Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery
Casualties
There are 83 burials of Commonwealth servicemen in this cemetery. Four graves are for German war dead.
The cemetery was started here by the 1st/4th Royal Berkshire Regiment in April 1915. Casualties were laid to rest here up until November 1917.
Rifleman Albert Edward French
The grave of Rifleman Albert Edward French, Service Number C/7259, is often visited in this cemetery, especially by groups of young visitors to the battlefields. He was only 16 years of age when he was killed in this battle sector. He was serving with the 18th Battalion the Kings Royal Rifle Corps on 15th June 1916.
Albert's Grave Reference is Row B, Grave 2.
The British Army Service Record for Rifleman Albert French reveals fascinating and moving information about Albert and his short period of military service. Read about Albert at:
Private Frederick William Giles
Another young, under-age soldier was Private Frederick William Giles, Service Number 3053. He was serving with the 1st/4th Royal Berkshire Regiment when he was killed. He died on 28th April 1915 aged 17. He was the son of son of Frederick James and Sarah Giles living at 9 Hilcot Road in Reading, Berkshire.
Private Giles is buried at Grave Reference Row B, Grave 13.
“Hyde Park Corner”
The cemetery was named Hyde Park Corner after the name given by the British soldiers to the road junction located to the north of the wood of Ploegsteert (“Plugstreet Wood”).
“Plugstreet Wood”
The large wood north of the village of Ploegsteert was named “Plugstreet Wood” by the British soldiers serving there. It has become one of the well-known place names in British military history.
Design
Harold Chalton Bradshaw designed this cemetery together with the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing and the Berks Cemetery Extension.
Location of the Hyde Park Corner Cemetery
Rue de Messines, 7782 Comines-Warneton, Belgium
Latitude 50.737757; Longitude 2.882633
The Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery is located approximately 12.5 kms south of the centre of Ypres (Ieper). It is situated on the east side of the N365 main road between Mesen (Messines) and Armentières and opposite the Ploegsteert memorial.
Parking
There is a designated parking layby at the memorial on the opposite side of the road to the cemetery. Visitors are advised to take great care when moving about parked vehicles and crossing the road to the Ploegsteert Memorial on the opposite side of the road. Children should be supervised at all times when near this road.
Related Topics
Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing
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This memorial is located on the opposite side of the road to Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery.
Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing
Acknowledgements
Some of the cemetery description and history has been sourced by kind permission of The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). For more information about the cemeteries and the work of the commission visit the CWGC website:
Website: www.cwgc.org
See our page about the information available for family historians at the CWGC: