Comines-Warneton, Hainaut
Motor Car Corner Cemetery is located 17 kilometres south of Ieper town centre, on a road leading from the Rijselseweg N365, which connects Ieper to Wijtschate, Mesen, Ploegsteert and on to Armentieres. From Ieper town centre the Rijselsestraat runs from the market square, through the Lille Gate (Rijselpoort) and directly over the crossroads with the Ieper ring road. The road name then changes to the Rijselseweg. 2 kilometres after the village of Ploegsteert lies the left hand turning onto Witteweg (Chemin de la Blanche). The cemetery lies 500 metres after the first right hand turning from the Witteweg on the right hand side of the road.
In this sector, Motor Car Corner marked the point beyond which military cars were not allowed to proceed towards the front. The cemetery was begun in June 1917 at the outbreak of the Battle of Messines and continued in use until the end of March 1918. It was originally sheltered by an avenue of trees and used in conjunction with a trench railway. The cemetery was in German hands between 10 April and 29 September 1918, during which period they extended it northwards. These German graves were later removed. The cemetery now contains 131 Commonwealth burials of the First World War. One German war grave remains. The cemetery was designed by G H Goldsmith.
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