Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery
- Country Egypt
- Total identified casualties 1812 Find these casualties
- Identified casualties from Second World War
- GPS Coordinates Latitude: 31.54956, Longitude: 25.16047
Location information
Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery is on the main coast road from Mersa Matruh through to Libya, and is on the east side of Halfaya Sollum, approximately 12 kilometres from the Egypt/Libya border.
Visiting information
Oprning times:
Saturday to Thursday: 7.00am to 2.30pm.
Friday: Closed
Although the cemetery is situated in a sensitive area, visitors should not experience any problems in gaining access. However, it will be necessary to pass through a checkpoint at Sollum. This is because people crossing the border to Libya will use this route. Visitors should therefore explain to the checkpoint guards that they are visiting the cemetery and not crossing the border.
For further information and enquiries please contact enquiries@cwgc.org
History information
The campaign in the Western Desert was fought between the Commonwealth forces (with, later, the addition of two brigades of Free French and one each of Polish and Greek troops) all based in Egypt, and the Axis forces (German and Italian) based in Libya. The battlefield, across which the fighting surged back and forth between 1940 and 1942, was the 1,000 kilometres of desert between Alexandria in Egypt and Benghazi in Libya. It was a campaign of manoeuvre and movement, the objectives being the control of Mediterranean, the link with the east through the Suez Canal, the Middle East oil supplies and the supply route to Russia through Persia. Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery, approximately 12 kilometres from the Libyan border, is adjacent to Halfaya Pass, the scene of heavy fighting in 1941 and 1942. All of the graves in the cemetery were brought in from the surrounding area, including military cemeteries at Sidi-Barrani, Buq Buq, Fort Capuzzo, Bardia, Minquar el Zannan, and Camerons Burial Ground at Nibeiwa. The cemetery now contains 2,046 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, of which 238 are unidentified.