German war memorial

‘Here lie German soldiers in a foreign land but not forgotten’ – so reads the German inscription on the only free-standing war memorial to German prisoners-of-war who were held in this country. It is to be found at Fordington cemetery. There was a PoW camp in Dorchester during World War 1, and some of its inmates inevitably succumbed: many to flu, two to appendicitis and two by possible suicide. One was shot while trying to escape.

Some 45 Germans were buried at Fordington. Many of the bodies were exhumed after the war and repatriated or reburied at Cannock war cemetery in Staffordshire, but in 1919, this memorial was erected. In 2009, the stonework was cleaned and the flanking black crosses re-made.

Nearest postcode: DT1 1LF
OS reference: SY700905
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