Death Cells in Poperinge, Belgium.
At the rear of the Town Hall, on the main square, there are two small cells where those servicemen convicted of murder or desertion were held until they were executed by firing squad.
The executions took place in a courtyard just outside the cells and the final timber post to which they were tied is still there.
There are 18 deserters buried in Poperinge New Military Cemetery a short distance from the cells but their headstones bear no indication that they were other than victims of the Great War. On occasion there have been individuals who deface the headstones.
The Australian Government refused to allow any executions of their men in the AIF. All were volunteers.
Poperinge Town Square . You can see the Town Hall on the right