Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground located near Poperinge, in the province of West Flanders, Belgium. It holds the graves of First World War casualties from the Ypres Salient on the Western Front, and it stands today as one of the most significant war cemeteries in this part of Belgium.

Why is this cemetery so large?

Lijssenthoek is the second largest Commonwealth war cemetery in Belgium, surpassed only by Tyne Cot. Its scale reflects the role the site played during the war: four large Allied casualty clearing stations operated in the immediate area. Wounded soldiers from the fighting around Ypres were brought here for treatment, and those who did not survive were buried on site. Because of this, Lijssenthoek is not a battlefield cemetery in the strict sense — it is the resting place of men who died after being evacuated from the front line, in the medical facilities set up just behind it.

Where exactly is the cemetery located?

The cemetery sits near the town of Poperinge, in the province of West Flanders, within the wider area known as the Ypres Salient — the bulge in the front line around the town of Ypres that remained one of the bloodiest sections of the Western Front for most of the war. Its coordinates are approximately 50.829 N, 2.701 E, placing it to the west of Ypres itself, further back from the fighting than most cemeteries associated with the Salient.

Who is buried here?

The majority of those buried at Lijssenthoek are Commonwealth soldiers wounded in the fighting around Ypres who were transported to the nearby casualty clearing stations and later died despite medical treatment. This origin — a cemetery tied to a medical rear area rather than a front-line battlefield — makes Lijssenthoek a distinct kind of memorial: a record of losses shaped as much by the era's medical and logistical realities as by combat itself.

Why does this site matter today?

The cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the organisation responsible for commemorating and caring for the graves of Commonwealth service members who died in the two World Wars. As the second largest Commonwealth cemetery in Belgium, Lijssenthoek forms part of the broader network of remembrance sites connected to the Ypres Salient, alongside Ypres itself, Tyne Cot, and the many other cemeteries and memorials scattered across West Flanders.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery? A CWGC war cemetery holding the graves of Commonwealth soldiers who died during the First World War in the Ypres Salient, on the Western Front.

Where is it located? Near Poperinge, in the province of West Flanders, Belgium, close to the Ypres Salient area.

Is it the largest Commonwealth cemetery in Belgium? No — it is the second largest. Tyne Cot is the largest.

Why are so many soldiers buried here specifically? Because four large casualty clearing stations operated nearby, treating soldiers wounded in the fighting around Ypres; those who died despite treatment were buried on site.

Who maintains the cemetery? The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which is responsible for the upkeep and commemoration of Commonwealth war graves.