Berks Cemetery Extension, Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in Ploegsteert, Belgium
Berks Cemetery Extension is a military cemetery in Comines-Warneton, Belgium, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The site holds about 880 graves of service personnel from Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, along with a memorial for over 11,000 additional fallen without identified burial places.
The cemetery was established in 1916 as an extension to the nearby Hyde Park Corner Cemetery. During the 1930s, additional graves were transferred here from Rosenberg Chateau Military Cemetery, and the grounds were expanded.
The cemetery's name comes from the Royal Berkshire Regiment, whose soldiers began burying their dead beside Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery in June 1916. The grounds are kept by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The Stone of Remembrance stands at the northern edge of the site, the Cross of Sacrifice in the southern part.
The cemetery lies just north of Ploegsteert's centre, along the N365 road toward Mesen, in the western part of Ploegsteert Wood. The Stone of Remembrance stands at the northern edge of the grounds, while the Cross of Sacrifice is in the southern section. The site is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Among the graves are the twin brothers William and Leonard Crossley, riflemen of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, both killed on 30 June 1916 at the age of 31 and buried side by side. Three soldiers here, B. Harrison, James Richard Brett and Albert Edward Lewis, were only 17 when they died.
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