CWGC, Flanders and Leopoldsburg join forces for cemetery restoration

Important restoration work is currently taking place at CWGC Leopoldsburg War Cemetery, Limburg, Belgium, originally designed by architect Philip Hepworth and laid out in 1948.

Due to natural aging, the entrance pavilion, shelter buildings and several graves need to be repaired and the retaining walls at the front of the cemetery are also being replaced. A disused service building will be removed with as much original material as possible reused in keeping with the CWGC's conservation policy, some additional replanting will also be taking place.

The work is scheduled for completion by the end of March 2023 and is being carried out in conjunction with contractor PIT Antwerp, architect Erfgoed en Visie and safety coordinator XenAdvies.

Financial support for the restoration is being provided by the Flemish Government and the Municipality of Leopoldsburg will be opening a new museum ‘Liberation Garden’ near the cemetery telling the history and stories associated with the cemetery and the fallen.

Leopoldsburg War Cemetery has 767 World War Two graves of soldiers who died during local fighting in and around Leopoldsburg in May 1940 or died in a military hospital that existed there in the final months of 1944. Many graves were transferred there from the wider area after the war.

Among the fallen is Major William John Robert Cavendish of the 5th Bn Coldstream Guards, the brother-in-law of President John F. Kennedy. There are sixteen soldiers who could never be identified by name and rest in a grave inscribed "Known Unto God. The graves of Polish and Dutch soldiers can also be found in the cemetery.

Overlooking the Belgian and Commonwealth cemetery, the new museum, Liberation Garden, will open in the spring of 2023. Only a few kilometers away are also a Polish World War Two cemetery and the largest German war cemetery in Western Europe with some 40,000 graves. The new museum is an extension, where visitors can discover the historical sites and personal stories of those who fell here, keeping these stories alive for current and future generations of the effects of war.

Geert Bekaert, director of the CWGC in Central and Southern Europe says, "The CWGC's mission is to preserve its 23,000 cemeteries and monuments worldwide until eternity. This means considering the most sustainable choice of material or technique with every restoration. This requires a great deal of expertise, which we have accumulated since the CWGC was founded in 1917. Each cemetery has a specific uniqueness that requires a unique approach. At first glance, each of our cemeteries looks the same, but it is not."

Minister Diependaele, Flemish Minister of Finance and Budget, Housing and Immovable Heritage said, "Flanders is rich in funerary heritage and military cemeteries are a special category; they are tangible relics that keep the memory of soldiers and their fight for our freedom alive. A place of reflection, encounter and education. Of course, such a place exposed to nature winter and summer needs regular maintenance. We are grateful that the employees of the CWGC take such good care of it. As Flemish minister of immovable heritage, I am happy to support these much-needed works financially. When the adjacent new Liberation Garden museum opens later this year, this historic site will be on track to become a thriving destination for residents, visitors and business owners."