The Cemetery was started during the Second World War for burials from the several military hospitals posted in the area. Later, other graves were brought in by the Army Graves Service. There are now 486 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. Of these, 25 burials are unidentified. The cemetery also contains 24 Chinese war graves and two non-war graves. The first attacks against the Burma Army started in December 1941. Commanded by General Hutton, the army lost the battle for Rangoon and lost control of the Burma Road to China. By February 1942, it became clear that the British forces in Burma were not going to stop the Japanese and between March and May 1942, a retreat took place of these forces, which included remnants of the Chinese Army, under the command of General Alexander. Delaying the Japanese advance towards India until May was vital as that was the month in which the monsoon was expected and few believed that the Japanese could continue their advance in the monsoon. The five-and-a-half month campaign in Burma led to a 1000-mile retreat. The British suffered 10,036 casualties of which 3,670 were killed. The Burmese Army lost a further 3,400 men killed and wounded.