Definition
Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm) Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery is a military burial ground administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) that contains the graves of Allied and Central Powers soldiers who died during the First World War.
Overview
Located near Zillebeke in West Flanders, Belgium (coordinates 50°50′05.5″ N 02°54′07.4″ E), the cemetery was founded in April 1915 and remained in active use until the Armistice of 11 November 1918. The site lies within the Ypres Salient on the Western Front and was assigned in perpetuity to the United Kingdom by King Albert I of Belgium as a recognition of the sacrifices made by British‑Empire forces in the defence and liberation of Belgium.
The cemetery was designed by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, who also designed the Cenotaph in Whitehall and the Thiepval Memorial on the Somme. After the war the cemetery was enlarged by concentrating battlefield graves from the surrounding area.
Etymology / Origin
The name “Railway Dugouts” refers to the network of railway embankments and associated dugouts that were used by the British Expeditionary Force for medical and logistical purposes. “Transport Farm” was the colloquial designation given by troops to a nearby farmstead that served as a transport hub and later as an Advanced Dressing Station. The combined name therefore identifies both the railway‑related structures and the farm that gave the site its military association.
Characteristics
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Established | 1915 (first burials in April 1915) |
| Period of use | 1915 – 1918 |
| Total burials | 2,463 |
| Unnamed burials | 430 |
| Nationalities represented | United Kingdom (1,659), Canada (636), Australia (154), New Zealand (3), Undivided India (4), British West Indies (1), Germany (3) |
| Design | Sir Edwin Lutyens; includes a Cross of Sacrifice |
| Special memorials | Memorials for soldiers whose graves were destroyed in the Valley Cottages Cemetery (inscription “Their Glory Shall Not Be Blotted Out” devised by Rudyard Kipling) and a memorial to an officer from the Transport Farm Annex cemetery whose grave was not located |
| Notable interments | Second Lieutenant Frederick Youens, VC (posthumously awarded for bravery on 7 July 1917) |
| Landscape | Situated on a slight rise east of the railway embankment; the cemetery is screened by modest ground elevations and is accessed via the Komenseweg road linking Ypres (Ieper) to Komen (N336). |
Related Topics
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission – the organization responsible for the care and maintenance of Commonwealth war cemeteries worldwide.
- Ypres Salient – a prominent sector of the Western Front where intense fighting occurred throughout WWI.
- Sir Edwin Lutyens – architect of numerous war memorials and cemeteries, including this site.
- First World War cemeteries in Belgium – a network of burial grounds preserving the memory of the conflict’s casualties.
- Advanced Dressing Stations – frontline medical facilities used during WWI, some of which were located at Railway Dugouts.
All information is drawn from documented CWGC records and the referenced Wikipedia article.