Sanctuary Wood cemetery

Sanctuary Wood Cemetery is in woodland near Hooge. The wood was so called because it was a place of relative safety behind the front, where troops could rest and regroup during the First Battle of Ieper.

The two most well-known casualties buried here both died in the fighting at Hooge on 30 July 1915. The hamlet had been captured by the British and the Germans wanted to recover it. To do so, they attacked using flame-throwers - for the very first time on the Western Front. Later in the war this fearsome weapon was used by both sides.

Just outside the front of the cemetery stands a Celtic cross to the memory of Lieutenant Keith Rae. Rae is not buried here: he has no known grave and is commemorated by name on the Menin Gate Memorial. According to some reports, he continued firing at the enemy, even when he had been set on fire by a flame-thrower. The cross was erected by Rae's family in 1921 and originally stood at Hooge. It was moved here in 1966 when its private owners were no longer able to maintain it in situ.

The cemetery also contains the grave of Gilbert Talbot (in plot I, row G). Talbot was the younger brother of a padre in the British Army and the son of a future Anglican bishop. His brother was one of the founders of Talbot House, which offered rest and relaxation to British soldiers in Poperinge, when they were out of the trenches. Talbot House was named in honour of Gilbert.

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