View towards Memorial Wall:-

The northern wall of Tyne Cot Cemetery is a sweeping curve. On it are engraved the names of those soldiers of the British Empire who died in the Ypres Salient after 15/8/1917 as it was found that on completion the Menin Gate was not large enough to contain all the names from the Ypres battles.

The Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing contains 33,783 names of soldiers of the UK forces, plus a further 1,176 New Zealanders (stitch of two photos):-

West End of Memorial Wall:-

Cross of Sacrifice and Graves, with Memorial Wall to right:-

A central apse in the main Memorial Wall is dedicated solely to soldiers from New Zealand:-

New Zealanders Memorial Dedication:-

Is situated on Coomansstraat just beyond the Cloth Hall, the road leading to the square dominated by Saint Martin’s Cathedral.

It is dedicated to all citzens of Ypres killed in the World Wars 1914-18 and 1939-45.

It lies within a small memorial garden:-

Just to the left of the main Memorial as you look at it is this one to the members of the Belgian Field Artillery incorporated into the British Army from 17/5/1915 to 17/5/1917 (when the unit was disbanded) who died in the defence of the Ypres Salient:-

Almost the first thing we did after checking in to our hotel just 3 kilometres from Ypres was to visit Hooge Crater Cemetery which was literally just the other side of the Menin Road, and lies immediately below the Bellewaerde ridge. The circular area surrounding the cross represents the area’s many craters created by mines.

The first graves we came up to are dedicated to men either known or believed to be buried in this cemetery but whose exact grave location is unknown:-

One known soldier of the Great War and two who are in Kipling’s memorable phrase “Known Unto God”:

A memorial stone to men whose previously known graves were destroyed in subsequent battles:-

As in all Commonwealth War Cemeteries the graves are beautifully kept:-

The gravestones with regimental insignia on them are for individuals. The ones to the front here commemorate respectively five, five, five, five and four soldiers “Known unto God”:-

Grave Panorama. There are now 5916 Commonwealth soldiers buried in this cemetery of whom 3,570 are unidentified.

As the inscription on the alcove where the register of graves is kept says the cemetery is the free gift of the Belgian people for those who fell:-

The now peaceful scene looking back over the cemetery boundary into what was the Ypres Salient:-

The Menin Gate is the impressive memorial to the missing soldiers of the British Empire who died in the Ypres Salient during the Great War up to 15th August 1917 but have no known grave.

The Gate from the east:-

From the west. Yes, it is a functioning roadway:-

The names of the missing are inscribed on the walls. At the Memorial’s dedication one of the speakers, in an attempt to lessen the grief of the bereaved with no grave to visit said, “He is not missing. He is here.”:-

A gentle slope leads up from the road level to a garden area. The Gate’s walls here are also covered in names of the missing. Menin Gate from south:-

The Memorial’s dedication:-

Menin Gate interior:-

Menin Gate Ceiling. The windows seem to allow all the names on the interior of the memorial to be illuminated sequentially as the sun travels across the sky:-