Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial

Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial lies at Tynecotstraat 43 near Passendale in the municipality of Zonnebeke, West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the largest Commonwealth war graves cemetery in the world, with nearly 12,000 burials from the First World War, the majority of them unidentified. The cemetery is on a rise that was fought over during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, and its rows of white headstones are arranged around a central Cross of Sacrifice built over a former German blockhouse. The Tyne Cot Memorial wall at the rear carries the names of around 35,000 Commonwealth soldiers missing after August 1917. The Tyne Cot visitor centre explains the history of the site and the stories of individual soldiers, with displays on the battle and the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which maintains the cemetery with carefully kept lawns and flowers. A visit takes about an hour, longer for those who read the inscriptions and use the name database. The cemetery is open at all hours, while the visitor centre keeps daytime hours. The best vantage point is from the Cross of Sacrifice, looking back across the rows toward the surrounding farmland. Mornings in the quieter months are calmest, because coach tours from Ypres and Salient guided tours arrive through the middle of the day. There is no entry fee. Visitors are asked to behave respectfully, keep voices low and avoid walking on graves. The site is about 20 minutes by car or taxi from Ypres, and many people visit as part of a guided Salient tour from the town.