St Sever Cemetery and Extension

Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, St Sever Cemetery and its extension are among the largest sites maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in France. Just over 11,700 members of the Commonwealth forces, most of whom fell in the First World War, are buried here.
During this conflict, the British Army set up camps and hospitals on the southern outskirts of Rouen, making the town one of the most important Commonwealth rear bases, benefiting from major port and rail facilities. Almost all of Rouen?s hospitals remained there for most of the war. A number of the dead from these hospitals were buried in other cemeteries, but the vast majority were taken to the Saint-Sever municipal cemetery. In September 1916, it became necessary to begin an extension, where the last burial took place in April 1920.
During the Second World War, Rouen once again became a hospital center, and the extension was once again used for the burial of Commonwealth servicemen, many of whom had died as prisoners of war during the German occupation.