Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, Zonnebeke, Ypres Salient Battlefields, Belgium

Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing

The Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing commemorates 34,887 names of men from the United Kingdom and New Zealand Forces who died from the date of 16 August 1917 and who have no known grave.

The domed arched pavilion at the northern end of the memorial wall.
The domed pavilion at the northern end of the Tyne Cot Memorial.

The location of this Memorial to the Missing is on the ridge reached by the Commonwealth Forces on 4 October 1917 during the Battle of Broodseinde Ridge. The Memorial forms the north-eastern boundary of Tyne Cot cemetery.

Design and Construction of the Memorial

Aerial view of Tyne Cot cemetery and memorial, taken in 1980. The Memorial to the Missing forms the north-eastern boundary of the cemetery.
Aerial view of Tyne Cot cemetery and memorial.

The Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing was designed by Sir Herbert Baker, one of four Principal Architects engaged in directing the construction of over 1,200 cemeteries and memorials along the Western Front. The sculptured figures were by Joseph Armitage and F V Blundstone.

The memorial was unveiled on 20 June 1920 by Sir Gilbert Dyett.

The memorial is a semi-circular flint wall of 4.25 metres high and over 150 metres long, faced with panels of Portland stone. The names of the missing are carved on the stone panels.

There is a domed arched pavilion at each end of the main wall. Each dome is surmounted by a winged female figure with her head bowed over a wreath.

The Memorial to United Kingdom Forces

View of the pavilion at the southern end of the Memorial Wall.
Domed pavilion at the southern end of the Tyne Cot Memorial.

Two of the apses, as well as the rotundas and the wall itself, carry the names of United Kingdom dead who fell in the Ypres Salient between the night of 15-16 August 1917 (the start of the Battle of Langemarck) and the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

The inscription carved on the frieze above the panels which contain the names of the missing is:

1914 - HERE ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE ARMIES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE WHO FELL IN YPRES SALIENT, BUT TO WHOM THE FORTUNE OF WAR DENIED THE KNOWN AND HONOURED BURIAL GIVEN TO THEIR COMRADES IN DEATH - 1918

The New Zealand Memorial

New Zealand Memorial to the Missing at Tyne Cot Cemetery.
New Zealand Memorial, Tyne Cot.

A central apse in the memorial wall forms the New Zealand Memorial. It bears the names of nearly 1,200 officers and men of the New Zealand Force who died after 16 August 1917 and who gave their lives in the Battle of Broodseinde Ridge and the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in October 1917.

New Zealand Forces' casualties who died before this date are commemorated on the Memorial to tbe Missing at Buttes New British Cemetery and Messines Ridge British Cemetery.

Register of Names on the Tyne Cot Memorial

Panels of Portland stone commemorate the names of the missing on the memorial wall.
Tyne Cot Memorial name panels.

The Register is located in the left hand rotunda of the memorial as you face the memorial on walking through the cemetery.

Names are arranged on panels by regiment and in order of rank. The Register will confirm on which panel the name is to be found.

Search for Names on the Tyne Cot Memorial

To search online for the alphabetical list of names recorded on the Tyne Cot Memorial and to find out more about the memorial you can go to the Tyne Cot Memorial page on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website:

Website: www.cwgc.org Tyne Cot Memorial

Restoration Work

Protection canopy for the re-engraving work carried out on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing in 2009.
Re-engraving work for the names of the missing on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

Work to re-engrave the names of the missing on the memorial was completed in 2013.

Visitors' Centre at Tyne Cot

Entrance to the Visitors Centre for Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial.
Entrance to the Visitors Centre for Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial.

A Visitors' Centre was built at Tyne Cot in 2006. Visitors to the cemetery and memorial are directed on a route leading through or past the Visitors Centre. For full information about the Visitors' Centre see our page about it at:

Visitors' Centre at Tyne Cot

Location of the Tyne Cot Memorial

Vijfwegestraat, 8980 Zonnebeke, Belgium

Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial is signposted from the N303/N37 Beselare-Passendale road.

Latitude 50.887319; Longitude 3.001040

Vehicle Access and Parking for Tyne Cot Memorial

A large car and coach park is located at the north side of Tyne Cot cemetery.

There are public toilets (coin operated) at the car park.

Commercial tour operators with a coach or minibus are not allowed to park at the front of Tyne Cot cemetery at any time and must use the designated car park as directed from the N303/N37.

Related Topics

The Cross of Sacrifice in Tyne Cot cemetery, the largest British military cemetery in the world.
The Cross of Sacrifice in Tyne Cot cemetery, the largest British military cemetery in the world.

Tyne Cot Cemetery

Cemeteries in the Ypres Salient

Monuments and Memorials in the Ypres Salient

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

Website: www.cwgc.org

Acknowledgements

References to the cemetery and memorial details by kind permission of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). To find out more about the work of the CWGC visit the website:

Website: www.cwgc.org