Sherpur Cantonment
Sherpur Cantonment, also known as the British Cemetery or locally as Kabre Gora ("foreigners' graveyard"), is a historic site and cemetery in Kabul, Afghanistan.[1] Originally planned by Afghan Emir Sher Ali Khan to serve as a winter headquarters, the fortifications were established in the 1870s prior to the Second Anglo-Afghan War.[3] The site is located approximately one mile north of Kabul.[3] It served as the base for British forces during the 1879 siege and now contains graves from the First and Second Anglo-Afghan Wars as well as later burials.[1]
Origins and Construction
The encampment was initially planned by Emir Sher Ali Khan to serve as a winter headquarters.[3] During the First Anglo-Afghan War, the British and Indian army constructed the fortifications within a five-mile outer perimeter, creating a large rectangular layout.[4] By the time of the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the 1.5-mile-long south wall was complete, and the west wall was near completion.[4] Major-General Sir Frederick Roberts based his Kabul Field Force here after entering Kabul in October 1879.[2]
Military Significance
The cantonment became the strategic hub for the British response to the massacre of Sir Pierre Cavagnari and his escort on 3 September 1879.[2] Following victories at Chariasar, Roberts marched into Kabul on 13 October and established his headquarters at Sherpur.[2] A military commission was convened at the cantonment to try those responsible for Cavagnari's death; the subsequent public executions helped galvanize Afghan opposition against the British presence.[2] During the winter of 1879–1880, the Kabul Field Force was besieged at Sherpur by vastly superior numbers of Afghan tribesmen.[5] Relief efforts eventually involved columns such as that led by Brigadier-General Charles Gough.[5]
The 1879 Siege
The siege lasted from 15 to 23 December 1879, pitting approximately 7,000 Anglo-Indian troops under Frederick Roberts against a force of 50,000 tribal warriors commanded by Mir Bacha Khan and Muhammad Jan Khan.[2] Tensions escalated after Muhammad Jan Khan Wardak denounced Amir Muhammad Yaqub Khan as a puppet and declared Musa Jan the new amir.[2] On 11 December, a detachment of roughly 170 men from the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 14th Bengal Lancers encountered an advancing Afghan army of over 10,000 men.[2] The outnumbered Lancers charged the enemy, suffering heavy casualties in an attempt to delay the assault.[2] During the siege, Anglican chaplain James Adams was awarded the Victoria Cross for rescuing wounded soldiers.[2] The British held their ground with 33 dead and wounded, inflicting approximately 3,000 killed on the Afghan forces.[2]
Conversion to Cemetery
The cemetery was constructed in 1879 to bury British soldiers who died during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, replacing an earlier graveyard used for the First Anglo-Afghan War.[1] Some graves date back to the 1842 defeat, with approximately 160 soldiers from that period thought to be interred at the site.[1] Over time, the grounds also came to contain the remains of civilians of various nationalities who died in Kabul between the 19th and 21st centuries and required Christian burial.[1] Notable burials include Major John Cook VC of the 5th Gurkha Rifles, British-Hungarian archaeologist Aurel Stein, Danish explorer Henning Haslund-Christensen, and British aid worker Gayle Williams.[1] A grave in Russian script marks a Russian Cossack who fled to Kabul following the 1917 Bolshevik revolution.[1]
Current Location and Memorials
The site is now officially called the Christian Cemetery and is laid out as a garden with rose bushes and trees, enclosed by a tall wall that provides a peaceful atmosphere.[1] It is one of the few foreign historical and Christian landmarks to have survived the first period of Taliban rule that ended in 2001.[1] The cemetery is maintained by the caretaker family; Rahimullah, an Afghan shepherd who tended the grounds from the 1980s until his death in 2010, is credited with preserving the site, and his son Abdul Sami continues the work.[1] In the 2000s, ten marble plaques were placed on the southern wall listing the names of British service personnel who died in Afghanistan after 2001.[1] The cemetery is not formally recognized by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and remains owned by the city of Kabul, though fundraising efforts have been coordinated by British officials such as Colonel Simon Diggins in 2009.[1]