Hautrage Military Cemetery

Hautrage Military Cemetery sits just outside the village of Hautrage, within the municipality of Saint-Ghislain, roughly 15 kilometres west of Mons in Belgium's Hainaut province. Unlike most Commonwealth war cemeteries, this one owes its existence to the very army the Commonwealth soldiers were fighting.

Who actually started this cemetery?

For nearly the whole of the First World War, Hautrage remained under German occupation. It was the German military administration that founded the cemetery here in August and September 1914, burying soldiers killed during the Battle of Mons — one of the opening and bloodiest clashes involving the British Expeditionary Force on the continent. Because the site was under German control, both German and British dead were interred there, making it an unusual case of a burial ground shaped entirely by the occupying force rather than by British or Commonwealth authorities.

Where did the buried soldiers come from?

In the summer of 1918, as the front continued to shift, German forces relocated a large number of British graves dating back to 1914 into Hautrage. Most belonged to men of the 2nd Cavalry Division and the 5th Infantry Division, units heavily involved in the retreat from Mons and the rearguard actions of the war's opening weeks. These graves were gathered from surrounding battlefields and from smaller local burial grounds, where soldiers had often been interred hastily, close to where they fell.

What happened after the war ended?

Following the Armistice in November 1918, the work of consolidating scattered burial sites continued for several more years. Additional graves were brought to Hautrage during this period, bringing together remains that had previously been dispersed across the surrounding countryside. This process gave the cemetery the form it retains today, now maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

How many soldiers are buried here?

Hautrage Military Cemetery now contains 235 Commonwealth burials and commemorations from the First World War. Of these, 60 belong to unidentified soldiers whose identities could not be established despite postwar exhumation and identification efforts. Special memorials mark the presumed resting places of five soldiers believed to be buried among these unnamed graves, acknowledging men whose exact location within the cemetery could not be pinpointed.

How do you get there?

The cemetery lies on the N547, a road connecting the N50 (Route de Wallonie), which runs between Mons and Tournai, to the village of Hautrage itself. It sits about 15 kilometres west of central Mons, in a quiet, rural stretch of Hainaut. The surroundings are typical of the region — small fields and modest village buildings — a striking contrast to the rows of white headstones commemorating events from more than a century ago.

Frequently asked questions

Was this cemetery built by the British? No — it was originally established by German occupying forces, who buried both German and Allied casualties there. Today it is maintained by the CWGC, and the vast majority of those commemorated are Commonwealth soldiers.

Why are so many burials unidentified? Many of the men died during the chaos of the retreat from Mons in the war's earliest weeks, when there was little opportunity to record graves accurately before the front moved on.

Can visitors access the site freely? Yes, like nearly all CWGC-maintained cemeteries, Hautrage Military Cemetery is open to the public at no charge, year-round.

Are there other war cemeteries nearby? Yes — the village of Hautrage also has a separate Hautrage Communal Cemetery, which visitors sometimes confuse with the military cemetery when planning a trip.