The British Cemetery is situated in the bastion of S. João da Corujeiro, high on the eastern wall of Fort Elvas and just below the castle, commanding a fine view over the plain to Badajoz in Spain.

It is named after the nearby chapel, founded by the Friars of St. John’s Hospitallers in 1228 to mark the spot at which they broke into the Moorish defences.

The second siege of Badajoz was interrupted by the advance at Albuera where the French Army was repulsed on 16 May 1811 in one of the bloodiest actions of the Peninsular War.

Regimental plaques were hung on the walls of the cemetery in May 2000 in the presence of the British Ambassador, Sir John Holmes and the Chief of the Portuguese Army Staff, General Martins Barento, in recognition of the British and Portuguese Regiments that fought in the Battle of Albuera and the Sieges of Badajoz.

In May 2004 General Fulgencio Coll Bucher, Commander of Mechanised Brigade XI - Extremadura and Military Governor of Badajoz, unveiled a plaque, in the presence of the British Ambassador to Portugal, to the Spanish Regiments that fought at Albuera.