RENINGHELST CHURCHYARD EXTENSION
West-Vlaanderen
Belgium
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 50.81662 Longitude: 2.76422
Location Information
Reningelst Churchyard is located 9.5 Kms south-west of Ieper in the village of Reningelst, on a road leading from the N308 Poperingseweg.
From Ieper town centre the Poperingseweg (N308), is reached via Elverdingsestraat then directly over two small roundabouts in the J.Capronstraat. The Poperingseweg is a continuation of the J.Capronstraat and begins after a prominent railway level crossing.
On reaching the main crossroads in the village of Vlamertinge take the left hand turning onto the Bellestraat. After crossing the N38 Ieper Poperinge road, the village of Reningelst lies 6 Kms beyond Vlamertinge. On reaching the village, turn right onto the Zevekotestraatand continue to the Reningelstplein where the Churchyard is clearly visible.
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access with some difficulty.
Historical Information
The village of Reninghelst was occupied by Commonwealth forces from the autumn of 1914 to the end of the war and was sufficiently far from the front line to provide a suitable station for field ambulances. The churchyard and the extension were used from March to November 1915, when the New Military Cemetery was opened.
The CHURCHYARD contains three First World War burials, one of them is commemorated by a special memorial as the grave cannot now be identified.
The EXTENSION contains 56 First World War burials and two from the Second World War.
Total Burials: 58.
World War One Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 54, Australia 1. Total 55.
World War One Unidentified Casualty: 1.
World War Two Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 2. Total 2.
The extension was designed by William Harrison Cowlishaw
Reningelst Churchyard is located 9.5 Kms south-west of Ieper in the village of Reningelst, on a road leading from the N308 Poperingseweg.
From Ieper town centre the Poperingseweg (N308), is reached via Elverdingsestraat then directly over two small roundabouts in the J.Capronstraat. The Poperingseweg is a continuation of the J.Capronstraat and begins after a prominent railway level crossing.
On reaching the main crossroads in the village of Vlamertinge take the left hand turning onto the Bellestraat. After crossing the N38 Ieper Poperinge road, the village of Reningelst lies 6 Kms beyond Vlamertinge. On reaching the village, turn right onto the Zevekotestraatand continue to the Reningelstplein where the Churchyard is clearly visible.
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access with some difficulty.
Historical Information
The village of Reninghelst was occupied by Commonwealth forces from the autumn of 1914 to the end of the war and was sufficiently far from the front line to provide a suitable station for field ambulances. The churchyard and the extension were used from March to November 1915, when the New Military Cemetery was opened.
The CHURCHYARD contains three First World War burials, one of them is commemorated by a special memorial as the grave cannot now be identified.
The EXTENSION contains 56 First World War burials and two from the Second World War.
Total Burials: 58.
World War One Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 54, Australia 1. Total 55.
World War One Unidentified Casualty: 1.
World War Two Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 2. Total 2.
The extension was designed by William Harrison Cowlishaw
Images in this gallery © Geerhard Joos
Men of the 7th Pioneer Battalion Durham Light Infantry parading for the trenches; Reninghelst, near Ypres, 29th April 1916. © IWM Q 537
The Churchyard at Reninghelst, the extension is on the other side of the hedge.
Images in this gallery © Werner Van Caneghem
Chaplain 3rd Class
The Rev. Michael Bergin, M. C.
Australian Army Chaplains Department
12th October 1917.
Grave 1.
From Tipperary, Ireland. He was a 35 year old school teacher at the Holy Family College, Fagala, Cairo, Egypt when he was accepted into the 3rd Light Horse Regiment as a Chaplain 4th Class on 13 May 1915. While serving with the 5th Light Horse Regiment at Gallipoli, he was taken ill in September and evacuated to England for medical treatment. On recovering, he returned to Egypt in December 1915 and transferred to the 51st Battalion. He proceeded to France in June 1916 and although attached to the 51st Battalion, ministered to men of the whole 13th Brigade. He spent a lot of time with soldiers in the front line and was killed by a shell on 12th October 1917 near Broodseinde Ridge, Belgium. Chaplain Bergin is buried in the Reninghelst Churchyard Extension, Belgium and was posthumously awarded a Military Cross for distinguished service in the field.
The Rev. Michael Bergin, M. C.
Australian Army Chaplains Department
12th October 1917.
Grave 1.
From Tipperary, Ireland. He was a 35 year old school teacher at the Holy Family College, Fagala, Cairo, Egypt when he was accepted into the 3rd Light Horse Regiment as a Chaplain 4th Class on 13 May 1915. While serving with the 5th Light Horse Regiment at Gallipoli, he was taken ill in September and evacuated to England for medical treatment. On recovering, he returned to Egypt in December 1915 and transferred to the 51st Battalion. He proceeded to France in June 1916 and although attached to the 51st Battalion, ministered to men of the whole 13th Brigade. He spent a lot of time with soldiers in the front line and was killed by a shell on 12th October 1917 near Broodseinde Ridge, Belgium. Chaplain Bergin is buried in the Reninghelst Churchyard Extension, Belgium and was posthumously awarded a Military Cross for distinguished service in the field.
Second Lieutenant
William Leonard Brown
6th Bn. Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
25th September 1915, aged 23.
Grave 10.
Son of Major Abraham Brown and Lucie Brown, of 20, Hardwick St., Buxton, Derbyshire. A Solicitor.
His headstone bears the inscription "Greatly Loving, Truly Loved"
William Leonard Brown
6th Bn. Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
25th September 1915, aged 23.
Grave 10.
Son of Major Abraham Brown and Lucie Brown, of 20, Hardwick St., Buxton, Derbyshire. A Solicitor.
His headstone bears the inscription "Greatly Loving, Truly Loved"
King George V (centre) accompanied by Major-General Sir Julian Byng, Commander of the Canadian Corps (left), and a battalion commander, passing through rows of cheering Canadian troops of the 25th and 26th Battalions at Reninghelst, 14th August 1916. © IWM Q 974
Gunners of the 7th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery preparing a 6 inch field gun (Mark VII) for action at Reninghelst, 15th June 1916. © IWM Q 699
11274 Private
Thomas Langman
2nd Bn. Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
5th May 1915.
Grave 31.
Thomas Langman
2nd Bn. Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
5th May 1915.
Grave 31.
3/7089 Private
William Leonard Mills
1st Bn. Dorsetshire Regiment
3rd May 1915, aged 18.
Grave 43.
Son of Henry and Rosetta Mills, of Leytonstone, London.
William Leonard Mills
1st Bn. Dorsetshire Regiment
3rd May 1915, aged 18.
Grave 43.
Son of Henry and Rosetta Mills, of Leytonstone, London.
World War Two Graves
Picture © Werner Van Caneghem
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Picture © Werner Van Caneghem
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Gunners of the Royal Garrison Artillery outside a bomb-proof dug-out at Reninghelst, 15th June 1916. © IWM Q 698
2nd November 1917; Australian mechanics of the 24th and 29th Ordnance Mobile Workshops near Reninghelst, overhauling Australian field guns, after the recent heavy firing during the Third Battle of Ypres. The 29th Ordnance Workshop was an Imperial unit, commanded at the time of the photograph by Captain Donald Ross Cameron MC, Australian Army Ordnance Corps (AAOC). This workshop was with the Australians for over twelve months commencing at Heilly and Varennes on the Somme, then on to Becordel and Bapaume. Identified, left to right: Private (Pte) Morris, Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC); Pte Anderson; unidentified (under 1st Anzac Corps sign); Quartermaster Sergeant Garvey, RAOC (facing camera); unidentified (in front of Garvey); Warrant Officer Class 1 N. Miller DCM, AAOC (in front of Garvey); Sergeant Cargill, RAOC (behind Garvey); Pte Adams (behind Cargill). The other men are unidentified.
A 6 inch gun (Mark VII) of the 7th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery in action; between Dickebusch and Reninghelst, 15th June 1916. © IWM Q 702
Unloading road building material from a train. Reninghelst, near Ypres, April 1916. © IWM Q 539
Second Lieutenant
Curwen Vaughan Rawlinson
3rd Bn. attached to 1st Bn. Dorsetshire Regiment
21st May 1915, aged 24.
Grave 26.
Son of the late Charles William Rawlinson, a Master of the Supreme Court, and of Amy Vaughan Rawlinson, of Winchfield, Hants.
His headstone bears the inscription "Who Shall Ascend Into The Hill Of The Lord? Even He That Hath Clean Hands And A Pure Heart"
Curwen Vaughan Rawlinson
3rd Bn. attached to 1st Bn. Dorsetshire Regiment
21st May 1915, aged 24.
Grave 26.
Son of the late Charles William Rawlinson, a Master of the Supreme Court, and of Amy Vaughan Rawlinson, of Winchfield, Hants.
His headstone bears the inscription "Who Shall Ascend Into The Hill Of The Lord? Even He That Hath Clean Hands And A Pure Heart"
Second Lieutenant
Kenneth Theodore Dunbar Wilcox
8th Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
8th November 1915, aged 20.
Grave 2.
Son of the Rev. Alfred G. Wilcox, M.A., C.F., Vicar of St. George's, Battersea Park Rd., London, S.W. (Senior Chaplain of the XV (Scottish) Division and the Highland Division) and Mrs. A. G. Wilcox. Formerly King's Scholar of Westminster School, and Westminster Exhibitioner of Christ Church, Oxford.
His headstone bears the inscription "Faithful Unto Death"
Kenneth Theodore Dunbar Wilcox
8th Bn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
8th November 1915, aged 20.
Grave 2.
Son of the Rev. Alfred G. Wilcox, M.A., C.F., Vicar of St. George's, Battersea Park Rd., London, S.W. (Senior Chaplain of the XV (Scottish) Division and the Highland Division) and Mrs. A. G. Wilcox. Formerly King's Scholar of Westminster School, and Westminster Exhibitioner of Christ Church, Oxford.
His headstone bears the inscription "Faithful Unto Death"
