Wimereux Communal Cemetery
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The Commonwealth Cemetery of Wimereux, like that of Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, is unusual in that the headstones were laid flat upon the war graves because the sandy soil could not provide them with a stable footing.
Also, some of the 2,847 war graves in the cemetery are not military but the last resting places of nurses who worked in the large field hospital which was set up on the coast by the British Army during the Great War.
In 1917 no fewer than ten hospitals were operating in Wimereux to care for the wounded and sick soldiers returning from the Western Front. Those who succumbed to their wounds were buried in the town's cemetery; however by 1918 a lack of available space meant that a new cemetery was opened in nearby Wimille, the Terlincthun British Cemetery.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow…
In addition to the logistical bases centred on the ports, fifty hospitals were set up by the British Army in the coastal towns of Calais, Wimereux, Boulogne, Dannes-Camiers, Étaples, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage and Saint-Omer.
Near to the Cross of Sacrifice, one grave in particular stands out in Wimereux Cemetery because of the small Canadian flags and paper poppies which adorn it. It is the final resting place of the poet Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. A Canadian doctor, McCrae served at Ypres where he cared for soldiers wounded in the second battle there in April and May 1915. It was also in Ypres that he lost a close friend who was later buried in a makeshift cemetery. This event inspired him to write his famous poem, In Flanders Fields, which begins thus:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
Not only does the poppy represent the soldiers who fell on the battlefield, it is also a symbol of hope because it is the first species of flower to grow on ground ravaged by war. In the aftermath of the Great War the popularity of In Flanders Fields did much to install the poppy as the symbol of remembrance throughout the Commonwealth Countries.
Practical information
Map:
Find out about access, tourist offices and a selection of quality accommodation and restaurants around the site.
Contact details
Address: Cimetière communal - Rue Jean Moulin - 62930 WIMEREUX
Contact: OFFICE DE TOURISME DE WIMEREUX
Call: +33 (0)3 21 83 27 17
Website: www.wimereux-tourisme.fr
Consult the brochure
