WW1 and WW2 Defences - Suffolk and beyond

It was several years ago when I last visited here, so a revisit was certainly in order. In 1943, a firing range was established at Boyton Marshes, just to the southwest of the Orford Battle Training area. Tanks drove around a concrete triangular track allowing the gunners to practice shooting from various angles, at a variety of targets at various ranges. Two concrete structures controlled flip up targets for the tank’s machine guns. They were also used to recorded hits on the targets. Two larger concrete structures, each built at the end of a linear earth bank, had a similar role but controlled tank shaped moving targets winched along a narrow gauged track which was behind the earth banks.  These provided ranges of approximately 500 and 1,000 yards for gunners to practice at. The larger structures also probably controlled flip up targets as well. With firing taking place towards the sea, any misses would pass harmlessly out to sea. I have now posted a page on the main websit...

Had a very interesting day at Loos on our recent trip to France. A walk around the Hohenzollern Redoubt and the edge of the Quarries revealed some new remains that we had not seen before. This area was at the heart of the Battle of Loos in 1915. The area was the scene of initial success but following fierce fighting the Germans managed to regain lost ground. The lines then settled down for the next three years, with incessant mining and trench warfare.  Unfortunately the weather was misty on our visit so some of the photos are not that great.  Below: Trench map of the lines in the Hohenzollern Redoubt and Quarries area before the battle. Below: Trench map at the end of the Battle. The lines were to remain so for the next three years, with some intense mine warfare as can be seen by the craters marked on the map. Some very good remains of the German front line, which include, trenches, dugouts, mine craters and remains of concrete emplacements can be seen today in woo...

A beautiful frosty morning saw us heading into Bienvillers for the daily baguette. We took the opportunity to visit the military cemetery and some new concrete which we had not seen before. Bienvillers Military Cemetery was started in September 1915 by the 37th Division, then used by other divisions in the line. It records 1,567 UK,25 Australian, nine New Zealand, three Canadian one South African and one German burial.It was about two miles behind the front line opposite Gommecourt on the opening of the battle of the Somme. Many of the burials are from the Ancre fighting.  The concrete pillbox is an artillery observation post of the standard Third Army pattern, probably constructed in the summer of 1918 following the German Spring Offensives. 

Just back from the annual visit to the First War battlefields. Most time as usual spent walking the fields of the Somme. Harder work this year, as due to the very dry spring, many of the winter ploughed fields had been finely tilled, much harder to come across things on this type of surface. So mostly pictures of shells for this year! Below: One of two relic SMLE rifles found on the Gird Line Below: German Egg Grenade, Gird Line Below: Large British HE shell (6" howitzer?), Mills Bomb and 3" Stokes Mortar round, Gird Line Below: British 18 pdr HE shell near Mouquet Farm Below: German Granatenwefer 15  round (also named known as the Priesterwerfer or Priestwefer as it was invented by a Hungarian priest named Vecer) and four 77mm rounds. The Granatenwerfer was a small spigot mortar.  Below - two images of a selection of Mills bombs. The first pile was a result of some track widening at the back of Mouquet Farm. Second image shows t...