[2] In 1943, the University of Cambridge[3][4] gave 30.5 acres of land on the north slope of Madingley Hill to the American military forces for use as a temporary cemetery during World War II.

[7] In May 2014, a new visitor centre opened, containing exhibits about some of the people buried or commemorated at the cemetery, and the wider World War II campaigns in which they were involved.

A great map on the wall shows schematically the air sorties flown from East Anglia, together with convoys across the North Atlantic and other actions in the war.

[8] The south wall is inset with stained glass windows displaying the seals of the States of the Union arranged in ceremonial order.

[2] The architects of the site plan were Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean; the landscape architecture was arranged by the Olmsted Brothers company.