Haringhe (Bandaghem) Military Cemetery

Haringhe (Bandaghem) Military Cemetery is a First World War Commonwealth burial ground located about 18 km west of Ypres, along the road connecting Ieper to Poperinge, on the Nachtegaalstraat in the village of Haringe, West Flanders. Set away from the busier tourist trails around Ypres, it remains one of the more secluded sites among Belgium's many Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries.

Where does the name Bandaghem come from?

The cemetery's name carries a soldier's dark joke. In July 1917, several Casualty Clearing Stations were set up in this area, and British troops nicknamed them after the pattern of local Flemish place names ending in "-inghem". Bandaghem came from "bandaging them", while nearby stations were dubbed Dozinghem ("dozing them") and Mendinghem ("mending them"). This gallows humour, typical of soldiers enduring the grim conditions of the Western Front, became permanently woven into the landscape's naming — these invented place names still appear on maps of Flanders today.

What is the history behind this site?

The ground was selected in July 1917 to serve the 62nd and 63rd Casualty Clearing Stations stationed in the area. Burials of soldiers who died in these and other nearby field hospitals — including the 36th Casualty Clearing Station, active here in 1918 — continued without interruption until October 1918, effectively until the war's end. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, one of the principal architects responsible for the appearance of Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries across Belgium and France.

Who is buried here?

The cemetery holds 772 Commonwealth burials from the First World War. A separate plot contains 39 German war graves, while four plots of French graves were removed to other burial grounds after the war. The presence of a German section reflects the fact that casualty clearing stations also treated wounded enemy soldiers and prisoners, in line with wartime conventions. The site additionally contains five Second World War burials, three of which remain unidentified.

What should visitors know before coming here?

The cemetery sits in the quiet, rural surroundings of Haringe, away from the crowds drawn to better-known Ypres-area sites such as Tyne Cot or Lijssenthoek. This makes it a place where visitors can find stillness and space for reflection on the fate of soldiers treated — and often lost — in field hospitals well behind the front lines. The cemetery's symmetrical rows of headstones and the characteristic CWGC planting give the grounds a calm, carefully tended atmosphere. Visitors interested in the wartime medical evacuation system may want to combine a visit here with nearby Dozinghem and Mendinghem cemeteries, which share the same origin and offer a fuller picture of how the wounded were cared for behind the lines during the First World War.

Frequently asked questions

How many graves are at Haringhe (Bandaghem) Military Cemetery? The cemetery contains 772 Commonwealth burials from the First World War, 39 German war graves, and five Second World War burials.

Where does the name Bandaghem come from? It is a humorous soldiers' invention based on "bandaging them", playing on the typical Flemish place names ending in "-inghem", reflecting the medical function of the casualty clearing stations once based here.

Who designed the cemetery? The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, a British architect who worked extensively with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

How far is it from Ypres? The cemetery lies about 18 km from the centre of Ypres, along the road leading toward Poperinge and on to Roesbrugge.