The area where the cemetery stands, known by soldiers as "The Bluff", is an artificial ridge in the landscape created by spoil from failed attempts to dig a canal.[1] With the additional height in an otherwise relatively flat landscape, The Bluff was an important military objective.[2] German forces took The Bluff in February 1916, and it was recaptured by the 14th (Light) Division on 2 March.[3] In July 1916, the Germans detonated a mine under the ridge, but did not capture it.[4] The Germans took The Bluff during the Spring Offensive of 1918, and it finally returned to Allied hands on 28 September after a push by the 14th (Light) Division.[3] The area is now a provincial nature reserve and picnic area called "Provinciaal Domein Palingbeek".[5]
Foundation
The cemetery here was founded by the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) before the fighting of 1916.[3] At the time of the armistice it contained burials only from the DCLI but the cemetery was expanded by concentration of graves from the former battlefields.[6]
The cemetery was designed by J R Truelove.[3] The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war.[7]
