War Cemetery Closed.
THE YPRES TIMES
5i
By Henry Benson, M.A.
Special to The Western Morning AJews.")
IN closing a British War Cemetery, dating from 1914, and removing the bodies
of our glorious dead interred therein to a similar cemetery in the immediate
vicinity, the staff of the Imperial War Graves Commission in Belgium has just
been called upon to execute what it rightly regards as the most regrettable of the
many grim tasks which, for more than a decade, have constituted its daily round.
It was a difficult, gruesome undertaking, from which even men .inured in all the
abominations of war's aftermath shrunk in abhorrence.
Indeed, it was only stern sense of duty, coupled with inevitability, that impelled
them to consent to carry it through.
Misapprehension and surprise are certain to arise in the minds of those to whom
these fallen soldiers were near and dear. Consequently, it may be well that a full
statement of the facts should be given by one who possesses an intimate knowledge
of the cemetery involved, and has closely watched the prolonged negotiations
alasnow terminated in failurethat have held its fate in the balance for more
than two years.
By an agreement made at Le Havre on August 9, 1917, the Belgian Government
generously undertook to acquire from the owners the lands upon which British war
cemeteries had been constructed, and to dedicate them as the perpetual resting
places of our gallant dead, simultaneously assuring immunity from disturbance
for all time.
There are 462 cemeteries in Belgium containing British war graves, and of that
number it has been possible to acquire, under the terms of the agreement, the land
of all of them, with the sole exception of the one in question. A stone of uniform
design bears the following inscription in English, Flemish, and French:
The land in Belgium occupied as British war cemeteries has been gener
ously conceded in perpetuity by the Belgian people under an agreement made at
Le Havre on August 9, 1917."
It has been placed in a prominent position in each of these cemeteries, and
relatives need not have the slightest fear that the graves they contain are in peril of
disturbance. Incidentally, it may be added that the same remark applies to our
war cemeteries in France and Italy.
The cemetery concerned, in which circumstances have militated against acquisi
tion, is Rosenberg Chateau Cemetery and Extension, Ploegsteert, situated about
nine miles from Ypres and about five from Armentières. It stands immediately
within the grounds of the former chateau (completely destroyed during the war),
which the owner desires to rebuild. It is his contention that the presence of a
cemetery in close proximity to his house would materially detract from the ameni
ties of the latter.
The whole question has been a matter of anxious concern to the Anglo-Belgian
Joint Committee in Brussels, which induced the Minister of the Interior to inter
vene. Unfortunately, however, that gentleman (whose official position corresponds
to that of our own Home Secretary), whilst possessing powers to use persuasion,
has none to coerce. The owner, who under Belgian law is strictly within his rights
