Zillebeke Churchyard Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

Last updated
Zillebeke Churchyard
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Zillebeke Churchyard CWGC 2461837848 Steere.jpg
Used for those deceased 1914
Established1914
Location 50°50′09″N02°55′21″E / 50.83583°N 2.92250°E / 50.83583; 2.92250
near 
Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium
Designed by W H Cowlishaw
Total burials32
Burials by nation
Burials by war
Statistics source: WO1.be

Zillebeke Churchyard Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery forms part of the village churchyard located around the Catholic parish church of Zillebeke in Belgium. A section of the parish churchyard used by the inhabitants of Zillebeke is maintained as a war cemetery by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a burial ground for the dead of the First World War near Ypres (Ieper) on the Western Front.

Contents

Foundation

Grave of Lieutenant The 5th Baron Congleton Zillebeke Churchyard CWGC 2461017201 Congleton.jpg
Grave of Lieutenant The 5th Baron Congleton

In the early days of the war, whilst the front line was still mobile, specific cemeteries for soldiers were comparatively rare and the dead were often buried in local churchyards or municipal burial grounds near where they were killed. Zillebeke was on the front line for much of the war and its churchyard was used for the war dead. [1] These 1914 burials of British and Canadian soldiers [2] reflect the mobility of the front line as they are largely of officers, [1] and reflect the officer class [3] of that point in the war as they were nobility [4] or the sons of the wealthy and the well-connected. [5]

Development

The grounds of the war cemetery 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. [6] The Commonwealth War Graves Commission part of the cemetery was designed by W H Cowlishaw. [1] Within Zillebeke Churchyard CWGC Cemetery there is a section with war graves of soldiers from aristocratic backgrounds; this plot is called The Aristocrat's Cemetery. [7]

The cemetery deviates from almost every other Commission burial ground by having two private memorials, [8] breaking the "equality in death" [9] principle the commission was founded under and not complying with Sir Frederic Kenyon's report, still otherwise followed to this day, that Commission cemeteries "were designed to avoid class distinctions that would conflict with the feeling of 'brotherhood' which had developed between all ranks serving at the Front". [10] The private memorials are a headstone dedicated to Lieutenant John Henry Gordon Lee-Steere [11] and the tomb of Second Lieutenant Baron Alexis George de Gunzburg. [12]

The private memorials in the cemetery are a headstone dedicated to Lieutenant John Henry Gordon Lee-Steere [13] and the tomb of Second Lieutenant Baron Alexis George de Gunzburg. [14]

Notable burials

Among those buried in the cemetery are:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zillebeke</span> Village in West Flanders, Belgium

Zillebeke is a village in the Flemish province of West Flanders in Belgium. It is a former municipality which is now part of Ypres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Larch Wood Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front in Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm) Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm) is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Belgium

Hyde Park CornerCemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground in Belgium for the dead of the First World War, located in the village of Ploegsteert in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abeele Aerodrome Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery</span> Cemetery in West Flanders, Belgium

Abeele Aerodrome Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RE Grave, Railway Wood</span> Commonwealth war graveyard near Ypres, France

RE Grave, Railway Wood is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) memorial and war grave located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is located on the Bellewaerde Ridge near Zillebeke, about 4 kilometres east of Ypres, and a little north of Hooge. The area of the Cambridge Road sector, halfway in between Wieltje and Hooge, was the site of intensive underground fighting in the First World War. The Liverpool Scottish Memorial, Railway Wood is located nearby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rifle House Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC burial ground in Ypres, Belgium

Rifle House Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Ypres on the Western Front. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedford House Cemetery</span> WWI & WWII CWGC site in Ypres, Belgium

Bedford House Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Zillebeke, itself near Ypres, on the Western Front in Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voormezeele Enclosures Cemeteries</span> WWI CWGC cemeteries in Ypres, Belgium

The Voormezeele Enclosures are Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial grounds for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dickebusch Old Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery</span> Belgian cemetery

Dickebusch Old Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War and the Second World War located in the Ypres Salient in Belgium on the Western Front of the first war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blauwepoort Farm Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery</span> Military cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Blauwepoort Farm is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Ypres in Belgium on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Irish Farm Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

New Irish Farm Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Ypres in Belgium on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford Road Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery</span> World War I cemetery in Belgium

Oxford Road Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perth (China Wall) Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery</span> World War I cemetery in West Flanders, Belgium

PerthCemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Track "X" Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Track "X" Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium on the Western Front. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woods Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Woods Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near The Bluff south of Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First DCLI Cemetery, The Bluff</span> CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

First DCLI Cemetery, The Bluff is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near The Bluff south of Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium on the Western Front. It takes its name from the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedge Row Trench Cemetery</span> CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Hedge Row Trench Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near The Bluff south of Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery</span> CWGC cemetery in Belgium

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. After Tyne Cot, it is the second largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in Belgium. Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is located near Poperinge in the province of West Flanders. Most of those buried in the cemetery are war casualties who had been wounded near Ypres and later died in the four large Allied casualty clearing stations located in this area.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Zillebeke Churchyard". Cemetery Details. CWGC. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  2. ↑ "Zillebeke Churchyard". The Great War in Flanders Fields. wo1.be. Archived from the original on 2007-08-13.
  3. ↑ Bourne, John. "University of Birmingham: Centre for First World War Studies: 'Lions Led By Donkeys'". firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  4. ↑ "World War One Battlefields : Zillebeke and area". ww1battlefields.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  5. ↑ "Zillebeke". The Long, Long Trail. 1914-1918.net. Archived from the original on 2008-07-17.
  6. ↑ First World War, accessed 19 August 2006
  7. ↑ Holt & Holt 2014, p. 226.
  8. ↑ "Zillebeke & The Caterpillar Crater". bujold.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17.
  9. ↑ Braybon, Gail (2003). Evidence, History, and the Great War: Historians and the Impact of 1914-18. Oxford: Berghahn Books. p. 39. ISBN   1-57181-724-7.
  10. ↑ Modern wording, not from the report, from A History of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Archived September 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , accessed 2008-05-05
  11. ↑ "Lee-Steere, John Henry Gordon". Wereldoorlog I in de Westhoek [The Great War in Flanders Fields] (in Dutch). wo1.be. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07.
  12. ↑ "De Gunzburg, Alexis George". Wereldoorlog I in de Westhoek [The Great War in Flanders Fields] (in Dutch). wo1.be. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07.
  13. ↑ "Lee-Steere, John Henry Gordon". Wereldoorlog I in de Westhoek [The Great War in Flanders Fields] (in Dutch). wo1.be. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07.
  14. ↑ "De Gunzburg, Alexis George". Wereldoorlog I in de Westhoek [The Great War in Flanders Fields] (in Dutch). wo1.be. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.