Cemeteries
Cemetery Information
Table of Cemeteries
Cemetery: ARRAS MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France
Location:
The Arras Memorial is in the
Faubourg-d'Amiens Cemetery, which is in the Boulevard du General de Gaulle in
the western part of the town of Arras. The cemetery is near the Citadel,
approximately 2 kilometres due west of the railway station.
Historical Information:
The French handed over Arras to Commonwealth
forces in the spring of 1916 and the system of tunnels upon which the town is
built were used and developed in preparation for the major offensive planned
for April 1917. The Commonwealth section of the FAUBOURG D'AMIENS CEMETERY was
begun in March 1916, behind the French military cemetery established earlier. It
continued to be used by field ambulances and fighting units until November
1918. The cemetery was enlarged after the Armistice when graves were brought in
from the battlefields and from two smaller cemeteries in the vicinity. The
cemetery contains 2,651 Commonwealth burials of the First World War. In
addition, there are 30 war graves of other nationalities, most of them German.
The graves in the French military cemetery were removed after the war to other
burial grounds and the land they had occupied was used for the construction of
the Arras Memorial and Arras Flying Services Memorial. The ARRAS MEMORIAL
commemorates almost 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom, South Africa and
New Zealand who died in the Arras sector between the spring of 1916 and 7 August
1918, the eve of the Advance to Victory, and have no known grave. The most
conspicuous events of this period were the Arras offensive of April-May 1917,
and the German attack in the spring of 1918. Canadian and Australian servicemen
killed in these operations are commemorated by memorials at Vimy and
Villers-Bertonneux. A separate memorial remembers those killed in the Battle of
Cambrai in 1917. The ARRAS FLYING SERVICES MEMORIAL commemorates more than
1,000 airmen of the Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps, and the
Royal Air Force, either by attachment from other arms of the forces of the
Commonwealth or by original enlistment, who were killed on the whole Western
Front and who have no known grave. During the Second World War, Arras was occupied
by United Kingdom forces headquarters until the town was evacuated on 23 May
1940. Arras then remained in German hands until retaken by Commonwealth and
Free French forces on 1 September 1944. The cemetery contains seven
Commonwealth burials of the Second World War. Both cemetery and memorial were
designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, with sculpture by Sir William Reid Dick.
Cemetery: WIMEREUX COMMUNAL CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France
Location:
Wimereux is a small town situated about 5
kilometres north of Boulogne. From Boulogne take the A16 to Calais and come off
at Junction 4. Take the road to Wimereux north, D242, for approximately 2
kilometres, following the road through the roundabout. Take the first turn on
the left immediately after the roundabout and the Cemetery lies approximately
200 metres down this road on the left hand side. The Commonwealth War Graves
are situated to the rear of the Communal Cemetery.
Historical Information:
Wimereux was the headquarters of the Queen
Mary's Army Auxilliary Corps during the First World War and in 1919 it became
the General Headquarters of the British Army. From October 1914 onwards,
Boulogne and Wimereux formed an important hospital centre and until June 1918,
the medical units at Wimereux used the communal cemetery for burials, the
south-eastern half having been set aside for Commonwealth graves, although a
few burial were also made among the civilian graves. By June 1918, this half of
the cemetery was filled, and subsequent burials from the hospitals at Wimereux
were made in the new military cemetery at Terlincthun. During the Second World
War, British Rear Headquarters moved from Boulogne to Wimereux for a few days
in May 1940, prior to the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from
Dunkirk. Thereafter, Wimereux was in German hands and the German Naval
Headquarters were situated on the northern side of the town. After D-Day, as
Allied forces moved northwards, the town was shelled from Cap Griz-Nez, and was
re-taken by the Canadian 1st Army on 22 September 1944. Wimereux Communal
Cemetery contains 2,845 Commonwealth burials of the First World War. Buried
among them is Lt.-Col. John McCrae, author of the poem "In Flanders
Fields." There are also five French and a plot of 170 German war graves.
The cemetery also contains 14 Second World War burials, six of them
unidentified. The Commonwealth section was designed by Charles Holden. Because
of the sandy nature of the soil, the headstones lie flat upon the graves.
3:
Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery
Cemetery: LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY, Poperinge,
West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Location:
Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is located 12
kilometres west of Ieper town centre, on the Boescheepseweg, a road leading
from the N308 connecting Ieper to Poperinge. From Ieper town centre the
Poperingseweg (N308) is reached via Elverdingsestraat, then over two small roundabouts
in the J. Capronstraat. The Poperingseweg is a continuation of the J.
Capronstraat and begins after a prominent railway level crossing. On reaching
Poperinge, the N308 joins the left hand turning onto the R33, Poperinge ring
road. The R33 ring continues to the left hand junction with the N38 Frans-
Vlaanderenweg. 800 metres along the N38 lies the left hand turning onto
Lenestraat. The next immediate right hand turning leads onto Boescheepseweg.
The cemetery itself is located 2 kilometres along Boescheepseweg on the right
hand side of the road.
Historical Information:
During the First World War, the village of
Lijssenthoek was situated on the main communication line between the Allied
military bases in the rear and the Ypres battlefields. Close to the Front, but
out of the extreme range of most German field artillery, it became a natural
place to establish casualty clearing stations. The cemetery was first used by
the French 15th Hopital D'Evacuation and in June 1915, it began to be used by
casualty clearing stations of the Commonwealth forces. From April to August
1918, the casualty clearing stations fell back before the German advance and
field ambulances (including a French ambulance) took their places. The cemetery
contains 9,901 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, a few of which were
brought in from the battlefields after the Armistice, and 883 war graves of
other nationalities, mostly French and German. It is the second largest
Commonwealth cemetery in Belgium. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald
Blomfield.
Cemetery: TYNE COT MEMORIAL, Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen,
Belgium
Location:
The Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing forms
the north-eastern boundary of Tyne Cot Cemetery, which is located 9 kilometres
north east of Ieper town centre, on the Tynecotstraat, a road leading from the
Zonnebeekseweg (N332). The names of those from United Kingdom units are inscribed
on Panels arranged by Regiment under their respective Ranks. The names of those
from New Zealand units are inscribed on panels within the New Zealand Memorial
Apse located at the center of the Memorial.
Historical Information:
The Tyne Cot Memorial is one of four
memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the
Ypres Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient stretched from Langemarck in the
north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south, but it varied in
area and shape throughout the war. The Salient was formed during the First
Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when a small British
Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the onset of winter,
pushing the German forces back to the Passchendaele Ridge. The Second Battle of
Ypres began in April 1915 when the Germans released poison gas into the Allied
lines north of Ypres. This was the first time gas had been used by either side
and the violence of the attack forced an Allied withdrawal and a shortening of
the line of defence. There was little more significant activity on this front
until 1917, when in the Third Battle of Ypres an offensive was mounted by
Commonwealth forces to divert German attention from a weakened French front
further south. The initial attempt in June to dislodge the Germans from the
Messines Ridge was a complete success, but the main assault north-eastward,
which began at the end of July, quickly became a dogged struggle against
determined opposition and the rapidly deteriorating weather. The campaign
finally came to a close in November with the capture of Passchendaele. The
German offensive of March 1918 met with some initial success, but was
eventually checked and repulsed in a combined effort by the Allies in
September. The battles of the Ypres Salient claimed many lives on both sides
and it quickly became clear that the commemoration of members of the
Commonwealth forces with no known grave would have to be divided between
several different sites. The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the
hundreds of thousands of men who passed through it on their way to the
battlefields. It commemorates those of all Commonwealth nations except New
Zealand who died in the Salient before 16 August 1917. Those United Kingdom and
New Zealand servicemen who died after that date are named on the memorial at
Tyne Cot, a site which marks the furthest point reached by Commonwealth forces
in Belgium until nearly the end of the war. Other New Zealand casualties are
commemorated on memorials at Buttes New British Cemetery and Messines Ridge
British Cemetery. The TYNE COT MEMORIAL now bears the names of almost 35,000
officers and men whose graves are not known. The memorial, designed by Sir
Herbert Baker with sculpture by Joseph Armitage and F V Blundstone, was
unveiled by Sir Gilbert Dyett in July 1927. The memorial forms the
north-eastern boundary of TYNE COT CEMETERY, which was established around a
captured German blockhouse or pill-box used as an advanced dressing station.
The original battlefield cemetery of 343 graves was greatly enlarged after the
Armistice when remains were brought in from the battlefields of Passchendaele
and Langemarck, and from a few small burial grounds. It is now the largest
Commonwealth war cemetery in the world in terms of burials. At the suggestion
of King George V, who visited the cemetery in 1922, the Cross of Sacrifice was
placed on the original large pill-box. There are three other pill-boxes in the
cemetery. There are now 11,952 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War
buried or commemorated in Tyne Cot Cemetery. 8,365 of the burials are
unidentified but there are special memorials to more than 80 casualties known
or believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials commemorate 20
casualties whose graves were destroyed by shell fire. The cemetery was designed
by Sir Herbert Baker.
5: Zuydcoote Military Cemetery
Cemetery: ZUYDCOOTE MILITARY CEMETERY, Nord, France
Location:
Zuydcoote is a village in the Department of
the Nord about 10 kilometres north-east of Dunkirk. The Military Cemetery is
west of the village and about 550 metres east of Zuydcoote Halte.
Historical Information:
In the autumn of 1917, while the XV Corps
was holding the Nieuport section, the 34th and 36th Casualty Clearing Stations
were posted at Zuydcoote; and the Military Cemetery contains; for the most
part, the graves of officers and men who died in these hospitals. There are now
over 300, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. The cemetery covers
an area of 1,042 square metres and is enclosed by a wall. On the West side of
it is ZUYDCOOTE FRENCH NATIONAL CEMETERY, made after the Armistice, and
containing over 1,000 French and 170 German graves. Two of the British graves
were brought after the Armistice from ZUYDCOOTE CHURCHYARD FRENCH MILITARY
EXTENSION.
Cemetery: PORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Location:
The Memorial is situated on Southsea Common
overlooking the promenade, and is accessible at all times.
Historical Information:
After the First World War, an appropriate
way had to be found of commemorating those members of the Royal Navy who had no
known grave, the majority of deaths having occurred at sea where no permanent
memorial could be provided. An Admiralty committee recommended that the three
manning ports in Great Britain - Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth - should each
have an identical memorial of unmistakable naval form, an obelisk, which would
serve as a leading mark for shipping. The memorials were designed by Sir Robert
Lorimer, who had already carried out a considerable amount of work for the
Commission, with sculpture by Henry Poole. After the Second World War it was
decided that the naval memorials should be extended to provide space for
commemorating the naval dead without graves of that war, but since the three
sites were dissimilar, a different architectural treatment was required for
each. The architect for the Second World War extension at Portsmouth was Sir
Edward Maufe (who also designed the Air Forces memorial at Runnymede) and the
additional sculpture was by Charles Wheeler, William McMillan, and Esmond
Burton. Portsmouth Naval Memorial commemorates almost 10,000 sailors of the
First World War and almost 15,000 from the Second World War
Cemetery: LONGUEVAL ROAD CEMETERY, Somme, France
Location:
Longueval is a village in the Department of
the Somme, 11 kilometres east of Albert. Travel north-east from Albert on the D929
in the direction of Bapaume. After 10 kilometres take the D6 in the direction
of Martinpuich and follow signs for Longueval. From Longueval crossroads
continue in the direction of Maricourt, D197, for 800 metres. Longueval Road
Cemetery is situated on the left hand side of the road.
Historical Information:
Longueval was the scene of furious fighting
in 1916, lasting from the 14th to the 29th July, when the village was cleared
by the 5th Division. It was lost in March 1918, and retaken by the 38th (Welsh)
Division and the Carabineers on the 28th August, 1918. Longueval Road Cemetery
was begun in September 1915, near a Dressing Station known as "Longueval
Alley", or "Longueval Water Point", and it was used until
January 1917. Further burials were made in August and September 1918. The
graves numbered 171 at the date of the Armistice; and others were added in
1923-24 by concentrations from a wide area round Longueval. There are now over
200, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over one-fifth
are unidentified and special memorials are erected to 3 soldiers from the
United Kingdom, known or believed to be buried among them. The cemetery covers
an area of 1,015 square metres and is bounded by a low red brick wall.
Cemetery: LEDEGHEM MILITARY CEMETERY, Ledegem,
West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Location:
Ledeghem Military Cemetery is located 17 Km
east of Ieper town centre on a road leading from the N8 Meenseweg connecting
Ieper to Menen. The N8 leads from Ieper to Menen via Geluveld and Geluwe. On
reaching the town of Menen the left hand turning onto the N32 Bruggestraat
leads to Roeselare. 4.5 Km along the N32 lies the right hand turning onto
Papestraat which leads to Ledegem. On reaching the village of Ledegem the first
right hand turning along the Sint Eloois-Winkelstraat leads onto the Hugo
Verriestlaan. The cemetery is accessed by a short path off the Hugo
Verriestlaan.
Historical Information:
Ledeghem was almost captured on the 19th October
1914, by the 10th Hussars, who were forced to retire the same day; and it
remained in German hands for four years. On the 1st October 1918 the 9th
(Scottish) Division captured the village, but could not hold the whole of it;
on the 14th, it was cleared by the 29th Division. The church, the school and
the civil hospital of Ledeghem were used by the Germans as hospitals, and in
October 1914 to September 1918, they buried German and British soldiers and
airmen in three cemeteries in the commune. Ledeghem Military Cemetery was made
by the 29th Division (as "Ledeghem New Cemetery") in October 1918.
The graves of 14 soldiers from the United Kingdom, who fell in October 1914 and
September and October 1918, were removed to this cemetery in October 1951 from Ledeghem
Churchyard. There are now over 80, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this
site. Of these, over 10 are unidentified and special memorials are erected to
two soldiers believed to be buried here as unknown and one whose grave was
destroyed by shell fire in Ledeghem Churchyard. The Military Cemetery covers an
area of 217 square metres and is enclosed by a low red brick wall.
9: Baghdad (North Gate)
War Cemetery
Cemetery: BAGHDAD (NORTH GATE) WAR CEMETERY, Iraq
Location: Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery is 800 metres
beyond the North Gate of the City of Baghdad on the south-eastern side of the
road to Baguba.
Historical Information:
In 1914, Baghdad was the headquarters of the
Turkish Army in Mesopotamia. It was the ultimate objective of the Indian
Expeditionary Force 'D' and the goal of the force besieged and captured at Kut
in 1916. The city finally fell in March 1917, but the position was not fully
consolidated until the end of April. Nevertheless, it had by that time become
the Expeditionary Force's advanced base, with two stationary hospitals and
three casualty clearing stations. The North Gate Cemetery was begun In April
1917 and has been greatly enlarged since the end of the First World War by
graves brought in from other burial grounds in Baghdad and northern Iraq, and
from battlefields and cemeteries in Anatolia where Commonwealth prisoners of
war were buried by the Turks. At present, 4,142 Commonwealth casualties of the
First World War are commemorated by name in the cemetery, many of them on
special memorials. Unidentified burials from this period number 2,729. The
cemetery also contains the grave of Lieutenant General Sir Stanley Maude,
Commander-in-Chief of the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, who died at Baghdad
in November 1917 and the memorial to the 13th Division which he commanded. A
memorial to the 6th Battalion Loyal (North Lancashire) Regiment was brought
into the cemetery from the banks of the Diyala River in 1947. During the Second
World War, Baghdad was again an objective of Commonwealth forces. The 20th
Indian Infantry Brigade reached the city from Shaiba by the Euphrates route on
12 June 1941 and the 21st Indian Infantry Brigade, part of the 13th Duke of
Connaught's Own Lancers, together with the 157th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery,
arrived on 19 June via the Tigris. An advanced base was established later near
the city and remained in use until 1946. Most of the 296 Commonwealth
servicemen of the Second World War buried in the cemetery died of illness or by
accident when serving with PAIFORCE. Again, a number of the graves were brought
in from other burial grounds. Within the cemetery is the Baghdad (North Gate)
(Khanaqin) Memorial, commemorating 104 Commonwealth and 439 Polish servicemen
of the Second World War buried in Khanaqin War Cemetery which, owing to
difficulty of access, could not be properly maintained. A memorial has also
been erected at Khanaqin. The North Gate Cemetery also contains 127 war graves
of other nationalities from both wars, 100 of them Turkish, and 41 non-war
graves.
Cemetery: POZIERES MEMORIAL, Somme, France
Location:
Pozieres is a village 6 kilometres
north-east of the town of Albert. The Memorial encloses Pozieres British
Cemetery which is a little south-west of the village on the north side of the
main road, D929, from Albert to Pozieres. On the road frontage is an open
arcade terminated by small buildings and broken in the middle by the entrance
and gates. Along the sides and the back, stone tablets are fixed in the stone rubble
walls bearing the names of the dead grouped under their Regiments. It should be
added that, although the memorial stands in a cemetery of largely Australian
graves, it does not bear any Australian names. The Australian soldiers who fell
in France and whose graves are not known are commemorated on the National
Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.
Historical Information:
The POZIERES MEMORIAL relates to the period
of crisis in March and April 1918 when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by
overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields, and the months that
followed before the Advance to Victory, which began on 8 August 1918. The
Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of
the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from
21 March to 7 August 1918. The Corps and Regiments most largely represented are
The Rifle Brigade with over 600 names, The Durham Light Infantry with
approximately 600 names, the Machine Gun Corps with over 500, The Manchester
Regiment with approximately 500 and The Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery
with over 400 names. The memorial encloses POZIERES BRITISH CEMETERY, Plot II
of which contains original burials of 1916, 1917 and 1918, carried out by
fighting units and field ambulances. The remaining plots were made after the
Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields immediately
surrounding the cemetery, the majority of them of soldiers who died in the
Autumn of 1916 during the latter stages of the Battle of the Somme, but a few
represent the fighting in August 1918. There are now 2,755 Commonwealth
servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery.
1,375 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 23 casualties
known or believed to be buried among them. The cemetery and memorial were
designed by W H Cowlishaw.
Cemetery: VIS-EN-ARTOIS MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France
Location:
Vis-en-Artois and Haucourt are villages on
the straight main road from Arras to Cambrai about 10 kilometres south-east of
Arras. Within the grounds of Vis-en-Artois British Cemetery, which is west of
Haucourt on the north side of the main road, will be found the Vis-en-Artois
Memorial. This Memorial bears the names of over 9,000 men who fell in the
period from 8 August 1918 to the date of the Armistice in the Advance to
Victory in Picardy and Artois, between the Somme and Loos, and who have no
known grave. They belonged to the forces of Great Britain and Ireland and South
Africa; the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand forces being commemorated on
other memorials to the missing. The Memorial consists of a screen wall in three
parts. The middle part of the screen wall is concave and carries stone panels
on which names are carved. It is 26 feet high flanked by pylons 70 feet high.
The Stone of Remembrance stands exactly between the pylons and behind it, in
the middle of the screen, is a group in relief representing St George and the
Dragon. The flanking parts of the screen wall are also curved and carry stone
panels carved with names. Each of them forms the back of a roofed colonnade;
and at the far end of each is a small building.
Historical Information:
Cemetery: SUNKEN ROAD CEMETERY, BOISLEUX-ST. MARC, Pas de
Calais, France
Location:
Boisleux-St Marc is a village in the
department of the Pas-de-Calais, 8 kilometres south of Arras. Sunken Road
Cemetery is down a 1 kilometre track on the west side of the road running
between this village and the adjacent village of Boisleux-au-Mont (D42E).
Historical Information:
Boisleux-St. Marc village was occupied by
British troops in March, 1917, in the German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line.
The 20th Casualty Clearing Station was established at Boisleux-au-Mont in June,
and the 43rd in November; but by the end of March, 1918, both had left, and
from April to almost the end of August part of Boisleux-St. Marc was in enemy
hands. In September, October and November, six Casualty Clearing Stations were posted,
for shorts periods, at Boisleux-au-Mont. Sunken Road Cemetery was called at one
time "Boisleux-au-Mont British Cemetery". It was begun by the
hospitals in May, 1917, and used until July, when it began to be shelled; four
burials were made in March, 1918; and it was completed in September and
October, 1918. There are now over 400, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in
this site. The Cemetery covers an area of 1,128 square metres and is enclosed
by a brick wall on three sides.
Cemetery: ST. PATRICK'S CEMETERY, LOOS, Pas de Calais, France
Location:
The village of Loos-en-Gohelle is just north
of Lens on the N43, Lens to Bethune road. Turn right off the N43 onto the D165,
signposted for Wingles and La Bassee, and continue along this road for 0.5
kilometres. Turn left at the village square and left again. Continue along this
road and the cemetery is on the right after approximately 200 metres.
Historical Information:
St. Patrick's Cemetery was begun during the
battle by French and British troops, and used in 1916 very largely by the units
of the 16th (Irish) Division. It was closed in June, 1918, but a small number
of graves were brought into it after the Armistice from the battlefields
between Loos and Hulluch. The irregular arrangement of the rows is due to the
conditions under which the burials were carried out. There are now nearly 600,
1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this cemetery. Of these, over 40 are
unidentified and the graves of 23, destroyed by shell fire, are now represented
by special memorials. The cemetery covers an area of 3,001 square metres and is
enclosed by a brick wall.
Cemetery: NEW IRISH FARM CEMETERY, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen,
Belgium.
Location:
The cemetery is located to the north-east of
the town of Ieper. From the station turn left and follow along M Fochlaan to
the roundabout. Turn right and at the next roundabout turn left into M
Haiglaan. Follow along this road to the traffic lights and at the lights turn
right in the direction of Kortrijk (A19). Follow along the expressway to the
next set of lights. At these lights turn left into Pilkemseweg, then take the
first right into Zwaanhofweg, a small country road. Follow this road to the
crossroads and the cemetery is on your right.
Historical Information:
New Irish Farm Cemetery was first used from
August to November 1917, and again in April and May 1918. At the Armistice it
contained just 73 burials - the three irregular rows of Plot I - but was then
greatly enlarged when more than 4,500 graves were brought in from the
battlefields north-east of Ypres (now Ieper) and from numerous smaller
cemeteries in the area. There are now 4,715 commonwealth servicemen of the
First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 3,267 of the burials
are unidentified but special memorials commemorate four casualties known or
believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials record the names of
30 casualties buried in four of the cemeteries concentrated into New Irish Farm
whose graves were destroyed by shell fire. The cemetery was designed by Sir
Reginald Blomfield.
15.
Voormezeele Enclosure No 3
Cemetery: VOORMEZEELE ENCLOSURE No.3, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen,
Belgium
Location:
Voormezeele Enclosure No. 3 is located 4
kilometres south-west of Ieper town centre on the Ruusschaartstraat, a road
leading from the Kemmelseweg (Connecting Ieper to Kemmel N331). From Ieper town
centre the Kemmelseweg is reached via the Rijselsestraat, through the Lille
Gate (Rijselpoort) and straight on towards Armentieres (N365). 900 metres after
the crossroads is the right hand turning onto the Kemmelseweg (made prominent
by a railway level crossing). Turn right onto the Kemmelseweg and follow this
road to the first crossroads, turn left here into Ruusschaartstraat. The Cemetery
is located 1 kilometre after this junction on the left hand side of the road
just before Voormezeele Dorp.
Historical Information:
The Voormizeele Enclosures (at one time four
in number, but now reduced to three) were originally regimental groups of graves,
begun very early in the First World War and gradually increased until the
village and the cemeteries were captured by the Germans after very heavy
fighting on 29 April 1918. Voormezeele Enclosure No 3, the largest of these
burial grounds, was begun by the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in
February 1915. Their graves are in Plot III, the other Plots from I to IX are
the work of other units, or pairs of units, and include a few graves of October
1918. Plots X and XII are of a more general character. Plots XIII to XVI were
made after the Armistice when graves were brought in from isolated sites and
smaller cemeteries. These concentrated graves cover the months from January
1915 to October 1918, and they include those of many men of the 15th Hampshires
and other units who recaptured this ground early in September 1918. There are
now 1,611 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated
in Voormezeele Enclosure No 3. 609 of the burials are unidentified but there
are special memorials to 15 casualties known or believed to be buried among
them. Other special memorials record the names of five casualties whose graves
in another cemetery could not be found on concentration. The cemetery was
designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Location:
The Helles Memorial stands on the tip of the
Gallipoli Peninsula. It takes the form of an obelisk over 30 metres high that
can be seen by ships passing through the Dardanelles.
The Panel Numbers quoted at the end of each entry relate to the panels
dedicated to the Regiment served with. In some instances where a casualty is
recorded as attached to another Regiment, his name may alternatively appear
within their Regimental Panels. Please refer to the on-site Memorial Register Introduction
to determine the alternative panel numbers if you do not find the name within
the quoted Panels. Picture
link
Historical Information:
The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought
by Commonwealth and French forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war,
to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front in France and Belgium, and to open
a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea. The Allies
landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles
in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the
west coast, an area soon known as Anzac. On 6 August, further landings were
made at Suvla, just north of Anzac, and the climax of the campaign came in
early August when simultaneous assaults were launched on all three fronts.
However, the difficult terrain and stiff Turkish resistance soon led to the
stalemate of trench warfare. From the end of August, no further serious action
was fought and the lines remained unchanged. The peninsula was successfully
evacuated in December and early January 1916. The Helles Memorial serves the
dual function of Commonwealth battle memorial for the whole Gallipoli campaign
and place of commemoration for many of those Commonwealth servicemen who died
there and have no known grave. The United Kingdom and Indian forces named on
the memorial died in operations throughout the peninsula, the Australians at
Helles. There are also panels for those who died or were buried at sea in
Gallipoli waters. The memorial bears more than 21,000 names. There are four
other Memorials to the Missing at Gallipoli. The Lone Pine, Hill 60, and Chunuk
Bair Memorials commemorate Australian and New Zealanders at Anzac. The Twelve
Tree Copse Memorial commemorates the New Zealanders at Helles. Naval casualties
of the United Kingdom lost or buried at sea are recorded on their respective
Memorials at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Chatham, in the United Kingdom.
17:
THE HUTS CEMETERY
Cemetery: THE HUTS CEMETERY Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Location:
The Huts Cemetery is located 6 kilometres
south west of Ieper town centre. From Ieper town centre the Dikkebusseweg
(N375) is reached via Elverdingsestraat, straight over a roundabout onto J.
Capronstraat (for 30 metres), then left along M. Fochlaan. Immediately after
the train station the first right hand turning is the Dikkebusseweg. On
reaching Dikkebus village the cemetery is reached by taking a right hand
turning onto the Melkerijstraat. This road continues for 1 kilometre, over a
crossroads and bending sharply to the right, then meeting a junction with the
Steenakkerstraat. The cemetery is located 200 metres after this junction on the
Steenakkerstraat.
Historical Information:
This cemetery takes its name from a line of
huts strung along the road from Dickebusch (now Dikkebus) to Brandhoek, which
were used by field ambulances during the 1917 Allied offensive on this front.
Much of the cemetery was filled between July and November 1917 and nearly two
thirds of the burials were of gunners from nearby artillery positions The
cemetery was closed in April 1918 when the German advance brought the front
line very close. The advance was finally halted on the eastern side of the
village, following fierce fighting at Dickebusch Lake, on 8 May. There are now
1,094 Commonwealth burials of the First World War in the cemetery. The cemetery
was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
18:
CABARET-ROUGE BRITISH CEMETERY
Cemetery: CABARET-ROUGE BRITISH CEMETERY, Souchez, Pas de
Calais, France
Location:
Souchez is a village 3.5 kilometres north of
Arras on the main road to Bethune. The cemetery is about 1.5 kilometres south
of the village on the west side of the D937 Arras-Bethune Road.
Historical Information:
Souchez was sacked more than once in the
Middle Ages, and raided by the Germans in December, 1870. It was captured by
the French on the 26th September, 1915, and the area was taken over by British troops
in the following March. The village was completely destroyed. The "Cabaret
Rouge" was a house on the main road about 1 kilometre south of the
village, at a place called Le Corroy, near the British cemetery. On the East
side, opposite the cemetery, were dugouts used as Battalion Headquarters in
1916. The communication trenches ended here, including a very long one named
from the Cabaret. The cemetery was begun by British troops in March, 1916, and
used until August, 1917 (largely by the 47th (London) Division and the Canadian
Corps) and - at intervals - until September, 1918. (These original burials are
in Plots I to V inclusive). It was greatly enlarged after the Armistice by the
concentration of over 7,000 graves, partly from the battlefields of Arras, and
partly from 103 other burial grounds in the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais. There
are now nearly 8,000, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site and 1
from the 1939-45 War. The cemetery covers an area of 24,772 square metres and
is enclosed by a low rubble wall. On 25th May 2000 the remains of an
unidentified Canadian soldier were entrusted to Canada at a ceremony held at
the Vimy Memorial, France. The remains had been exhumed by France Area staff of
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission from Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery,
Souchez, Plot 8, Row E, Grave 7. The remains were laid to rest within the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier, in a sarcophagus placed at the foot of the National War
Memorial, Confederation Square, Ottawa, Canada.
Cemetery: PERONNE ROAD CEMETERY, MARICOURT Somme, France
Location:
Maricourt is a village situated on the D938,
Albert-Peronne Road, 10.5 kilometres from Albert. The Cemetery is on the
western outskirts of the village.
Historical Information:
Maricourt was, at the beginning of the
Battles of the Somme, 1916, the point of junction of the British and French
forces, and within a very short distance of the front line; it was lost in the
German advance of March, 1918, and recaptured at the end of the following
August. The Cemetery was begun by fighting units and Field Ambulances in the
Battles of the Somme, 1916, and used until August, 1917; a few graves were
added later in the War, and at the Armistice it consisted of 175 graves which
now form almost the whole of Plot I. It was completed after the Armistice by
the concentration of graves from the battlefields in the immediate
neighbourhood and from certain smaller burial grounds. There are now 1348,
1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, 366 are
unidentified and special memorials are erected to 26 soldiers from the United
Kingdom known or believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials
record the names of three soldiers from the United Kingdom, buried in other
cemeteries, whose graves could not be found. The cemetery covers an area of
3,787 square metres and is enclosed on three sides by a low red brick wall. The
following were among the burial grounds from which British graves were removed
to Peronne Road Cemetery:- AUTHUILE COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, which was on
the South side of the Communal Cemetery. It contained the graves of 108 French
soldiers and those of 23 from the United Kingdom who fell in 1915 and early
1916. BRIQUETERIE EAST CEMETERY, MONTAUBAN, on the East side of the brick-works
between Maricourt and Montauban, containing the graves of 46 soldiers from the
United Kingdom who fell in the latter half of 1916. CARNOY COMMUNAL CEMETERY
EXTENSION, in which 36 French soldiers and one from the United Kingdom were buried
in March, 1918. CASEMENT TRENCH CEMETERY, MARICOURT, on the West side of the
road to the Briqueterie, in which 163 soldiers from the United Kingdom and one
from South Africa were buried in 1916-1918. FARGNY MILL FRENCH MILITARY
CEMETERY, CURLU, on the North bank of the Somme, in which six soldiers from the
United Kingdom and two from Australia were buried in 1916-1918. LA COTE
MILITARY CEMETERY, MARICOURT, a little way West of Peronne Road Cemetery,
containing the graves of 38 soldiers from the United Kingdom and one from
Australia who fell in 1916-1917. MARICOURT FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERY, on the
South side of the village, containing the graves of two soldiers from the
United Kingdom who fell in December, 1916. MONTAUBAN ROAD FRENCH MILITARY
CEMETERY, MARICOURT, in which six men of the 1st/8th King's Liverpools were
buried in August, 1916. TALUS BOISE BRITISH CEMETERY, CARNOY, between Carnoy
and Maricourt, at the South end of a long copse. It was used in the latter half
of 1916 and (chiefly by the 5th Royal Berks) in August, 1918, and it contained
the graves of 175 soldiers from the United Kingdom and five from South Africa.
20,
Thiepval Memorial
Cemetery: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL
Country: France
Locality:
Somme The Panel Numbers quoted at the end of
each entry relate to the panels dedicated to the Regiment served with. In some
instances where a casualty is recorded as attached to another Regiment, his
name may alternatively appear within their Regimental Panels. Please refer to
the on-site Memorial Register Introduction to determine the alternative panel
numbers if you do not find the name within the quoted Panels.
Location Information:
The Thiepval Memorial will be found on the D73, off the main Bapaume to Albert
road (D929). Each year a major ceremony is held at the memorial on 1 July.
Historical Information: On 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the
south, thirteen divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive on a
line from north of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite a preliminary bombardment
lasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and the attack met
unexpectedly fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal
advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. In the
following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in an
attempt to exploit the modest successes of the first day. However, the German
Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a
major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse gained. At the end of
September, Thiepval was finally captured. The village had been an original
objective of 1 July. Attacks north and east continued throughout October and
into November in increasingly difficult weather conditions. The Battle of the
Somme finally ended on 18 November with the onset of winter. In the spring of
1917, the German forces fell back to their newly prepared defences, the
Hindenburg Line, and there were no further significant engagements in the Somme
sector until the Germans mounted their major offensive in March 1918. The
Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of
more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African
forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known
grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. The
memorial also serves as an Anglo-French Battle Memorial in recognition of the
joint nature of the 1916 offensive and a small cemetery containing equal
numbers of Commonwealth and French graves lies at the foot of the memorial. The
memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was built between 1928 and 1932 and
unveiled by the Prince of Wales, in the presence of the President of France, on
31 July 1932. The dead of other Commonwealth countries who died on the Somme
and have no known graves are commemorated on national memorials elsewhere. No.
of Identified Casualties: 72100
Cemetery: CAUDREY BRITISH CEMETERY
Country: France
Locality: Nord
Location Information:
Caudry is a town 10 kilometres east of
Cambrai on the south side of the main road to Le Cateau. From the Cambrai-Le
Cateau road (the N 43) take the dual carriageway into Caudry town. Follow this
road for 1100 metres to a traffic light controlled junction. Turn left and
follow this road for approximately 225 metres to a small road on the right (the
first CWGC sign is at this junction). The cemetery lies on the left side of the
road after travelling 100 metres.
Historical Information:
Caudry town was the scene of part of the
Battle of Le Cateau on the 26th August 1914, and from that date it remained in
German hands until the 10th October 1918, when it was captured by the 37th
Division. It had been a German centre for medical units, and during October
1918 and the following five months the 21st, 3rd, 19th and 49th Casualty
Clearing Stations passed through it. The British Cemetery (originally called
the German Cemetery Extension) was begun in October 1918 by the New Zealand Division
and carried on by the Casualty Clearing Stations. It was completed after the
Armistice by the concentration of graves from the German Cemetery and from
Audencourt British Cemetery. At the same time the bodies of two French soldiers
and one Italian were removed to other burial grounds. There are now over 700,
1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over 50 are
unidentified and special memorials are erected to four soldiers and one airman
from the United Kingdom known to be buried among them. Another special memorial
records the name of a soldier from the United Kingdom, buried in
Fontaine-au-Pire Communal Cemetery, whose grave could not be found. The
cemetery covers an area of 2,770 square metres and is enclosed partly by a
rubble wall. No. of Identified Casualties: 654
Cemetery: LOOS MEMORIAL, Pas de Calais, France
Visiting Information:
Wheelchair access to the cemetery is
possible, but may be by alternative entrance. For further information regarding
wheelchair access, please contact the Enquiries Section on 01628 507200. The
Panel Numbers quoted at the end of each entry relate to the panels dedicated to
the Regiment served with. In some instances where a casualty is recorded as
attached to another Regiment, his name may alternatively appear within their
Regimental Panels. Please refer to the on-site Memorial Register Introduction
to determine the alternative panel numbers if you do not find the name within
the quoted Panels.
Location Information:
The Loos Memorial forms the side and back
of Dud Corner Cemetery, and commemorates over 20,000 officers and men who have
no known grave, who fell in the area from the River Lys to the old southern
boundary of the First Army, east and west of Grenay. Loos-en-Gohelle is a
village 5 kilometres north-west of Lens, and Dud Corner Cemetery is located
about 1 kilometre west of the village, to the north-east of the N43 the main
Lens to Bethune road. Historical Information: Dud Corner Cemetery stands almost
on the site of a German strong point, the Lens Road Redoubt, captured by the
15th (Scottish) Division on the first day of the battle. The name "Dud
Corner" is believed to be due to the large number of unexploded enemy
shells found in the neighbourhood after the Armistice. On either side of the
cemetery is a wall 15 feet high, to which are fixed tablets on which are carved
the names of those commemorated. At the back are four small circular courts,
open to the sky, in which the lines of tablets are continued, and between these
courts are three semicircular walls or apses, two of which carry tablets, while
on the centre apse is erected the Cross of Sacrifice.
No. of Identified Casualties: 20597
Cemetery: ADELAIDE CEMETERY, VILLERS-BRETONNEUX, Somme ,
France
Location Information:
Villers-Bretonneux is a town 16 kilometres
east of Amiens and the Cemetery is situated west of the village on the north
side of the main road from Amiens to St. Quentin. Historical Information: Villers-Bretonneux
became famous in 1918, when the German advance on Amiens ended in the capture
of the village by their tanks and infantry on 23 April. On the following day,
the 4th and 5th Australian Divisions, with units of the 8th and 18th Divisions,
recaptured the whole of the village and on 8 August 1918, the 2nd and 5th
Australian Divisions advanced from its eastern outskirts in the Battle of
Amiens. Adelaide Cemetery was begun early in June 1918 and used by the 2nd and
3rd Australian Divisions. It continued in use until the Allies began their
advance in mid August, by which time it contained 90 graves (the greater part
of the present Plot I, Rows A to E). After the Armistice a large number of
graves were brought into the cemetery from small graveyards and isolated
positions on the north, west and south of Villers-Bretonneux and they were,
without exception, those of men who died in the months from March to September
1918. Plot I was filled, Plot II was made almost entirely with graves from
United Kingdom units, and Plot III almost entirely with Australian. There are
now 955 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated
in this cemetery. 261 of the burials are unidentified but there are special
memorials to four casualties known, or believed to be buried among them. The
cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. On 2 November 1993, following a
request by the government of Australia, an unknown Australian soldier killed in
the First World War was exhumed from Plot III, Row M, Grave 13, and is now
buried in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
No. of Identified Casualties: 694
24: LAPUGNOY MILITARY
CEMETERY
Cemetery: LAPUGNOY MILITARY CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France
Location Information:
Lapugnoy is a village 6 kilometres west of
Bethune. From the centre of Lapugnoy, head south-west on the D70 in the
direction of Marles-les-Mines. On the outskirts there is a crucifix at the side
of the main road, turn right here towards Allouagne. After approximately 500
metres there is a track on the left hand side (the Cemetery is signposted here)
and the Cemetery can be found on the left hand side, approximately 500 metres,
along this track. Historical Information: The first burials were made in Plot I
of the cemetery in September 1915, but it was most heavily used during the
Battle of Arras, which began in April 1917. The dead were brought to the
cemetery from casualty clearing stations, chiefly the 18th and the 23rd at
Lapugnoy and Lozinghem, but between May and August 1918 the cemetery was used
by fighting units. Lapugnoy Military Cemetery contains 1,323 Commonwealth
burials of the First World War and 11 from the Second World War, all dating
from May 1940. The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
No. of Identified Casualties: 1333
25: OVILLERS MILITARY
CEMETERY
Cemetery: OVILLERS MILITARY CEMETERY, Somme, France
Visiting Information:
Wheelchair access to this site with some
difficulty. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact
the Enquiries Section on 01628 507200. Location Information: Ovillers is a
village about 5 kilometres north-east of the town of Albert off the D929 road
to Bapaume. The Military Cemetery is approximately 500 metres west of the
village on the D20 road to Aveluy. The Cemetery is signposted in the village.
Historical Information:
On 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle
of the Somme, the 8th Division attacked Ovillers and the 34th Division La
Boisselle. The villages were not captured, but ground was won between them and
to the south of La Boisselle. On 4 July, the 19th (Western) Division cleared La
Boisselle and on 7 July the 12th (Eastern) and 25th Divisions gained part of
Ovillers, the village being cleared by the 48th (South Midland) Division on 17
July. The two villages were lost during the German advance in March 1918, but
they were retaken on the following 24 August by the 38th (Welsh) Division.
Ovillers Military Cemetery was begun before the capture of Ovillers, as a
battle cemetery behind a dressing station. It was used until March 1917, by
which time it contained 143 graves, about half the present Plot I. The cemetery
was increased after the Armistice when Commonwealth and French graves where
brought in, mainly from the battlefields of Pozieres, Ovillers, La Boisselle
and Contalmaison. There are now 3,439 Commonwealth servicemen of the First
World War buried or commemorated in the cemetery. 2,479 of the burials are
unidentified but there are special memorials to 24 casualties believed to be
buried among them. Other special memorials record the names of 35 casualties,
buried in Mash Valley Cemetery, whose graves were destroyed in later fighting.
The cemetery also contains 120 French war graves. The cemetery was designed by
Sir Herbert Baker.
No. of Identified Casualties: 1080
Cemetery: BASRA MEMORIAL Iraq
Visiting Information:
IT IS STRONGLY ADVISES THAT THE FOREIGN AND
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE SHOULD BE CONTACTED BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO VISIT IRAQ. Their
details are as follows: Travel Advice Unit Consular Division Foreign and
Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building London SW1A 2AF Tel: 0207 008
0232/0233 Fax: 0207 008 0164 Website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/ Opening Times:
Monday to Friday 09.30 - 16.00 Location Information: Until 1997 the Basra
Memorial was located on the main quay of the naval dockyard at Maqil, on the
west bank of the Shatt-al-Arab, about 8 kilometres north of Basra. Because of
the sensitivity of the site, the Memorial was moved by presidential decree. The
move, carried out by the authorities in Iraq, involved a considerable amount of
manpower, transport costs and sheer engineering on their part, and the Memorial
has been re-erected in its entirety. The Basra Memorial is now located 32
kilometres along the road to Nasiriyah, in the middle of what was a major
battleground during the first Gulf War. The Panel Numbers quoted at the end of
each entry relate to the panels dedicated to the Regiment served with. In some
instances where a casualty is recorded as attached to another Regiment, his
name may alternatively appear within their Regimental Panels. Please refer to
the on-site Memorial Register Introduction to determine the alternative panel
numbers if you do not find the name within the quoted Panels.
Historical Information:
The Basra Memorial bears the names of more
than 40,500 members of the Commonwealth forces who died in the operations in
Mesopotamia from the Autumn of 1914 to the end of August 1921 and whose graves
are not known.
No. of Identified Casualties: 40659
27: ST. SEVER CEMETERY
EXTENSION
Cemetery: ST. SEVER CEMETERY EXTENSION, Seine-Maritime,
ROUEN, France
Visiting Information:
OPENING TIMES: 1 March - 1 November:
Monday-Saturday : 0815-1815 Sundays/Public Holidays : 0815-1745 2 November-28
February: Every Day : 0815-1645
Location Information:
St Sever Cemetery and extension is a large
communal cemetery situated on the eastern edge of the southern Rouen suburbs of
Le Grand Quevilly and Le Petit Quevilly. If approaching Rouen from the north,
head for the centre of town and cross over the river Seine, following signs for
Caen. Follow this route until you get to the 'Rond Point des Bruyeres'
roundabout (next to the football stadium), then take the first exit into the
Boulevard Stanislas Girardin. The cemetery is 150 metres down this road on the
left. If approaching Rouen from the south, follow the N138 (Avenue des
Canadiens) towards the centre of town. At the 'Rond Point des Bruyeres'
roundabout (next to the football stadium), take the fourth exit into the
Boulevard Stanislas Girardin. The cemetery is 150 metres down this road on the
left. If arriving on foot, take the metro to St Sever Metro Station, then
follow the Avenue de Caen until you get to the Avenue de la Liberation, then
take this road and follow this, which will become the Boulevard du 11 Novembre.
At the end of this road is the 'Rond Point des Bruyeres' roundabout. Take the
first exit from this into the Boulevard Stanislas Girardin. The cemetery is 150
metres down this road on the left. Historical Information: During the First
World War, Commonwealth camps and hospitals were stationed on the southern
outskirts of Rouen. A base supply depot and the 3rd Echelon of General
Headquarters were also established in the city. Almost all of the hospitals at
Rouen remained there for practically the whole of the war. They included eight
general, five stationary, one British Red Cross and one labour hospital, and
No. 2 Convalescent Depot. A number of the dead from these hospitals were buried
in other cemeteries, but the great majority were taken to the city cemetery of
St. Sever. In September 1916, it was found necessary to begin an extension,
where the last burial took place in April 1920. During the Second World War,
Rouen was again a hospital centre and the extension was used once more for the
burial of Commonwealth servicemen, many of whom died as prisoners of war during
the German occupation. The cemetery extension contains 8,345 Commonwealth
burials of the First World War (ten of them unidentified) and 328 from the
Second World War (18 of them unidentified). The extension was designed by Sir
Reginald Blomfield.
No. of Identified Casualties: 8654
28: QUEANT COMMUNAL
CEMETERY BRITISH EXTENSION
Cemetery: QUEANT COMMUNAL CEMETERY BRITISH EXTENSION, Pas de
Calais, France
Visiting Information:
The location or design of this site makes
wheelchair access impossible. For further information regarding wheelchair
access, please contact the Enquiries Section on 01628 507200.
Location Information:
Queant is a village 25 kilometres south-east
of Arras. The Cemetery is on the western outskirts of the village on the road
to Riencourt-les-Cagnicourt. Historical Information: Queant was close behind
the Hindenburg Line, at the South end of a minor defence system known as the
Drocourt-Queant Line, and it was not captured by British troops until the 2nd
September, 1918. On the North side of the Communal Cemetery was a German
Extension of nearly 600 graves (1916-1918), now removed; and the British
Extension was made by fighting units, on the far side of the German Extension,
in September and October, 1918. There are now nearly 300, 1914-18 war
casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, a small number are
unidentified. The cemetery covers an area of 1,011 square metres and is
enclosed by a flint and rubble wall.
No. of Identified Casualties: 270
Cemetery: AMARA WAR CEMETERY, Iraq
Visiting Information:
IT IS STRONGLY ADVISES THAT THE FOREIGN AND
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE SHOULD BE CONTACTED BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO VISIT IRAQ. Their
details are as follows: Travel Advice Unit Consular Division Foreign and
Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building London SW1A 2AF Tel: 0207 008
0232/0233 Fax: 0207 008 0164 Website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/ Opening Times:
Monday to Friday 09.30 - 16.00 Location Information: Amara is a town on the
left bank of the Tigris some 520 kilometres from the sea. The War Cemetery is a
little east of the town between the left bank of the river and the Chahaila
Canal.
Historical Information:
Amara was occupied by the Mesopotamian
Expeditionary Force on 3 June 1915 and it immediately became a hospital centre.
The accommodation for medical units on both banks of the Tigris was greatly
increased during 1916 and in April 1917, seven general hospitals and some
smaller units were stationed there. Amara War Cemetery contains 4,621 burials
of the First World War, more than 3,000 of which were brought into the cemetery
after the Armistice. 925 of the graves are unidentified. In 1933, all of the
headstones were removed from this cemetery when it was discovered that salts in
the soil were causing them to deteriorate. Instead a screen wall was erected
with the names of those buried in the cemetery engraved upon it. Plot XXV is a
Collective Grave, the individual burial places within this are not known. There
are also seven non-war graves in the cemetery.
No. of Identified Casualties: 3703
Cemetery: SANCTUARY WOOD CEMETERY, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen,
Belgium
Visiting Information:
Wheelchair access to site possible - maybe
by an alternative entrance. For further information regarding wheelchair
access, please contact the CWGC
Enquiries Department on telephone number: 01628 634221
Location Information:
Sanctuary Wood Cemetery is located 5 Km
east of Ieper town centre, on the Canadalaan, a road leading from the Meenseweg
(N8), connecting Ieper to Menen. From Ieper town centre the Meenseweg is
located via Torhoutstraat and right onto Basculestraat. Basculestraat ends at a
main cross roads, directly over which begins the Meenseweg. 3 Km along the
Meenseweg lies the right hand turning onto Canadalaan. The cemetery itself is
located 1.5 Km along Canadalaan on the right hand side of the road. 100 metres
beyond the cemetery at the end of the Canadalaan is the Hill 62 Memorial.
Historical Information:
Sanctuary Wood is one of the larger woods
in the commune of Zillebeke. It was named in November 1914, when it was used to
screen troops behind the front line. It was the scene of fighting in September
1915 and was the centre of the Battle of Mount Sorrel (2-13 June 1916)
involving the 1st and 3rd Canadian Divisions. There were three Commonwealth
cemeteries at Sanctuary Wood before June 1916, all made in May-August 1915. The
first two were on the western end of the wood, the third in a clearing further
east. All were practically obliterated in the Battle of Mount Sorrel, but
traces of the second were found and it became the nucleus of the present
Sanctuary Wood Cemetery. At the Armistice, the cemetery contained 137 graves.
From 1927 to 1932, Plots II-V were added and the cemetery extended as far as
'Maple Avenue', when graves were brought in from the surrounding battlefields.
They came mainly from the communes immediately surrounding Ypres, but a few
were taken from Nieuport (on the coast) and a few from other cemeteries. Most
of these burials were from the 1914 Battles of Ypres and the Allied offensive
of the autumn of 1917. There are now 1,989 Commonwealth servicemen of the First
World War buried or commemorated in the cemetery. 1,353 of the burials are
unidentified. Many graves, in all five plots, are identified in groups but not
individually. In Plot I is buried Lieutenant G W L Talbot, in whose memory
Talbot House at Poperinghe was established in December 1915. The first list of
the graves was made by his brother the Reverend N S Talbot, MC, later Bishop of
Pretoria. The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
No. of Identified Casualties: 637
31: PORTSMOUTH
(EASTNEY OR HIGHLAND ROAD) CEMETERY
Cemetery: PORTSMOUTH (EASTNEY OR HIGHLAND ROAD) CEMETERY,
Hampshire
Historical Information:
Portsmouth, a parliamentary and county
borough, is a city, a seaport and a Royal Naval station on Portsea Island,
opposite the Isle of Wight. It is 44 kilometres south-east of Southampton and
just over 120 kilometres by rail south-west of London. This cemetery, which
belongs to the Corporation, is near the barracks. It was opened in 1854 and
contains war graves of both world wars. The 1914-1918 burials are spread
throughout the cemetery. After the war a Cross of Sacrifice was erected near
the entrance, in honour of all the service war dead who rest in the cemetery.
The 1939-1945 War graves, too, are widely scattered.
No. of Identified Casualties: 271
32: LEICESTER (WELFORD
ROAD) CEMETERY
Cemetery: LEICESTER (WELFORD ROAD) CEMETERY, Leicestershire
Historical Information:
During the two world wars, the United
Kingdom became an island fortress used for training troops and launching land,
sea and air operations around the globe. There are more than 170,000
Commonwealth war graves in the United Kingdom, many being those of servicemen
and women killed on active service, or who later succumbed to wounds. Others
died in training accidents, or because of sickness or disease. The graves, many
of them privately owned and marked by private memorials, will be found in more
than 12,000 cemeteries and churchyards. Between 1914 and 1919, the 5th Northern
General Hospital, with more than 2,600 beds, occupied several buildings in
Leicester and North Evington. More than 95,000 officers and men were admitted
to the hospital, which recorded 514 deaths before its closure. During the
Second World War, there was a Royal Air Force operational training station near
Leicester. Leicester (Welford Road) Cemetery contains 286 First World War
burials, more than half of them forming a war graves plot with a screen wall
bearing the names of those buried there. The 46 Second World War burials are
scattered throughout the cemetery, which also contains seven Belgian war
graves.
No. of Identified Casualties: 339
Cemetery: JERUSALEM MEMORIAL, Israel
Visiting Information:
Wheelchair access to the cemetery possible,
but may be via an alternative entrance. For further information regarding
wheelchair access, please contact the Enquiries Section on telephone number
01628 507200. Location Information: The Jerusalem Memorial stands in Jerusalem
War Cemetery, 4.5 kilometres north of the walled city and is situated on the
neck of land at the north end of the Mount of Olives, to the west of Mount
Scopus. Follow the signs for Mount Scopus. At the crossroads with the Hyatt
Hotel, which is on the left, turn left. There is an orange sign which reads
"Military Cemetery". Go to the top of the hill, cross almost straight
over the junction, then turn right and sharp left. The cemetery will be visible
at this point.
Historical Information:
At the outbreak of the First World War,
Palestine (now Israel) was part of the Turkish Empire and it was not entered by
Allied forces until December 1916. The advance to Jerusalem took a further
year, but from 1914 to December 1917, about 250 Commonwealth prisoners of war
were buried in the German and Anglo-German cemeteries of the city. By 21
November 1917, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force had gained a line about five
kilometres west of Jerusalem, but the city was deliberately spared bombardment
and direct attack. Very severe fighting followed, lasting until the evening of
8 December, when the 53rd (Welsh) Division on the south, and the 60th (London)
and 74th (Yeomanry) Divisions on the west, had captured all the city's prepared
defences. Turkish forces left Jerusalem throughout that night and in the
morning of 9 December, the Mayor came to the Allied lines with the Turkish
Governor's letter of surrender. Jerusalem was occupied that day and on 11
December, General Allenby formally entered the city, followed by
representatives of France and Italy. Meanwhile, the 60th Division pushed across
the road to Nablus, and the 53rd across the eastern road. From 26 to 30
December, severe fighting took place to the north and east of the city but it
remained in Allied hands. JERUSALEM WAR CEMETERY was begun after the occupation
of the city, with 270 burials. It was later enlarged to take graves from the
battlefields and smaller cemeteries in the neighbourhood. There are now 2,514
Commonwealth burials of the First World War in the cemetery, 100 of them
unidentified. Within the cemetery stands the JERUSALEM MEMORIAL, commemorating
3,300 Commonwealth servicemen who died during the First World War in operations
in Egypt or Palestine and who have no known grave.
No. of Identified Casualties: 3299
34: YPRES (MENIN
GATE) MEMORIAL
Cemetery: YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL, Ieper,
West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Visiting Information:
Panel Numbers quoted at the end of each entry relate to the panels dedicated to
the Regiment served with. In some instances where a casualty is recorded as
attached to another Regiment, his name may alternatively appear within their
Regimental Panels. Please refer to the on-site Memorial Register Introduction
to determine the alternative panel numbers if you do not find the name within
the quoted Panels. The design of this site makes access to certain parts of the
memorial impossible by wheelchair. For further information regarding wheelchair
access, please contact the CWGC Enquiries Section on telephone number 01628
507200.
Location Information:
Ypres (now Ieper) is a town in the Province of West Flanders. The Memorial is
situated at the eastern side of the town on the road to Menin (Menen) and
Courtrai (Kortrijk). Each night at 8 pm the traffic is stopped at the Menin
Gate while members of the local Fire Brigade sound the Last Post in the roadway
under the Memorial's arches.
Historical Information:
The Menin Gate is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders
which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient
stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood
in the south, but it varied in area and shape throughout the war. The Salient
was formed during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when
a small British Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the
onset of winter, pushing the German forces back to the Passchendaele Ridge. The
Second Battle of Ypres began in April 1915 when the Germans released poison gas
into the Allied lines north of Ypres. This was the first time gas had been used
by either side and the violence of the attack forced an Allied withdrawal and a
shortening of the line of defence. There was little more significant activity
on this front until 1917, when in the Third Battle of Ypres an offensive was
mounted by Commonwealth forces to divert German attention from a weakened
French front further south. The initial attempt in June to dislodge the Germans
from the Messines Ridge was a complete success, but the main assault
north-eastward, which began at the end of July, quickly became a dogged
struggle against determined opposition and the rapidly deteriorating weather.
The campaign finally came to a close in November with the capture of
Passchendaele. The German offensive of March 1918 met with some initial
success, but was eventually checked and repulsed in a combined effort by the
Allies in September. The battles of the Ypres Salient claimed many lives on
both sides and it quickly became clear that the commemoration of members of the
Commonwealth forces with no known grave would have to be divided between several
different sites. The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the hundreds
of thousands of men who passed through it on their way to the battlefields. It
commemorates those of all Commonwealth nations (except New Zealand) who died in
the Salient, in the case of United Kingdom casualties before 16 August 1917.
Those United Kingdom and New Zealand servicemen who died after that date are
named on the memorial at Tyne Cot, a site which marks the furthest point
reached by Commonwealth forces in Belgium until nearly the end of the war.
Other New Zealand casualties are commemorated on memorials at Buttes New
British Cemetery and Messines Ridge British Cemetery. The YPRES (MENIN GATE)
MEMORIAL now bears the names of more than 54,000 officers and men whose graves
are not known. The memorial, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield with sculpture
by Sir William Reid-Dick, was unveiled by Lord Plumer in July 1927.
No. of Identified Casualties: 54338
Cemetery: COXYDE MILITARY CEMETERY Koksijde, West-Vlaanderen,
Belgium
Visiting Information:
Wheelchair access to the cemetery is
possible via the main entrance. For further information regarding wheelchair
access, please contact CWGC Enquiries Section on telephone number: 01628 507200
Location Information:
Coxyde Military Cemetery is located
approximately 500 metres beyond the village of Koksijde on the N396 towards De
Panne. From Koksijde Dorp the N396, Houtsaegerlaan crosses the Zeelaan and at
the same time changes its name to Robert Vandammestraat. 1 kilometre along the
Robert Vandammestraat N369, on the right hand side, lies the cemetery.
Historical Information:
In June 1917, Commonwealth forces relieved
French forces on 6 kilometres of front line from the sea to a point south of
Nieuport (now Nieuwpoort), and held this sector for six months. Coxyde (now
Koksijde) was about 10 kilometres behind the front line. The village was used
for rest billets and was occasionally shelled, but the cemetery, which had been
started by French troops, was found to be reasonably safe. It became the most
important of the Commonwealth cemeteries on the Belgian coast and was used at
night for the burial of the dead brought back from the front line. The French
returned to the sector in December 1917 and continued to use the cemetery, and
during 1918, Commonwealth naval casualties from bases in Dunkirk (now
Dunkerque) were buried there. After the Armistice, graves were brought into the
cemetery from isolated sites and from other cemeteries in the area. The
cemetery was used again during the Second World War, chiefly for the burial of
casualties sustained during the defence of the Dunkirk-Nieuport perimeter in
May 1940. The cemetery now contains 1,507 Commonwealth burials of the First
World War, the French graves from this period having since been removed. Of the
155 Second World War burials, 22 are unidentified. The cemetery was designed by
Sir Edwin Lutyens.
No. of Identified Casualties:
1635
36: ROCQUIGNY-EQUANCOURT ROAD BRITISH CEMETERY,
MANANCOURT
Cemetery: ROCQUIGNY-EQUANCOURT ROAD BRITISH CEMETERY,
MANANCOURT, Somme, France
Visiting Information:
The location or design of this site makes
wheelchair access impossible. For further information regarding wheelchair
access, please contact CWGC Enquiries Section on 01628 507200.
Location Information:
Rocquigny and Equancourt are two villages
in the Department of the Somme, some 13 kilometres north of Peronne and 12
kilometres south-east of Bapaume. Rocquigny and Equancourt are approximately 8
kilometres apart and the Rocquigny-Equancourt British Cemetery lies about
halfway between the two villages on the north side of the road just west of the
crossing road from Etricourt to Ytres.
Historical Information:
Etricourt was occupied by Commonwealth
troops at the beginning of April 1917 during the German withdrawal to the
Hindenburg Line. It was lost on the 23 March 1918 when the Germans advanced,
but regained at the beginning of September. The cemetery was begun in 1917 and
used until March 1918, mainly by the 21st and 48th Casualty Clearing Stations
posted at Ytres, and to a small extent by the Germans, who knew it as
"Etricourt Old English Cemetery". Burials were resumed by
Commonwealth troops in September 1918 and the 3rd Canadian and 18th Casualty
Clearing Stations buried in it in October and November 1918. The cemetery
contains 1,838 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War.
21 of the burials are unidentified and nine Commonwealth graves made by the
Germans which cannot now be found are represented by special memorials. The
cemetery also contains 198 German war burials and the graves of ten French
civilians. The cemetery was desiged by Sir Reginald Blomfield
No. of Identified Casualties: 2022
37: PLOEGSTEERT MEMORIAL
Cemetery: PLOEGSTEERT MEMORIAL,
Comines-Warneton, Hainaut Belgium
Visiting Information:
The Panel Numbers quoted at the end of each
entry relate to the panels dedicated to the Regiment served with. In some
instances where a casualty is recorded as attached to another Regiment, his
name may alternatively appear within their Regimental Panels. Please refer to
the on-site Memorial Register Introduction to determine the alternative panel
numbers if you do not find the name within the quoted Panels.
Location Information:
The Ploegsteert Memorial stands in Berks
Cemetery Extension, which is located 12.5 kilometres south of Ieper town
centre, on the N365 leading from Ieper to Mesen (Messines), Ploegsteert and on
to Armentieres. From Ieper town centre the Rijselsestraat runs from the market
square, through the Lille Gate (Rijselpoort) and directly over the crossroads
with the Ieper ring road. The road name then changes to the Rijselseweg (N336).
3.5 kilometres along the N336 lies a fork junction with the N365. The N365,
which forms the right hand fork, leads to the town of Mesen. The Cemetery lies
3 kilometres beyond Mesen on the right hand side of the N365, and opposite Hyde
Park Corner Royal Berks Cemetery. The sounding of the Last Post takes place at
the Ploegsteert Memorial on the first Friday of every month at 7 p.m.
Historical Information:
The PLOEGSTEERT MEMORIAL commemorates more
than 11,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in
this sector during the First World War and have no known grave. The memorial
serves the area from the line Caestre-Dranoutre-Warneton to the north, to
Haverskerque-Estaires-Fournes to the south, including the towns of Hazebrouck,
Merville, Bailleul and Armentieres, the Forest of Nieppe, and Ploegsteert Wood.
The original intention had been to erect the memorial in Lille. Those
commemorated by the memorial did not die in major offensives, such as those
which took place around Ypres to the north, or Loos to the south. Most were
killed in the course of the day-to-day trench warfare which characterised this
part of the line, or in small scale set engagements, usually carried out in
support of the major attacks taking place elsewhere. BERKS CEMETERY EXTENSION,
in which the memorial stands, was begun in June 1916 and used continuously
until September 1917. At the Armistice, the extension comprised Plot I only,
but Plots II and III were added in 1930 when graves were brought in from
Rosenberg Chateau Military Cemetery and Extension, about 1 kilometre to the
north-west, when it was established that these sites could not be acquired in
perpetuity. Rosenberg Chateau Military Cemetery was used by fighting units from
November 1914 to August 1916. The extension was begun in May 1916 and used
until March 1918. Together, the Rosenberg Chateau cemetery and extension were
sometimes referred to as 'Red Lodge'. Berks Cemetery Extension now contains 876
First World War burials. HYDE PARK CORNER (ROYAL BERKS) CEMETERY is separated
from Berks Cemetery Extension by a road. It was begun in April 1915 by the
1st/4th Royal Berkshire Regiment and was used at intervals until November 1917.
Hyde Park Corner was a road junction to the north of Ploegsteert Wood. Hill 63
was to the north-west and nearby were the 'Catacombs', deep shelters capable of
holding two battalions, which were used from November 1916 onwards. The
cemetery contains 83 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and four
German war graves The cemetery, cemetery extension and memorial were designed
by H Chalton Bradshaw, with sculpture by Gilbert Ledward.
No. of Identified Casualties: 11370
38: BUCQUOY COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION
Cemetery: BUCQUOY COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION Pas de Calais
France
Visiting Information:
Wheelchair access to this site with some
difficulty. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact
CWGC Enquiries Section on telephone number 01628 507200.
Location Information:
Bucquoy is a village in the Pas de Calais approximately
16 kilometres south of Arras. Take the Arras to Bucquoy road (D919). On
entering the village, turn left at the first main crossroads. Following the
CWGC signpost, drive by the church and then turn left. A second CWGC signpost
will be seen on the wall of a house. Continue straight on until you come to the
communal cemetery, which backs onto pastureland. The Extension is on the left
hand side of the communal cemetery, separated from it by a path, but access is
through the communal cemetery.
Historical Information:
The village of Bucquoy was occupied by the
7th Division on 17 March 1917, and was the scene of very heavy fighting in
March and April 1918. Bucquoy Communal Cemetery Extension was made by the Royal
Naval Division burial officer at the beginning of September 1918. It contains
68 First World War burials, all dating from 23-28 August 1918. The extension
was designed by W H Cowlishaw.
No. of Identified Casualties: 66
39: SAILLY-LABOURSE COMMUNAL CEMETERY
Cemetery: SAILLY-LABOURSE COMMUNAL CEMETERY Pas de Calais
France
Location Information:
Sailly-Labourse is a village five
kilometres south-east of Bethune on the main road to Lens (N43). A CWGC
signpost can be seen on this road.
Historical Information:
The village of Sailly-Labourse was used for
rest billets and by field ambulances for much of the First World War. It was
close to the battlefield of Loos, but from October 1915 to September 1918, no
considerable advance or retirement took place in this sector. SAILLY-LABOURSE
COMMUNAL CEMETERY contains 126 Commonwealth burials of the First World War.
Rows B to G and parts of H, J, O, P, Q and R contain French graves of 1914-15,
and Rows H to R contain Commonwealth graves from August 1915 to April 1917. One
Second World War airman is also buried in the cemetery. The adjoining
EXTENSION, begun by the 2/8th Manchesters in May 1917 and used until October
1918, contains 215 Commonwealth and two German burials.
No. of Identified Casualties: 127
40: ST. SEVER CEMETERY EXTENSION, ROUEN
Cemetery: ST. SEVER CEMETERY
EXTENSION, ROUEN Seine-Maritime France
Visiting Information:
OPENING TIMES: 1 March - 1 November:
Monday-Saturday : 0815 - 1745 Sundays/Public Holidays : 0815 - 1745 2 November
- 28 February: Every Day: 0815 - 1645
Location Information:
St Sever Cemetery and St. Sever Cemetery
Extension are located within a large communal cemetery situated on the eastern
edge of the southern Rouen suburbs of Le Grand Quevilly and Le Petit Quevilly.
If approaching Rouen from the north, head for the centre of town and cross over
the river Seine, following signs for Caen. Follow this route until you get to
the 'Rond Point des Bruyeres' roundabout (next to the football stadium), then
take the first exit into the Boulevard Stanislas Girardin. The cemetery is 150
metres down this road on the left. If approaching Rouen from the south, follow
the N138 (Avenue des Canadiens) towards the centre of town. At the 'Rond Point
des Bruyeres' roundabout (next to the football stadium), take the fourth exit
into the Boulevard Stanislas Girardin. The cemetery is 150 metres down this
road on the left. If arriving on foot, take the metro to St Sever Metro
Station, then follow the Avenue de Caen until you get to the Avenue de la
Liberation, then take this road and follow this, which will become the
Boulevard du 11 Novembre. At the end of this road is the 'Rond Point des
Bruyeres' roundabout. Take the first exit from this into the Boulevard
Stanislas Girardin. The cemetery is 150 metres down this road on the left.
Historical Information:
During the First World War, Commonwealth
camps and hospitals were stationed on the southern outskirts of Rouen. A base
supply depot and the 3rd Echelon of General Headquarters were also established
in the city. Almost all of the hospitals at Rouen remained there for
practically the whole of the war. They included eight general, five stationary,
one British Red Cross and one labour hospital, and No. 2 Convalescent Depot. A
number of the dead from these hospitals were buried in other cemeteries, but
the great majority were taken to the city cemetery of St. Sever. In September
1916, it was found necessary to begin an extension, where the last burial took
place in April 1920. During the Second World War, Rouen was again a hospital
centre and the extension was used once more for the burial of Commonwealth
servicemen, many of whom died as prisoners of war during the German occupation.
The cemetery extension contains 8,346 Commonwealth burials of the First World
War (ten of them unidentified) and 328 from the Second World War (18 of them
unidentified). There are also 8 Foreign National burials here. The extension
was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.
No. of Identified Casualties: 8656
