Commonwealth War Graves Tournai Extension

The Allied extension of Tournai Communal Cemetery contains 689 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 34 of them unidentified. There are also 117 Russian burials, all of men who died as prisoners of war and two Belgian war graves.
Almost all of the 52 Second World War burials in the extension date from May 1940 and the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force ahead of the German advance.

On 23 August 1914, Tournai was occupied by the German II Corps and remained in their hands until the city was liberated on 8 November 1918. During the occupation, wounded and sick German and Allied soldiers were cared for in the "Asile" and the "Hopital Notre-Dame". Those who died were buried in the municipal cemetery and the extension.

After the war the graves were regrouped according to nationality. There are now 645 British, 30 Canadians, 5 Australians, 1 New Zealander, 5 South Africans and 4 Indians.

On 23 August 1914, Tournai was occupied by the German II Corps and remained in their hands until the city was liberated on 8 November 1918.
During the occupation, wounded and sick German and Allied soldiers were cared for in the "Asile" and the "Hopital Notre-Dame". Those who died were buried in the municipal cemetery and the extension.

After the war the graves were regrouped according to nationality.
There are now 645 British, 30 Canadians, 5 Australians, 1 New Zealander, 5 South Africans, 4 Indians and 2 Belgians from the First World War. There are also 117 Russians who died in captivity.
René DERYSE and Octave NUYTENS are the two Belgians who died respectively on September 27 and October 27, 1918.

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Source

• Text: Commonwealth War Graves Commission & Marie-Christine Vinck
• Photos: Luc van Waeyenberge (1, 2, 3, 4), Marie-Christine Vinck (5)