Ridge Wood Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

Infobox Military Cemetery
name= Ridge Wood Military Cemetery
body= Commonwealth War Graves Commission


use_dates= 1915-1918
established= 1915
designer= Sir Edwin Lutyens
coordinates= coord|50|48|40.7|N|02|50|59.6|E|
nearest_town= Ieper, West Flanders, Belgium
total= 621
unknowns= 426
by_country=Allied Powers:
*Canada 292
*United Kingdom 280
*Australia 44
*New Zealand 3
Central Powers:
*Germany: 2
by_war=
World War I: 621
source= [http://www.ww1cemeteries.com/ww1cemeteries/ridgewoodmilitarycemetery.htm WW1Cemeteries.com] and [http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=51100&mode=1 CWGC]

Ridge Wood Military Cemetery [http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=51100&mode=1 Commonwealth War Graves Commission] , accessed 30 December 2007] (misspelt "Ridgewood" on the entrance stone) is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of British Commonwealth soldiers who fought in World War I. The cemetery is located in Voormezeele, West Flanders, Belgium, in the Ypres Salient of the Western Front.

The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war. [ [http://www.webmatters.net/belgium/ww1_friedhof_vladslo.htm First World War] , accessed 19 August 2006]

Foundation

The cemetery was established in May 1915 for front line troops defending the area. The cemetery was used by the Royal Irish Rifles, the Durham Light Infantry and Canadian battalions.

The cemetery is in a dip behind a ridge that was the site of a wood. In the Spring Offensive of 1918, German forces pushed the front line on to the ridge, being moved back in July, before being swept away completely later in the year during the Hundred Days Offensive by the 6th and 33rd Divisions.

Of the 621 burials at the site, 292 are from Canada, 280 from the United Kingdom, 44 from Australia and 3 from New Zealand, in addition to two from Germany. The cemetery previously contained graves of a number of French soldiers, but these were concentrated elsewhere later. [http://www.ww1cemeteries.com/ww1cemeteries/ridgewoodmilitarycemetery.htm WW1Cemeteries.com] , accessed 30 December 2007]

The cemetery was designed by British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.

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