1643 Portuguese lost their lives on the battlefields of Flanders during the first World War ..... and we were trying to find descendants !!!!! ...... but then I came across a number of soldiers buried in England ..... which then started another quest !! There were Portugese soldiers based in Hampshire, in the New Forest - the soldiers were based in the Forest and they were used in felling trees helping to produce timber for the war effort and in doing so allowed British war workers or perhaps pioneers to serve abroad. On the road between Emery Down and Bolderwood is the Portuguese Memorial. This old fireplace is what remains of an encampment built by soldiers of a Portuguese Army battalion in the Great War of 1914 - 1918 Then I found them in Sussex and Gloucestershire !! and it's been quite "a ride" !! I have photos of some gravestones and some CWGC information also ...... I'll have to get all my information set out properly and then I'll post it all ... but if anybody happens to have any knowledge of these soldiers ... I'd be thrilled to know !! Portugal's involvement in WW1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal_in_the_Great_War From a Portuguese perspective - http://www.worldwar1.com/france/portugal.htm Annie
This soldier was the very first we found ........ ! look at the date Manoel De Matos Soldier DE MATOS, MANOEL Regiment: Portuguese Army Date of Death: 1 September 1918 - 30 September 1918 Buried in: HORSHAM (HILLS) CEMETERY United Kingdom Plot E. Grave 62.
