Adegem Canadian War Cemetery

• Country Belgium
• Total identified casualties 1109 Find these casualties
• Region Oost-Vlaanderen
• Identified casualties from First & Second World War
• GPS Coordinates Latitude: 51.20272, Longitude: 3.50546

Location information

Adegem Canadian War Cemetery is located midway between Brugge (17 km) and Gent (26 km) on the N9 which connects the two towns. From Brugge, Adegem is approached via Sijsele and Maldegem. On reaching Adegem the cemetery is located on the Prins Boudewijnlaan, on the right hand side of the N9.

Visiting information

Adegem Canadian War Cemetery is halfway between Brugge and Gent, in the West Vlaanderen region of Belgium.

ARRIVAL

Routes to the cemetery are signposted.

PARKING

There is a lay-by parking area at the side of the main road, close to the main entrance to the cemetery.

There are spaces for up to 10 vehicles to park.

The car park surface is cobbled, the ground is level. There is a drainage channel between the lay-by and the road / cycle lane.

The distance from the car park to the main entrance is approximately 10 metres. There is brick herringbone paving leading from the cobbled paving in front of the entrance, with a stone step up to the grassed area leading to the entrance gates.

ACCESS, LAYOUT AN MAIN ENTRANCE

The cemetery is rectangular shaped.

The main entrance is approximately 4 metres wide with three sets of double, waist height, metal gates. Each latched double gate is 1.5 metres wide and opens inwards into the cemetery. There is a small lip between the grass and the paved entrance areas on either side of the entrance, which is comprised of flat stone along the edges with herringbone paving in between.

All the internal paths are grass, and the ground is flat.

The Cross of Sacrifice is in the centre of the cemetery.

There is a large Shelter Building at the furthest point of the cemetery from the main entrance, behind the Cross of Sacrifice. Stone paving combined with brick herringbone paving is in front of the Shelter, and two steps lead up and inside.

The Register Box is located inside the Shelter Building, along with timber benches on either side of the Register Box.

Seating areas with timber benches are situated opposite each other near the front of the cemetery under trees.

There are metal engraved information panels in the cemetery.

ALTERNATIVE ACCESS

There is no alternative entrance or access into the cemetery.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The cemetery is permanently open.

History information

In the last week of September 1944, the Allies held the city of Antwerp, but the Germans held both shores of the Scheldt estuary, so that the port of Antwerp could not be used. The task of clearing the southern shore of the estuary was allotted to the 3rd Canadian Division, aided by the 4th Canadian Armoured Division and the 52nd Division. Their operations lasted from October until the beginning of November 1944; by 3 November the Germans had been cleared from the north-west corner of Belgium and the south shore of the Scheldt was free. There had been fierce fighting for two weeks for the crossing of the Leopold Canal.

The majority of the men buried at Adegem died during the operations for the clearance of the south bank of the Scheldt, but many Canadians who lost their lives elsewhere in Belgium were also brought here for burial. A number of isolated graves from various communal cemeteries and churchyards in Belgium have also been brought into this cemetery since the end of the war.

The cemetery now contains 1,119 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War and one unidentified burial of the First World War. There are also 33 Polish and two French burials.