Dartmoor Cemetery

Description

The construction of the cemetery, by battle units, began in August 1915. It was used only once in a while by a Casualty Clearing Station, until some time in 1917. It fell into German hands in March 1918, but was recaptured on 24 August. A father and son, who served in the same unit and were killed on the same day, are buried in plot i, row a.

The cemetery is elongated and lies alongside the road on one long side and along a valley on the other. The entrance is opposite that of the municipal graveyard and has a wide set-up between two plant beds with yew. The War Stone and the Cross of Sacrifice stand opposite one another on the south side of the cemetery, in a slightly isolated position. The graves are surrounded by a wall that folds into a plant bed at the entrance. There is a large white plateau between the boxes, with two groups of three posts with chains.

A striking aspect is that the graves face the southeast side and that the War Stone is on the west side. The Cross of Sacrifice, standing on a brick plinth that is level with the wall on the south side, forms a beacon along the road. Kenyon, whose job it was to approve designs and check them in terms of compliance with the basic principles, made the following note on the approval form: ‘It is apparently inevitable that the Stone should be in the nw corner instead of the east.’ He probably took the view that this area offered the most space for the War Stone. There are some solitary trees in the cemetery. The valley is bordered by a row of willows.(Geurst, 2010, p.264)

Bibliography

Geurst, J. (2010) Cemeteries of the Great War by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers.

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Listing Reference

Client

Imperial War Graves Commission