RE Grave, Railway Wood

RE Grave, Railway Wood is a small Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemetery and memorial standing within the Ypres Salient on the First World War's Western Front. It sits on the Bellewaerde Ridge, near the village of Zillebeke, roughly 4 kilometres east of Ypres and just north of Hooge.

Where exactly is it located?

The site lies within the area known as the Cambridge Road sector, positioned roughly halfway between Wieltje and Hooge. This modest stretch of ground carries an outsized historical weight: it was the scene of intense underground fighting during the First World War. The cemetery's coordinates place it at approximately 50.852°N, 2.937°E, right in the middle of ground that saw some of the most gruelling static warfare of the entire conflict.

Why is this spot linked to underground warfare?

Between 1914 and 1918, the Cambridge Road sector became a battleground not only above ground but beneath it. Both sides dug extensive tunnel systems, aiming to place explosive charges directly under enemy positions — a tactic that turned this part of the Ypres Salient into one of the most dangerous mining zones of the war. The name "RE Grave" points directly to this history: RE stands for Royal Engineers, the British Army corps responsible for tunnelling, mining, and fortification work along the front. Their presence here reflects just how central this small patch of the Salient was to the underground struggle that shaped much of the fighting around Ypres.

What else can be found nearby?

Standing close to RE Grave, Railway Wood is the Liverpool Scottish Memorial, Railway Wood, another monument commemorating soldiers who fought in this same sector. The proximity of the two memorials makes this corner of the Salient a natural stop for visitors tracing the more specialised, less-trodden threads of Great War history — the tunnellers and engineers whose work is often overshadowed by accounts of trench warfare on the surface.

What does this site represent today?

RE Grave, Railway Wood remains under the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the organisation entrusted with maintaining the graves and memorials of Commonwealth servicemen who died in the two World Wars. Compared with the vast cemeteries elsewhere in the Ypres Salient, such as Tyne Cot, this site is modest in scale — yet it forms an essential part of the wider network of remembrance spread across the region. For visitors drawn to the underground dimension of the war, and to the engineers who fought a silent, deadly campaign beneath the trenches, this memorial offers a direct link to a chapter of the conflict that rarely receives the same attention as the battles fought above ground.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is RE Grave, Railway Wood located? On the Bellewaerde Ridge near Zillebeke, about 4 kilometres east of Ypres and just north of Hooge, within the Cambridge Road sector.

Who maintains this site? It is cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

What is nearby? The Liverpool Scottish Memorial, Railway Wood stands close by, commemorating soldiers who fought in the same part of the front.

Why was this sector militarily significant? The Cambridge Road sector saw intense underground mining warfare, with engineers tunnelling beneath enemy lines — a distinctive feature that set this part of the Ypres Salient apart from the rest of the front.