Portuguese Military Cemetery, Richebourg

The Portuguese Military Cemetery in Richebourg, Pas-de-Calais is the burial site of 1,831 casualties of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps in World War I. It is the only Portuguese military cemetery in France.

The cemetery was built between 1924 and 1928 and a great number of its dead were killed in the Battle of the Lys in April 1918. A total of 238 are unidentified.[1] Other burials were moved to the site from the rest of France, Belgium and German prisoner of war camps.[2] In 1939, it was expanded from 1,500 graves to its present capacity.[3]

In 2014, the cemetery was one of several across France and Belgium listed to be nominated to be UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites.[2]

President of France Emmanuel Macron and President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa led a ceremony of 2,000 invitees at the cemetery on the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Lys, 9 April 2018.[4] The site was also visited by Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio (2004)[5] and prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho (2014).[6]

Notable burials

References
  1. "Le cimetière de Richebourg, haut lieu de l'engagement du Portugal en 1914-1918" [Richebourg Cemetery, main site of Portugal's engagement from 1914-1918] (in French). France 3. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  2. "Cemitério português de Richebourg em lista para candidatura à UNESCO" [Portuguese Cemetery of Richebourg on UNESCO candidacy list]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 1 February 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  3. "Emmanuel Macron à Richebourg le 9 avril pour le centenaire de la bataille de la Lys" [Emmanuel Macron in Richebourg on 9 April for the centenary of the Battle of the Lys] (in French). France 3. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  4. "Emmanuel Macron et le président du Portugal commémorent le "Verdun portugais"" [Emmanuel Macron and the President of Portugal commemorate the "Portuguese Verdun"]. Ouest-France (in French). 9 April 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  5. Marrucho, António (2 April 2018). "Jorge Sampaio a visité le Cimetière Militaire Portugais de Richebourg le 1er mai 2004" [Jorge Sampaio visited the Portuguese Military Cemetery at Richebourg on 1 May 2004]. Luso Journal (in French). Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  6. "Passos visita cemitério francês para homenagear soldados portugueses mortos na I Guerra Mundial" [Passos visits French cemetery to pay homage to fallen Portuguese soldiers of World War I]. Público (in Portuguese). 18 June 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  7. Villalobos, Luis (3 September 2014). "Quando a justiça militar mandou fuzilar o soldado João de Almeida" [When the Military Court ordered the soldier João de Almeida to face a firing squad]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 20 January 2021.
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