Oak Dump Cemetery
Location
Oak Dump Cemetery is located 5 km south of Ieper town centre, on the Bernikkewallestraat a road leading from the Rijselsesweg (N365) connecting Ieper to Armentières.
From Ieper town centre the Rijselseweg is located via the Rijselsestraat, through the Rijselpoort (Lille Gate) and by crossing the Ieper ring road, towards Armentières and Lille. The road name then changes to Rijselseweg.
Three kilometres along the Rijselseweg lies the left hand turning onto the Vaartstraat. A kilometre along the Vaartstraat lies the first right hand turning onto the Bernikkewallestraat.
The cemetery itself lies a further kilometre along the Bernikkewallestraat on the right hand side of the road.
| GPS | N | E | OSM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decimal | 50.813874 | 2.909671 | Map |
Historical Information
Oak Dump Cemetery was made by fighting units in July, August and September 1917 and one grave of 1914 was brought in after the Armistice.
In March 1918 a sap opposite the cemetery was blown in, and seven men of the 180th Siege Battery were killed. Their bodies were found in 1927 and buried in the cemetery.
The cemetery now contains 111 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, five of them unidentified. Two of the graves destroyed by shell fire are represented by special memorials.
The cemetery was designed by W H Cowlishaw.
Lieutenant Kenneth North
4th (Queen’s Own) Hussars
Died on 31st October 1914 aged 27
Son of Arthur and Mary North
of Wakefield, Yorkshire
Husband of Frances North
of Star Hill, Hartford Bridge, Basingstoke
Grave: F 5
Corporal William Francis 729
10th Bn Army Cyclist Corps
Died on 6th July 1917 aged 23
Only son of Frederick and Amelia Francis
of 18, Pembroke Estate Cottages, Merrion, Co. Dublin
Private S Speller 682989
22nd Bn London Regiment
Died on 6th July 1917
Grave: H5
2nd Lieutenant A Nicholson
18th Hussars
Queen Mary’s Own
Died on 31st October 1914 aged 21
Son of Herbert and Stella Nicholson
of Bidborough Hall, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Grave: J 7
2nd Lieutenant George Sanders
Northern Cyclist Battalion
Died on 19th July 1917 aged 22
Son of Thomas and Gertrude Sanders
of 16, Russell Rd., Ipswich
Grave: D 10