First D.C.L.I. Cemetery, The Bluff
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The First D.C.L.I. Cemetery, CWGC, Palingbeek, Ypres, dates from a period earlier than the fighting of 1916. It contains the graves of 51 officers and men of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (one of whom had just obtained a commission in another Regiment) and other soldiers, all of whom died in April-July 1915. There are twenty three men in Row D who were brought here after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefield.
The 1st Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, as part of the 5th Division, held the trenches numbered on trench maps as 24, 25 and 26 for 91 days from 7 April rotating the companies in and out of the line. They worked on the Kingsway Dugouts by the Canal Bank as well as improving the trench positions, and they created the First DCLI Cemetery. It is worth noting that the majority of the men who were killed in the canal sector from the 5th Division are almost all commemorated on the Menin Gate. On the right of the 1st DCLI, the 2nd Manchesters also had a long spell in the line at the Bluff as did the 1st East Surreys who were on the left of the 1st DCLI at the Ravine trenches. The 1st and 4th Gordon Highlanders of 3rd Division held the trenches here for one month in July and the command post on the raised ground on the northern canal bank between the Bluff and Spoilbank was named Gordon Post.
The Bluff was created from the spoil thrown up from a large cutting when the Ypres to Comines Canal was being constructed. The trench lines ran between Verbrandenmolen on the left and The Bluff and the early trenches were constructed by the French in 1914. The British then took over the line and the trenches were numbered, as opposed to being named trenches, and the fighting here went on for four years. Writing in her ‘Battle Book of Ypres’, Beatrix Brice quotes Lieutenant-Colonel H, d’Arch Smith, 2nd Suffolks who describes the work in reclaiming land from the overflowing water, and consolidating their trenches: ‘We floundered in the mud, we endeavoured to stop or rather to divert the endless flow of water which the Boche, being as always in higher ground than ourselves, cleverly poured into our trenches to join streams that flowed in from our back area. In fact we became amphibious. With keenness, ingenuity, and cunning we dug where we could, erected parapets where we could not, and filled hundreds of sandbags, with a sort of porridges of mud as a foundation before anything could be built up… The arrival of timber and of ready-made duck-boards helped matters, and support and communication trenches began to look as though they might resist a puff of wind, though the front-line ones had not much more strength than what a barrier of barbed wire lent them.’
Mine Warfare at the Bluff
The Ypres-Comines canal was excavated here before the War and the spoil from the workings was thrown up on either side and this was known as the Bluff and further along the canal, Spoilbank. Trench lines were established here from 1914 first by French troops and then by the British. Mine warfare was a prominent feature with many craters are still visible today. An extraordinary incident occurred on 30
December 1915 which was recorded in his diary by Billy Congreve, Brigade-Major, 76th Brigade, 3rd Division: ‘Some excitement today. About 7am this morning, all the water in the big Bluff crater suddenly disappeared with a rush and left exposed in the south-west corner of it the entrance to a Boche gallery. Brisco (2nd Lieutenant R B Brisco, Royal Engineers) at once went up and started off down the gallery by himself, leaving a man armed with a rifle at the entrance. After going about sixty feet, he heard somebody coming towards him, so he slowly retired. When he had got close back to the entrance again he waited and, as soon as the Boche showed his head round the corner, fired with his revolver. He missed. The man who was with him, in his excitement, let off his rifle. It flew up and hit Brisco a whack on the nose that nearly knocked him out, so the Boche got away. I went up in the afternoon to see how things were and found the crater almost dry. Many tons of water must have run down the Boche gallery…… I found three grenadiers of the RWF sitting on top of the block! These I hurriedly withdrew to a safe distance. About half an hour later the Boche blew up his gallery from the inside without doing us any damage, so now all is quiet…’ Read more about the Mine Craters of Messines Ridge.
Retaking The Bluff – March 1916
Before the attack on Verdun the Germans initiated a series of diversionary attacks along the allied line. One of these attacks was against the British line at the Bluff in the Ypres Salient. They exploded a mine in front of the Bluff on 22 January and shelling half a mile of front line trenches, including the Bluff itself, on the 14th February. The front line was defended by the 17th Division’s 51st Brigade which had relieved the 76th Brigade on 7th February. The Bluff was held by a single platoon of the 10/Lancashire Fusiliers when the Germans attacked. Their positions were blasted by artillery and the men sought cover in the Bluff’s tunnels. This was a fatal mistake as the Germans exploded a small mine beneath and buried the occupants. The captured trenches were consolidated and repeated attacks to retake them failed. It was concluded by the commander of V Corps that to retake The Bluff and the lost trenches would require a more detailed plan and the attack to be undertaken by troops who knew the ground. For this reason 76th Brigade were recalled from reserve and placed under the command of 17th Division for the attack on 2 March. Brigadier General H.C.C. Uniacke, GOC Royal Artillery, V Corps, was brought in to arrange artillery co-operation. All four of 76th Brigades Battalions would be taking part in addition to 7/Lincolns and 10/Sherwood Foresters from the 51st Brigade. The plan was for the 2/Suffolks, supported by the 10/Royal Welch Fusiliers to storm The Bluff as well as the canal bank where the German mine workings were suspected. Companies of the 1/Gordon Highlanders were to attack on the left and the 8/King’s Own to attack the centre. The difficult area was The Bluff because of its height and the ability for surveillance. It was considered impossible for the 2/Suffolks to cross No Man’s land without supporting artillery cover. To do this would forewarn the Germans. It was estimated that two minutes was all the time the Suffolks needed to cover the ground. It was Uniacke who came up with the answer. He would arrange for a battery to fire a salvo at The Bluff, followed by another salvo two minutes later and this pattern would be fired at irregular intervals day and night leading up to the day of the attack. Only at zero hour would one salvo be fired and while the Germans were taking cover expecting the second salvo the Suffolks would cross and storm the German positions. At 4.30am after the guns fired for two minutes being the usual salvo the Germans had been expecting at 4.32am as the fire ceased the assault went in. the Germans were taken by surprise and except for the loss of one of the tunnelling parties and three platoons of ‘A’ Company, Gordon Highlanders who were practically annihilated by machine-gun fire, all objectives were achieved. Two men from Falkirk District died in the action by the Gordon Highlanders Private John Anderson of Larbert and Private Charles Mason of Plean, Falkirk.
1st DCLI, 14th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division
Captain Charles Burnett Woodham DSO, Mentioned in Despatches. Killed in action 15 June 1915, age 40. Grave C.1. The son of Reverend William and Jane Woodham, of "Balmoral," Clarence Parade, Southsea, Hampshire. He was educated at Cheltenham College and then went to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He married Eleanor (nee Grant) in Portsmouth in 1907. His brother Hugh, serving as a Trooper, was killed during the Second Boer War, and another brother, Ernest age 35 and serving as a Private in the 32nd Battalion, Australian Infantry, died of wounds (gas) on 16 February 1917 and is buried in Bernafay Wood British Cemetery. Charles joined the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and served in the Second Boer War and was appointed as Adjutant to the 7th Battalion Durham Light Infantry on 1 September 1908. His award of the DSO appeared in the London Gazette of 24 March 1915. He was shot and killed by a sniper in Trench 31.
2nd Lieutenant Arthur Cecil D’Arcy Lynes, 1st Battalion Duke of Cornwell’s Light Infantry, 14th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division. Killed in action 10 July 1915, age 27. Grave A.18. Son of the Reverend John and Mary Lynes, of Chalbury Rectory, Hinton Martel, Wimborne, Dorset. He was a regular soldier enlisting in Bodmin and was formerly 8414 Sergeant in the 1st Battalion Duke of Cornwell’s Light Infantry, He had just received his commission and was still with the Battalion when he died of his wounds on 10 July 1915. The War Diary records that the Germans heavily trench mortared the Battalion trenches using six mortars. They replied with two small trench mortars, one of which burst after firing seven rounds. The Germans also shelled trenches 32S and R. They record no casualties. The War Diary records two Sergeants by name being commissioned on 2 July however, there is no mention of Arthur’s commission on or before 10 July. The Commonwealth War Graves record him as serving with 1st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment which is the Regiment he was commissioned to join. He is listed on the Canadian Veterans Roll as service number 8414 and serving with the 1st Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry.
2nd Battalion Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment), 13th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division. There two men who were reburied here after the Armistice.
On the 18 April 1915 the Battalion were in the Railway Dugouts when they were called to relieve the Royal West Kents and King’s Own Scottish Borderers who had attacked and captured Hill 60 following a mine explosion on 17 April. Lieutenant Cecil William Gason Ince, Adjutant to the Battalion, gave an account of the action by the Battalion that took place on 18 April. He noted that Hill 60 was ‘practically a cemetery, and hundreds must have been buried on the ground, it proving impossible, when digging trenches, not to disturb some poor fellow in his last long sleep’ At the time that the mines were blown the Battalion was in billets in Ypres with the Battalion HQ in the Railway Dugouts and two Companies were in an old artillery battery position in Zillebeke, with one other Company located in the dugouts in the railway embankment that faced Bedford House. On the 18 April the Battalion went forward and took over the front line positions with ‘A’ Company in the forward craters and they were in close proximity to the enemy. They were attacked with hand grenades and the situation got worse as the day wore on and at noon ‘B’ Company with a platoon from ‘C’ and ‘D’ Companies went forward to reinforce ‘A’ Company. The Battalion then received orders to attack the German line and eject them from their positions that they had taken earlier. At 6pm and with supporting artillery fire and fixed bayonets they charged the enemy positions, ‘C’ Company had to charge over 50 yards of open ground and consequently suffered heavy casualties. ’D’ Company also had to attack over open ground and they lost all of their officers. The Battalion successfully retook the trenches and consolidated the line. In his account Ince reminds the reader that: ‘… if it be remembered that the space fought over on the four and half days between 17th and 21st April was only 250 yards in length, about 200 yards in depth. On to that small area the enemy for hours on end hurled tons of metal and high
explosive…’ 7994 Private Albert Clarke, Killed in action 18 April 1915, age 29. Grave D.4. Son of Richard and Betsy Clarke, of Birmingham; He was married to Lily, and they lived at 39 Heaton Street, Hockley, Birmingham. He was exhumed from a burial site near to Hill 60 and reburied here in 1925 and was identified from his boots and clothing. Epitaph: EVER REMEMBERED BY HIS WIFE AND SON ALBERT 7315 Private William Elliott, Killed in action 18 April 1915, age 30. Grave D.8. Son of John and Jane Elliott; He was married to Alice and they lived at 18 Chassum Street, Manningham, Bradford, Yorks. He was exhumed from a burial site near to Hill 60 and reburied here in 1925 and was identified from his boots and clothing. Epitaph: A SILENT THOUGHT A SECRET TEAR KEEP HIS MEMORY EVER DEAR R.I.P.
Lieutenant Cecil William Gason Ince went on to win the Military Cross (MC) and later served as a ‘Gold Staff Officer’ attending the Coronation of King George VI in 1937.
1st/9th Battalion London Regiment (Queen Victoria’s Rifles), 13th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division.
Second Lieutenant Dudley Leycester Summerhays, ‘D’ Company, Killed in action 21 April 1915, age 26. Grave D.11. Son of Thomas Charles Summerhays, J.P., and Marian Edith Summerhays (nee Sherriff), of Woodgate House, Wimbledon, London. He was educated at Rokeby School, Wimbledon, and Westminster School. He was a keen amateur dramatist and singer, and was also the Honorary Secretary of the Soldiers and Sailors Families Association (SSAFA). He was member of the O.T.C. and had completed his training as a Solicitor's articled clerk. He joined the 5th East Surrey Regiment and was later commissioned joining the Queen Victoria Rifles and went to France on 4 November 1914. The Battalion was in action at Hill 60 on 21 April 1915 with the War Diary recording: ‘2 Off killed, 2 Off wounded, 1 Off missing, 15 R+F killed, 107 R+F wounded.’ They were relieved and rested in a field south of Vlamertinghe where they were addressed by General Smith-Dorien, Commanding 2nd Army. Dudley was originally listed on the Menin Gate Memorial but his body was found in a burial plot near to Larch Wood Dugouts and he was reburied here.
The Battalion won the first Territorial Victoria Cross in the fighting at Hill 60, Lieutenant G Harold Wooley, his Victoria Cross was gazetted on 22 May 1915. During the fighting on the night of 20/21 April ‘Although the only officer on the hill at the time, and with very few men, he successfully resisted all attacks on his trench and continued throwing bombs and encouraging his men until relieved.’
Captain Gilbert Jocelyn Basil Fazakerley-Westby, Killed in action 21 April 1915, age 32. Grave D.13. Only son of Captain Fazakerley-Westby, D.L., J.P., and Beatrix Fazakerley-Westby, of Mowbreck Cottage, Victoria Avenue, Westgate-on-Sea, Kent. He joined the London & County Westminster Bank as a teller when aged 18 in 1899 and was then promoted to clerk in 1904. He enlisted in the QVR Territorials in 1911. The Battalion was in action at Hill 60 on 21 April 1915 with the War Diary recording: ‘2 Off killed, 2 Off wounded, 1 Off missing, 15 R+F killed, 107 R+F wounded.’ They were relieved and rested in a field south of Vlamertinghe where they were addressed by General Smith-Dorien, Commanding 2nd Army. He was exhumed and reburied here in 1925, the Graves Registration Unit Concentration return showing him as ‘Unknown British Captain 9/London Regt.’ and recorded on the Menin Gate as one of the missing. However, the burial return for this cemetery shows that he was now identified.
Location
First DCLI Cemetery is located 4 km south east of Ieper town centre, on the Verbrandemolenstraat a road leading from the Komenseweg, connecting Ieper to Komen (N336).From Ieper town centre the Komenseweg is located via the Rijselsestraat, through the Rijselpoort (Lille Gate) and crossing the Ieper ring road, towards Armentieres and Lille. The road name then changes to Rijselseweg. 1 km along the Rijselseweg lies the left hand turning onto Komenseweg. Approximately 2.5 km along the Komenseweg lies the right hand turning onto the Vaartstraat. 900 metres along the Vaartstraat lies the left hand turning onto the Verbrandemolenstraat. Approximately 400 metres along the Verbrandemolenstraat a short distance from the road is the cemetery.
The cemetery was designed by J R Truelove.
Burials
The cemetery contains 76 First World War burials
UK – 76 (Known Unto God – 13)
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