Brookwood Military Cemetery is the largest CWGC cemetery in the UK, with more than 5000 Commonwealth graves and nearly 1000 graves of other nationalities spread over 37 acres. It was begun in 1917 when an area of land in Brookwood Cemetery (The London Necropolis) was set aside for the burial of men and women from the Commonwealth and American forces who had died in the London area, many from battle injuries. It was substantially extended in the Second World War.