Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery

Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground located in the village of Ploegsteert, in the municipality of Comines-Warneton (Komen-Waasten), Belgium. The cemetery lies on the southern edge of the Ypres Salient, the section of the Western Front where fighting during the First World War was among the fiercest and most sustained of the entire conflict.

Where exactly is the cemetery located?

The site sits at coordinates 50.7375°N, 2.88264°E, right next to the village of Ploegsteert. While less widely known than the town of Ypres itself, this stretch of front line saw four years of near-constant combat between 1914 and 1918. The surrounding woods and fields still hold dozens of similar war cemeteries, all cared for by the CWGC as a lasting record of the losses suffered along this part of the front.

What is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission?

The CWGC is responsible for maintaining the graves and memorials of Commonwealth service members who died in the two World Wars. The commission oversees thousands of cemeteries and monuments worldwide, including hundreds concentrated in the Ypres Salient — an area that, due to its strategic position and proximity to the English Channel ports, remained a focal point of fighting between German forces and British, French and allied troops throughout the war.

Why does the name reference Hyde Park and the Royal Berkshire Regiment?

The name Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) combines two features typical of British military naming conventions from the period. Soldiers frequently gave trenches, crossroads and other landmarks names borrowed from familiar places back home, a practice that helped make the unfamiliar and dangerous terrain of the front feel more recognisable. The "Royal Berks" element refers to the Royal Berkshire Regiment, whose soldiers are buried here or who were closely associated with the establishment of this burial ground.

What is the cemetery like today?

Like most CWGC sites, Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery is modest and carefully maintained — rows of uniform white headstones set within tended lawns, in quiet contrast to the history the site holds. Cemeteries of this kind are not conventional tourist attractions; they function instead as places of remembrance, visited by descendants of the fallen, historians, and travellers following the former Western Front through Flanders.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery located? In the village of Ploegsteert, part of the municipality of Comines-Warneton (Komen-Waasten) in Belgium, on the southern edge of the Ypres Salient.

Who maintains the cemetery? The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the organisation responsible for Commonwealth war graves worldwide.

From which period does the cemetery date? The First World War (1914–1918), when the area around Ypres was one of the most heavily fought-over sections of the Western Front.

Where does the cemetery's name come from? It combines the British wartime habit of naming front-line locations after familiar places at home (Hyde Park Corner) with a reference to the Royal Berkshire Regiment.

Can visitors access the cemetery? Yes, CWGC cemeteries are open to the public year-round and free to visit.