Sanctuary Wood Cemetery

**1,900+ WWI soldiers lie peacefully in Sanctuary Wood Cemetery. History hits home when you really see its impact. Take a moment to remember the soldiers at this moving cemetery. **

This battlefield cemetery was once the front lines of WWI, where Allied soldiers would fight against Germany. Trench battles and underground explosives all happened around here during WWI. Many soldiers lost their lives. Though there’s almost two thousand buried here, 1,353 are unidentified.

At the entrance, keep your eyes peeled for the Celtic cross. It’s dedicated to Second Lieutenant Thomas Keith Hedley Rae who died in an attack around Het Hoog, a village that saw intense warfare.

Who were the soldiers?

Well, the fact is there’s a lot we don’t know. The graves are dedicated to Allied soldiers who died during WWI. Most of these soldiers were from the UK, followed by other allied countries Canada, Australia, New Zealand, NewFoundland and South Africa. One German soldier is buried here too. You’ll see some memorials around the cemetery as well, which are dedicated to those soldiers who sadly don’t have a grave or couldn’t be identified.

• WWI History: Ypres was so important to WWI efforts that in 1920 the city was awarded the Military Cross by King George V. Ypres to this day is a hot spot for history enthusiasts and those looking to remember the losses of WWI.
• The Cemetery: Laid out in the shape of a fan, the cemetery is tragically beautiful in its stark simpicility. You might not know that the Sanctuary Wood Cemetery was designed by British architect Edwin Lutyens, who’s regarded as one of the greatest British architects of the 20th century.