New Irish Farm Cemetery

New Irish Farm Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery located north of Ypres (Ieper), Belgium, commemorating servicemen who died during the First World War. The cemetery takes its name from a nearby farm that troops called "Irish Farm" — the burial ground sits roughly 300 metres north of the farm, at a crossroads once known as Hammond's Corner.

When was the cemetery established?

The site was first used for burials from August to November 1917, and again in April and May 1918, during fighting on this section of the Western Front around Ypres. At the time of the Armistice in November 1918, the cemetery held only 73 burials, arranged in three irregular rows that make up what is now known as Plot I.

Why did the cemetery grow so much larger?

After the war, New Irish Farm Cemetery was substantially enlarged. More than 4,500 graves were brought in from the battlefields north-east of Ypres and from numerous smaller, scattered cemeteries in the surrounding area. This process of grave concentration was common practice in the Flanders region after the war, as many temporary wartime burial sites were consolidated into larger, permanent cemeteries maintained long-term.

How many people are buried here?

Today, New Irish Farm Cemetery holds the graves of, or commemorates, 4,715 Commonwealth servicemen from the First World War. Of these, 1,449 have been identified by name, while 3,267 burials remain unidentified. Special memorials mark the graves of four casualties believed to be buried among the unidentified. Further special memorials record the names of 30 casualties originally buried in four other cemeteries that were concentrated into New Irish Farm, whose graves were destroyed by shellfire during the war.

Who designed the cemetery?

The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, one of the principal architects employed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to design war cemeteries across Flanders and northern France after the First World War. His characteristic design elements — symmetrical rows of headstones, a stone Cross of Sacrifice, and carefully planned planting — can be recognised at other CWGC cemeteries throughout the region as well.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the cemetery located? New Irish Farm Cemetery lies north of the town of Ypres (Ieper) in the West Flanders province of Belgium, near a site formerly known as Hammond's Corner.

Is the cemetery open to visitors? Yes, like most CWGC cemeteries in Flanders, New Irish Farm Cemetery is open to the public and forms part of the remembrance trail associated with the Battles of Ypres.

Why do so many burials remain unidentified? The intensity of the fighting around Ypres, repeated shifts in the front line, and destruction caused by artillery bombardment meant that many casualties could not be identified during postwar exhumation and grave concentration.