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The
ruins of the village were captured by the Canadians after
some 245,000 casualties were incurred by the British Army
in fighting its way through the incredible German defences
from Ypres. Passchendaele New British Cemetery lies
a little north-west of the village, near the hamlet of Mosselmarkt.
It is a post-war clearance of bodies from this area, where
2,100 British soldiers now lie. The photo gives some idea
that the final advance to the ridge (although not up this
particular gradient) was up a considerable slope. |
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Tyne
Cot Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing
The
small battlefield cemetery near Tyne Cot ( a German strongpoint,
the block house of which is now under the Cross of Sacrifice
seen here) was expanded after the war and became the world's
largest British military cemetery. 11,962 men lie here, and
a further 34,888 are commemorated on the rear walls. It is
situated on a gentle slope from which Ypres can be seen in
the distance. |
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This
view of Tyne Cot was taken in the 1920's. The cemetery is almost
completed, although a few graves here and there retain their
original wooden cross and are still waiting for a stone to
replace it. The wall at the rear of the cemetery, that will
eventually form the memorial to the missing, is under construction.
It is looking away from Ypres towards Passchendaele (that is,
the opposite way to the photograph above). |
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Taken
in May 2003, this aerial photograph of Tyne Cot demonstrates
very well the sheer scale of the cemetery, and the regular
plots of the post-war concentration of graves. Arrayed around
the central Cross of Sacrifice, the original plots are much
less uniform in layout.
Photo
kindly supplied by Iain McHendry. |
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