RIDGE WOOD MILITARY CEMETERY
West-Vlaanderen
Belgium
GPS Coordinates - Latitude: 50.81138, Longitude: 2.85046
Location Information
Ridge Wood Military cemetery is located 5 Kms south-west of Ieper town centre, on the Slijpstraat, a road leading from the Kemmelseweg (connecting Ieper to Kemmel N331).
From Ieper town centre the Kemmelseweg is reached via the Rijselsestraat, through the Lille Gate (Rijselpoort), and straight on towards Armentieres (N365). 900 metres after the crossroads is the right hand turning onto the Kemmelseweg (made prominent by a railway level crossing).
4 Kms along the Kemmelseweg on the right hand side lies Elzenwalle Military Cemetery, which marks the junction with Slijpstraat. Ridge Wood Military Cemetery lies 1 Km along the Slijpstraat, after a small staggered crossroads.
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access is possible via the main entrance.
Historical Information
Ridge Wood was the name given to a wood standing on high ground between the Kemmel road and Dickebusch Lake.
The cemetery lies in a hollow on the western side of the ridge and the position was chosen for a front line cemetery as early as May 1915. The first graves were from the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles and similar groups were made by the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st Canadian Battalions and the 9th Durham Light Infantry at the times when they occupied this sector. The German advance in the spring of 1918 pushed the front line back on to the ridge, and it was not till July that the wood was finally cleared by the 6th and 33rd Divisions. There are few burials from these last battles in the cemetery and the graves of some French divisions, which fought alongside Commonwealth forces in April and May, were removed to other burial grounds.
The cemetery contains 619 Commonwealth burials of the First World War.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Total Burials: 621.
Identified Casualties: Canada 292, United Kingdom 255, Australia 44, New Zealand 3, Germany 1. Total 595.
Unidentified Casualties: United Kingdom 5, Unknown 20. Total 25.
Ridge Wood Military cemetery is located 5 Kms south-west of Ieper town centre, on the Slijpstraat, a road leading from the Kemmelseweg (connecting Ieper to Kemmel N331).
From Ieper town centre the Kemmelseweg is reached via the Rijselsestraat, through the Lille Gate (Rijselpoort), and straight on towards Armentieres (N365). 900 metres after the crossroads is the right hand turning onto the Kemmelseweg (made prominent by a railway level crossing).
4 Kms along the Kemmelseweg on the right hand side lies Elzenwalle Military Cemetery, which marks the junction with Slijpstraat. Ridge Wood Military Cemetery lies 1 Km along the Slijpstraat, after a small staggered crossroads.
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access is possible via the main entrance.
Historical Information
Ridge Wood was the name given to a wood standing on high ground between the Kemmel road and Dickebusch Lake.
The cemetery lies in a hollow on the western side of the ridge and the position was chosen for a front line cemetery as early as May 1915. The first graves were from the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles and similar groups were made by the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st Canadian Battalions and the 9th Durham Light Infantry at the times when they occupied this sector. The German advance in the spring of 1918 pushed the front line back on to the ridge, and it was not till July that the wood was finally cleared by the 6th and 33rd Divisions. There are few burials from these last battles in the cemetery and the graves of some French divisions, which fought alongside Commonwealth forces in April and May, were removed to other burial grounds.
The cemetery contains 619 Commonwealth burials of the First World War.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Total Burials: 621.
Identified Casualties: Canada 292, United Kingdom 255, Australia 44, New Zealand 3, Germany 1. Total 595.
Unidentified Casualties: United Kingdom 5, Unknown 20. Total 25.
Archive images © Commonwealth War Graves Commission
These images were taken in the 1950's and show that there was a shelter at the entrance of the cemetery and a gardeners shed in the corner, both have subsequently been demolished.
3700 Lance Corporal
Arthur Edward Thomas Burne, M. M.
49th Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
12th October 1916, aged 23.
Plot III. F. 2.
Originally from Rathdrum, Ireland, Pte Burne was a labourer from Oakey, Queensland prior to enlistment and embarked with the 12th Reinforcements from Brisbane on HMAT Itonus on 30 December 1915. Later transferring to the 49th Battalion, he was promoted to Lance Corporal and awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field. His brother 4742 Corporal Charles Radford Burne was killed in action on 11 April 1917 and is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
Arthur Edward Thomas Burne, M. M.
49th Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
12th October 1916, aged 23.
Plot III. F. 2.
Originally from Rathdrum, Ireland, Pte Burne was a labourer from Oakey, Queensland prior to enlistment and embarked with the 12th Reinforcements from Brisbane on HMAT Itonus on 30 December 1915. Later transferring to the 49th Battalion, he was promoted to Lance Corporal and awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field. His brother 4742 Corporal Charles Radford Burne was killed in action on 11 April 1917 and is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
59280 Private
George P. Dupuis
21st Bn. Canadian Infantry, (Eastern Ontario Regiment).
27th November 1915
Plot I. N. 3.
This soldiers' death is recorded in the book "A Rifleman goes to war"
Picture courtesy of Randy Byers, great nephew of this soldier.
1090 Private
Clive Stanley Hamilton
45th Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
6th October 1916, aged 23.
Plot III. A. 6.
Son of Charles John and Harriet Josephine Hamilton, of Garah, New South Wales. Native of Moree, New South Wales.
Clive Stanley Hamilton
45th Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
6th October 1916, aged 23.
Plot III. A. 6.
Son of Charles John and Harriet Josephine Hamilton, of Garah, New South Wales. Native of Moree, New South Wales.
Images in this gallery © Geerhard Joos
Soldiers, mules and carts stopped on a street in the ruined village of Voormezeele. August 1917.
Captain
Leslie James Moorhouse
46th Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
1st October 1916, aged 29.
Plot III. L. 2.
Capt Moorhouse was a ledger-keeper at the Parramatta branch of the Bank of New South Wales before enlisting on 4 January 1915. He embarked from Melbourne as a Second Lieutenant with the 5th Reinforcements, 14th Battalion on 17 April 1915. He was seriously wounded on Gallipoli on 8 August 1915, and evacuated to hospital in London. He returned to Egypt on 20 December 1915 and was transferred to the 46th Battalion. In June 1916 he was sent to France and he was promoted to the rank of Captain on 15 July 1916. He was killed in action on 1 October 1916. He and four of his men were killed by an enemy shell, shortly after their return from a successful raid on the enemy's trenches. His commanding officer wrote that he was 'always thorough and I felt that any work left in his hands would be faithfully carried out.'
Leslie James Moorhouse
46th Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
1st October 1916, aged 29.
Plot III. L. 2.
Capt Moorhouse was a ledger-keeper at the Parramatta branch of the Bank of New South Wales before enlisting on 4 January 1915. He embarked from Melbourne as a Second Lieutenant with the 5th Reinforcements, 14th Battalion on 17 April 1915. He was seriously wounded on Gallipoli on 8 August 1915, and evacuated to hospital in London. He returned to Egypt on 20 December 1915 and was transferred to the 46th Battalion. In June 1916 he was sent to France and he was promoted to the rank of Captain on 15 July 1916. He was killed in action on 1 October 1916. He and four of his men were killed by an enemy shell, shortly after their return from a successful raid on the enemy's trenches. His commanding officer wrote that he was 'always thorough and I felt that any work left in his hands would be faithfully carried out.'
6355 Private
Herbert Arthur Stuart
3rd Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
6th March 1918, aged 29.
Plot I. S. 2.
Son of William Wallace Stuart and Eileen Stuart, of Sydney, New South Wales.
An indent merchant prior to enlisting, he embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Euripides (A14) on 9 September 1916. Pte Stuart, was killed in action on 6 March 1918 when hit by a gas shell on the Hill 60 front, Belgium, aged 29.
Herbert Arthur Stuart
3rd Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
6th March 1918, aged 29.
Plot I. S. 2.
Son of William Wallace Stuart and Eileen Stuart, of Sydney, New South Wales.
An indent merchant prior to enlisting, he embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Euripides (A14) on 9 September 1916. Pte Stuart, was killed in action on 6 March 1918 when hit by a gas shell on the Hill 60 front, Belgium, aged 29.
3971 Lance Corporal
Arthur Woodhead, D. C. M.
2nd Bn. Australian Infantry. A.I.F.
28th March 1918, aged 21.
Plot III. Y. 1
Son of Ernest and Gertrude Evelyn Woodhead, of "Arthursleigh," Rose St., Enfield, Sydney, New South Wales. Native of Sheffield, England.
Picture courtesy of Richard Woodhead, nephew of this soldier
Arthur Woodhead, D. C. M.
2nd Bn. Australian Infantry. A.I.F.
28th March 1918, aged 21.
Plot III. Y. 1
Son of Ernest and Gertrude Evelyn Woodhead, of "Arthursleigh," Rose St., Enfield, Sydney, New South Wales. Native of Sheffield, England.
Picture courtesy of Richard Woodhead, nephew of this soldier
Arthur Woodhead's Distinguished Conduct Medal citation.
|
Arthur Woodhead's Distinguished Conduct Medal and other medal ribbons.
|
Soldiers bathing in the pond of a farm near St. Eloi, 10 June 1917. © IWM Q 5500
Images in this gallery © Werner Van Caneghem
The ruins of Chateau Segard, near Voormezeele, 30th April 1916. © IWM Q 546
German shell bursting near Chateau Segard, Voormezeele, 30th April 1916. © IWM Q 548
The 55th Australian Siege Battery in action with 9.2 inch howitzer near Voormezeele. Camouflage netting screens the emplacement. © IWM (E(AUS) 694)
Artillery officers at mess by the side of a communication trench, Ridge Wood, 10 June 1917. © IWM Q 5478
Artillery officers in a concealed communication trench, near Ridge Wood, 10 June 1917. © IWM Q 5483
