Czechoslovakian Military Cemetery by WyrdLight

Czechoslovak Cemetery
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

These are the graves of 48 Czechoslovaks who died whilst serving the war effort in the UK. 45 people are buried in this cemetery and 3 in the RAF plot nearby. North-east from this Memorial past the RAF shelter and closeby the boundary of the military cemeteries are the graves of post-war Czechoslovak service personnel.

Click here for the names & grave positions of all Czechoslovak WW2 servicemen at Brookwood

Jan Vella's grave marker is shown above. Read how his watch & replacement DFC were presented to his daughter in Prague in 2006

The Government of the UK undertake to erect a central memorial in the Czechoslovak section of the war cemetery at Brookwood. See UN Treaty 1104

In November 2007 Czech President Klaus began a 3 day visit to the UK by visiting the Memorial and laying a wreath in memory of Czech and Slovak war dead. Four hundred & eighty Czechoslovak airmen died while serving with the RAF. The lives of all these aircrew are commemorated at the cemetery on the Czech Day of National Independence. This is the Sunday closest to 28th October each year.

On 10th January 1945 an Airspeed Oxford Military Trainer Plane took off in Scotland heading towards London. The aircraft carried 5 airmen of 311 Czech Squadron including Jan Vella travelling to receive his Distinguished Flying Cross. The aircraft and crew were lost and its wreckage found in August 1945 by two hill walkers. All five bodies were interred at Brookwood on 3rd September 1945.

Gen Wladyslaw Sikorski set up the Polish Provisional Government in London. He, his daughter and staff were killed in a plane crash on 4th July 1943.
The only survivor was the pilot Flt Lt Edward Prchal of the Czechoslovakian Air Force. He died in California in 1984 and his ashes were interred in the post-war Czech cemetery here at Brookwood to fulfill his wish to rest with comrades.

A Czech grave seen in the RAF section~~Inscription on Reverse of Monument~~Czech Ex-Servicemens Cemetery