Lesjaskog Churchyard

• Country Norway
• Total identified casualties 2 Find these casualties
• Identified casualties from Second World War
• GPS Coordinates Latitude: 62.23273, Longitude: 8.34659

Location information

Lesjaskog is a village in the province of Oppland, situated on Route E136. On entering the village from the south the church is signed to the right. Follow this road for about 1 kilometre and the church is on the right. The Commonwealth war graves are in the front right hand corner of the churchyard.

History information

During the Second World War, Norway was of strategic importance to the Germans. Their invasion on 9 April 1940 was sudden and widespread and despite Allied intervention, the entire country was under German occupation by early June. Thereafter, Allied activity in Norway was confined to raids and special operations, with the Commonwealth air forces providing support to Norwegian resistance groups until the German capitulation in May 1945. There are no Commonwealth war cemeteries in Norway, those who died there being buried in civil cemeteries and churchyards. It was at Lesjaskog that Gladiators of 263 Squadron tried to use the frozen lake as a landing ground in 1940. Lesjaskog Churchyard contains the joint grave of two Commonwealth servicemen who were killed in the fighting in Gudbrandsdal in May 1940.