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Yorkshire
Regiment War Graves, - Colombo (Kanatte) General Cemetery, - Sri Lanka |
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The cemetery, at Borella, belongs to the Municipality of Colombo. It contains War Graves (including those of a German soldier, a German merchant seaman, a German interned civilian and an Austrian nursing sister); and a War Cross is erected.
The Military Hospital at Colombo received cases of sickness from the troops
on the land, or from passing transports.
The island, though visited for a short time by the 1st/4th King's Shropshire
Light Inf., was garrisoned by the local defence units.
There are now over 60, 1914-1918 and nearly 300, 1939-1945 Commonwealth war
casualties commemorated in this site.
1 casualty of the 1914-1918, and 3 casualties of the 1939-1945 war are unidentified.
Amongst the graves is that of a soldier of the Yorkshire Regiment.
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Lance Serjeant William Slater. 22158.
1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. Died 7 October 1918. Born Leeds, Enlisted Leeds. We are very grateful to Chris Morris (<mozzertad69@yahoo.co.uk>) for providing the photo of William Slater's headstone. From data in the Medal Rolls Index card for William Slater;- He was originally in the West Yorkshire Regiment (Cpl W Slater, 8498) and first entered active service on 5 November 1914. He was subsequently transferred to the South Staffordshire Regiment, before joining the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment in India. The ist Battalion served in India at Cherat in 1918, and it is almost certain that William Slater died from influenza while on a transport home and was thus buried in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). |
Colombo (Kanatte) General Cemetery
Photo
from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
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