a safe place to shelter, 18th battn may 1916

[kingo]

Not noted for my subtlety Dave 

[kingo]

Dave, Reading through Lt Salmons statement to the Board of inquiry again, he states " I was in charge of A.23.1 at about 8.30 and was summoned to a mine in A.23.2.. On looking at the trench map there appears to be an A.23.2 at the end of King Street opposite Y wood. Could this be it ?. Incidentally,i like the way they recreated the centre of Manchester in the street names in a foreign field. It must have seemed like walking to work to them.

[kingo]

Lt Salmons statement is attached:-

[Fritz Bayer]

I was in charge of A.23.1 at about 8.30 and was summoned to a mine in A.23.2.. On looking at the trench map there appears to be an A.23.2 at the end of King Street opposite Y wood. Could this be it ?.

Certainly is. They are trench references - used before the naming of trenches became popular and continued in use afterwards to pinpoint specific points in trenches without using map references.

Dave.

[Fritz Bayer]

...

[kingo]

Dave-it will have to wait until next year but i intend to walk that whole area. From what i remember, most of the ground from the Albert-Peronne Rd down to Fargny Mill is farming land but there may still be signs of the trenches. Hopefully the airport will be up and running by then. (It will be cheaper to fill an aircraft by then than my car  .)

[mack]

sgt greatbanks who was awarded the MM for his actions that day,didnt survive the war.
sgt george,henry greatbanks
enl 24-3-18
aged 24
worked at richard johnson+nephew
married miss ada,alice wardle,on 2-8-1913
daughter alice,born 4-12-14
resided at 21 grayson st,clayton
later moved to 91 malcolm st,clayton
disembarked 8-11-15
invalided home on 15-11-17
discharged as physically unfit 27-2-18
attended a medical,at huddersfield war hospital,on 7-2-18
died 21-5-18
buried in phillips park cemetery[he was only 27yrs old]
MM awarded for bravery in the field,LG supplement 10-8-16

mack

[Fritz Bayer]

From what i remember, most of the ground from the Albert-Peronne Rd down to Fargny Mill is farming land but there may still be signs of the trenches.

It certainly is (as can be seen from this aerial and also from Google earth) with the nearest point being exactly a quarter of a mile from the nearest road or track (perfect shootin' land for the french farmers! ). I'm making a point of visiting the memorial on the Peronne road (exactly north of these points - you can just see it at the top of the attachment in the square hedge) in a couple of weeks so I may have a quick glance (though I think that the area is obscured from the road by trees). I'd expect that there are remnants of the German defences in the woods still, but wouldn't be as hopeful about the survival of any British evidence.

Dave

[kingo]

Dave. If you go on google earth and look at the area there appears to be have been a motocross track constructed in the area of Les Bruyeres. I assume google maps is more up to date than the michelin map as it can be quite clearly seen. It appears to reach down as far as La Garenne Belle Vue. I was in Maricourt back in May and im sure i saw something about it in the little estaminet on the road between Maricourt and Montauban.It should keep the local youth occupied but will no doubt shatter the peace and quiet of the area.