SAINT-SYMPHORIEN CEMETERY

Located five kilometres from Mons, the village of Saint-Symphorien is bordered by the Bois d'Havré. This cemetery was created by the Germans in 1916 on land belonging to Jean Houzeau de Lehaie, an eminent Belgian naturalist: in order to avoid requisitioning his land, he proposed to grant the use of his plot as a military cemetery to the communes where the soldiers' graves were located. In its imposing military cemetery lie soldiers J. Parr, killed on August 21, 1914, and G.E. Ellison, killed on November 11, 1918, the first and last British soldiers "killed" in the First World War. This bi-national cemetery blends the architectural and design features of the cemeteries of both countries. To see: the English Cross of Sacrifice and a 23-metre high German obelisk with the inscription "In memory of the German and English soldiers who fell in the action near Mons on the 23rd and 24th August 1914". German and English graves are intertwined: enemies in battle, but united in death and in collective memory... The place is recognized as one of the most beautiful memorial tourism sites in the country. In a beautifully wooded natural setting of various species, it attracts many international visitors.