Ploegsteert
Encyclopedia
Ploegsteert is a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in 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...

 located in the municipality of Comines-Warneton
Comines-Warneton
Comines-Warneton is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Comines-Warneton had a total population of 17,562. The total area is 61.09 km² which gives a population density of 287 inhabitants per km². The name "Comines" is believed to have a...

 in the Hainaut province. It is approximately 2 kilometres north of the French border. Created in 1850 on part of the territory of Warneton
Comines-Warneton
Comines-Warneton is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Comines-Warneton had a total population of 17,562. The total area is 61.09 km² which gives a population density of 287 inhabitants per km². The name "Comines" is believed to have a...

, it includes the hamlet of Le Bizet.

The nearby Ploegsteert Wood
Ploegsteert Wood
Ploegsteert Wood was a sector of the Western Front in Flanders in World War I, part of the Ypres Salient. After fighting in late 1914 and early 1915, it became a quiet sector where no major action took place...

 was the site of fierce WWI
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...

 fighting. Winston Churchill stayed there from January to May 1916. The Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing
Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing
The Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial for the missing soldiers of World War I who fought in the immediate area of the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.The grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in...

 commemorates more than 11,000 missing British Commonwealth servicemen who died in the area during that time.

It was declared a sister city
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 of Wolverton
Wolverton, Milton Keynes
Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes . It is at its northern edge, between Stony Stratford and Newport Pagnell...

, England, in 2006; this was partly initiated through the finding of letters from a 16-year-old soldier from Wolverton named Albert French. He is buried in Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
Hyde Park Corner 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....

, just outside the village.

The village is home to a carpentry museum.
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