Ruisseau Farm Cemetery

Ruisseau Farm Cemetery is a small First World War burial ground standing near the site of the former Ruisseau Farm, just north of Ieper close to Langemark. It is one of many war cemeteries scattered across this stretch of Flanders, cared for today by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

Where does the name come from and what happened here?

The cemetery takes its name from Ruisseau Farm, a local landmark that gave its name to the surrounding ground fought over during the autumn of 1917. The position was captured on 8 October 1917 by the Guards Division, fighting alongside French troops, as part of the wider Flanders campaign known as the Third Battle of Ypres. That offensive saw repeated, costly attacks by Allied forces against German-held ridges and farmland around Ieper.

When was the cemetery started?

Once the fighting in this sector had died down, the divisional burial officer began the cemetery, gathering and burying the men who had fallen in the advance. In the weeks that followed, further burials were added by artillery units stationed in the area, whose gun crews continued to support operations against German lines nearby. The cemetery remained in use until the end of November 1917, when the onset of winter brought a lull to fighting on this part of the front.

How many soldiers are buried here?

Ruisseau Farm Cemetery holds 82 First World War burials, six of which are unidentified; their graves are marked with the words reserved for soldiers known only to God. This makes it a modest, intimate site compared with the vast cemeteries elsewhere in the Ypres Salient, representative of the many smaller burial grounds established close to where men actually fell.

Who designed the cemetery?

The cemetery was designed by W. H. Cowlishaw, one of the architects who worked for the Imperial War Graves Commission (the forerunner of today's CWGC) on the post-war commemoration of the dead across Flanders and northern France. Cowlishaw's layouts, like those of his contemporaries, combined restrained architectural forms — uniform headstones, a Cross of Sacrifice, and carefully planted greenery — to create a peaceful setting for visiting families and later generations.

Where exactly is it located?

The cemetery lies within the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle, north of the city of Ieper, just off the N313 road. It is surrounded by the flat farmland typical of West Flanders — quiet countryside today, though in 1917 this was one of the most fiercely contested landscapes of the Western Front.

Frequently asked questions

Is the cemetery open to visitors? Yes. Like most CWGC sites, Ruisseau Farm Cemetery is open to the public throughout the year, free of charge.

Are soldiers from more than one country buried here? The ground was taken by the Guards Division fighting alongside French forces, but the burials themselves are predominantly British and Commonwealth soldiers, in keeping with how the CWGC maintains its cemeteries.

How does it compare with the larger cemeteries near Ypres? Unlike sprawling sites such as Tyne Cot, Ruisseau Farm Cemetery is a small, local burial ground tied to a specific episode of fighting for this stretch of the front in autumn 1917.