Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing

Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing is a First World War commemoration maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), standing in the Belgian village of Ploegsteert, part of the municipality of Comines-Warneton, close to the border with France. The memorial rises in the middle of Berks Cemetery Extension, a military cemetery of which it forms an integral part — a feature that sets it apart from many other CWGC memorials that stand as separate, standalone structures.

Who does the memorial honour?

The memorial commemorates soldiers of the Allied Powers who fought on the northern part of the Western Front, outside the area known as the Ypres Salient — the bulge in the front line around Ypres associated with some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. Unlike the men who fell directly within the Ypres Salient itself, those honoured here fought on an adjoining but historically and administratively distinct stretch of the front.

A defining feature of this type of monument is that it honours the missing — soldiers whose bodies were never found or identified. Their names appear on no headstone, which is why the CWGC builds separate memorials bearing the names of the fallen. The Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing fulfils exactly this role for soldiers who died in this sector of the front.

Why is it located here?

The location is far from arbitrary. Ploegsteert — known to British soldiers by the affectionate nickname "Plugstreet" — sat on the front line for much of the First World War and was the scene of sustained fighting throughout the conflict. Placing the memorial in the middle of Berks Cemetery Extension brings together two forms of remembrance: the graves of identified soldiers buried in the cemetery, and the named commemoration of those whose remains were never recovered. This layout gives visitors a fuller picture of the scale of loss — both the losses marked by an actual grave and those represented only by a name carved in stone.

What should visitors know before going?

The site sits in a quiet, rural setting on the Belgian–French border, away from the busiest tourist routes of the wider Ypres region. As a result, a visit here tends to be intimate and reflective — the site does not draw crowds, and the surroundings of the military cemetery encourage quiet contemplation. For anyone interested in the history of the First World War on the Western Front, it makes a natural addition to a visit to the larger, better-known memorial sites around Ypres.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing? It is a CWGC memorial commemorating Allied soldiers who died in the First World War on the Western Front and whose burial place remains unknown.

Where exactly is it located? In the village of Ploegsteert, in the municipality of Comines-Warneton, standing in the middle of Berks Cemetery Extension.

How does it differ from memorials within the Ypres Salient? It commemorates soldiers who fought on the adjoining stretch of front outside the Ypres Salient itself, a distinct category in CWGC's classification of commemoration.

Is the memorial part of a larger cemetery? Yes — it stands directly within Berks Cemetery Extension, combining the function of a cemetery with that of a named memorial to the missing.