A sandy track flanked by tall cypress trees, a limestone arch, a low wall against which deep red roses are in bloom, an emerald lawn studded with marble headstones. Away from the ubiquitous drab of Gaza City lies a corner of a foreign field that is forever England.

Or, rather, England, the rest of Britain, and the Commonwealth. The graves of 3,217 servicemen who died in Gaza during the first world war lie in this small oasis located behind the walls and fences that enclose the tiny coastal territory. Almost 800 of the headstones are without names, marked "Soldier of the Great War, known unto God".

In the softening light of a warm afternoon, Palestinian families meander between the uniform ranks of graves, planted with rosemary and geraniums. Some come simply to appreciate the tranquility of the cemetery; others are looking for a pleasant picnic spot or a rare place for children to kick a ball about.

The former are welcomed, but the latter are shooed away by Ibrahim Jeradeh, who was employed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for 45 years to care for the cemetery. Now aged 76, Jeradeh still lives in a tied house on the site thanks to his son succeeding him as head gardener. Jeradeh was awarded an MBE for his long service to the Commonwealth. He proudly shows off the medal, along with a framed certificate signed by the Duke of Kent in "grateful recognition of outstanding contribution to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission".

"They invited me to London, but I didn't go," says Jeradeh, while his grandson serves glasses of sweet tea on a silver tray as the call to prayer carries across the cemetery from a nearby mosque. "Why would I need to go there? Everyone comes to me."

The MBE was delivered with a printed card instructing that it should be worn with morning dress (on the left side of the coat, at the top pocket position), or evening dress. Jeradeh offers to pin it to the sleeveless woollie over his jalabiya, a traditional long Arab robe.

He started work in the cemetery more than half a century ago, under the watchful eye of his father, who was the first head gardener. Both his father and he were required to comply with the British retirement age of 65, although Jeradeh insists he hasn't stopped working. He dismisses any suggestion that the family has ownership of the post, saying he and his son applied and were selected for the post of head gardener.

The cemetery's construction was completed in 1920, two years after the end of the first world war. In 1917 there were three Battles of Gaza between the allied powers and the forces of the Ottoman empire, with only the last, in November, ending in the capture of Gaza by the British Egyptian expeditionary force, led by Field Marshal Edmund Allenby. The dead of the Great War were joined at the cemetery by 210 Commonwealth soldiers who fell in the second world war, and another 30 who died later. There are also 234 graves of non-Commonwealth soldiers.

Control of Gaza passed from the Turks to the British in 1918, at the end of the war; then to the Egyptians after the 1948 war that followed Israel's declaration of a state. For the past 46 years, since the 1967 six-day war, Israel has kept a tight grip on Gaza, first through full occupation, then by enforcing a stringent blockade that has been eased but not lifted in the past three years. Israel controls Gaza's borders (except for one crossing to Egypt), sea space and air space.

The dead have not been allowed to rest in unbroken peace. Twice in the past decade, the cemetery has been hit by Israeli shells during periods of conflict in Gaza. In 2006, Israel paid £90,000 in compensation to the CWGC for damage caused in an airstrike; and in 2009 around 350 headstones needed repair after several shells struck the cemetery during Israel's three-week offensive Operation Cast Lead.

"In history, everything changes, but there have been wars here for thousands of years," reflects Jeradeh, whose shelves are full of books on history, geography, medicine, agriculture and philosophy.

In contrast to many Palestinians, he harbours no resentment against the British for having endorsed a Jewish state on their land. "I have no hatred of the British, or the Jews. The Earth does not belong to us, but to God," he says. Now he counts his blessings: a home in a green and mostly quiet corner of Gaza; nine daughters, four sons and "maybe 50" grandchildren. His wife, whom he married aged 18, has been bedridden for the past nine years following a stroke, "but we are still in love".

His "simple life" has been a good one, he says; the dead have been comfortable companions. "I'm happy and at peace. What more do I want?"

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• This article was amended on 20 August 2013 to clarify that soldiers from Scotland and Wales are also buried in the cemetery.