Essex Farm Cemetery, Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Boezinge, Belgium.
Essex Farm Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground of 6,032 square metres between the Diksmuidseweg and the Ieperlee canal, halfway between Ypres and Boezinge. It commemorates 1,204 dead, 104 unidentified, in an irregular layout with the Cross of Sacrifice in the northwest corner and the Stone of Remembrance on the east side. It was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.
The site began in 1915 as a medical aid station, where British physician John McCrae wrote his famous poem. It later became a permanent cemetery for war dead.
The cemetery name comes from the Essex Regiment: a soldier of its 2nd Battalion was buried here in June 1915, and 28 men of the 11th Battalion followed in 1916. Valentine Joe Strudwick, killed at 15, lies here; his grave draws British school groups who leave notes and flowers.
The cemetery lies on the west bank of the Ieperlee canal along the N369, about 2.5 km from both Ypres centre and Boezinge. The ground has an irregular plan; the Cross of Sacrifice stands in the northwest corner and the Stone of Remembrance on the east side. The path to Valentine Strudwick's grave has been paved because of the many visitors.
Valentine Joe Strudwick of the Rifle Brigade died on 14 January 1916, aged 15, and was born on Valentine's Day. His grave has become a pilgrimage site for British school groups, who leave notes, teddy bears and flowers; the path to it was paved because of the many visitors.
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