Directions

From Ieper take the Zonnebeke Road. In Zonnebeke village a sign points right to the Australian 5th Divisional Memorial, Buttes New British Cemetery and Polygon Wood Cemetery. Follow this road for several kilometres until you reach Polygon Wood. The cemetery is at the end of the path leading into the wood, opposite Polygon Wood Cemetery.

About the cemetery

Buttes New British Cemetery was constructed after the war and is a concentration cemetery made up of bodies originally buried in small groups in the surrounding area. The cemetery is located in Polygon Wood, scene of the Australian 5th Division's triumphant attack on September 26th 1917, and many of the men killed in this battle now lie here. The Buttes was a prominent feature during the fighting and after the war the 5th Division placed their Divisional memorial on top of it. The memorial now looks over the 2066 graves that make up the cemetery. Many of the Australians buried in this cemetery were killed in the Battle of Menin Road (September 20th-21st 1917), Battle of Polygon Wood (September 26th-28th 1917), Battle of Broodseinde Ridge (October 4th 1917) and Battle of Passchendaele (October 9th-12th 1917).

Total burials: 2066

Australian burials: 564 (407 unidentified)

Notable Australians buried in this cemetery

• Lieutenant-Colonel Allan Humphrey Scott DSO, 56th Battalion, died 1/10/1917, age 27. Lieutenant-Colonel Scott was the commanding officer of the 56th Battalion and had distinguished himself at Gallipoli. After the battle of Polygon Wood his men named one of the pillboxes they captured after him - it still stands in the wood today (click here for more information). After his battalion was relieved he remained behind to give directions to the relieving officer and was killed by a sniper whilst standing on the Buttes. Grave II. A. 12.