were killed or died of wounds, and the list lengthened in the following days as the Germans tried to drive the Allies out.[1](https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/overseas/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery?wbdisable=true) Many of the men buried at Bény-sur-Mer were of the 3rd Canadian Division and died either on 6 June or during the early days of the advance toward Caen, when the division engaged a German battle group formed from the 716th Division and the 21st Panzer Division.[3](https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery.html) Of the burials, 335 belong to soldiers of the 3rd Division killed in the landing fighting; the remainder are largely Canadians who fell as the advance moved inland, together with 15 airmen and small numbers of British and French dead.[4](https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/cimetiere-militaire-canadien-de-beny-sur-mer-reviers)
## Formation and design
The cemetery was created at the end of 1944 as one of two permanent Canadian burial grounds in Normandy, the other being Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery at Cintheaux, which holds those who died in the later battles around Caen and the Falaise Gap.[6](https://bayeux-bessin-tourisme.com/fr/visites/sites/beny-sur-mer/canadian-war-cemetery) • [7](https://www.dday.center/normandy-today/normandy-cemeteries/bretteville-sur-laize/) The site gathers the graves from two temporary cemeteries established in 1944 near Bény-sur-Mer and Reviers, and many soldiers of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division killed in the first days of the landings are buried here.[5](https://www.normandie44lamemoire.com/2014/01/26/reviers-beny-sur-mer/)
The cemetery, designed by P.D. Hepworth, is enclosed by pines and maples.[3](https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery.html) • [1](https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/overseas/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery?wbdisable=true) Its layout follows a long axis: a wide central path leads to the Stone of Remembrance, followed by a space for gathering, the Cross of Sacrifice, and finally the shelter pavilion.[5](https://www.normandie44lamemoire.com/2014/01/26/reviers-beny-sur-mer/) Fine hedges decorate the entrance, and the flanking registry buildings have platforms from which visitors can see the whole site.[1](https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/overseas/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery?wbdisable=true) In the building at the entrance, a plaque is dedicated to the soldiers of The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa.[5](https://www.normandie44lamemoire.com/2014/01/26/reviers-beny-sur-mer/)
## Who is buried there
Although the great majority of the dead are Canadian, the graves record several countries of origin: the Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists casualties from [British Guiana](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-guiana), Canada, Cuba, Newfoundland, the United Kingdom and the United States.[8](https://www.cwgc.org/media/wxllsb5r/normandy-beny-sur-mer-school-visit-resource-en.pdf) Identified casualties number 2,029, of whom 2,025 are Canadian and 4 are from the United Kingdom, with 19 unidentified.[3](https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery.html)
Individual graves record the campaign's human texture. Three brothers of the Westlake family of Toronto lie in the cemetery: George of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, killed on 7 June 1944, and Albert Norman and Thomas Lee of the [Queen's Own Rifles of Canada](https://www.edgepedia.org/queens-own-rifles-of-canada), both killed on 11 June 1944.[3](https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery.html) The school-visit material published by the Commission also notes Harold Littlecrow, one of several First Nations Canadians buried there, and John MacNaughton, killed leading his men on D-Day.[8](https://www.cwgc.org/media/wxllsb5r/normandy-beny-sur-mer-school-visit-resource-en.pdf)
## Remembrance and visiting
The mayor and people of Reviers take a special interest in the cemetery; although it bears another town's name, they regard it as their own.[1](https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/overseas/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery?wbdisable=true) Commemorative ceremonies are held at the site, including a ceremony on 5 June 2024 marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, attended by Canadian veterans in their nineties.[9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTpD2GiDnuc) The cemetery is open all year with free access; in February, November and December it is open from 10:00 to 17:00, and a visit takes about 30 minutes.[6](https://bayeux-bessin-tourisme.com/fr/visites/sites/beny-sur-mer/canadian-war-cemetery) • [4](https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/cimetiere-militaire-canadien-de-beny-sur-mer-reviers)
## References
1. [Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, Veterans Affairs Canada](https://veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/overseas/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery?wbdisable=true)
2. [France Cemeteries, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive](https://qormuseum.org/history/cemeteries-with-riflemen/france-cemeteries/)
3. [Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, Reviers, World War Two Cemeteries](https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery.html)
4. [Cimetière militaire Canadien de Bény-sur-Mer Reviers, Chemins de mémoire](https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/cimetiere-militaire-canadien-de-beny-sur-mer-reviers)
5. [Reviers Bény-sur-Mer, 1944 la bataille de Normandie, la mémoire](https://www.normandie44lamemoire.com/2014/01/26/reviers-beny-sur-mer/)
6. [Canadian War Cemetery, Bayeux Bessin Tourisme](https://bayeux-bessin-tourisme.com/fr/visites/sites/beny-sur-mer/canadian-war-cemetery)
7. [Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery Travel Guide, D-Day Center](https://www.dday.center/normandy-today/normandy-cemeteries/bretteville-sur-laize/)
8. [Normandy: Beny-sur-Mer school visit resource, Commonwealth War Graves Commission](https://www.cwgc.org/media/wxllsb5r/normandy-beny-sur-mer-school-visit-resource-en.pdf)
9. [Veterans honoured at the Bény-sur-Mer Cemetery, CBC News (2024)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTpD2GiDnuc)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Wars, campaigns, and incidents › Commemoration and aftermath of conflict › War memorials, cemeteries, and battlefield preservation › Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license