Spanbroekmolen British Cemetery


Spanbroekmolen British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front in Belgium. It is located at Spanbroekmolen, on one of the highest points of the Messines Ridge.

Foundation

The cemetery, named after a nearby windmill, was established in summer 1917. It mainly contains burials from the first day of the Battle of Messines, plus one from the day after. As in Lone Tree War Cemetery nearby, many of those buried here were from the 36th Division.
The cemetery was destroyed in later fighting and was reconstructed after the Armistice. Six graves could not be located and a "special memorial" notes the names of the men whose graves were not found.
Some of the men buried here were killed by the force of the explosion of a mine placed by the British Royal Engineers. The mine at Spanbroekmolen, which formed part of a series of mines under the German lines, was charged with of ammonal and set below ground, at the end of a gallery long. When detonated around 15 seconds later than planned at the start of the battle on 7 June 1917, its blast formed a crater with a diameter of and a depth of, destroying the German trenches and throwing communications into turmoil. The explosion crater, now filled with water, still exists and is called "Spanbroekmolenkrater" or "Lone Tree Crater". It was acquired in 1929 by the Toc H foundation in Poperinge, today recognised as the "Pool of Peace".
The cemetery was designed by J. R. Truelove. The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war.