No Man's Cot Cemetery

No Man's Cot Cemetery is a small Commonwealth war cemetery on the outskirts of Ypres, near the village of Boezinge (formerly spelled Boesinghe) in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Tucked away from the busier memorial circuits around Ypres, it's one of the quieter, less-visited stops on the region's First World War heritage trail.

Where does the unusual name come from?

The cemetery takes its name from a building that once stood on the south side of Admiral's Road, roughly halfway along the route between Boesinghe and Wielje. Soldiers referred to this building as "No Man's Cot," and the name stuck — first to the surrounding battlefield, then to the burial ground itself. Today it remains the official designation used by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), which maintains the site.

What happened here during the war?

For most of the First World War, the eastern edge of Boesinghe sat directly opposite the German front line, with the fighting running close along the Ypres-Yser canal. The ground around No Man's Cot saw years of static trench warfare, artillery bombardment and patrol actions typical of this stretch of the front.

Burials at the cemetery began at the end of July 1917 and continued until March 1918 — a period that coincided with major Allied offensives around Ypres, including the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele. Most of the men buried here died during the fighting for control of the ground north of the city in those months.

Who is buried at No Man's Cot Cemetery?

The cemetery holds 79 First World War burials. More than half of them are officers and men of the 51st (Highland) Division, a Scottish formation that suffered heavy losses in the fighting across this part of Flanders in 1917. The concentration of graves from a single division gives the site particular significance for descendants of Scottish soldiers and for those researching the division's wartime record.

What does the cemetery look like today?

The cemetery's layout was designed by W. H. Cowlishaw, an architect who worked with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on several of the smaller cemeteries scattered across Flanders. Like most CWGC sites in the area, No Man's Cot Cemetery follows a restrained, orderly design: uniform white headstones set in mown grass with modest planting, without the large-scale memorial structures found at bigger sites such as Tyne Cot.

Why visit this cemetery?

Because it sits away from the main tourist routes, No Man's Cot Cemetery tends to attract visitors with a specific interest — those tracing the history of a particular regiment or unit, or travelers looking for a quieter setting to reflect on the scale of losses suffered during the First World War. It makes a worthwhile stop for anyone exploring the area around Boezinge and the Ypres-Yser canal, offering a smaller but carefully maintained counterpart to the region's larger, more famous cemeteries.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the cemetery located? On the outskirts of Ypres, near the village of Boezinge, along the former Admiral's Road that ran between Boesinghe and Wielje.

How many people are buried here? 79 First World War casualties, buried between the end of July 1917 and March 1918.

Why are most of the graves from the 51st (Highland) Division? The division fought heavily in this sector during the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917 and suffered significant losses there.

Who designed the cemetery? Architect W. H. Cowlishaw, who worked with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on several Flanders cemeteries.