Country
Belgium
Locality
Ieper, West-Vlaanderen
Identified Casualties
406
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access to this cemetery with some difficulty. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our Enquiries Section on telephone number: 01628 507200.
Local Information
Ferme-Olivier Cemetery is located 7 kilometres north west of Ieper town centre on the Steentjesmolenstraat, N333, a road leading from the N8 Veurnseweg connecting Ieper to Elverdinge and on to Veurne. From Ieper town centre the Veurnseweg (N8) is reached via Elverdingsestraat, then turning right onto Haiglaan. Veurnseweg is a continuation of Haiglaan. On reaching the village of Elverdinge the Steentjesmolenstraat, N333, is the second left hand turning. The cemetery lies 1.3 kilometres along the Steentjesmolenstraat on the left hand side of the road.
Historical Information
The cemetery was used continuously between 9 June 1915 and 5 August 1917, with the 62nd, 16th, 9th, 11th, 129th and 130th Field Ambulances successively having dressing stations close by. Throughout this period, the village was just within range of the German artillery and a collective grave in Plot 2, Row E, contains the remains of 37 men of the 3rd Bn Monmouthshire Regiment killed on parade on 29 December 1915 by a single shell fired from a naval gun in Houthulst Forest. The graves in Plot 3 run in order of date of death and show the successive occupations of Elverdinghe Chateau by the 38th (Welsh) Division, the Guards Division and units of the Royal Artillery. The cemetery contains 408 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 6 of which are unidentified, and three German war graves. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.