Le Touquet Railway Crossing Cemetery

Le Touquet Railway Crossing Cemetery is a small Commonwealth war cemetery located in the municipality of Comines-Warneton, roughly 15 km south of the centre of Ypres. It sits along rue du Touquet, just off the N365 main road connecting Ypres to Wijtschate, Mesen, Ploegsteert and Armentières, about a kilometre past another burial ground, Tancrez Farm Cemetery.

Where does the name come from?

The cemetery takes its name from Le Touquet Railway Station, which stood nearby in 1914. The station itself did not survive the fighting, but its name was carried over to the cemetery that grew up alongside it.

What is the history behind this site?

The cemetery was established and used during a short but intense period of the First World War, between October 1914 and June 1915. This stretch of Flanders saw fierce positional warfare, and the front line ran just a few hundred yards from where the burials took place. A significant portion of the graves in Rows A to E belong to 28 men of the 1st Rifle Brigade, killed in October and November 1914 during heavy German attacks on the 11th Infantry Brigade. The cemetery was designed by G. H. Goldsmith, an architect responsible for the layout of several similar war cemeteries in the region.

How many graves are at the cemetery?

Le Touquet Railway Crossing Cemetery holds 74 Commonwealth war graves from the First World War. Of these, 24 remain unidentified, marked as the graves of unknown soldiers in line with standard practice of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), which continues to maintain the site today.

Can visitors go there?

Yes, the cemetery is open permanently and free to visit. Wheelchair access is available through the main entrance. It is a quiet, modest site of remembrance, typical of the hundreds of similar cemeteries scattered across the former front-line areas of West Flanders — with little tourist infrastructure, but a strong historical character.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Le Touquet Railway Crossing Cemetery located? Along rue du Touquet in the municipality of Comines-Warneton, Hainaut province, about 15 km south of Ypres, close to the wartime front line of 1914–1915.

Who is buried at this cemetery? Mostly British soldiers, including a large group from the 1st Rifle Brigade who fell in the autumn of 1914, along with men from other Commonwealth units who fought in the area until June 1915.

Is the cemetery part of a wider remembrance trail? It lies right next to Tancrez Farm Cemetery, making it part of a broader network of war cemeteries scattered along the former front line in the Ypres–Ploegsteert–Armentières area, popular among those tracing the First World War history of Flanders.

Who looks after the cemetery? The site is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), which is responsible for the upkeep and documentation of Commonwealth war cemeteries worldwide.