Lesotho Memorial

• Country Lesotho
• Total identified casualties 997 Find these casualties
• Identified casualties from First & Second World War
• GPS Coordinates Latitude: -29.31355, Longitude: 27.48318

Location information

Lesotho, formerly Basutoland, the southernmost of the three former High Commission Territories, forms an enclave situated within the Republic of South Africa. Maseru, the capital, is near the border of the Free State.

History information

The War Memorial, now commemorating servicemen from both World Wars, was erected in Makoayane Square in the centre of Maseru in 1963 by the Government of Lesotho. The Memorial takes the form of a curved screen wall, with Bronze panels on which are recorded the names of soldiers of Lesotho, surmounted by a cast bronze crocodile, the national emblem. An officer of the United Kingdom forces buried in Maseru Cemetery is also commemorated on this Memorial. The Memorial bears the inscription, in Lesotho:

1914-1918 1939-1945

THE SOLDIERS HONOURED HERE DIED WHILE SERVING WITH THE AFRICAN PIONEER CORPS AT HOME, AT SEA AND IN FOREIGN LANDS.

Almost 400 other Lesotho servicemen who died during the 1939-1945 war are named on this memorial. They are commemorated by the Commission on or near their graves or named on the appropriate Memorial to their theatre of war.

A further panel has been added to commemorate 40 Lesotho servicemen of the 1914-1918 war whose grave are unknown or unmaintainable.