Skip to main content

Somme Cemeteries and Battlefield Views - Oct 2012; Part 5

Our last full day on the Somme, weather did not look promising at breakfast - pouring with rain, but it had stopped by the time we left for the fields. First visit was a quick hour at Guillemont then a drive up to Flers  for a walk starting from Bulls Road Cemetery, taking in the Gird Lines, Gueudecourt, Bayonet Trench and back.



Above: Skies still looking threatening when we arrived at Guillemont Road Cemetery but things looked more promising by the time we arrived at Bulls Road Cemetery.

From Bulls Road, it was a walk towards Guedecourt across the Gird Lines, stopping at AIF Burial Ground Cemetery and exploring the area of Bayonet Trench and The Maze, where the fighting in this area ground to a halt in Oct/Nov 1916 in front of Ligny Thilloy.






Above: Top image - A.I.F Burial Ground taken from the Gird Line to the west of Guedecourt. Second and third images show A.I.F Burial Ground Cemetery. Forth image shows Ligny Thilloy, Bayonet trench ran along the high ground in this area. Bottom image is looking back towards High Wood, and shows a rather featureless landscape, often described in personnel accounts of this area in 1916, except back then it was just a quagmire of mud and shell holes.

From here on back to the car at Bulls Road, we were dashing to beat an incoming storm, which we just made it back to the car in time. We finished the day back at Guillemont / Bernafay Wood area, just as the storm had passed through.








Above: Top two images  - just made it back to the car in time at Bulls Road Cemetery as the storm clouds gathered! Third and forth image show Guillemont Road Cemetery lighted up by the sun as the storm passed through.  Fifth image shows the site of the destroyed Maltzhorn Farm at sunset, now marked by a cross. Final two images are of Bernafay Wood Cemetery, our last stop on route back to Le Tommy for a final round of beers and omelette and chips! 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eastern Command Line - a lazy post

As the title suggests, just a lazy post today, a few pics of CRE Colchester design pillboxes in the Sudbury area to round of the thread on this May visit. Also one pic of concrete road block cylinders now being used as part of river bank defences. This is the first time I have come across this type of road block in Suffolk although I suspect it was probably used quite widely on this Stop Line, perhaps I will come across more examples / references in time. These pictures do show a timeless landscape - traditional floodplain meadows still used for grazing, with the Second World War clearly marking its presence. Lets just hope both the pillboxes and  grazing meadows will be preserved.

RAF Hethel Defence Post

At RAF Station Hethel, a remarkable defence post still exists.  Admittedly, RAF Hethel is in Norfolk and not Suffolk, but the records for this site do provide some interest in relation to the defence of airfields in Eastern Command. Work on Hethel began in 1941 and the station was opened late 1942 and was actually one of the RAF Stations handed over to the USAAF for the use of its bomber units. The defence post was constructed in accordance with a new policy adopted by Eastern Command. Previously, airfield defences had been built as a result of the Taylor Report and largely consisted of pillboxes and breastworks which were large and conspicuous and vulnerable to air attack. Experience at Crete had shown the need for small inconspicuous field works. The new defences were to now consist of small two man weapon-slits and small machine gun pits constructed in accordance with “Infantry Training, 1937” Supplement No.3 – “The design and lay-out of Field Defences, 1942”. Above...

Anti-tank ditch

December 31st Decided to visit the anti-tank ditch at Aldringham Walks this afternoon. It was constructed between late 1940 and early 1941 and ran from (north to south) Sizewell to the north of Thorpeness Mere. Some of its length is still visible today (see map and bottom photo)). The war diary of 9th Cameronians (15th Div) mentions the construction of the ditch in Margaret Wood (vicinity of No 12 Platoon, B Coy).  The diary also mentions a pillbox being destroyed by the RE in No 12 platoons area, but no luck in finding any remains this time. The diary would also indicate the ditch was a combined obstacle with Z1 scaffolding. The top left photo shows the remains of a weapons pit/shell slit; six pieces of angle iron revetment still exist - one of the pieces is clearly visible in the photo. Perhaps this is part of No 12 platoons position. Many years ago when beating up the young woodland I found a Yorkshire billhook with the WO arrow dated 1946, so this area would appear to have ...