Ramscappelle Road Military Cemetery

• Country Belgium
• Total identified casualties 530 Find these casualties
• Region West-Vlaanderen
• Identified casualties from First World War
• GPS Coordinates Latitude: 51.12871, Longitude: 2.76784

Location information

Ramscappelle Road Military Cemetery is located 2 Kms east of Nieuwpoort on the N367, which leads from Nieuwpoort to Sint Joris. From Nieuwpoort town centre the Willem Deroolaan leads for 500 metres onto the N367 Brugsesteenweg. The cemetery lies 1 Km along the N367 on the junction with the N356 Ramskapellestraat.

Visiting information

PARKING

There is off-road, layby parking close to the front of the cemetery and main entrance, with space for up to 5 vehicles within 5 to 10 metres of the main entrance to the cemetery. The layby is bound by a bicycle path on the roadside and a raised pavement on the cemetery side.

From the layby, there is a 5-centimetre-high step up onto the pavement, the ground is flat, firm and paved with brick.

ACCESS, LAYOUT AND MAIN ENTRANCE

The main entrance into the cemetery is through a gap in the boundary wall at the side of the road. There is no gate.

There are two steps down from pavement down to a paved platform outside cemetery entrance.

Two white stone bollards are located at the centre of the opening, with approximately one metre clear openings between the wall and bollards. There is a narrow opening of approximately 450 mm between the bollards.

Four stone steps lead down onto a grass platform, bound by arced steps (semi-circular). A further two steps lead down into the cemetery onto grass.

The Cross of Sacrifice located at the far-right end of the cemetery, in line with the Stone of Remembrance, located at the left side of the cemetery, viewed when entering through the main entrance.

There are two stone shelters within the cemetery, one in each far corner of the cemetery. Both have a stone bench inside and are open on the two sides facing into the cemetery. There is a 75 mm wide dirt strip between the grass and the slightly raised floor of each shelter (approximately 40 mm).

The Register Box is built into the right-hand wall of the main entrance, next to the stone bollard.

All internal paths are grass, the ground is firm and flat.

ALTERNATIVE ACCESS

On the right-hand side of the cemetery (within 15 metres) of the main entrance is an open and accessible paved brick ramp, approximately 3 metres wide, adjacent to the petrol station.

The ramp leads downward from the roadway, crossing the bicycle path and footpath into the cemetery. The angle of the ramp is shallow.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The cemetery is permanently open.

History information

From June to November 1917, Commonwealth Forces (XV Corps) held the front line in Belgium from St.Georges (now Sint Joris), near Ramskapelle, to the sea.

Most of Plot I of Ramscappelle Road Military Cemetery was made in July and August 1917, but the cemetery was considerably enlarged after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields and the following smaller burial grounds:-

BOITSHOUCKE CHURCHYARD, where three men of the R.G.A. were buried in July and August, 1917.

GHISTELLES GERMAN CEMETERY, on the road to Hagebrugge, where four airmen were buried by the enemy in 1917 and 1918 and two by their comrades in October, 1918.

MIDDELKERKE GERMAN CEMETERY, on the coast road to Ostende, where twelve Canadian and ten United Kingdom soldiers were buried in 1915-1917.

NIEUPORT MILITARY CEMETERY, on the South side of the town, a French cemetery in which 107 British soldiers and one sailor were buried. It was closed in July, 1917 as excessively dangerous.

NIEUPORT-BAINS MILITARY CEMETERIES No.1, No.2 and No.3, OOST-DUNKERKE, French cemeteries close together at the West end of Nieuport-Bains. No.1 contained one British grave of 1917, No.2 two of 1918, and No.3 91 (including two Australian) of 1916-17.

There are now 841 Commonwealth casualties of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 312 of the burials are unidentified, but special memorials commemorate two casualties known or believed to be buried among them. Also within this number are 26 special memorials to casualties originally buried at Nieuport or Nieuport-Bains whose graves were destroyed by shell fire.

There are an additional 2 unidentified Foreign National burials here.

The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.