Voormezeele Enclosure N° 3

Voormezeele Enclosure No. 3 is a First World War British military cemetery located roughly 4 km southwest of the centre of Ypres (Ieper), along Ruusschaartstraat, a road branching off Kemmelseweg. It forms part of the wider group known as the Voormezeele Enclosures, a set of neighbouring cemeteries established in the same sector of the Ypres Salient — the bulging front line held by Commonwealth forces for most of the war.

How did this cemetery come about?

The site was started in February 1915 by the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, one of the first Canadian units sent to fight in Europe. Over the following years it grew steadily as fighting continued around the villages and low ridges surrounding Ypres, one of the deadliest stretches of the Western Front. Of the several enclosures sharing the Voormezeele name, No. 3 is by far the largest.

How is the cemetery laid out?

The grounds are divided into more than a dozen plots, marked with Roman numerals. Plots I to IX date from the fighting itself, opened by different units or pairs of units — some contain burials as late as October 1918, in the war's final weeks. Plots XIII to XVI were added only after the Armistice, when remains were brought in from smaller, scattered burial sites that had existed across the surrounding battlefield. This layered structure, combining wartime burials with later concentrations, is characteristic of many cemeteries across the Ypres Salient.

How many servicemen are buried here?

Voormezeele Enclosure No. 3 holds the graves or commemorations of 1,611 Commonwealth servicemen from the First World War. Of these, 609 burials remain unidentified. Special memorials mark the presumed resting place of 15 casualties known or believed to be buried among the unidentified graves, since their exact plots could not be determined.

Who designed the cemetery?

The Voormezeele Enclosures were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, one of the most influential British architects of his generation and a principal designer for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission across the former Western Front. Lutyens is also credited with the concept of the Stone of Remembrance, a design element found in CWGC cemeteries worldwide.

Frequently asked questions

Is Voormezeele Enclosure No. 3 a single cemetery or several? It is the largest single cemetery within a cluster of neighbouring sites collectively called the Voormezeele Enclosures; other enclosures, such as No. 1 and No. 2, lie separately nearby.

Who is buried here? Commonwealth servicemen, including Canadian units, who died fighting in the Ypres Salient between 1915 and 1918.

How do you get there? The cemetery sits on Ruusschaartstraat, off Kemmelseweg, about 4 km southwest of the centre of Ypres.

Is the site open to visitors? Yes. Like most Commonwealth War Graves Commission sites, it is open to the public free of charge.