Lijssenthoek British Cemetery, near Poperinge, Belgium.

Lijssenthoek British Cemetery, near Poperinge, Belgium.

x1_Lijssenthoek_British_Cemetery

Hospitals were established near here because the area was just out of extreme artillery range and on a railway line. The dead were buried in an adjacent Hopfield which became the second largest Commonwealth war cemetery after Tyne Cot. More Australians, (1131), are buried here than anywhere else other than Tyne Cot and all are known by name because they died of wounds after leaving the battlefields with their identity discs, (dog-tags).

The large percentage of deaths from wounds compared to later conflicts resulted from the lack of penicillin and the slow evacuation of the wounded.

Among the dead at Lijssenthoek is Major Frederick Tubb VC of the 7th Battalion. He earned his VC at Lone Pine at Gallipoli and during the battle of Menin Road was unfortunately wounded by what is today called “Friendly Fire” from British Artillery, later dying from the wounds.

RETURN TO PREVIOUS PAGE

 

Comments are closed.