Menin Road South Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Ypres, on the Western Front.
| Menin Road South Military Cemetery | |
|---|---|
| Commonwealth War Graves Commission | |
 | |
| Used for those deceased 1916–1918 | |
| Established | January 1916 |
| Location | 50°50′58″N 02°54′16″E / 50.84944°N 2.90444°E near |
| Designed by | Sir Reginald Blomfield |
| Total burials | 1658 |
Unknowns | 119 |
| Burials by nation | |
Allied Powers:
| |
| Burials by war | |
World War I: 1658 | |
| Statistics source: WW1Cemeteries.com and CWGC | |
The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war.[1]
Foundation
editThe cemetery lies to one side of the infamous[2] Menin Road. The road ran from Ypres to the front line at a point which effectively remained static for almost the entire war.[3] The cemetery therefore remained an Allied possession throughout the war.
It was founded in January 1916 and was used until summer 1918.[3] After the Armistice, the neighbouring Menin Road North cemetery was concentrated into this cemetery, with additional concentration from single battlefield graves from the front itself.[4]
The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.[3]
Special memorials
editThe cemetery has 79 "special memorials".[5] In the form of stone obelisks or just headstones with special notations, they record the names of 24 soldiers known or believed to be buried in the cemetery and a further 54 whose graves were lost in later fighting or could not be found after the war.[3] As these are known casualties (not "missing"), they are included in the total figure for burials in the cemetery and are not recorded on the Menin Gate.
Notable graves
editThe cemetery holds the grave of acting-Captain Thomas Riversdale Colyer-Fergusson,[4] of the Northamptonshire Regiment who was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour "in the face of the enemy" in the Commonwealth.
References
edit- ^ First World War, accessed 19 August 2006
- ^ Hughes, Sarah "Anything but boring..." South African Archived 2007-10-20 at archive.today newspaper, accessed 13 October 2007
- ^ a b c d Commonwealth War Graves Commission Menin Road South Military Cemetery entry, accessed 13 October 2007
- ^ a b WW1Cemeteries.com Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 13 October 2007
- ^ firstworldwar.com – the Western Front today, accessed 13 October 2007
External links
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