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Debt of Honour Register
In Memory of
ARCHIE DOWNIE
Private
44355
9th Bn., Royal Scots
who died on
Friday 12 April 1918 . Age 18 .
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Additional Information:
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Son of John and Maggie Downie,
of Beech Cottage, Eaglesfield, Lockerbie.
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Cemetery:
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PLOEGSTEERT
MEMORIALComines-Warneton, Hainaut, Belgium
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Grave or Reference Panel Number:
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Panel 1
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Location:
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The Ploegsteert Memorial stands
in Berks Cemetery Extension, which is located 12.5 kilometres south of
Ieper town centre, on the N365 leading from Ieper to Mesen (Messines),
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 (N336). 3.5 kilometres along
the N336 lies a fork junction with the N365. The N365, which forms the
right hand fork, leads to the town of Mesen. The Cemetery lies 3 kilometres
beyond Mesen on the right hand side of the N365, and opposite Hyde Park
Corner Royal Berks Cemetery. The sounding of the Last Post takes place at
the Ploegsteert Memorial on the first Friday of every month at 7 p.m.
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Visiting Information:
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The Panel Numbers quoted at the
end of each entry relate to the panels dedicated to the Regiment served
with. In some instances where a casualty is recorded as attached to another
Regiment, his name may alternatively appear within their Regimental Panels.
Please refer to the on-site Memorial Register Introduction to determine the
alternative panel numbers if you do not find the name within the quoted
Panels.
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Historical Information:
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The PLOEGSTEERT MEMORIAL
commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South
African forces who died in this sector during the First World War and have
no known grave. The memorial serves the area from the line
Caestre-Dranoutre-Warneton to the north, to Haverskerque-Estaires-Fournes
to the south, including the towns of Hazebrouck, Merville, Bailleul and
Armentieres, the Forest of Nieppe, and Ploegsteert Wood. The original
intention had been to erect the memorial in Lille. Those commemorated by
the memorial did not die in major offensives, such as those which took
place around Ypres to the north, or Loos to the south. Most were killed in
the course of the day-to-day trench warfare which characterised this part
of the line, or in small scale set engagements, usually carried out in
support of the major attacks taking place elsewhere. BERKS CEMETERY
EXTENSION, in which the memorial stands, was begun in June 1916 and used
continuously until September 1917. At the Armistice, the extension comprised
Plot I only, but Plots II and III were added in 1930 when graves were
brought in from Rosenberg Chateau Military Cemetery and Extension, about 1
kilometre to the north-west, when it was established that these sites could
not be acquired in perpetuity. Rosenberg Chateau Military Cemetery was used
by fighting units from November 1914 to August 1916. The extension was
begun in May 1916 and used until March 1918. Together, the Rosenberg
Chateau cemetery and extension were sometimes referred to as 'Red Lodge'.
Berks Cemetery Extension now contains 876 First World War burials. HYDE
PARK CORNER (ROYAL BERKS) CEMETERY is separated from Berks Cemetery
Extension by a road. It was begun in April 1915 by the 1st/4th Royal
Berkshire Regiment and was used at intervals until November 1917. Hyde Park
Corner was a road junction to the north of Ploegsteert Wood. Hill 63 was to
the north-west and nearby were the 'Catacombs', deep shelters capable of
holding two battalions, which were used from November 1916 onwards. The cemetery
contains 83 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and four German war
graves The cemetery, cemetery extension and memorial were designed by H
Chalton Bradshaw, with sculpture by Gilbert Ledward.
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Display Record of Commemoration
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