Fort Massey Cemetery


Fort Massey Cemetery is a military cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia dating back to the 1750s, and is the resting place for British and Canadian soldiers, veterans and spouses. The cemetery is named after Major General Eyre Massey. The cemetery is maintained by Veteran's Affairs Canada.

History

Fort Massey was a square earthen redoubt, with a blockhouse, barracks, and a magazine, built between 1776 and 1778 on what was then known as Windmill Hill, presently at Queen and South Streets. It was to command the deep hollow formed by Freshwater Brook, which was a blind spot to the Citadel's guns, and also to cover Greenbank and Grand Batteries. The 17-gun earthwork fort was enlarged in 1782 to be 320 feet long and 170 feet wide, with two semi-circular works connected by a redan on each side. There are no remains, except the site of the Fort Massey Cemetery, maintained by Veterans Affairs Canada.

Notable interments

It contains 86 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and 41 from the Second World War. Most of these graves are in a plot at the lower end of the cemetery, next to which stands the Cross of Sacrifice. The HALIFAX MEMORIAL stands within the cemetery and commemorates two servicemen who were killed in the 1917 explosion but whose bodies were not found.
Canadian Infantry :
Halifax Explosion