Reninghelst New Military Cemetery

Reninghelst New Military Cemetery is a First World War British military cemetery located in the village of Reningelst (formerly spelled Reninghelst), part of the municipality of Poperinge in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It lies beside a road leading off the N308 Poperingseweg, roughly 9.5 kilometres south-west of the centre of Ypres (Ieper).

Why was a cemetery established here?

Reninghelst remained in Commonwealth hands for almost the entire war, from the late autumn of 1914 until the Armistice. Its distance from the front line made it a suitable location for medical facilities — field ambulances and casualty clearing stations operated in and around the village, treating soldiers wounded during the fighting near Ypres. The earliest burials of servicemen who died here took place in the village churchyard, but as casualties mounted, a larger, dedicated military cemetery became necessary.

When was it opened, and for how long was it used?

The New Military Cemetery was opened in November 1915 and remained in continuous use until September 1918 — spanning almost the entire remaining course of the war on this section of the Flanders front. This unusually long period of use means the cemetery reflects successive phases of the fighting around Ypres, from the static trench warfare of 1915–1917 through to the final battles of 1918.

How many burials are there?

The cemetery now contains 798 Commonwealth burials from the First World War. For a cemetery established behind the lines rather than on the battlefield itself, this is a substantial number, reflecting the scale of casualties passing through the medical stations in the area — men who reached treatment but could not be saved.

Who designed the cemetery?

The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, one of the principal architects commissioned by what is now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to design cemeteries across the former Western Front. Blomfield was responsible for numerous similar cemeteries throughout Flanders and Picardy, and his characteristic approach — orderly rows of headstones set within a formal layout, anchored by a Cross of Sacrifice — is evident here as well.

What else is nearby?

Reningelst sits close to other First World War sites of remembrance, including the extension to the churchyard where earlier burials took place before the New Military Cemetery opened. The wider Ypres Salient area contains one of the densest concentrations of war cemeteries in Europe, a direct legacy of the intensity and duration of the fighting that took place here between 1914 and 1918.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the cemetery located? In Reningelst, part of the municipality of Poperinge, beside a road off the N308 Poperingseweg, about 9.5 km from the centre of Ypres.

What period do the burials date from? November 1915 to September 1918.

How many people are buried here? 798 Commonwealth servicemen from the First World War.

Who designed the cemetery? Sir Reginald Blomfield.