Zillebeke (also known as Zellebeck) is a village in the
Flemish province of
West Flanders
West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...
in Belgium. It is a former municipality which is now part of
Ypres.
History
On 3 March 1914 the then municipality was granted the arms of the last Lords of Zillebeke, the Canton family, Viscounts of
Winnezeele, which had in 1740 acquired the ''Ancien Régime'' estate of Zillebeke.
During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, like other parts of Ypres, it was the site of bipartisan heroism, with
Victoria Crosses being won by three soldiers in the area –
John Henry Stephen Dimmer,
John Franks Vallentin, and
John Carmichael. The village was mentioned in the ''
Wipers Times'', the most well-known of the trench magazines that were published by soldiers fighting on the front lines of the
Great War.
The 1st Battalion of The
Irish Guards suffered huge casualties defending the village and playing a major part in stopping the German breakthrough to the
Channel Ports between 1 and 11 November 1914 as part of the
First Battle of Ypres.
Located in or close to Zillebeke are
Hill 60, the
Hill 62 Memorial,
The Bluff, the
Sanctuary Wood Museum Hill 62 and the
Sanctuary Wood CWGC Cemetery. Within
Zillebeke Churchyard CWGC Cemetery, which forms part of the churchyard at Zillebeke Catholic parish church, there is a section with
war graves of soldiers from aristocratic backgrounds; this plot is called ''The Aristocrat's Cemetery''.
The nearby villages of
Hollebeke and
Voormezele were merged into Zillebeke in 1970. In 1976, the enlarged Zillebeke was merged into the city of
Ypres.
See also
*
Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (Transport Farm) CWGC Cemetery
*
RE Grave Railway Wood CWGC Cemetery
References
*
Belgian Civil heraldry– shows the coat of arms
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Ypres
Populated places in West Flanders