The Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing is a

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

(CWGC) memorial in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

for missing soldiers of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It commemorates men from the Allied Powers who fought on the northern Western Front outside the

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...

and whose graves are unknown. The memorial is located in the village of

Ploegsteert Ploegsteert ( pcd, Ploster) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Comines-Warneton, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the most westerly settlement of Wallonia. It is approximately north of the French bo ...

and stands in the middle of '' Berks Cemetery Extension''.

History of the location

After

Ploegsteert Wood Ploegsteert Wood was a sector of the Western Front in Flanders in World War I, part of the Ypres Salient. It is located around the Belgian village of Ploegsteert, Wallonia. After fierce fighting in late 1914 and early 1915, Ploegsteert Wood bec ...

(referred to colloquially as "Plug Street") had been the site of fierce fighting at the start of the war, it became a relatively quiet sector where no major action took place. Allied units were sent here to recuperate and retrain after fighting elsewhere and before returning to active operations. Berks Cemetery Extension was founded by

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

troops in June 1916 as an extension to Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery which lies across the road. The cemetery grounds were assigned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in perpetuity by King

Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-S ...

in recognition of the sacrifices made by the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

in the defence and liberation of

during the war.

Memorial to the Missing

The Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing is one of several

CWGC The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mi ...

Memorials to the Missing along the Western Front: those lost within the

are commemorated at the

Menin Gate The Menin Gate ( nl, Menenpoort), officially the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves a ...

and

Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is the largest cemetery for Common ...

, while the missing of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

are honoured on separate memorials. The Ploegsteert Memorial was designed by

H Chalton Bradshaw Harold Chalton Bradshaw CBE M.Arch FRIBA (15 February 1893 – 15 October 1943), 23 October 2007, accessed 28 December 2007 was a Liverpool-born architect, recipient of the first Rome scholarship in Architecture (1913) & first Secretary of The Roy ...

, who also designed the

Cambrai Memorial The Cambrai Memorial to the Missing (sometimes referred to as the Louverval Memorial) is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) memorial for the missing soldiers of World War I who fought in the Battle of Cambrai on the Western Front. Fou ...

in France, apart from two large lions which were commissioned from the sculptor

Gilbert Ledward Gilbert Ledward (23 January 1888 – 21 June 1960), was an English sculptor. He won the British Prix de Rome for sculpture in 1913, and in World War I served in the Royal Garrison Artillery and later as a war artist. He was professor of s ...

.Catherine Moriarty, 'Ledward, Gilbert (1888–1960), sculptor', in ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', OUP, 2004 The Ploegsteert Memorial is in diameter and tall and was unveiled on 7 June 1931 by the then-

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

, later King

Leopold III of Belgium Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasi ...

. The Ploegsteert Memorial lists over 11,000Conflicting information about exact number of missing. missing

soldiers from the following battles, which were fought outside the

in the area around Ploegsteert: * Armentieres *

Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a ...

* Loos *

Fromelles Fromelles () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. it had a population of 1,041; its inhabitants are called ''Fromellois''. It is located about to the west of Lille. First World War The village of Fromelles was captured by a ...

Estaires Estaires (; vls, Stegers) is a commune in the Nord department of the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. The town gives its name to a type of chicken bred in the area: the Estaires chicken. Geography Estaires is located in French Fla ...

Hazebrouck Hazebrouck (, nl, Hazebroek, , vls, Oazebroeke) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France. It was a small market town in Flanders until it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual language until 1 ...

(part of the Battle of the Lys) * Scherpenberg (part of the Battle of the Lys) * Outtersteene Ridge (known as the 'Action of Outtersteene Ridge', 18 August 1918) The memorial also commemorates the names of three recipients of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

who have no known grave: * Sapper William Hackett VC * Private James MacKenzie VC * Captain Thomas Pryce VC

"The Last Post"

Since 7 June 1999, the ''Comité du Memorial de Ploegsteert'' has arranged for the

Last Post The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily within British infantry and Australian infantry regiments, or a D or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call in British cavalry and Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Horse Artillery and R ...

to be played at the memorial on the first Friday of each month.

Gallery

0 Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing - Hyde Park Corner - (9).jpg, The memorial in the Berks Cemetery Extension Ploegsteert-PM 50483.jpg, Colonnade of the memorial Laika ac Ploegsteert Memorial (6439742039).jpg, Colonnade of the memorial File:Ploegsteert Memorial DSC 0068.jpg, Names of the fallen Ploegsteert-PM 50488.jpg, View through the centre of the memorial Ploegsteert-PM 50492.jpg, View of the memorial from the Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery across the road File:Ploegsteert Lion 1 3.7.2014.JPG, One of

's lions

References

External links

Ploegsteert Memorial
at

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