'British War Graves Cemetery. Heliopolis', Egypt, 1942 (c)

Photograph compiled by Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), World War Two, North Africa, 1942 (c).

The upmarket suburb of Heliopolis was established on the site of the ancient city of Heliopolis in 1906 by the Heliopolis Oasis Company, a Belgian property and business development consortium. The affluent conurbation became a district of Cairo as the city expanded.

The British War Cemetery at Heliopolis was opened in 1941 to accommodate the graves of servicemen who died from wounds, sickness and disease in Cairo during the North African campaign. There are over 1,740 Commonwealth war graves situated at the cemetery. The cemetery also contains two World War One memorials which were destroyed at their previous locations at Port Tewfik (Suez Port) and in Aden. The former commemorates over 4,000 members of the Indian Army and the latter over 600 Commonwealth service personnel who have no known grave.

The Sharpshooters arrived in Egypt in late 1941 and took part in the successful campaign to oust German and Italian forces from North Africa. The unit moved on to Sicily and mainland Italy, returning to the United Kingdom in time to participate in the Normandy Landings in June 1944.

From an album containing 182 photographs compiled by Major W H J Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters).