Tyne Cot British Cemetery

Ypres Salient War Graves

Tyne Cot British Military Cemetery & Memorial

Tyne Cot Origins After 1918 Memorial Ypres Salient War Graves Index page British French German The Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient Map Battles Ypres/Ieper Poperinge Museums Cemeteries Accommodation 1914-1918 Reference The Western Front The Ypres Salient Second Battle of Ypres The Somme War Graves Tracing relatives Resources & Links Bibliography Remembering Poppy Umbrella Hear Last Post 'In Flanders Fields' Armistice Day in Ypres Flanders Memorial Poppy Gardens of Remembrance Interpretations Poems About the site Who we are Rembrella		Origins Tyne Cot Cemetery is the resting place of nearly 12,000 soldiers of the Commonwealth Forces, the largest number of burials of any Commonwealth cemetery of either world war. The dates of death of the soldiers buried at Tyne Cot cover four years, from October 1914 to September 1918 inclusive.
		Tyne Cot cemetery first came into being in October 1917 when one of several German blockhouses on the Passchendaele Ridge was captured by the British Army and used as an Advanced Dressing Station. As a result of this there were some 350 burials in the vicinity of the Dressing Station between then and the end of March 1918.
		The Cross of Sacrifice can be seen through the entrance to the cemetery. Inside the entrance gate visitors will find the brass box inset into the wall with the Cemetery Register and the Visitors' Book.
		The original burials are in a group of unevenly spaced graves close to the Cross of Sacrifice in the subsequently expanded cemetery site. These original graves are seen on the photograph at the foot of the Cross of Sacrifice, which was built on the position of one of the German blockhouses. The photograph is taken from the rear of the Cross of Sacrifice looking south.
		The text inscribed on the front of the Cross of Sacrifice reads: THIS WAS THE TYNE COT BLOCKHOUSE CAPTURED BY THE 3rd AUSTRALIAN DIVISION 4th OCTOBER 1917 Until the mid 1990s the capture of the blockhouse was mistakenly attributed to the 2nd Australian Division. Correspondence with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission resulted in an amendment being made in the engraved stone tablet, where "2nd" was changed to "3rd".
		One of the original German bunkers, which held a commanding view over the ground looking towards the Allied front line and Ypres.
		This photograph and the one below it are taken from the high ground of the Passchendaele Ridge, looking south-west towards Ieper (Ypres). The spires of St. Martin's cathedral and the Cloth Hall are visible on the horizon. This is the dominating view over the northern part of the Ypres Salient which the Germans had from the Passchenaele Ridge as the Allied soldiers tried to approach them during the Third Battle of Ypres (Battle of Passchendaele) 31 July - 10 November 1917. The hill in the far background is Mont Kemmel.
		View from Tyne Cot towards Ieper (Ypres).
		Location Leave Ieper via its eastern exit (Menin Gate). At the traffic lights go straight on the N332 to Zonnebeke. Continue straight on through Zonnebeke and at the next major junction take the left turn to Passendale (formerly called Passchendaele). After approximately 1 kilometre Tyne Cot Military Cemetery is signposted to the left. next: Tyne Cot after 1918 Acknowledgements Extracts of text by kind permission of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Copyright Joanna Legg & Graham Parker © 2002 All rights reserved