First DCLI Cemetery, The Bluff

First DCLI Cemetery, The Bluff is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground located in the area known as The Bluff, south of Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium. The site sits within the former Western Front of the First World War, part of the dense network of war cemeteries scattered around the Ypres Salient, one of the most fought-over stretches of ground in the entire conflict.

Where does the cemetery's name come from?

The cemetery takes its name from the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI), a British infantry regiment whose fallen soldiers are buried at this site. The word "First" in the name points to the existence of a related cemetery in the same locality, a naming pattern commonly used by the CWGC to distinguish burial grounds that arose in the same area at different stages of the fighting along a given section of the front.

What exactly is The Bluff?

The Bluff refers to a piece of terrain south of Ypres, one of many named landmarks within the Ypres Salient — the bulge in the Allied front line around the city that remained in British and French hands for most of the war while German forces held the surrounding high ground. Locations like The Bluff appear repeatedly in wartime maps and unit histories, marking spots where control changed hands during successive attacks and counterattacks between 1914 and 1918.

What role does the Commonwealth War Graves Commission play?

The CWGC is responsible for commemorating and maintaining the graves of Commonwealth service members who died in the First and Second World Wars. It cares for thousands of cemeteries and memorials across former battlefields, including numerous small burial plots in Belgium and France established close to where soldiers actually fell. First DCLI Cemetery, The Bluff is one such site, reflecting the presence and losses of British units that fought along this particular stretch of the front near Ypres.

Why is this site worth knowing about?

Small CWGC cemeteries like this one carry significant historical weight despite their modest size. They allow visitors to trace the geography of the former front line, appreciate the scale of losses suffered by individual regiments, and see just how closely packed burial sites were across the relatively small area of the Ypres Salient. For anyone tracing the First World War remembrance trail around Ypres, cemeteries such as this complement the larger, better-known memorials and cemeteries found throughout the region.

Frequently asked questions

What does DCLI stand for? DCLI stands for the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, the British regiment whose soldiers are buried in this cemetery.

Where is the cemetery located? In the area known as The Bluff, south of the town of Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium, within the former Ypres Salient.

Who maintains the cemetery? The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the organization responsible for the graves of Commonwealth service members.

From which period does the cemetery date? From the First World War, when the area around Ypres saw intense fighting on the Western Front.

Are there other war cemeteries nearby? Yes, the "First" in the name points to a related cemetery in the same locality, and the wider Ypres Salient contains many small CWGC burial grounds.