Historical Information: |
Antwerp was the seat of the Belgian Government from the 17th August to the 7th October, 1914. It became, towards the end of August, one of the strong positions on the allied left flank, and by the middle of September a position of critical importance. The Royal Naval Air Service used its aerodrome. It was defended by fortress troops and the greater part of the Belgian Field Army. On the 27th September the Germans laid siege to it; during the first week of October the Naval Division entered the city, and they played a gallant part in its defence; on the 9th, before other British and French reinforcements could arrive the last forts became untenable and the last defenders retired; and from the 10th October, 1914, to the Armistice the city was in German hands. Schoonselhof Cemetery, was the park of a chateau, bought by the town in 1911, used by the Germans from 1914 onwards. There are now more than 100, 1914-18 and nearly 1,500 1939-45 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, a small number from the 1914-18 war are unidentified. 17 graves from the 1914-18 War, were brought in after the Armistice from Lierre German Cemetery, 1 from Bouchout-Les-Lierre Churchyard, 3 from the War Plot in Malines Communal Cemetery, and 1 from the Casino garden at Lierre. From the 1939-45 War more than 20 are unidentified. |