Lestrem

French commune
name= Lestrem
region=
departement=
arrondissement=Béthune
canton= Laventie
insee=62502
cp=62136
maire=Marc Delannoy
mandat=2008-2014
intercomm=Communauté de communes Flandre Lys
longitude=2.68583333333
latitude=50.6230555556
alt moy=18 m
alt mini=13 m
alt maxi=20 m
hectares=2115
km²=21,15
sans=3789
date-sans=1999
dens=179|

Lestrem is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais "département" in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

A small farming and light industrial town, situated some convert|8|mi|km|1 north of Béthune and convert|19|mi|km|1 west of Lille, on the D122, D178 and D975 roads, by the banks of the Lawe River.

History

The town was all but destroyed during the First World War.
In 1940, the small hamlet of Le Paradis, on the south side of the commune, was the scene of a massacre of British troops of the BEF, during the Battle of France.

Population

Places of interest

* The church of St. Amé, dating from the 16th century.
* Two other churches at the hamlets of La Fosse and Le Paradis.
* The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery.

See also

*Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

External links

* [http://www.ville-lestrem.fr Official website of the commune] fr
* [http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=2027400&mode=1 The CWGC cemetery at Le Paradis]
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=26991&req=Lestrem Lestrem on the Quid website] fr

Notes

*"This article is based on the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia, consulted on July 24th 2008."