The Commission is currently responsible for the continued commemoration of 1 @.@ 7 million deceased Commonwealth military service members in 153 countries and approximately 67 @,@ 000 civilians who died as a result of enemy action during World War II . Commonwealth military service members are commemorated by name on either a headstone , at an identified site of a burial , or on a memorial . As a result , the Commission is currently responsible for the care of war dead at over 23 @,@ 000 separate burial sites and maintenance of more than 200 memorials worldwide . The vast majority of burial sites are pre @-@ existing communal or municipal cemeteries and parish churchyards located in the United Kingdom , however the Commission has itself constructed approximately 2 @,@ 500 war cemeteries worldwide . The Commission has also constructed or commissioned memorials to commemorate the dead who have no known grave ; the largest of these is the Thiepval Memorial .