“Nine Elms” is a name given to a location near Poperinghe in the province of West Flanders, Belgium. Although it possibly referred to trees in the vicinity, it certainly echoed the name of an area of London at which there was an extensive goods depot and railway marshalling yard of the London & South Western Railway.
The 44th Casualty Clearing Station was the first to occupy the “Nine Elms” site, arriving on 12 September 1917. This unit had recently vacated a site at Brandhoek when it came under heavy enemy artillery fire. It was soon followed by 3rd Australian CCS which set up alongside.
The Casualty Clearing Stations vacated the area in 1918 and it appears to have been known as “Hospital Cross Camp” thereafter.
The CWGC says of Nine Elms British Cemetery, “The cemetery was begun and used by the 3rd Australian and 44th Casualty Clearing Stations when they moved to Poperinghe (now Poperinge), from Brandhoek and Lijssenthoek respectively, in September 1917. Nearly all the burials in Plots I to IX came from these Casualty Clearing Stations, whilst they operated in this area during the 1917 Battle of Ypres, up until December 1917. Plots X, XI, XIII, XIV and XV cover the dates between the beginning of March, 1918 and the 12th October, 1918, the period of the German offensive in Flanders, the British counter attacks and the final advance of August-September. The burials in these cases were carried out almost entirely by fighting units. The cemetery contains 1,556 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and 37 German war graves from this period. There are also 22 Second World War burials in the cemetery, all dating from the Allied retreat to Dunkirk in 1940. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.”
The earliest deaths recorded at the cemetery are of three men who died on 16 September 1917. By coincidence that were all of the Labour Corps:
Private 116020 William Running, formerly 5743 of the Highland Light Infantry. He died as a result of severe shrapnel wounds, having been evacuated to 44th CCS and had only returned from a period of home leave eight days before. His service record leaves some uncertainty regarding his unit at the time, with both 29th and 194th Labour Copmpanies appearing. He had enlisted in May 1915 at the age of 19 and was the husband of Annie Running of 12 Cobden Street, Townhead, Glasgow.
Private 12330 James Howie of the 40th Labour Company, formerly 29423 of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. His parents lived at 517 Dalmarnock Road in Glasgow. Howie was aged 41 when he died of wounds.
Acting Corporal 39947 William George Robinson of the 67th Labour Company, formerly 65369 of the 2nd Infantry Labour Company of the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) and 12179 of the Cheshire Regiment. He was aged 48.