The cemetery lies to one side of the infamous[2]Menin Road. The road ran from Ypres to the front line at a point which effectively remained static for almost the entire war.[3] The cemetery therefore remained an Allied possession throughout the war.
It was founded in January 1916 and was used until summer 1918.[3] After the Armistice, the neighbouring Menin Road North cemetery was concentrated into this cemetery, with additional concentration from single battlefield graves from the front itself.[4]
The cemetery has 79 "special memorials".[5] In the form of stone obelisks or just headstones with special notations, they record the names of 24 soldiers known or believed to be buried in the cemetery and a further 54 whose graves were lost in later fighting or could not be found after the war.[3] As these are known casualties (not "missing"), they are included in the total figure for burials in the cemetery and are not recorded on the Menin Gate.
Notable graves
The cemetery holds the grave of acting-Captain Thomas Riversdale Colyer-Fergusson,[4] of the Northamptonshire Regiment who was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour "in the face of the enemy" in the Commonwealth.
