In the first world war, from June to November 1917 the Commonwealth XV Corps held the front from the Belgian coast to St. Georges. The 24th and 39th Casualty Clearing Stations were posted at Oosthoek (between Adinkerke and Veurne) from July to November, and the 1st Canadian Casualty Clearing Station was at Adinkerke for a short time in June.
During the Second World War, the British Expeditionary Force was involved in the later stages of the defence of Belgium following the German invasion in May 1940, and suffered many casualties in covering the withdrawal to Dunkirk. Commonwealth forces did not return until September 1944, but in the intervening years, many airmen were shot down or crashed in raids on strategic objectives in Belgium, or while returning from missions over Germany.
Adinkerke Military Cemetery contains 168 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, and 55 from the Second World War. There are also 142 Czech and German war graves
