Author:
Andrew Shepherd
Report:
Newsletter 26
Year:
2025
Subject Matter:
British in Portugal
Excerpt:
In late 1943, the Royal Air Force, with the reluctant approval of the Portuguese government, took over Lajes Field on Terceira Island in the Azores. The main purpose for this was to facilitate the search for the German U-boats that had been inflicting serious damage on the British merchant fleet. Subsequently, an agreement was reached for the base to also be used by American planes, significantly reducing the flying time between the US and Europe, with Lajes becoming known as the “crossroads of the Atlantic”. After the first death, of a British engineer, on 3 November 1943, the British authorities requested permission to bury their dead in the Angra do Heroísmo municipal cemetery and this was agreed. Subsequently, however, the municipality decided to allocate a plot of land close to Lajes to serve as a war cemetery in perpetuity. Lajes War Cemetery is now maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). It is locally known as the Cemitério dos Ingleses or the British Cemetery.
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