HOOGE CRATER CEMETERY

Ieper

West-Vlaanderen

Belgium

GENERAL DIRECTIONS: Hooge Crater Cemetery is 4 Kms east of Ieper town centre on the Meenseweg (N8), connecting Ieper to Menen. From Ieper town centre the Meenseweg is located via Torhoutstraat and right onto Basculestraat. Basculestraat ends at a main crossroads, directly over which begins the Meenseweg. The cemetery itself is located 3.5 Kms along the Meenseweg on the right hand side of the road.

Hooge Chateau and its stables were the scene of very fierce fighting throughout the First World War. On 31 October 1914, the staff of the 1st and 2nd Divisions were wiped out when the chateau was shelled; from 24 May to 3 June 1915, the chateau was defended against German attacks and in July 1915, the crater was made by a mine sprung by the 3rd Division. On 30 July, the Germans took the chateau, and on 9 August, it and the crater were regained by the 6th Division. The Germans retook Hooge on 6 June 1916 and on 31 July 1917, the 8th Division advanced 1.6 Kms beyond it. It was lost for the last time in April 1918, but regained by the 9th (Scottish) and 29th Divisions on 28 September. Hooge Crater Cemetery was begun by the 7th Division Burial Officer early in October 1917. It contained originally 76 graves, in Rows A to D of Plot I, but was greatly increased after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields of Zillebeke, Zantvoorde and Gheluvelt and the following smaller cemeteries:- BASS WOOD CEMETERIES No.1 and No.2, ZILLEBEKE, on the East side of the Bassevillebeek, 1 Km South of Herenthage Chateau. They contained the graves of 48 soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in December, 1917-March, 1918. KOELENBERG GERMAN CEMETERIES, GHELUWE, close together on the South side of the Menin Road, in which were buried ten soldiers from the United Kingdom. K.O.S.B. CEMETERY, GHELUWE, on the Menin Road, 1 Km West of Gheluwe. Here were buried, after the capture of Gheluwe by the 34th Division, in October, 1918, 18 soldiers from the United Kingdom, of whom ten belonged to the 1st/5th K.O.S.B. LA CHAPELLE FARM, ZILLEBEKE, between Chester Farm and Blauwepoort Farm, where 17 soldiers from the United Kingdom were buried in February and March, 1915. MENIN ROAD PILLBOX CEMETERY, ZILLEBEKE, between Herenthage Chateau and Gheluvelt, where 20 soldiers from the United Kingdom were buried in October, 1917. NIEUWE KRUISEECKE CABARET CEMETERY, GHELUVELT, on the South side of the Menin Road, where 21 soldiers from the United Kingdom and one from Canada were buried in October, 1918. PILLBOX CEMETERY, ZONNEBEKE, 500 metres North-East of Westhoek, which was used in October, 1917; there were buried in it 34 soldiers from Australia, 26 from the United Kingdom, two from Canada and one of the British West Indies Regiment. SANCTUARY WOOD OLD BRITISH CEMETERY, ZILLEBEKE, within the wood and North-East of the present cemetery; there were buried in it, in 1915-1917, 50 soldiers from the United Kingdom (of whom 30 were unidentified) and four from Canada. TOWER HAMLETS CEMETERY, GHELUVELT, between Gheluvelt and Bass Wood, on the West side of a row of "pillboxes" called Tower Hamlets; it contained the graves of 36 soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in the winter of 1917-1918. WESTHOEK RIDGE SMALL CEMETERY, ZONNEBEKE, in Westhoek village, "near the Area Commandant's pillbox and the A.D.S."; it was used in the autumn of 1917, and it contained the graves of 16 soldiers from Australia and six from the United Kingdom. There are now 5,923 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 3,579 of the burials are unidentified, but special memorials record the names of a number of casualties either known or believed to be buried among them, or whose graves in other cemeteries were destroyed by shell fire. The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. 

CASUALTY DETAILS: UK 5183; Canada 105; Australia 513; New Zealand 121; Total Burials: 5922

Alternative view of the upper part of the cemetery showing the area which was designed to symbolise the crater

Hooge Crater Cemetery, pictured from Maple Copse

3428 Private

Frank Monaghan

2nd Bn. Northumberland Fusiliers

22/02/1915, aged 23.

La Chapelle Farm Special Memorial 13.

Killed at La Chapelle Farm at Ypres (Hill 60) Born 30th April 1891 at 10 Dunn Street Jarrow Son of William Monaghan of 46 Lord Street Jarrow, and the late Catherine Monaghan (Casey)

Commemorated at Hooge Crater Cemetery West Vlaanderen, Ypres, Belgium On Special Memorial 13 To those who died at La Chapelle Farm

Frank was a regular soldier and had enlisted aged 21 in Jarrow June/July 1912. On 22nd February 1915 after four days of heavy fighting near Verbrandenmolen Zillebeke Belgium La Chapelle Farm Frank was mortally wounded and died shortly after from his wounds

Out of nearly 50 killed from the 2nd battalion Northumberland Fusiliers during the four days fighting Frank was the only one who got buried at La Chapelle Farm All of the rest were lost without trace and are commemorated on the Menin Gate

He was buried at La Chapelle farm with a wooden cross as a marker Buried alongside Frank were 12 other crosses 10 from the 1st Lincolnshire's, 2 from the 1st Dorsetshire's and one from the 1st Bedfordshire's During the preceding years the little wooden cross cemetery was pounded by shellfire and by the end of the war there was no trace of any graves After the war the Commonwealth Graves Commission made a Duhallow (special memorial) at Hooge Crater Cemetery a few kilometres away to those lost graves at La Chapelle farm

Frank had served in the Royal Navy prior to WW1 (hence the photograph of him in Naval uniform which was taken 1910-11 which is the only surviving photograph of him) He was dishonourably discharged from the Royal Navy 5th August 1911 for striking a non commissioned officer The photograph was taken between 10th March 1910 to 5th August 1911 when he served on HMS Monmouth a Battle Cruiser built in 1903 Ironically it was sunk by the Nurnberg at the Battle of Coronel in the Falklands on the 1st of November 1914 with the loss of all hands

Picture courtesy of Vin Mullen

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