Poelcapelle British Cemetery
Updated: Nov 5
Poelcapelle British Cemetery (now Poelkapelle) was taken by the Germans from the French on 20 October 1914, entered by the 11th Division on 4 October 1917, evacuated by Commonwealth forces in April 1918, and retaken by the Belgians on 28 September 1918. The formal layout clearly marks this as a concentration cemetery. The great majority of the graves date from the last five months of 1917, and in particular October, but certain plots (IA, VIA, VIIA, LI and LXI) contain many graves of 1914 and 1915. Poelcapelle British Cemetery was made after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the surrounding battlefields.
Poelcapelle and Third Battle of Ypres
Poelcapelle and the surrounding area was the site of severe fighting during the Third Battle of Ypres. The 48th (South Midland) Division with the 11th (Northern) and 14th (Light) Divisions in support took the west of the village on 4 October 1917, and on the 9 October after fighting house to house the 11th (Northern) Division took the remainder of the village. On the 14 October three Battalion of the 18th (Eastern) Division, the 8th Battalion East Surreys and the 7th Battalion The Buffs to the north of the road and the 7th Battalion West Kents to the south of the road, attacked to the east of the village towards the village of Westrozebeke. In this action The Buffs were reduced to 100 men. The limit of the British advance around Poelcappelle was reached on 22 October when an attack by the 10th Battalion Essex Regiment and the 8th Battalion East Surreys reached the area occupied by the cemetery.
Tanks at Poelcapelle
At the roundabout in Poelcapelle there is a monument to the men of the Tank Corps who fought in the Ypres Salient. For three days from 19 to 22 August, the tanks attacked up the road from St Julien towards Poelcapelle reaching Keerselare crossroads and assisted the infantry in capturing the enemy pill boxes at Mont du Hibou and Cockcroft. The condition of the pavé road was in surprisingly good condition despite the shelling however; it was covered in slime and made driving conditions difficult as did crashing over the fallen trees with carful driving required to avoid skidding off the road into the ditch. Thirty-four tanks took part in the attack on 22 August, eighteen became mired as soon as they left the road and another six were destroyed by shell fire. Infantry casualties numbered some three thousand over the three days. ‘B’ Battalion, 2nd Tank Brigade, Actin at Hooge 30/31 July 1917 There are two men from this Battalion killed on the 30/31 July 1917 near Maple Cope. They were buried where they fell and their bodies exhumed and reburied here after the Armistice. On the 30 July 1917 the tanks of 2nd Tank Brigade ‘A’ and ‘B’ Battalions were moving up to the attack as part of II Corps which consisted of 8th Division on the left from the Ypres to Roulers railway astride the Menin road, and the 30th Division on the right, with the 18th Division in support ready to pass through once the first objective, including Glencorse Wood, had been taken. The tanks of ‘B’ Battalion had reached Valley Cottages near to Maple Copse when both Ernest and Geoffrey was killed most probably by shell fire. 76110 Gunner Ernest John Buffin, Gloucestershire Regiment attached ‘B’ Battalion, 2nd Tank Brigade, Tank Corps, Killed in action 31 July 1917, age 21. Grave LVI.C.2. One of four sons and four daughters of Henry and Elizabeth S. Buffin, of Fairplay Cottages, Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire. The 1911 census lists Ernest as 15 years of age and working as a ‘hod boy’ working with his father in the local coal mine. His job was to convey coal or haul coal from the working coal face to mine wagons or tubs using a box or carrier called a hod. He had originally enlisted in the RAMC and then joined the Machine Gun Corps and was attached from the Gloucestershire Regiment to the Tank Corps. Second Lieutenant Geoffrey Arthur Henry Ley, 3rd Battalion Devonshire Regiment attached ‘B’ Battalion, 2nd Tank Brigade, Tank Corps. Killed in action 30 July 1917 age 37. Grave LVI.C.1. Eldest of two sons and a daughter of Arthur Henry and Violet Ley, 77 Comeragh Road, West Kensington, London. He was employed as an insurance clerk when he enlisted in the 17th Battalion Royal Fusiliers and was then commissioned gazetted Second Lieutenant and joined the 3rd Battalion Devonshires and then the Machine Gun Corps before then joining the Tank Corps. His younger brother Maurice was killed on the Somme on 1 July 1916, age 20, serving with the 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment. A tank destroyed in the fighting for Poelcapelle in 1917 was stuck in the mud at the roundabout in the village and was captured in the photograph of the unveiling of the Guynemer Monument.
Georges Guynemer
At the roundabout in Poelcapelle there is a monument to French air ace Georges Guynemer who was killed in a dog-fight over the village of Poelcapelle on 11 September 1917. He was a member of the Escadrille des Cogognies, the flying stork emblem of the squadron, sits on the top of the Monument and is said to be pointing in the direction Guynemer was flying when he was shot down. His body was recovered but subsequently lost in the artillery bombardments in the area. A tank destroyed in the fighting for Poelcapelle in 1917 was stuck in the mud at the roundabout in the village and was captured in the photograph of the unveiling of the Guynemer Monument.
Church Bells
The church in Poelcapelle village, like most churches in the towns and villages in the Salient, were destroyed during the War. The bells of the new church are cast from the metal from shell-cases collected in the area. The bells weigh some 16,000lbs.
Second Lieutenant Hugh Gordon Langton, 2nd/4th Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), 173rd Infantry Brigade, 58th Division. Killed in action 26 October 1917, age 32. Special Memorial 3. Son of J. Gordon Langton and Emily Langton, 9E Hyde Park Mansions, London. He was married to Una M. Langton, of "Glendura," 92 Hornsey Lane, London. He was a brilliant young violinist and was a pupil of Professor Otakar Sevcik, Prague Conservatory, Professor Leopold Auer, at the St Petersburgh Conservatory, as well as spending sometime in Berlin with Professor Emanuel Wirth. He enlisted on the outbreak of the war and was in a Reserve Battalion when he was commissioned gazetted as a Second Lieutenant and went to France on 10 February 1917 joining the 2nd/4th Battalion. He was killed during the Battalions attack east of Poelcappelle to take the German strong points at Hinton Farm, Papa Farm, and Whitechapel on 26 October. The War Diary records the ground and the weather as filthy and the objectives were not taken. Casualties were officers 1 killed (Hugh), 1 died of wounds, 2 wounded and missing, 6 wounded. Other Ranks 18 killed, 115 wounded, 183 missing, 52 wounded and missing. The personal inscription on his headstone consists of a piece of music and is the only CWGC casualty commemorated with a piece of music. It is something of a musical mystery with many suggesting that the notes are from the American song After the Ball, others are not convinced.
Alias
Canadian
415071 Corporal Joseph Hector McKenzie (served as Hugh Francis McKenzie), 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles, 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division. Killed in action 31 October 1917, age 23. Grave XIX.A.16. Son of A. J. and Catherine MacKenzie, of Rear Christmas Island, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He gave his trade as Labourer when he enlisted on 6 August 1915 and arrived in England on 28 October 1915. The Battalion then went to France on 15 March 1916. On the 31 October 1917 the Battalion as part of the 3rd Division attack to take the village of Passchendaele making their way up the Bellevue Spur. The Battalion suffered 395 killed, wounded, and missing. Joseph was first listed as missing and later this was changed to killed in action. He was reburied near Vapour Farm and his body exhumed and reburied here after the Armistice.
8th Battalion attached 10th Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, 26th Infantry Brigade, 9th (Scottish) Division
Second Lieutenant Ian Ferguson Duncanson, Killed in action 12 October 1917, age 21. Grave III.D.1. He was one of four sons and four daughters of James M. and Annie Ferguson Duncanson, of Pimps Court, Tovil, Maidstone, Kent. He was educated at
Maidstone Grammar School and was a member of the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps and was gazetted Second Lieutenant joining the 8th Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. On the 12 October 1917 the Battalion was involved in the 9th (Scottish) Division attack towards Adler Farm and Source Trench and suffered heavy casualties. His brother Second Lieutenant Roy Duncanson, age 25, 3rd Battalion attached to the 9th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment) was killed on the Somme on 7 July 1916 and is listed on the Thiepval Memorial. Their sister Una Marguerite Duncanson, age 25, was a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse and was drowned at sea, along with 209 others, on 31 December 1917 when the transport ship HMS Osmanieh struck a mine outside Alexandria harbour.
Bantam Battalion
17th Battalion Royal Scots, 106th Infantry Brigade, 35th Division
There are three men from the Battalion buried here. The Battalion was known as Rosebery’s Bantams as the Battalion recruited men shorter than 5 feet 3 inches. The Battalion War Diary does not give any details other than ‘in the line’ or ‘Battn relieved..’ so it is not possible to detail how each man died. The War Diary records on the 24 October 1917 that ‘Lt H Houston Killed. Other Ranks 6 killed, 15 wounded, 1 missing.’ On the 25 October the War Diary records the casualties as ‘3 other ranks killed, 4 wounded.’ The Battalion was in the line at Foret D’Houthulst which was in the northern area of the Salient north of Poelcapelle. On the 17 November the Battalion had moved and was now in the line to the left of Poelcappelle with the War Diary recording casualties of ‘Lt J V Wilson killed, 4 Other Ranks killed , 12 wounded.’ Lieutenant Hugh Houston, ‘Z’ Company, Killed in action 24 October 1917, age 22. Grave V.B.12. Son of Hugh and Janet Houston, of Auchencairn, Barrhead, Renfrewshire. 25836 Private Robert Higgins, Killed in action 24 October 1917. Grave IV.D.19. He was married however, there is no information pertaining to his wife. The claimant on his pension records is shown as his mother-in-law Mrs Madeline Johnston of 10 Spey Street Edinburgh. 33344 Private Robert Masson, Killed in action 25 October 1917. Grave II.F.3. 270726 L/Cpl Alfred White Michie, 5th/6th Battalion Highland Light Infantry attached 17th Battalion. Killed in action 17 November 1917, age 19. Grave XLIII.A.16. Son of William Michie, 49 Gardner Street, Partick, Glasgow. He also had two daughters. Alfred enlisted on 9 December 1914, age 17, and was posted to the 6th (Reserve) Battalion of the HLI.
FALKIRK AND DISTRICT MEN BURIED HERE
Falkirk
18th Battalion Highland Light Infantry
Age 23
26.10.17
VIII. C. 17
Son of Archibald G. and Margaret Wyseman Logan, "Nosiroon," Rennie Street, Falkirk
Camelon
10th Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Age 19
12.10.17
XXXIX.D.10
Son of James and Margaret Fleming, 9 Cherry Lane, Camelon, Falkirk.
Talbot House Connection
41508 L/Cpl Cecil Henry Dear, 8th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment, 51st Infantry Brigade, 17th Division. Killed in action 12 October 1917, age 22. Grave I.E.12. Son of Phillis G. Dear, 55 Drakefell Road, New Cross, London, and the late Henry Dear. On the 12 October 1917 the Battalion as part of 17th Division took part in an attack on the German positions along the Schaap Bailie railway north of Poelcapelle. Battalion casualties were 7 officers and 150 other ranks. At Easter 1917 he took communion at Talbot House. In the communicants roll he lists his service number as 10762 and serving as AM1 with the Royal Flying Corps. Temporary Lieutenant -Colonel (Major) Roger Alvin Poore DSO, Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry attached 2nd Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Killed in action 26 September 1917, age 47. Grave LV.F.11. Son of Major R. Poore, of Old Lodge, Salisbury.
He was married to Lorne Margery Poore, of Fernyhurst, Rownhams, Hants. He served in the South African War 1899 to 1900. He was temporarily in command of the 2nd Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers. On the 26 September 1917 the Battalion received orders to move forward to attack and consolidate a line from Cameron House to Reutelbeek by passing through the Australian line west of Polygon Wood. They moved off from Stirling Castle area at 10.15am and proceeded to Black Watch Corner round the northern side of Glencorse Wood. The attack began at 12 noon and they had established a line that extended in front of Carlisle Farm. Casualties officers Major Roger Poore, the Adjutant, and five other officers, and 121 other ranks. His body was exhumed from Pilckem Road German Cemetery, Langemarck and reburied here. Buried beside him is Second Lieutenant Randal Alexander Casson, age 23, and Second Lieutenant Ernest Forbes Campbell Colquhoun, age 28, also killed in the same action. Roger is listed as a visitor at Talbot House.
British Airman buried here.
Second Lieutenant Morrice Frederick John Halliday, Observer, 6th Squadron, Royal
Flying Corps, Killed in action 7 June 1917, age 19. LVI.C.3. Born at Mozufferpore, Behar, India. Eldest son of Morrice MacGregor Halliday and May Gertrude Halliday. He was educated at The College, Storrington, Sussex, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. The College, Storrington was founded in 1871 by the Reverend George Faithful to provide private education for boys of fourteen years and older as a ‘cramming school’ to help them to obtain entry to the civil service, university, or the army. He was gazetted as a Second Lieutenant on 21 December 1915 and joined the Gloucestershire Regiment before being attached as an Observer with 6th Squadron Royal Flying Corps. On the 7 June 1917, he was flying as Observer in an RE8 (A3214) piloted by 1872 Sergeant Louis Gray when they were shot up by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed east of the lines near Hill 60. Halliday's body was originally buried 500 metres east of Zillebeke in a small cemetery and was exhumed after the Armistice and reburied here. Sergeant Louis Gray is buried in Aeroplane Cemetery.
Boy Soldiers
In the Ypres Salient, we are drawn to the graves of 6322 Private John Condon, 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment, killed in action in May 1915, age 14 and the youngest known battle casualty of the war, although this is now questioned, and the grave of 5750 Valentine Strudwick, 8th Rifle Brigade, killed in action in January 1916, age 15. Strudwicks grave attracts a great deal of attention because of its location at Essex Farm and that locations association with Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae and the poem ‘In Flanders Fields.’ There are many more ‘Boy Soldiers’ buried across the Salient and who are not remembered in the same way and these include three from Falkirk District Private William Jamieson, age 17, https://www.theypressalient.com/post/william-jamieson Private James Duchart, age 16, https://www.theypressalient.com/post/james-duchart and Private Herbert Richmond, age 17, https://www.theypressalient.com/post/herbert-richmond
There were many reasons why under age boys enlisted in 1914 and 1915 boredom with their jobs, looking for adventure, and escaping family pressures. The checks on age and qualification to enlist were more relaxed than later in the war. The army preferred younger recruits, there was a history of boy soldiers in the army going back over one hundred years. At Waterloo the army had a number of boy soldiers in their ranks. The army preferred younger recruits as they would follow orders and accept discipline more readily than older men. The boys had a belief in their own indestructibility and were prepared to take more risks. We tend to also forget the number of boys who served in the Royal Navy and we do not seem to have the same passionate response to their service as we do those who fought on the Western Front. With regards to the army, the difference was the sheer number who served on the Western Front and there were more boy soldiers in 1915 than served in Wellington’s army at Waterloo. For further reading on this subject see Richard Van Emden’s excellent book Boy Soldiers of the Great War. There are four Boy Soldiers buried here. The youngest battle casualty of the First World War 6322 Private John Condon, 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment, 11th Infantry Brigade,
4th Division. Killed in action 24 May 1915, age 14. Grave LVI.F.8. He is thought to be the youngest battle casualty of the First World War commemorated by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission. He was the son of John and Mary Condon, of Waterford. Much has been researched about John Condon and there is some doubt as to his age as recorded by the CWGC. At 2.20am on 24 May 1915 the Battalion was in the line east of Irish Farm. With a mild wind blowing from the north east the Germans proceeded to release poison gas the full force of which hit the part of the line held by the Battalion. Despite every step being taken regarding respirators the Battalion was overcome by the gas. The enemy took Shell Trap Farm which was being held by two platoons of the Royal Dublin fusiliers and this enabled them to enfilade the Battalions portion of the line which they worked down bombing with hand grenades as they went. The enemy attack was checked however, the Battalion casualties numbered 17 officers and 378 Other ranks and what remained of the Battalion withdrew to La Brique. 3366 Private Richard Hutchings, 1st Battalion Royal Newfoundland Regiment, 88th Infantry Brigade, 29th Division. Killed in action 30 March 1918, age 17. Grave X.E.7. Son of George Henry and Providence Hutchings, of Whitbourne, Trinity, Newfoundland. 134 Private Reginald E.S. Pinson, 6th Battalion Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), 37th Infantry Brigade, 12th Division. Killed in action 14 August 1915, age 17. Grave LVI.D.2. Son of William J. and Mary J. Pinson, 7 Church Lane, Charlton, London. The Battalion was in the line as Despierre Farm on the southern section of the Salient at Le Touquet when at 7.30am the Germans shelled their neighbourhood. The War Diary recording the casualties as ‘Private Pinson killed in action.’ His body was brought from Strand Cemetery at Ploegsteert and reburied here. 16582 L/Cpl Albert Victor Watson, 2nd Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, Killed in action 14 August 1917, age 17. Grave LIX.D.2 Son of Mrs. May Watson, 3 Row, 124, South Quay, Great Yarmouth. On the 14 august 1917 the Battalion was in the line west of the Westhoek Ridge with ‘A’ company in support trenches and ‘C’ Company in reserve on the Bellewaarde Ridge. At 3.30am the enemy put down a heavy barrage of the Battalion positions and attacked on the right of their line at 4.30am. Both ‘A’ and ‘D’ Companies had considerable casualties. The enemy continued their barrage at 9.10pm with ‘A’ Company suffering further casualties.
The cemetery was designed by Charles Holden.
Cemetery Location
Poelcapelle British Cemetery is located 10 Kms north-east of Ieper town centre on the Brugseweg (N313), a road connecting Ieper to Brugge. Two streets connect Ieper town centre onto the Brugseweg; Torhoutstraat leads from the market square onto the Kalfvaartstraat. At the end of Kalfvaartstraat is a large junction on which Brugseweg is the first right hand turning. The cemetery itself lies 10 Kms along the Brugseweg on the right hand side of the road after passing through the village of Poelkapelle.
Cemeteries Concentrated here
HOUTHULST FOREST NEW MILITARY CEMETERY, LANGEMARCK, near the South side of the Forest, on the road from Poelcapelle to Houthulst. Here were buried a number of French soldiers, as well as 21 soldiers and two airmen from the United Kingdom, who fell in the winter of 1917-18. KEERSELAERE FRENCH CEMETERY, LANGEMARCK, about 800 metres West of the hamlet of Keerselaere, in which 29 French soldiers, five Canadian and two from the United Kingdom were buried in 1915, apparently by the enemy. PILCKEM ROAD GERMAN CEMETERY, LANGEMARCK, on the South-West side of the bridge over the Hannebeek, in which 13 soldiers from the United Kingdom and one from Canada were buried by the enemy in 1914-17. POELCAPELLE COMMUNAL CEMETERY, in which one soldier from the United Kingdom was buried in 1915. POELCAPELLE GERMAN CEMETERY No.2, nearly 1.6 Kms South-East of the village, which contained the graves of 96 soldiers from the United Kingdom and Canada who fell in 1914-15. ST. JEAN CHURCHYARD, in which 44 soldiers from the United Kingdom were buried in 1915, but which was completely destroyed in later fighting. STADEN FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERY, made by the 169th Infantry Regiment and containing the graves of 80 French soldiers and one R.A.F. Officer. VIJFWEGEN GERMAN CEMETERY No.1, close to the railway halte, in which three soldiers from the United Kingdom were buried by the enemy.
Burials
There are now 7,479 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in Poelcappelle British Cemetery. 6,230 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate 8 casualties known or believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials commemorate 24 servicemen buried by the Germans in other burial grounds in the area whose graves could not be located. There is also 1 burial of the Second World War within the cemetery.
UK – 6541
Australian – 117
New Zealand – 237
Canadian – 525
New Foundland – 9
South African – 10
Jersey – 4
Unnamed – 6231
WWII - 1
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