First DCLI Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery, The Bluff

First DCLI Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery, The Bluff

Infobox Military Cemetery
name = First DCLI Cemetery, The Bluff
body = Commonwealth War Graves Commission


use_dates = 1915
established = 1915
designer = J R Truelove
coordinates = coord|50|49|14|N|02|54|46.5|E|
nearest_town = Ieper, West Flanders, Belgium
total = 76
by_country = Allies of World War I:
*United Kingdom: 76
by_war =
World War I: 76
source = [http://www.wo1.be/eng/database/dbDetail.asp?TypeID=6&SubTypeID=19&ItemID=5696 WO1.be]

First DCLI Cemetery, The Bluff is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of World War I located near Ypres (now "Ieper") in Belgium on 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]

Immediate area

The area where the cemetery stands, known by soldiers as "The Bluff", is an artificial ridge in the landscape created by spoil from failed attempts to dig a canal. [cite web|url=http://www.gamber.net/cyclebel/comines.htm|title=Cycling Belgium's Waterways: Comines-Ieper|date=2003-02-03|publisher=www.gamber.net|accessdate=2008-05-05|last=Karel|first=Roose] With the additional height in an otherwise relatively flat landscape, The Bluff was an important military objective. [cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/bat14_2.htm|title=Fighting at the Bluff|publisher=www.1914-1918.net|accessdate=2008-05-05|last=Baker|first=Chris] German forces took The Bluff in February 1916, and it was recaptured by the 14th (Light) Division on 2 March.cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=53102&mode=1|title=CWGC :: Cemetery Details|publisher=www.cwgc.org|accessdate=2008-05-05] In July 1916, the Germans detonated a mine under the ridge, but did not capture it. [cite web|url=http://www.wo1.be/eng/database/dbDetail.asp?TypeID=6&SubTypeID=19&ItemID=5696|title=Wereldoorlog I in de Westhoek|publisher=www.wo1.be|accessdate=2008-05-05] The Germans took The Bluff during the Spring Offensive of 1918, and it finally returned to Allied hands on 28 September after a push by the 14th (Light) Division. The area is now a provincial nature reserve and picnic area called "Provinciaal Domein Palingbeek". [cite web|url=http://www.west-vlaanderen.be/jahia/Jahia/site/domeinen/pid/353|language=Flemish|title=Palingbeek|publisher=www.west-vlaanderen.be|accessdate=2008-05-05]

Foundation

The cemetery here was founded by the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) before the fighting of 1916. At the time of the armistice it contained burials only from the DCLI but the cemetery was expanded by concentration of graves from the former battlefields. [cite web|url=http://ww1cemeteries.com/ww1cemeteries/firstdclicemetery.htm|title=1st D.C.L.I. CEMETERY|publisher=ww1cemeteries.com|accessdate=2008-05-05]

The cemetery was designed by J R Truelove.

Other cemeteries on "The Bluff"

*Woods Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
*Hedge Row Trench Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

References

External links

*


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