Artillery Wood Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

Artillery Wood Cemetery, near Boezinge, Belgium, is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery from the First World War.

Artillery Wood
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Used for those deceased 1917–1918
Established1914
Location50.8996°N 2.8719°E / 50.8996; 2.8719
near 
Boezinge, Ieper, West Flanders, Belgium
Designed bySir Reginald Blomfield
Total burials1307
Burials by war
World War I: 1307 (of which 801 are identified)
Statistics source: 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]

Establishment

The cemetery was established in 1917 after fighting in the immediate area – the Battle of Pilckem Ridge – had moved away[2] and was used for burials until March 1918.[3]

At the point of the Armistice there were some 141 graves in the cemetery. Concentration from the battlefields and three smaller cemeteries (Boesinghe Chateau Grounds, Brissein House and Captain's Farm) enlarged this to the present 1,307.[3]

Notable burials

It is the location of the grave of Hedd Wyn (1887–1917), posthumous winner of the bardic chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod, and of Francis Ledwidge (1887–1917), the Irish poet.[4]

References
  1. First World War, accessed 19 August 2006
  2. "Artillery Wood Cemetery". Webmatters.net. 1917-07-31. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  3. Reading Room Manchester. "Cemetery Details". CWGC. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  4. BBC One; greatwar.co.uk
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.