Douai Communal Cemetery
- Country France
- Total identified casualties 367 Find these casualties
- Region Nord
- Identified casualties from First & Second World War
- GPS Coordinates Latitude: 50.36448, Longitude: 3.0945
Location information
Douai is a large town about 24 kilometres north-east of Arras and the communal cemetery is on the south-east of the town. From the town centre follow the signs for Denain and Auberchicourt. Traverse the bridge over the main railway line and the civil cemetery is located 45 metres further on to the left. The communal cemetery is located at the very rear of the civil cemetery when viewing from the entrance.
Visiting information
cemetery opening times :
- November, December and January : from 08.00 hrs to 17.30 hrs
- February, March and October : from 08.00 hrs to 18.00 hrs
- April, May and September : from 07.30 hrs to 19.00 hrs
- June, July and August : from 07.30 hrs to 19.30 hrs
Parking is only available in the cemetery on Thursdays and Fridays between 14:00 and 17:00. At any other times, parking in the vicinity of the cemetery may be difficult.
History information
Douai was occupied by French troops and the Royal Naval Air Service on the 22nd September, 1914, and captured by the Germans on the 1st October; it remained in enemy hands until the 17th October, 1918. The 42nd Casualty Clearing Station was posted in the town from the 28th October, 1918, to the 25th November, 1919.
Douai Communal Cemetery was used during the occupation years of 1914-18 by the German forces for the burial of their own soldiers as well as prisoners of war. It contained British, French, German, Italian, Russian and Romanian graves.
During the 1939-45 War Douai was in British hands until the German break through in May, 1940. The 1st Corps Headquarters were at Cuincy, on the western edge of the town, from October, 1939 onwards and Douai was one of the towns from which the Allied advance into Belgium was launched early in May, 1940, only to be followed by the collapse of the French and Belgian units and the consequent withdrawal of the British element towards Dunkirk.
There are now 222 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-1918 war commemorated in this site, 19 being unidentified. There are a further 46 Commonwealth burials of the 1939-1945 war here. There are also 247 French, 113 Russsian and 13 Romanian burials of the 1914-1918 war here.