Brandhoek New Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium
50°51′10″N 02°47′16″E / 50.85278°N 2.78778°E / 50.85278; 2.78778
near 
Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium
Designed bySir Reginald BlomfieldTotal burials558Burials by nation
Allies of World War I:
  • United Kingdom: 512
  • Australia: 11
  • Canada: 6
  • Undivided India: 1

Central Powers:

  • Germany: 28
Burials by war
World War I: 558
Statistics source: WW1Cemeteries.com

Brandhoek New Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Ypres (Dutch: 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.[1]

Foundation

The War Cross

The cemetery was begun by the British in July 1917 to replace the nearby Brandhoek Military Cemetery, which closed with the arrival of the 32nd, 3rd Australian and 44th Casualty Clearing Stations as part of the preparations for the Battle of Passchendaele.[2]

The cemetery closed a month later[3] and Brandhoek New Military No 3 Cemetery opened to replace it.[2]

The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.[2]

Notable graves

Buried here is Oxford-born Captain Dr Noel Godfrey Chavasse, VC and bar MC.[3][4] The Victoria Cross is Britain and the Commonwealth's highest award for bravery. Captain Chavasse was a doctor who repeatedly saved wounded men whilst being wounded himself on more than one occasion, and under heavy fire, with total disregard for his own safety. Chavasse was one of only three people to have won the Victoria Cross twice, once on 9 August 1916 at Guillemont, in France and later at Brandhoek, where he died from wounds sustained in the operation he was decorated for,[5] along with his batman Private Charles Rudd of St Helen.[6] Also buried here is Army Chaplain, Reverend Frank Robert Harbord, CF4 who was in civilian life the Vicar of Dunchurch, Rugby since 1912 and had been a Chaplain in the Army during the Second Boer War.[7]

References

  1. ^ First World War, accessed 19 August 2006
  2. ^ a b c "CWGC :: Cemetery Details". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  3. ^ a b "Brandnoek New Military Cemetery". ww1cemeteries.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  4. ^ "Casualty details—Chavasse, Noel Godfrey". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  5. ^ Jones, Ian. "Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, VC and Bar, MC, RAMC". www.chavasse.u-net.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  6. ^ "Brandhoek New Military Cemetery". www.webmatters.net.
  7. ^ "Chaplain 4th Class The Rev. Frank Robert Harbord | War Casualty Details 430364 | CWGC".

External links

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