Deir El Belah War Cemetery, Israel

Cemetery Details

Location
Co‑ordinates N31.42497, E34.37361
Description

 

 

Deir al-Balah was captured by the British Army following the surrender of Khan Yunis
on 28 February 1917.
By April an aerodrome and an army camp were established there and Deir el-Balah
became a launching point for British forces against Ottoman-held Gaza and Beersheba (en.wikipedia.org) to
the north and northeast, respectively. 

Of the 25 British war cemeteries dating from WW I, one of the six largest was built in
Deir al-Balah in March 1917.
It continued to be used until March 1919 and contains a total of 724 graves.

It became a part of the British Mandate of Palestine starting in 1922. A municipal council
to administer the town was established by the British authorities in 1946, but it had limited
jurisdiction over civil affairs and provided a few basic services.

 

28 February 1917, the cavalry of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force entered Khan Yunus,
midway between the Egyptian border and Deir el Belah causing the Turks to withdraw to
Gaza and Beersheba.

The railway was pushed forward to Deir el Belah, which became the railhead in April 1917,
and an aerodrome and camps were established there.

The cemetery was begun towards the end of March and remained in use until March 1919.

Most of the burials were made either from field ambulances from March to June 1917,
or from the 53rd, 54th, 66th and 74th Casualty Clearing Stations,
and the 69th General Hospital, from April 1917 until the Armistice with Turkey.

A number of graves, the majority of which were originally at Khan Yunus, were brought into
the cemetery after the Armistice.

The cemetery contains 724 Commonwealth burials of the First World War.

 

Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan.  16/11/2014.  Lest we forget.

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Names

Showing 8 people of interest from cemetery

ZOUCH, Essington Lowther

Service number 189
Lieutenant
7th Light Horse Regiment
AIF WW1
Born 6 May 1890

BARRY, James William

Service number 2248
Trooper
3rd Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron
AIF WW1
Born 10 Sep 1889

MCKENZIE, Bernard Scrymgour

Service number 1305
Trooper
11th Light Horse Regiment
AIF WW1
Born 26 Jul 1881

MCCARTHY, Rupert Clyde

Service number 875
Sergeant
6th Light Horse Regiment
AIF WW1
Born Sep 1891

HARVEY, Frederick

Service number 55
Lieutenant
Australian Flying Corps (AFC)
AIF WW1

ROACH, Kelvin

Service number 181
Trooper
9th Light Horse Regiment
AIF WW1
Born 17 Aug 1892

CAREY, Leslie Harry

Service number 1098
Trooper
9th Light Horse Regiment
AIF WW1
Born 30 Jun 1895

WHEATON, Roy Albert

Service number 648
Corporal
9th Light Horse Regiment
AIF WW1
Born 14 Apr 1891

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