Commonwealth War Cemetery Leopoldsburg

The British Expeditionary Force was involved in the later stages of the defence of Belgium following the German invasion in May 1940 and suffered many casualties in covering the withdrawal to Dunkirk. Commonwealth forces did not return until September 1944, but in the intervening years, many airmen were shot down or crashed in raids on strategic objectives in Belgium, or while returning from missions over Germany. There are about 35 original burials in Leopoldsburg War Cemetery associated with isolated engagements in or near the town in May 1940. Of the remainder, some are burials from a military hospital which was established at Leopoldsburg during the latter part of 1944 and others were brought into the cemetery from the surrounding district. There are now 767 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War in the cemetery, 16 of them unidentified and a number of Polish (27) and Dutch war graves.

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Source

• Text: Christiaen Callens
• Photos: Luc Van Waeyenberge