Bedford House Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...

 burial ground for the dead of the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 located near Zillebeke

Zillebeke

Zillebeke is a village in the Flemish province of West-Vlaanderen in Belgium. The former municipality is now part of Ypres.-History:On March 3, 1914 the then municipality was granted the arms are those of the last Lords of Zillebeke, the Canton family, Viscounts of Winnezeele, which had in 1740...

, itself near Ypres

Ypres

Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...

, on the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

.

The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium

Albert I of Belgium

Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...

 in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 in the defence and liberation of Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 during the war.

Foundation

Zillebeke was directly behind the Western Front, making it a useful site for divisional headquarters and field ambulance stations. Château Rosendal, a large house with a moat and extensive gardens was put to this use. The British forces in the area named the château "Bedford House" or "Woodcote House", with the former becoming the official name used for the post-war cemetery.

Whilst the area remained in Allied hands through the war, it was devastated by shell fire and the château was razed over the course of the war, being hit by German 8-inch shells, as well as 500 gas shells in just one day of the Third Battle of Ypres.

Enclosure No 1 and No 5

Five cemeteries were established in the grounds. At the end of the war, the earliest of these was moved to White House cemetery

White House Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

White House Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front....

 in Sint Jan, whilst the fifth was relocated to Aeroplane cemetery in Ypres.

Enclosure No 2

The second cemetery was established in December 1915 and remained in used until October 1918. After the Armistice

Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)

The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...

, 437 graves were concentrated in this enclosure from two nearby battlefield cemeteries, Ecole de Bienfaisance and Asylum British, that the Commission could not maintain. Unusually for a Commonwealth cemetery on the Western Front, there are collective burials in this enclosure, although individual headstones have still been provided, marked "Buried near this spot".

Enclosure No 3

The third cemetery is the smallest and was in use from February 1915 until December 1916.

Enclosure No 4

The fourth cemetery is the largest. It was founded in June 1916 and in use until February 1918. Post-war, it received reburials of 3324 troops from other cemeteries or found under the former battlefields. The identities of most of these troops is unknown.

Enclosure No 6

A sixth cemetery was established in the 1930s for reburials of remains still being found in the area. This cemetery also received the remains of 69 British Expeditionary Force

British Expeditionary Force (World War II)

The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....

 troops killed in the area during the rearguard action leading to the Dunkirk evacuation. Three of these soldiers' identities are unknown.

Special memorials

The cemetery as a whole has 47 "special memorials". In the form of stone obelisks or just headstones with special notations, they record the names of soldiers whose graves were lost in later fighting or could not be found after the war. As these are known casualties (not "missing"), they are included in the total figure for burials in the cemetery and are not recorded on the Menin Gate

Menin Gate

The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium dedicated to the commemoration of British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of the First World War and whose graves are unknown...

.

The entire cemetery was designed by Wilfred Clement Von Berg

Wilfred Clement Von Berg

Captain Wilfrid Clement von Berg MC was a British architect.Croydon-born Von Berg began to study architecture in 1912. During World War I he served with the London Rifle Brigade. At the end of the conflict he joined the Imperial War Graves Commission as an assistant architect...

.

Notable graves

Enclosure No 4 holds the grave of Second Lieutenant Rupert Price Hallowes

Rupert Price Hallowes

Rupert Price Hallowes VC MC was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....

, a Welsh

Welsh people

The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...

 soldier who was awarded both the Military Cross

Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

 and the Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

, the highest award for valour "in the face of the enemy" in the Commonwealth.

Also buried in No 4 is Private Frederick Turner of the Northumberland Fusiliers. He was executed by his own side on 23 October 1917 for desertion. Such "shot at dawn" executions were pardoned by the British government in 2006.