| Ploegsteert Memorial | |
|---|---|
| Commonwealth War Graves Commission | |
| For soldiers missing in the area during World War I | |
| Unveiled | 7 June 1931 |
| Location | near Ploegsteert, Hainaut, Belgium |
| Designed by | H. Chalton Bradshaw Gilbert Ledward (sculptor) |
| To the glory of God and to the memory of 11447 officers and men of the forces of the British Empire, who fell fighting in the years 1914-1918 between the River Douve and the towns of Estaires and Furnes, whose names are here recorded but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.[1] | |
The Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing (also known as Hyde Park Corner[2] and referred to colloquially as "Plug Street") is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) memorial for the missing soldiers of World War I who fought in the immediate area of the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.
The 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.
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The memorial stands in the middle of Berks Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery Extension, which was founded by Commonwealth troops in June 1916 as an extension to Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery which lies across the road.[3]
The memorial lists the 11,367[1] missing Commonwealth soldiers from battles in the area:[2]
The memorial was designed by H Chalton Bradshaw, who also designed the Cambrai Memorial in France,[4] apart from two large lions which were commissioned from the sculptor Gilbert Ledward.[5] It is 70 ft (21 m) in diameter and 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) tall and was unveiled on 7 June 1931 by the then-Duke of Brabant, later King Leopold III of Belgium.[2]
The memorial holds the names of three recipients of the Victoria Cross, Sapper William Hackett, Private James MacKenzie and Captain Thomas Tannatt Pryce, who have no known grave.[6]
Since 7 June 1999, the Comité du Memorial de Ploegsteert has arranged for the Last Post to be played at the memorial on the first Friday of each month.[7]