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Prowse Point Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

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Established
  
1914

Total burials
  
233

Designed by
  
W H Cowlishaw

Unknown burials
  
1


Location
  
near Ieper, West Flanders, Belgium

Address
  
Chemin du Mont de la Hutte, 7784 Comines-Warneton, Belgium

Hours
  
Open today · Open 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayClosedSuggest an edit

Designer
  
William Harrison Cowlishaw

Similar
  
NZ Memorial Messines, Bayernw, German War Cemetery, Menin Gate, Plugstreet 14‑18 experience

Prowse Point Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front in Belgium.

Contents

The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war.

Foundation

The cemetery is on the site of a stand made by the 1st Battalions of the Hampshire Regiment and Somerset Light Infantry in October 1914. Major (later Brigadier-General) Charles Prowse displayed heroism at this stand and the site (and thus cemetery) was named after him. This makes the cemetery unique on the Salient for being named after an individual.

The cemetery was begun in November 1914 and continued to be used until fighting moved beyond the Ploegsteert area in April 1918.

The cemetery was designed by W H Cowlishaw.

Notable graves include Sergeant W A Connor of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, who was awarded the French Croix de guerre.

Later burials

This site featured heavy fighting at numerous points in the war. As such, remains of combatants are still occasionally being discovered in the area. Private Harry Wilkinson of the Lancashire Fusiliers was originally listed on the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing but his body was recovered and buried here in 2001.

More recently, the remains of Private Richard Lancaster of the Lancashire Fusiliers, plus two others unidentified, were found and were buried at Prowse Point with full military honours. The ceremony was attended by his granddaughter.

References

Prowse Point Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery Wikipedia