Cement House Cemetery

Cement House Cemetery is one of the largest Commonwealth war cemeteries in the Ypres Salient, located along the road from Langemark to Boezinge in the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle, in Belgium's West Flanders province. The site takes its name from a fortified farm building with a concrete bunker that German forces built at this point along the front line — Allied troops simply nicknamed the position "Cement House."

How did this cemetery come to exist?

The original burial ground was started at the end of August 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele. It was used by burial officers of the 4th and 17th Divisions, by field ambulances, and by units holding the line, with burials continuing until April 1918. This oldest section, now known as Plot I, contains an irregular arrangement of 231 graves.

Why did the cemetery grow so large?

In the years immediately following the Armistice, most of the remaining plots, from II through XV, were created through what is known as grave concentration — remains were brought in from surrounding battlefields and from smaller, temporary burial grounds scattered around Langemark and Poelkapelle. The majority of these burials date from the autumn of 1917, when the fighting for the village of Passchendaele produced tens of thousands of casualties on both sides of the line.

How many people are buried at Cement House Cemetery?

Today the cemetery holds the graves or commemorates the names of well over 3,500 Commonwealth servicemen from the First World War, though the identities of more than two thousand of them were never established. A small number of Second World War burials are also present. This exceptionally high proportion of unidentified graves reflects the sheer scale of destruction that artillery bombardment and the notorious Flanders mud inflicted on the battlefields around Ypres.

Who designed the cemetery?

The layout was designed by Reginald Blomfield, one of the principal architects who worked for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (then the Imperial War Graves Commission) in the years after the First World War. Blomfield was responsible for a number of other cemeteries and memorials in the Ypres area, giving them a recognisable, restrained and dignified style — orderly rows of white headstones, a central Cross of Sacrifice, and boundary walls enclosing the grounds.

Is it still an active burial site?

Cement House Cemetery is what is known as an "open" cemetery, meaning it continues to receive the remains of soldiers uncovered during farming and construction work on the surrounding fields. West Flanders regularly yields remnants of the Great War, and whenever recovered remains can be identified as belonging to Commonwealth servicemen, they are laid to rest here with full military honours.

How large is the cemetery grounds?

The cemetery covers an area of approximately 9,685 square metres, making it one of the more extensive war burial sites in the vicinity of Ypres. This size is a direct consequence of its role as a concentration cemetery, gathering casualties from numerous smaller sites across the former front line.

How do visitors get there?

The cemetery lies within the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle, close to other significant First World War memorial sites such as the German military cemetery at Langemark and the Brooding Soldier memorial, which commemorates the first poison gas attack of the war. Like most CWGC sites, Cement House Cemetery is open to the public every day, free of charge, with no reservation required.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the name "Cement House" come from? From a fortified, concrete farm building the Germans constructed at this position along the front.

When do most of the graves date from? Mostly from the autumn of 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres, known as Passchendaele.

How many graves are unidentified? More than two-thirds of the servicemen buried here could not be identified.

Who designed the cemetery? The British architect Reginald Blomfield.