Badge of the (Wyvern Division), 43rd Wessex Division.

With a Golden Wyvern. "Wyvern Cemetery"

Embleem van de (Wyvern Divisie), 43ste Wessex Divisie.

Voorzien van de Gouden Draak (Wyvern), waaraan het kerkhof

in Brunssum zijn naam dankt

Probably one of the first photographs of the war cemetery from 1945. Original English name is Wyvern Cemetery, named after the "Wyvern Division" to which they all belonged. See document below.

Waarschijnlijk een van de eerste foto's van het kerkhof uit 1945. Oorspronkelijke Engelse naam is Wyvern Cemetery, zie onderstaand document.

On the British field of honour are the graves of fallen soldiers of the commonwealth. There is a headstone of white nature stone placed at every grave. On the field of honour there is a "Cross of Sacrifice" made out of nature stone which was manufactured in Portland. A bronze sword is attached to the cross. The cross is about 4 meters high.

The British fields of honour all look the same in all 140 countries in which the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for the maintenance  of the war graves. The maintenance of the headstones happens by the cwgc office in Beaurains in France. The cemetery is maintained during the season one time per week and outside the season one time in the 14 days.

The cross of sacrifice is a symbol for the British soldiers who were killed in action in the Netherlands during World War Two.

The first soldiers are burried on 18 November 1944.

"The cemetery was laid out by the British Army and the Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries between 1945 and 1947.  The Commission began  to arrange horticultural maintenance for the site from September 1946 and took over control of the cemetery from the Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries in February 1947.  The architecture of the cemetery was designed by the Commission's Architect Mr. Hepworth. Headstones and the Cross of Sacrifice were erected during the summer of 1950 and the walls and other architectural features were added during 1951-1952."

Brunssum is a town close to the German border, approximately 35 kilometres north east of Maastricht and 11 kilometres south east of Sittard in the southern most portion of the Netherlands. From Sittard visitors should follow signposts for Heerlen on the N276. The N276 passes through the village of Windraak. 6 kilometres after Windraak lies the left hand turning to Brunssum, and the village lies 3 kilometres after this left hand turning. The War Cemetery is co-located with the General Cemetery in Heufstraat near the junction with Merkelbeekerstraat.

Brunssum was liberated in September 1944 by U.S. forces; they were shortly afterwards followed by the British 43rd (Wessex) Division, who made their headquarters in the town, and in turn were succeeded by the 52nd (Lowland) Division. The first burials in the cemetery were made by an Advanced Dressing Station and a Casualty Clearing Station which were situated at Merkelbeek in November 1944 when the 43rd Division were engaged in clearing a triangle between the Rivers Roer and Maas. Later, other casualties were all brought back and buried in the same place; they included fifty men who were killed while clearing mines on the German border at the beginning of January 1945. Operations in the Geilenkirchen sector accounted for a great part of the casualties buried here. There are over 300 1939-1945 burials in this cemetery, they are made up entirely of soldiers of the British Army, of whom 1 remains unidentified.

No. of Identified Casualties: 327

Wheelchair access to site possible, but may be by an alternative entrance. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our Enquiries Section on telephone number

01628-507200

Op het Brits ereveld in Brunssum liggen de graven van gesneuvelde militairen van het gemene best. Bij elk graf is een zerk van witte natuursteen geplaatst. Op het ereveld staat een uit Portland natuursteen vervaardigd 'Cross of Sacrifice'. Op dit kruis is een bronzen zwaard bevestigd. Het kruis is circa 4 meter hoog.

De inrichting van Britse erevelden is uniform in alle 140 landen, waar de Commonwealth War Graves Commission verantwoordelijk is voor het onderhoud van de oorlogsgraven. De gravering van de grafstenen en het onderhoud gebeurt door hun kantoor in Beaurains in Frankrijk.De begraafplaats wordt tijdens het seizoen één maal per week onderhouden en buiten het seizoen één maal in de 14 dagen.

 
Het offerkruis staat symbool voor de Britse militairen die tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog in Nederland zijn gesneuveld.

Commonwealth War Graves Commision; oorlogsbegraafplaats aan de Heufstraat; voor 4 prunussen;

Brunssum, 4 juli 2007

Geilenkirchen, 1944

In support of the US Army, the 5th Dorsetshire Regiment attacked  successfully and with few casualties a suburb of the town. Following through the next day, with their armour bogged down, they were trapped by Panzer Grenadiers and artillery. Pinned down through that day and over night they held the wood for relief troops to push the Germans back. The Divisional Commander named the area"Dorset Wood".

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