Grave Locations - Lebanese Republic
Total Australian commemorations in the Lebanese Republic: 332 + 5 Australians in Other Allied Units
RED - this indicates those cemeteries that have been completed.
BLUE - this indicates those cemeteries that have been offered for completion
BLACK - this indicates those cemeteries that have yet to be completed.
Status Current as of the 14th January 2008
| Cemetery/Memorial
|
No.
|
Volunteer
|
Status
|
| BEIRUT WAR CEMETERY |
269 (Known 267, Unknown 2) |
Oren J. (of Canada) |
Incomplete |
| BEIRUT WAR CEMETERY | Farida Khizam | Offered to complete - 14/01/2008 | |
| SIDON WAR CEMETERY
|
33 |
Oren J. (of Canada) |
Complete
|
| TRIPOLI (VICTORIA) NAVAL CEMETERY
|
20 |
Oren J. (of Canada) |
Complete
|
| - |
|||
| Australians serving in Other Allied Units
|
|||
| BEIRUT WAR CEMETERY
|
4 |
Farida Khizam |
Offered - 14/01/2008 |
| SIDON WAR CEMETERY | 1 |
Farida Khizam |
Offered - 14/01/2008 |
BEIRUT WAR CEMETERY, Lebanese Republic
Location:
Beirut War Cemetery is located approximately 2-3 kilometres from the centre of Beirut in the El Horj district on Rue Jalloul, which runs west of Avenue de Novembre which is next to a park known as the Forest of Pines. The cemetery is in two sections, bisected by Rue Jalloul. In one section, formerly known as Beirut British War Cemetery, are graves of the First World War. It was begun in October 1918 and was enlarged by the concentration of graves from other burial grounds. The other section of the cemetery contains burials and memorials in what were formerly known as Beirut 1939-1945 War Cemetery and Beirut (Saida Road) Indian and Egyptian War Cemetery. In this section stands the Beirut Cremation Memorial commemorating soldiers of undivided India and an East African soldier, whose remains were accorded the last rites required by their religion - committal to fire. In addition, there are three memorials to Indian and Egyptian casualties of the First World War.
Visiting Information:
The cemetery is open Monday to Friday and Saturday morning. Closed all day Sunday.
Historical Information:
Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Lebanon was taken from the Turks in 1918 by British forces with small French and Arab detachments. It was occupied by the 7th (Meerut) Division on the 8th October 1918, when French warships were already in the harbour, and the 32nd and 15th Combined Clearing Hospitals were sent to the town. In 1922 it became, with Syria, French mandated territory and after the fall of France in 1940 the two countries, under the control of the Vichy French, were a potential base for the Axis powers. German infiltration into Syria in May 1941 constituted a threat to the Suez Canal and the British positions in the Middle East and was the signal for the occupation of both these countries by the Allies. The campaign lasted from the 8th June until the 11th July 1941, when the French asked for an armistice. Subsequently the French Mandate was superseded by an agreement which made Lebanon an independent state from the 1st January 1944. In one section, formerly known as Beirut British War Cemetery, are graves of the First World War. It was begun in October 1918 and was enlarged by the concentration of graves from other burial grounds. This section of the cemetery is enclosed by a wall on three sides and on the fourth by the French Cemetery. The other section of the cemetery contains burials and memorials in what were formerly known as Beirut 1939-1945 War Cemetery and Beirut (Saida Road) Indian and Egyptian War Cemetery. In this section stand the Beirut Cremation Memorial, commemorating soldiers of undivided India (many of whom were killed in the fighting of June and July 1941) and an East African soldier, whose remains were accorded the last rites required by their religion - committal to fire. There are now over 650, 1914-18 and over 550, 1939-45 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, a small number from both Wars are unidentified. In addition, there are three memorials to Indian and Egyptian casualties of the First World War. There are also graves of Turkish prisoners in the cemetery.
SIDON WAR CEMETERY, Lebanese Republic
Location:
Sidon is about 60 kilometres south of Beirut on the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon. Sidon War Cemetery lies about 1 kilometre inland from the southern bay of Sidon harbour in Sabbagh Quarter. Barghout Street is in the Durukman area. The entrance is in a small road called Sahl al Sabbagh, leading right off the Rue Iskandarani. A taxi or a shared taxi is the only form of public transport from Beirut which, with its airport, is the nearest convenient centre to Sidon.
Visiting Information:
Visitors wishing to gain entry to the Cemetery outside of normal working hours (Monday to Friday, 07.30 to 14.30) should contact the British Embassy, Beirut. Arrangements can then be made for the gardener to be on site.
Historical Information:
The war cemetery was opened in 1943 by units of His Majesty's Forces occupying the Lebanon after the 1941 campaign. It was originally used for the burial of men who died while serving with the occupation force; but subsequently the graves of a number of the casualties of the 1941 campaign were moved into the cemetery from others, or from isolated positions in the vicinity. There are now nearly 200, 1939-45 war casualties commemorated in this site.
TRIPOLI (VICTORIA) NAVAL CEMETERY, Lebanese Republic
Location:
The cemetery lies near the sea in the Almina Area, about 5 kilometres south-west of Tripoli centre.
Historical Information:
Tripoli (Victoria) Naval Cemetery originated in 1895, when HMS Victoria collided with HMS Camperdown in Syrian waters and the bodies of six victims of this disaster were washed ashore. Lebanon was at that time part of the Ottoman Empire and the piece of ground occupied by the cemetery was given by the Turkish Government as a burial place for these men. A rating from HMS Ramilies was also buried there. The cemetery was not used during the 1914-18 War; but nearly 100 Allied soldiers and airmen who lost their lives in the 1941 campaign in Syria and the Lebanon were buried there.
(Information: Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission)
Please contact the Archive Director for details and photographic requirements
australianwargraves@bigpond.com