As we prepare to remember more 100,000 Canadians killed at war, hundreds of people buried in a Halifax cemetery, including veterans, seem to have been forgotten.

Camp Hill Cemetery was established in 1844 and is the final resting place of several prominent Nova Scotians including Joseph Howe, Alexander Keith, Viola Desmond and former premier Robert Stanfield.

Their gravesites are still in good shape, but many others have fallen into disrepair. Several headstones have toppled over, are sinking or are broken and, in most cases, it’s up to the families to fix them.

Gord MacInnis says he couldn’t believe the condition of the cemetery as he walked through it on the weekend.

“I just couldn’t believe that graveyard,” says MacInnis, whose grandfather is buried at Camp Hill. “I live from coast to coast and I’ve been in a few graveyards, unfortunately, for funerals etcetera, and I just think that one there is not up to par.”

City spokeswoman Jennifer Stairs says the family of the plot’s owner is responsible for maintaining and repairing headstones, while the city takes care of landscaping and work to the grounds.

She says the city recognizes there may no longer be family members around to care for some of the gravesites.

“We do our best to work with someone if they come forward to identify that a gravestone is in disrepair or looks like it’s about to fall over, we would do our best to work with them within our means,” says Stairs.

She says the city would like to see the cemetery undergo some restorations, and that someone within the municipal government is trying to get the work done, but resources are limited.

“We’re hoping to look to Camp Hill to do some of that restorative work, as well to the headstones,” says Stairs. “Anything that comes to them, she tries to get that done during the spring and summer months but then she doesn’t have any staff for the winter.”

There are some veterans buried in the cemetery, although it isn’t clear which graves belong to them.

“The people who fought for our country, they should go in and find where they are,” says MacInnis. “I’m sure there’s records and go in there and fix it up for them and their families.”

He believes the government should bear the cost of repairing the graves of those identified as veterans.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Rick Grant