St. Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery
- Country Belgium
- Total identified casualties 456 Find these casualties
- Region Hainaut
- Identified casualties from First World War
- GPS Coordinates Latitude: 50.75709, Longitude: 2.85619
Location information
St. Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery is located 10.5 Kms south of Ieper town centre, on a road leading from the Rijselseweg N365, which connects Ieper to Wijtschate, Mesen (Messines) and on to Armentieres. From Ieper town centre the Rijselsestraat runs from the market square, through the Lille Gate (Rijselpoort) and directly over the crossroads with the Ieper ring road. The road name then changes to the Rijselseweg. On reaching Mesen the first right hand turn leads onto Mesenstraat towards the village of Wulvergem. In the village of Wulvergem the first left hand turning leads onto Sint-Kwintenstraat. 200 metres along Sint-Kwintenstraat on the left hand side of the road lies the cemetery.
Visiting information
ARRIVAL
The cemetery is signposted.
PARKING
It is possible to park at the front of the cemetery on the opposite side of the road at the beginning of a farm track.
The distance from the parking area to the main entrance is 15 metres.
The ground is flat and firm with a tarmac surface.
ACCESS LAYOUT AND MAIN ENTRANCE
The cemetery is at a crossroads, with the Cross of Sacrifice built into the boundary wall as part of the main entrance. The cemetery is on two levels; the upper section level with the Cross of Sacrifice and entrance, with a stone edged semi-circular boundary and a lower level that forms the burial area.
There is a 2-metre-wide paved area, with a single step up from the road level to paving in front of the Cross of Sacrifice. Three steps lead up on either side of the Cross of Sacrifice, to a level paved area in front of a metal entrance gate on either side leading into the cemetery. The edges of the platforms in front of the gates have a drop down of approximately 400 mm to the ground below.
Each black metal, mid-level (thigh height) gate is 96 centimetres wide.
Both gates have up-and-down lift handles. The left gate has a right-mounted handle, the right gate has a handle on the left side. Both gates open inwards into the cemetery, with paving underneath and immediately inside, level with the grass on the upper part of the cemetery.
The Register Box is mounted into the back of the Cross of Sacrifice inside the cemetery.
There are stone benches and seating areas either side of the Cross of Sacrifice. The gates open into these seating areas.
There is a stone seating area in the lower section of the cemetery built into the wall, approximately 25 metres from the steps down into the cemetery.
From the main entrance to the right of the Cross of Sacrifice at the edge of the upper section are three stone steps down into the burial area. There is a vertical drop of 400mm along the entire upper level boundary wall to the lower part of the cemetery, apart from the steps down.
All internal paths are grass, the ground is flat and firm.
ALTERNATIVE ACCESS
On the right-hand side of the cemetery is a 2.3-metre-wide gap at the end of the wall that allows unrestricted access from the road into the lower half of the cemetery. The access is along the farm track to the right of the entrance, 50 metres from the front of the cemetery.
The ground is flat and firm from the entrance, the ground is flat and firm with a grass surface, once into the burial area (at the lower level).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The cemetery is permanently open.
History information
St. Quentin Cabaret was an inn about 460 metres east of Kandahar Farm, near the village of Wulverghem (now Wulvergem) and the front line. At times, the inn was used as battalion headquarters.
The cemetery was begun in February 1915 by the 46th (North Midland) Division (Plot I, Rows E and F), and continued to be used by the divisions holding the sector until it fell into German hands with the capture of Wulverghem in April 1918. The village and cemetery were recovered in September, but only two further burials were made.
There are 460 Commonwealth burials of the First World War in the cemetery.
The cemetery was designed by Charles Holden.