French military cemetery of Laclaireau in Ethe

Go to

Presentation

Ethe is a village among the most ravaged by the Battles of the 22nd of August 1914. This French military cemetery is close to the Laclaireau estate and chateau. We can today find here 325 graves of French soldiers from the 103rd and 104th infantry regiments as well as some hussars and artillerymen from the 26th colonial artillery regiment. After the war, in around 1920, the French government organised the repatriation of the bodies of soldiers killed in Belgium. Many of the soldiers killed in Ethe now lie in their native villages. Something certainly unique in our region: flowers are laid on all the graves on every anniversary of 22 August 1914. Every family in Ethe lays flowers on a grave. The entrance to the cemetery is majestic, with a rotunda where the officers are buried. There is a stone altar for a ceremony on the anniversaries.

Contacts