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Sunday, January 22, 2017

France: Military Cemetery of Étaples-sur-Mer

On Monday I got three postcards: one from France, one from Japan and one from Finland.

The card from France shows the Military Cemetery in Étaples-sur-Mer. Étaples-sur-Mer is a commune in northern France. Due to its railway connections it was of strategic importance during World War I. It became the principal transit camp for the British Expeditionary Force in France and also housed sixteen hospitals. In 1917 it was the site of various mutinies by British Empire soldiers and in May 1918 it was bombed from the air. For the difficulties of the war it was awarded the Croix de guerre in 1920.

The Étaples Military Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in France and was inaugurated in 1922 by King George V. It is the last resting place of nearly 11000 casualties of World War I. 

Update: As one of the Funerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front) in Belgium and France this site is since 2023 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.


Stamp:
Marianne 0,10€
Office National des Anciens Combattants et Victimes de Guerre (issued 10-11-2016)


Thank You very much William!

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