The British Cemetery in Elvas, Portugal, is one of the oldest British Military Cemeteries in existence. It holds just five known graves, but two of these are the only marked graves of thousands of British soldiers who fell at the Battle of Albuera and another is a memorial to one of the thousands who fell during the three sieges of Badajoz.
As part of our project to install memorials to all the regiments that fought in the battle of Albuera and the sieges of Badajoz, in 2000 the Portuguese Army funded a major restoration of the Cemetery, which is now an attractive and peaceful place.
This splendidly produced book of over 100 pages in both English and Portuguese contains not only historical details of those buried in the British Cemetery in Elvas, but also details of the Chapel and its connection with the Order of Malta.
As Patron of the Friends of the British Cemetery, I welcome this rejuvenated website. It will help keep alive the memories of the most successful campaign ever waged by the British Army under the command of my ancestor, the First Duke of Wellington.
