St Symphorien Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery

The St Symphorien military cemetery is a First World War burial ground 2 km east of Mons in the Belgian province of Hainaut. It was created and maintained by the German army from August 1914 until November 1918, when it passed into Allied hands, and it contains the graves of 229 Commonwealth servicemen and 284 German soldiers. The cemetery is overlooked by a "granite obelisk some seven metres high", commemorating the dead from both sides in the Battle of Mons (August 1914) as well as a Commonwealth Cross of Sacrifice. There is an additional German monument to the dead of the 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment from the same battle. John Parr and George Lawrence Price are buried here, traditionally believed to be the first and last Commonwealth soldiers killed in action during the First World War. St Symphorien also contains the grave of the first Iron Cross recipient of World War I.

Notes and sources

 * Commonwealth War Graves Commission St Symphorien Retrieved: 29 October 2008.
 * The Maple Leaf "Treasure trove for military history buffs in Belgium" Vol. 10, 19 September 2007. Retrieved: 26 February 2010.