TBT;
if you look at nearly all of the images of World War 1 cemeteries you will find lots of the things that you find 'niggles' you. These crosses represent the lives of our brave men lost in that particular conflict.
Nothing niggled me when I took this picture at Tyne Cot;
Nothing niggled me when I took the Sid-lings to the Menin Gate;
Nothing niggled me last year when my brother, little Sid and I went to the grave of our Great Uncle. At 01:30, the approximate time he fell in the attack on Pommerieul village, I placed a wreath on the memorial and little Sid placed a poppy cross on his grave, after walking the route of the advance.
According to the book in front of me, 'Courage Remembered',
"Religious Emblem - The Christian Cross, Jewish Star of David etc which is inscribed on a marker at the request of the next of kin. Equally, the Commission abides by the next of kins request for no emblem. In the event that there is no contact with the next of kin, a religious emblem is inscribed."
As for the memorial;
"the swords symbolism is open to many interpretations. Some regard the sword itself, with its hilt, as being the Cross, and the stonework to be only a frame."
Maybe the Memorial Cross represents the faith of the majority of the dead and the sword represents the military character of the cemetery.
What niggles me is that you think the cross represents the fallen, when it is in fact the Poppy.