Coxyde Military Cemetery

Coxyde Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth war cemetery in Koksijde, on Belgium's North Sea coast, established during the First World War and maintained today by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It holds more than 1,500 Commonwealth burials from 1914–1918 alongside 155 casualties from the Second World War, making it one of the most significant military burial grounds anywhere on this stretch of the Belgian coast.

Where does the cemetery's name come from?

The name preserves the old French spelling of Koksijde — Coxyde — which was in common use throughout the First World War, when most military records and maps in this area were kept in French. French troops were the ones who first began burying their dead here, before Commonwealth forces took over the coastal sector in June 1917, extending roughly six kilometres of front line toward Nieuwpoort and permanently changing the site's role.

Why did this location matter so much during the war?

Koksijde sat about ten kilometres behind the front line, which made the village a rest area for troops rotating out of combat. It was shelled from time to time, but the cemetery itself was considered comparatively safe, and that safety turned it into the main site for night-time burials of soldiers brought back from the trenches. Over time it grew into the most important Commonwealth cemetery on the entire Belgian coast. When French forces returned to the sector in December 1917, they continued burying their own casualties there, and in 1918 the cemetery also received Commonwealth naval personnel who died while serving out of bases in Dunkirk.

What happened to the cemetery after the war ended?

Following the Armistice, the remains of 44 British soldiers originally buried elsewhere were brought into the cemetery for reburial. The French graves from the First World War were eventually removed, leaving the Commonwealth burials as the core of the cemetery that survives today. Decades later, during the Second World War, the site was used again — this time chiefly for soldiers killed defending the Dunkirk–Nieuport perimeter in May 1940. Among these later graves, 22 remain unidentified.

Who designed the cemetery's layout?

The cemetery's architectural design is the work of Sir Edwin Lutyens, one of the most prominent British architects of his generation and a key figure behind numerous Commonwealth war cemeteries and memorials across Europe. His signature style — restrained, symmetrical, built around pale stone and clean lines — is instantly recognisable at many similar sites across Belgium and France.

Frequently asked questions

How many people are buried at Coxyde Military Cemetery? The cemetery holds more than 1,500 Commonwealth burials from the First World War and 155 from the Second World War, including 22 unidentified graves.

Why is the cemetery called "Coxyde" if it's in Koksijde? Coxyde is the historical French form of the town's name, widely used in military records and maps during the First World War.

Are there French graves at the cemetery too? French troops originally established the cemetery, but their First World War graves were later removed — today only Commonwealth burials remain on site.

Who designed the cemetery? It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, a British architect responsible for many Commonwealth war cemeteries across Europe.

Where exactly is the cemetery located? Coxyde Military Cemetery is in Koksijde, in the province of West Flanders, on Belgium's North Sea coast.