Dickebusch New Military Cemetery and Extension

Description

The construction of the Dickebusch New Military Cemetery & Extension began in February 1915 and it remained in use for battle units and field ambulances until March 1917. Several other graves were added in March and April 1918. The extension was used from May 1917 to January 1918. An exceptional feature of the cemetery is that it lies on either side of a road, although it was designed as a single unit with a ‘similarity of treatment in boundary walls on each side of the road’. As a result, it seems as if the road runs through the cemetery. However, there are other places where the cemetery lies on either side of a road, as at La Brique Military Cemetery, Hermies British Cemetery and Vermelles British Cemetery, for example.

The old part of the cemetery consists of low rows of graves on an almost rectangular field. The extension on the other side of the road is a triangular field that descends slightly, with a central path across the field leading to the Cross of Sacrifice opposite the entrance. The War Stone has been placed on a high socle in order, according to Von Berg: ‘to dominate both cemeteries and, in addition, give the idea of a roadside monument to be seen by every passer-by.’ The entrances to the different parts lie opposite one another, between two raised plant beds with yew. The beds are repeated several times in the lower walls alongside the road. As a counterpart to the War Stone and symmetrically in relation to the entrance, a storage space, which is not shown on the IWGC drawing, has been incorporated in the wall. On the inside, the wall has been partly combined with a hedge. The wall follows the lie of the land, with occasional alterations in height. At the rear, the top of the wall is at the same height as the road.

Two large trees and two pillar-shaped yews stand on the extension. Birches are situated at the edge of the cemetery on the other side. (Geurst, 2010, p.272)

Bibliography

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

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Client

Imperial War Graves Commission