AEROPLANE CEMETERY
West-Vlaanderen
Belgium
GPS Coordinates Latitude: 50.86419 Longitude: 2.93088
Location Information
Aeroplane Cemetery is located 3.5 kilometres north east of Ieper town centre on the Zonnebeekseweg (N332), a road connecting Ieper to Zonnebeke. Two roads connect Ieper town centre onto the Zonnebeekseweg; the Torhoutstraat leads from the market square onto a small roundabout. At the roundabout the first right turn is Basculestraat. At the end of Basculestraat there is a crossroads and Zonnebeekseweg is the turning to the left. The cemetery itself lies 3 kilometres along the Zonnebeekseweg on the right hand side of the road, shortly after a French cemetery.
From October 1914 to the summer of 1918, Ypres (now Ieper) was the centre of a salient held by Commonwealth (and for some months also by French) forces.
Historical Information
The site of the cemetery was in No Man's Land before 31 July 1917 when the 15th (Scottish) Division, with the 55th (West Lancashire) Division on their left, took nearby Verlorenhoek and Frezenberg. The cemetery was begun the following month (under the name of the New Cemetery, Frezenberg) by the 15th and the 16th (Irish) Divisions, but by October it had acquired its present name from the wreck of an aeroplane which lay near the present position of the Cross of Sacrifice. It was used by fighting units until March 1918, and again, after a period of occupation by the Germans, in September 1918. Plots II to VIII, and part of Plot I, were formed after the Armistice when graves were brought in from small burial grounds and the surrounding battlefields.
The only considerable burial grounds concentrated into Aeroplane Cemetery were the following:
BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY (ENCLOSURE No. 5), ZILLEBEKE, a little East of the Ypres-Wytschaete Road. This enclosure, which was separate from the others now forming Bedford House Cemetery, contained the graves of 14 men of the 1st Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and six of the 1st Devons who fell in April, 1915.
LOCK 8 CEMETERY, VOORMEZEELE, in a field about 200 metres North of Lock 8 on the Ypres-Comines Canal. It contained the graves of 19 soldiers from the United Kingdom and two from Australia and two German prisoners, who fell in July-September, 1917.
There are now 1,105 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 636 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate eight casualties known or believed to be buried among them.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and Noel Ackroyd Rew
Total burials: 1,105.
Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 318, Australia 119, Canada 17, New Zealand 15, South Africa 1. Total 469.
Unidentified Casualties: 636.
Aeroplane Cemetery is located 3.5 kilometres north east of Ieper town centre on the Zonnebeekseweg (N332), a road connecting Ieper to Zonnebeke. Two roads connect Ieper town centre onto the Zonnebeekseweg; the Torhoutstraat leads from the market square onto a small roundabout. At the roundabout the first right turn is Basculestraat. At the end of Basculestraat there is a crossroads and Zonnebeekseweg is the turning to the left. The cemetery itself lies 3 kilometres along the Zonnebeekseweg on the right hand side of the road, shortly after a French cemetery.
From October 1914 to the summer of 1918, Ypres (now Ieper) was the centre of a salient held by Commonwealth (and for some months also by French) forces.
Historical Information
The site of the cemetery was in No Man's Land before 31 July 1917 when the 15th (Scottish) Division, with the 55th (West Lancashire) Division on their left, took nearby Verlorenhoek and Frezenberg. The cemetery was begun the following month (under the name of the New Cemetery, Frezenberg) by the 15th and the 16th (Irish) Divisions, but by October it had acquired its present name from the wreck of an aeroplane which lay near the present position of the Cross of Sacrifice. It was used by fighting units until March 1918, and again, after a period of occupation by the Germans, in September 1918. Plots II to VIII, and part of Plot I, were formed after the Armistice when graves were brought in from small burial grounds and the surrounding battlefields.
The only considerable burial grounds concentrated into Aeroplane Cemetery were the following:
BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY (ENCLOSURE No. 5), ZILLEBEKE, a little East of the Ypres-Wytschaete Road. This enclosure, which was separate from the others now forming Bedford House Cemetery, contained the graves of 14 men of the 1st Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and six of the 1st Devons who fell in April, 1915.
LOCK 8 CEMETERY, VOORMEZEELE, in a field about 200 metres North of Lock 8 on the Ypres-Comines Canal. It contained the graves of 19 soldiers from the United Kingdom and two from Australia and two German prisoners, who fell in July-September, 1917.
There are now 1,105 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 636 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate eight casualties known or believed to be buried among them.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and Noel Ackroyd Rew
Total burials: 1,105.
Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 318, Australia 119, Canada 17, New Zealand 15, South Africa 1. Total 469.
Unidentified Casualties: 636.
November 1917; Assault on Passchendaele 12 October - 6 November: A single soldier makes his way through the remains of trees, mud and water in what was the battlefield. © IWM CO 2265
Original grave of 2857 Lance Corporal Eric George Padman,
50th Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F. 27th September 1917, aged 21.
Sp. Mem. No. 6. After the war, the actual location within the cemetery of his remains could not be verified and he now has a headstone with the words "Believed to be Buried."
Images in this gallery © Geerhard Joos
Shot at Dawn
8164 Private Bert Hartells, 3rd Bn. Worcestershire Regiment, executed for desertion 26th July 1915, aged 32. Plot II. A. 6/7.
A pre-war Regular who had enlisted in 1904, he arrived in France in Aug 1914. On 15 June 1915, he & Pte Ernest Fellows were in a platoon warned for an attack near Ypres the next morning, but by 1700 both men were missing. On 8 July, they were found together by the RMP in Hondeghem, half-way to Dunkirk, in uniform but without their equipment, saying that they had left their unit only 2 days previously.
At trial, Hartells blamed heavy drinking for his conduct, saying that he had wandered from his bivouac; &, later had tried to find his battalion. He had not intended to desert, as he had a wife & children.
Upon conviction, his CO said that Hartells had always done his work well in the trenches; & that a previous absence (from 25 Nov 1914 to 4 Feb 1915) had been from the transport lines, Hartells not having sought to avoid dangerous duty. All commanders endorsed the sentence, which was confirmed on 23 July. (Corns, pp.224-228) Fellows is buried in Perth (China Wall) cemetery, E of Ypres, Belgium.
7377 Private John Robinson, 3rd Bn. Worcestershire Regiment, executed for desertion 26th July 1915, aged 31. Plot II. A. 6/7. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Robinson, of No. 1 Back, 120, Long Acre, Nechells, Birmingham.
7625 Private Alfred Thompson, 3rd Bn. Worcestershire Regiment, executed for desertion 26th July 1915, aged 25. Plot II. A. 8. Son of Mrs. Martha Thompson, of 2 Bk, 24 Florence St., Holloway Head, Birmingham.
On 27 June 1915, they were both told of a move to the trenches near Ypres that evening, but neither was present at parade at 2000. On 5 July, Robinson & Thompson were found at Abancourt on a train for Rouen, saying that they had been put on the train by a French officer: since they lacked travel passes, they were arrested.
At trial, Robinson blamed heavy drinking, saying that they had slept in a field that night, & in the morning had reported to a French barracks, hence the train to Rouen. He denied an intention to desert, adding that: ‘I have been out in the country since August 1914 & finish my 13 years’ service in December this year’.
Thompson’s defence was along the same lines, but he added that excess alcohol always brought on a loss of memory arising from an accident when he was aged 16 when his skull was fractured. Mercy was recommended for Thompson on account of the head injury. The CO said that Thompson’s conduct in & out of the trenches had been good until recently, but that his nerves had been in a bad state for some time. A medical board sat on 16 July & found no evidence that the head injury had any permanent effect & had not caused loss of memory.
Mercy was also recommended for Robinson on account of good service, & his CO said that Robinson’s nerves had been bad for some time. At Brigade level, the recommendations were endorsed in each case, but not thereafter. (Corns, pp. 224-228)
Shot at Dawn Headstones pictures copyright Geerhard Joos
8164 Private Bert Hartells, 3rd Bn. Worcestershire Regiment, executed for desertion 26th July 1915, aged 32. Plot II. A. 6/7.
A pre-war Regular who had enlisted in 1904, he arrived in France in Aug 1914. On 15 June 1915, he & Pte Ernest Fellows were in a platoon warned for an attack near Ypres the next morning, but by 1700 both men were missing. On 8 July, they were found together by the RMP in Hondeghem, half-way to Dunkirk, in uniform but without their equipment, saying that they had left their unit only 2 days previously.
At trial, Hartells blamed heavy drinking for his conduct, saying that he had wandered from his bivouac; &, later had tried to find his battalion. He had not intended to desert, as he had a wife & children.
Upon conviction, his CO said that Hartells had always done his work well in the trenches; & that a previous absence (from 25 Nov 1914 to 4 Feb 1915) had been from the transport lines, Hartells not having sought to avoid dangerous duty. All commanders endorsed the sentence, which was confirmed on 23 July. (Corns, pp.224-228) Fellows is buried in Perth (China Wall) cemetery, E of Ypres, Belgium.
7377 Private John Robinson, 3rd Bn. Worcestershire Regiment, executed for desertion 26th July 1915, aged 31. Plot II. A. 6/7. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Robinson, of No. 1 Back, 120, Long Acre, Nechells, Birmingham.
7625 Private Alfred Thompson, 3rd Bn. Worcestershire Regiment, executed for desertion 26th July 1915, aged 25. Plot II. A. 8. Son of Mrs. Martha Thompson, of 2 Bk, 24 Florence St., Holloway Head, Birmingham.
On 27 June 1915, they were both told of a move to the trenches near Ypres that evening, but neither was present at parade at 2000. On 5 July, Robinson & Thompson were found at Abancourt on a train for Rouen, saying that they had been put on the train by a French officer: since they lacked travel passes, they were arrested.
At trial, Robinson blamed heavy drinking, saying that they had slept in a field that night, & in the morning had reported to a French barracks, hence the train to Rouen. He denied an intention to desert, adding that: ‘I have been out in the country since August 1914 & finish my 13 years’ service in December this year’.
Thompson’s defence was along the same lines, but he added that excess alcohol always brought on a loss of memory arising from an accident when he was aged 16 when his skull was fractured. Mercy was recommended for Thompson on account of the head injury. The CO said that Thompson’s conduct in & out of the trenches had been good until recently, but that his nerves had been in a bad state for some time. A medical board sat on 16 July & found no evidence that the head injury had any permanent effect & had not caused loss of memory.
Mercy was also recommended for Robinson on account of good service, & his CO said that Robinson’s nerves had been bad for some time. At Brigade level, the recommendations were endorsed in each case, but not thereafter. (Corns, pp. 224-228)
Shot at Dawn Headstones pictures copyright Geerhard Joos
Dressing Station on Frezenberg, Zonnebeke Road. Comparative photograph. © IWM (Q 27217)
Ruins of Zonnebeke Village. © IWM (Q 17845)
Images in this gallery © Werner Van Caneghem
Dead Germans outside a group of concrete emplacements, near Zonnebeke, 23rd September 1917. © IWM Q 2892
Aeroplane Cemetery, mid 1920's.
