Aeroplane Cemetery

Aeroplane Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground located near Zillebeke, in the Ypres (Ieper) area of Belgium, on what was once the Western Front of the First World War. It is one of dozens of cemeteries scattered across the Ypres Salient — the stretch of front line that saw almost continuous fighting between Commonwealth (and, for a time, French) forces and the German army from October 1914 until the summer of 1918.

Where does the name come from?

The ground on which the cemetery now stands was No Man's Land until 31 July 1917, when the 15th (Scottish) Division, with the 55th (West Lancashire) Division on its left flank, captured the nearby villages of Verlorenhoek and Frezenberg. The cemetery itself was started the following month, in August 1917, by the 15th Division together with the 16th (Irish) Division, during the Third Battle of Ypres — better known as the Battle of Passchendaele.

It was originally named New Cemetery, Frezenberg. Within a few weeks, though, the name changed to Aeroplane Cemetery, after the wreck of a crashed aircraft that lay close to the earliest graves. That chance detail gave the site the name it still carries today.

What happened here during the war?

Fighting units continued to use the cemetery until March 1918. The area then fell under German occupation for a period, before returning to Commonwealth control; burials resumed here from September 1918 through to the end of the war.

Where were the buried soldiers brought from?

After the Armistice, the cemetery grew considerably as graves were concentrated here from smaller burial grounds nearby that were subsequently closed. Among them were 20 graves brought from Bedford House Cemetery Enclosure No. 5 in Zillebeke, and 23 graves — including two German soldiers — from Lock 8 Cemetery in Voormezele. This kind of postwar consolidation, merging small, scattered burial sites into larger cemeteries that were easier to maintain, was standard practice for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission across the entire Ypres Salient.

How many people are buried here?

Aeroplane Cemetery now holds the graves of, or commemorates, 1,105 Commonwealth servicemen from the First World War. The site remains under the permanent care of the CWGC, alongside dozens of other cemeteries spread across the Ypres region — a lasting record of the losses suffered in the fighting over this stretch of the Western Front.

Frequently asked questions

Why is it called Aeroplane Cemetery? Because the wreck of a crashed aeroplane lay close to the first graves, established in August 1917. The name replaced the original one, New Cemetery, Frezenberg, within a few weeks.

When was the cemetery founded? In August 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), by the 15th (Scottish) Division and the 16th (Irish) Division.

How many soldiers are buried at Aeroplane Cemetery? 1,105 Commonwealth servicemen from the First World War, including graves relocated here after the war from smaller cemeteries that were later closed.

Where exactly is the cemetery located? Near the village of Zillebeke, in the Ypres (Ieper) area of West Flanders, Belgium, within the former Ypres Salient.