Cambridge American Cemetery - Visitors Building & Superintendent's Office
The visitors building is situated next to the main entrance to the Cemetery and adjacent to the car park. Disabled parking spaces are provided next to the visitors building area which is accessed via a short path. Toilet facilities for visitors are located to the front of the car park. Toilet facilities are not provided ed inside the visitors building or any other part of the cemetery.
The visitors building contains a comfortably furnished room with displays relating to the history of Madingley American Cemetery, those buried and the missing who are honoured there.
The Superintendent or one of his staff is on hand to answer visitor's questions, provide information and assist relatives in locating individual graves. A directory is on hand to allow visitors to locate the position of individual grave plots should they wish to do so.
A book is provided which visitors and relatives may sign as a record of their visit to Madingley and to leave a message
On the wall of the visitors building is a bronze tablet dedicated by the residents of Cheshunt and Waltham Cross, to the crew of an American bomber who sacrificed themselves in order to avoid the aircraft crashing into the afore mentioned communities.
Next to the visitors building stands the seventy two foot flagpole which is visible form most of the cemetery and proudly flies the American Flag. The base of the flagpole is inscribed with the words:
TO YOU FROM FAILING HANDS
WE THROW THE TORCH.
BE YOURS TO HOLD IT HIGH
The words are taken from John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Fields"
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was a Canadian physician, artist and poet who fought during World War one and acted as a surgeon during the battle of Ypres.
The bronze tablet on the exterior wall of the visitors centre dedicated to the brave crew of a United States bomber crew who died protecting the communities of Cheshunt and Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire.
On August 12 1944 mission number 151 to bomb Juvicour airfield in France started out in bad weather. Due to The poor weather some of the aircraft had to abort the mission and return to their base. In doing so B-24H Liberator 42-95023 LUCKY LASS II is believed to have been involved in a mid air collision with another aircraft and crashed into farmland while avoiding the towns of Waltham Cross and Cheshunt. There is an article about this incident on B24.Net The crash report can be seen here. An identical copy of the bronze tablet is displayed at Cheshunt Library.
The above variation of the Great Seal which can be found on the exterior wall of the visitor's centre shows an American Eagle grasping arrows and at the same time an olive branch denotes the power of peace and war which is exclusively vested in Congress. The Eagle is always depicted on the Great Seal facing the olive branch which signifies America's preference for peace over war. A constellation of thirteen stars is shown above the eagle's head, this significance of this is debated but it may represent the thirteen stars of the original American Flag.
The essential principles of our Government form "the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps." – Thomas Jefferson
