Coxyde Military Cemetery is the largest British military cemetery on the Flemish coast. Koksijde was located about ten kilometers behind the front during "the Great War".
In June 1917, the French troops started construction. According to the current register, 1,672 fallen soldiers are buried there, of which 1,517 from the First World War and 155 from the Second World War. There are 1,453 British (9 of whom are unidentified), 18 Australians, 15 Canadians, 19 New Zealanders, 2 South Africans and 10 Germans (6 of whom are unidentified).
The 1,517 deaths of the First World War occurred during the defense of the Nieuwpoort sector.
Two groups can be distinguished among the 155 deaths of the Second World War. There is a significant group of soldiers who died in May-June 1940, while defending the perimeter around the port of Dunkirk. What is striking in Koksijde is the large number of pilots and flying personnel: at least 4 of the 155 deaths were part of the air force. During the course of the war, especially in 1944, they were shot down by German fighter planes or by anti-aircraft guns while on their way. to bomb German targets.