BUTTES NEW BRITISH CEMETERY, POLYGON WOOD
Zonnebeke
West-Vlaanderen
Belgium
Polygon Wood is a large wood south of the village of Zonnebeke, which saw heavy fighting throughout the war. It was first taken by Commonwealth troops at the end of October 1914 and lost again on May 3rd 1915, re-taken at the end of September 1917 by Australian troops; it was then evacuated during the Battle of the Lys and finally re-taken by the 9th (Scottish) Division on 28th September 1918.
The Butte, which is a small hill or mound, has on its summit, the Battle memorial of the Australian troops who took the wood in September 1917 (5th Division). The cemetery was made after the armistice when a large number of graves, mostly from the fighting of 1917 were brought in from the Zonnebeke battlefields. Standing opposite the Australian memorial is the New Zealand Memorial, which commemorates 378 officers and men of the New Zealand Division who died in this sector but have no known grave.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS: The cemetery is located on the N8 Meenseweg, which connects Ieper-Menen, it can be reached via Torhoutstraat and then going right into Basculestraat, this road ends at the main crossroads, directly over which starts the N8 Meenseweg,, 4.7km further and after passing the Bellewaerde theme park, is the left turn into Oude Kortrijkstraat, after a further 2km this road crosses the A19 motorway. Immediately after the bridge is the left turn into Lotegatstraat, which borders Polygon Wood, 800m further on is the right turn into Lange Dreve. The cemetery is a further 1km on the left, access is easy although parking can be a little haphazard.
CASUALTY DETAILS: UK 1297; Canada 50; Australia 564; New Zealand 162; Entirely Unidentified 30; Total burials: 2103
Latest additions to the site | Belgian Cemetery Index | French Cemetery Index
Other Cemeteries and Memorials around the world | British Cemeteries and Memorials | 1939-1945 Cemetery Index
Cemeteries with Victoria Cross burials | Cemeteries with "Shot at Dawn" burials | Regimental Badge Archive | Roll of Honour
Information on how to submit a photograph or image to the site | Book Reviews | About Us and our task | Links
Contact Us (We always reply) | Site Map | Miscellaneous articles