Calvaire (Essex) Military Cemetery

Calvaire (Essex) Military Cemetery is a small First World War burial ground located in the municipality of Comines-Warneton (Komen-Waasten), on the Belgian-French border near the village of Ploegsteert. Its name refers to a roadside crucifix (calvaire) and to Essex House, near which the earliest graves were dug, as well as to the Essex Regiment, one of the units that fought along this stretch of the front.

Where does the name come from and what is its history?

The cemetery is a regimental one — a type common in the early years of the war, when individual regiments buried their dead close to their own front-line positions. The first graves here date from November 1914 and were made by the 2nd Essex and 2nd Monmouthshire Regiments. Over the following months and years, burials continued with the 9th Royal Fusiliers, the 11th Middlesex Regiment, the 7th Suffolk, the 9th Essex, the 6th Buffs, and the 1/7th and 1/8th Worcestershire Regiment. With the exception of two later burials, the cemetery was completed in 1916 by the 11th Queen's Royal West Surrey and the 10th Royal West Kent Regiment.

Notably, the site fell under German control for part of the war, between 10 April and 29 September 1918, during the German spring offensive and the subsequent fighting in this part of Flanders.

How many burials does the cemetery hold?

Calvaire (Essex) Military Cemetery currently contains 218 First World War burials. The site is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), which is responsible for the upkeep and the distinctive, uniform style of headstones found across its cemeteries throughout Europe.

How do you get there?

The cemetery lies roughly 16 km from the centre of Ypres (Ieper), on a road leading off the N365, which connects Ypres with Wijtschate, Ploegsteert and, further on, Armentières. About 2 km past the village of Ploegsteert, a turning to the left leads onto the Witteweg (Chemin de la Blanche). After a further 2 km along this road, the cemetery entrance is found on the right-hand side.

Why is it worth visiting?

Calvaire (Essex) Military Cemetery is one of many memorial sites scattered across the former Western Front around Ypres and Ploegsteert, an area of near-continuous fighting for most of the war. Unlike the larger, better-known cemeteries and memorials of the region, this is a small, quiet site that reflects the scale of the earliest regimental burials — graves dug by comrades just behind the front line rather than laid out later as part of a large consolidated cemetery. For visitors exploring the area around Ploegsteert Wood (known to soldiers at the time as "Plugstreet") as part of a First World War remembrance trail, this cemetery is a natural additional stop that rounds out the picture of the fighting in this part of Flanders.

Frequently asked questions

Who is buried here? British soldiers from units that fought in this area between 1914 and 1916, including the Essex, Monmouthshire, Royal Fusiliers, Middlesex, Suffolk, Buffs, Worcestershire, Queen's Royal West Surrey and Royal West Kent Regiments.

Is the cemetery open to visitors? Yes, like most CWGC-maintained cemeteries, it is freely accessible to the public at all times.

Are there other First World War memorial sites nearby? Yes — the area around Ploegsteert and Komen-Waasten holds numerous war cemeteries and memorials, including the Ploegsteert Memorial, which commemorates soldiers with no known grave.