Knightsbridge War Cemetery is a war cemetery located in Acroma, Libya, located 750 metres south of the main road from Benghazi to Tobruk, 25 km (16 mi) west of Tobruk. The cemetery is situated in open country, the Cross of Sacrifice is set high above the level of the cemetery and is easily seen from the road. The cemetery is reached from a track branching off the main road.[1][2]
Knightsbridge was the name given to a static base or "box" established around a junction of tracks some 20 km west of Tobruk and 16 km south of Acroma. This box commanded all the supplies which went to the allied front lines, as well as the fuelling stations and airfields at Acroma, El Adem, El Duda, Sidi Rezegh and Gambut. Knightsbridge was therefore a key position and the heavy armoured battles which started in late May 1942 pivoted on this position, with fierce fighting throughout this area. A battlefield cemetery was created in all of these area to bury the Commonwealth troops killed in these actions.[1]
It is the resting place of 3,651 Commonwealth servicemen who were killed or died during the fighting in the area during World War II, 2,676 of whom have been identified. Many had been buried in temporary battlefield cemeteries or individual graves and their remains were relocated to Knightsbridge while those who lie without graves are commemorated at the Alamein Memorial. There are also 18 non-Commonwealth burials at Knightsbridge including one Polish soldier and one non-combatant.[1]
Notable burials
edit- John Beeley, Victoria Cross recipient[3]
- Noel Agazarian, flying ace[4]
- George Goodman, flying ace[5]
- George Salvidge, footballer[6]
- George Gardiner
- Geoffrey Warren, cricketer
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Knightsbridge War Cemetery, Acroma". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ^ "Grave Locations – Libya". Australian War Graves Photographic Archive. Archived from the original on 17 October 2009.
- ^ "Casualty Details: Beeley, John". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- ^ "Casualty Details: Agazarian, Noel Le Chevalier". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ "Casualty Details: Goodman, George Ernest". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
- ^ "Casualty Details: George Brown Salvidge". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
