Ploegsteert Wood

Ploegsteert Wood was a sector of the Western Front in Flanders in World War I, part of the Ypres Salient.

After fierce fighting in late 1914 and early 1915, Ploegsteert Wood became a quiet sector where no major action took place.

Units were sent here to recuperate and retrain after tougher fighting elsewhere, and before returning to take part in more active operations.

From January to May 1916, Winston Churchill served in the area as Commanding Officer (Lieutenant-Colonel) of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers.

The Ploegsteert Memorial commemorates more than 11,000 British and Empire servicemen who died during the First World War and have no known grave.