BEAUREPAIRE FRENCH NATIONAL CEMETERY
The cemetery is now called La Nécropole Nationale de Pontavert
(Pontavert French National Cemetery)
Pontavert
Aisne
France
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 49.40498, Longitude: 3.80948
Location Information
Pontavert is a commune 27 kilometres south-east of Laon.
The Cemetery (now called officially the "Cimetiere National Mixte de Pontavert") is beyond the Chateau on the south-east side of the Soissons road. The Commonwealth War Graves Plot is near the east corner of the Cemetery.
Historical Information
The cemetery was begun in 1915, and enlarged after the Armistice. It contains over 7,000 French soldiers. The British plot, near the East corner, was made after the Armistice, and the dates of death are October, 1914 and May-August, 1918.
There are now 67, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, 35 are unidentified and special memorials are erected to two soldiers buried in Guyencourt French Military Cemetery (Aisne), whose graves were not found.
The British dead were brought from (among other places) the FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERIES of MEURIVAL, GERNICOURT, GUYENCOURT (Aisne), MONACO (PONTAVERT) and BEAURIEUX.
Total Burials: 6,936
World War One Commonewealth Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 32.
World War One Commonwealth Unidentified Casualties: United Kingdom: 35.
Other Nationalities: France 6,815 (1,364 in Ossuary), Russia 54. Total 6,869
A reconstructed bridge over the Aisne canal at Pontavert. © IWM (Q 55363)
