White House Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery 2.07

White House Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front in Belgium.The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war.FoundationThe cemetery was founded by Commonwealth troops in March 1915 and remained in use until April 1918. After the Armistice in November 1918, the cemetery was enlarged by concentrating graves from eight outlying cemeteries.The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield who was also responsible for the nearby Menin Gate memorial.Notable gravesThe cemetery contains the graves of some 1,163 soldiers of the Great War. Amongst these are the graves of four men executed by the Commonwealth military authorities – Private HH Chase of the Lancashire Fusiliers, executed for cowardice on 12 June 1915; Private WJ Turpie of the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment, executed for desertion on 1 July 1915; and Privates RW Gawler and AE Eveleigh of The Buffs (East Kent Regiment), executed for desertion 24 February 1916. Private Turpie reached the United Kingdom about a month after deserting. He was apprehended by the police and confessed to being a deserter. Brought back to the Front, he was convicted at a court martial and subsequently executed. On 7 November 2006, the British government reversed its previous decision and announced a pardon for all soldiers executed in the Great War.