Tyne Cott Memorial.
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The photograph below shows a section of the Yorkshire Regiment panel on the Tyne Cott Memorial, Zonnebeke.
It has been contributed by Ray Wilkins of Middlesbrough, whose Great Uncle, Pte Thomas William Lofthouse is one of those commemorated.
Ray received the picture from Frederik Sohier of Reningelst Belgium, who is attempting to photograph all the British graves in that country
and create a website of the same. Click here to visit.
The panels form a wall, which extends for 150 metres and lists the names of all the 34,887 men who died in the Ypres Salient between
16th August 1917 and the Armistice and have no known grave. Many would have been properly buried at the time of their deaths, but their
graves, only marked with a wooden cross, were destroyed by subsequent shelling. The names on the stone panels are arranged by Regiment
and Rank.
The 4th Yorks Battalion were fighting at Arras from April 1917 and were sent up to Ypres in October of that year.
By this time General
Haig's offensive at Ypres, which had started in July and has become notorious as the Battle of Passchendaele, was grinding to a halt.
A five mile advance had been gained at a cost of 140,000 Allied dead and countless wounded. Similarly losses had been inflicted on the
Germans.
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From October 1917 to February 1918 the 4th Yorks were involved in the usual tours to hold the new Front Line. During this time
they lost 20 men in one period from the 26th to 30th October 1917 and another 6 between the 24th December 1917 and January 2nd 1918.
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