/ 25 January 2005

Tourists flock to Harry Potter’s grave

Fans of literary boy wizard Harry Potter have been beating a path to the tomb of a 19-year-old British soldier who is buried in a cemetery close to Tel Aviv, the Maariv daily reported.

Corporal Harry Potter, a member of the Royal Worcestershire regiment, was killed 66 years ago during fighting in the southern West Bank town of Hebron and was subsequently laid to rest in a cemetery in the town of Ramle.

“Every day, tourists and visitors come wanting to see Harry’s grave,” the cemetery’s custodian, Ibrahim Huri, told the paper.

“At first I didn’t know why they were interested in this grave, but then I was told there were books and movies about him.”

The local council has recently added the grave to the official tourist guide.

“There is great interest and curiosity over Harry’s grave,” Ramle deputy mayor said. “We want to make an historical investigation into the soldier killed in Hebron when he was only 19.” — AFP