Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

Infobox Military Cemetery
name= Larch Wood (Railway Cutting)
body= Commonwealth War Graves Commission


use_dates= April 1915 - April 1918
established= 1915
designer= Sir Edwin Lutyens
coordinates= coord|50|49|40.4|N|02|55|24.4|E|
nearest_town= Ieper, West Flanders, Belgium
total= 857
unknowns= 33
by_country=Allied Powers:
*United Kingdom: 701
*Canada: 86
*Australia: 36
*British West Indies: 1
by_war=
World War I: 857
source= [http://ww1cemeteries.com/ww1cemeteries/larchwoodrailwaycuttingcemetery.htm WW1cemeteries.com]

Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of World War I located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. [http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=55901&mode=1 Commonwealth War Graves Commission - Larch Wood (Railway Cutting)] , accessed 5 June 2008]

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. [ [http://www.webmatters.net/belgium/ww1_friedhof_vladslo.htm First World War] , accessed 19 August 2006]

Foundation

The cemetery was founded by Commonwealth troops in April 1915 and remained in use until April 1918, when the Western Front had moved away from the area. [http://www.wo1.be/eng/database/dbDetail.asp?TypeID=6&SubTypeID=19&ItemID=56823 www.wo1.be] accessed 23 May 2006] Most of the dead are from the defence of the nearby Hill 60. [http://www.firstworldwar.com/today/larchwoodcemetery.htm FirstWorldWar.com] , accessed 5 June 2008]

After the Armistice, the cemetery was enlarged with the concentration of graves from the battlefield, smaller cemeteries in the area (Brussels General, Ghistelles Churchyard, Oudenburg Churchyard, Wervik Communal) and Commonwealth troops buried in from German war cemeteries (America Cross Roads, Kortemark, Eernegem, Groenenberg, Handzaame, Ichtegem, Leffinghe, Marckhove, Tenbrielen Communal, Tourhout No 2, Vladsloo, Warneton Sud-et-Bas, Wijnendaele, Zantvoorde).

The graves of 86 people are defined as "special memorials" — that is, they are either recorded as being buried here but the CWGC was unable to find proof (headstones marked "Believed to be buried in this cemetery") or they are known to be buried here but their exact location was lost or destroyed by later fighting (headstones marked "Known to be buried in this cemetery"). [ [http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/flanders/sanctuary_wood.html WW1Battlefields] , accessed 5 June 2008] These graves all carry (unless replaced by a personalised family message) the inscription at the foot of the stone "Their Glory Shall Not Be Blotted Out" - a line from sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Sirach|chapter=44|verse=13 [ [http://www.biblicalproportions.com/modules/ol_bible/King_James_Bible/Ecclesiasticus/44/ Biblical Proportions] , accessed 5 June 2008] suggested by Rudyard Kipling. [ [http://www.hellfire-corner.demon.co.uk/tynecot.htm Hellfire Corner] , accessed 25 May 2006]

The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens who was also responsible for the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London and the Thiepval Memorial on the Somme, France. [ [http://www.lutyenstrust.org.uk/frameset.html The Lutyens Trust] , accessed 22 May 2006]

Notable graves

's mother. Bennett has detailed his search for both the grave and the life story of his uncle in the radio monologue "Uncle Clarence". [Bennett, A "The Lady in the Van/Uncle Clarence" 1994 London:BBC Worldwide/BBC Radio Collection audiobooks ISBN 0-563-39361-0]

References

External links

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