The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire

Victoria Cross

Committee

 

The Somme Battlefield Trip

30^th May to 3^rd June 2011.

 

The main goal of the five day trip taken by members of the committee was to visit the site of the action where William Henry Johnson VC won his Victoria Cross, but before that we had other places of interest to visit.

It was an early start from Nottingham on Monday 30^th May, to drive to Dover for the 08:30 ferry crossing. The crossing was very quiet despite it being a bank holiday weekend, and once we docked our first destination was an easy drive to the Communal Cemetery at Lillers, where there are 2 VCs laid to rest, and they are Major David Nelson VC and A/Corporal William David Cotter VC. The next stop was St Pol. British Cemetery, and our research tells us that it is in this area where the selection of the Unknown warrior took place, the selection took place in a temporary chapel which was a nissen hut construction, we did find old structures of corrugated material in the area but we have no way of knowing if the structure was connected to what we were looking for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St Pol British Cemetery

 

Our next stop was at the Ligny Sur Canche British Military Cemetery, this is a mainly 1918 cemetery, in a very quiet corner of the French countryside, and as ever beautifully kept by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, to whom we are most grateful for all of the wonderful work they carry out.

Next on to Wavans British Cemetery, this tiny cemetery set in the beautiful French countryside, which contains the grave of one of the most decorated Air Aces of the Great War, Major James Thomas Byrford McCudden VC DSO & Bar MC & Bar MM, sadly as can be seen from the photograph below, someone has been inconsiderate to other people making the journey to visit this very brave man by leaving the headstone marked.

Our committee would respectfully ask that anyone visiting the Western Front please give our forces the respect they deserve, and please do not mark the headstones in anyway.

                                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stained headstone of Major James Thomas Byrford McCudden VC DSO & Bar MC & Bar MM

 

 

 

 

We had lunch enjoying the French countryside and then moved on to Doullens, where we made our way to the Hotel De Ville. It was here on 26^th March, five days after the German Spring offensive, that the momentous meeting took place, which was attended by Lord Milner, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig,  Sir Henry Wilson, Sir Bernard Montgomery, Thomas Edward Lawrence, Georges Clemenceau, Ferdinand Foch, Philippe  Petain, Louis Loucheur, Maxime Weygand, and it was in the Council Chamber that Ferdinand Foch was appointed Supreme Allied Commander of all the Allied Forces.  The room is on the first floor, and is open to visitors, and is now known as Salle du Commandement Unique, the furnishings and fittings are all original, it was refreshing to be able to go into this room alone and take a few photographs, and just embrace the ambiance of the room, it was a most moving experience to be in such a place which was where the decision was made which led to the eventual defeat of Germany.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Meeting Table                                                       A Stained Glass Window in the Chamber             

We left Doullens and started to make our way towards Albert, but made a slight detour to visit a site which is now a busy farm, and this site is called Vert Galant, and it was from this place that was once a WW1 airfield that Albert Ball VC took off on his last flight.

                                        

                                                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Looking across to Vert Galant

 

 

Our next stop was to our accommodation at on the Somme, and a welcome cup of tea, which was most welcome after a full days sightseeing.

 

 

Day 2

Today was the day we had decided we would locate the site of the action of William Henry Johnson VC. Setting off we began by visiting Hem Farm Military Cemetery which contains 2 VCs Pte. Robert Macatier, and 2^nd/Lt. George Edward Cates VC. moving on to Jeancourt Communal Cemetery.

We were soon heading to Ramicourt and the Fonsomme line, which was a strongly defended line put in place by the German Army, our objective was initially to find where the 1/5^th Sherwood Foresters attacked the Fonsomme Line, once we had located that area our research really came into play, and we believe we found the site of action of William Henry Johnson, after a lot of searching.

Once we had found the first bunker, laid at the side of the bunker was a  part of a bayonet, one can only guess what that bayonet had been a part of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above are 3 views of the Bunkers which we believe were attacked by William Henry Johnson VC

 

 

 

The feeling of being at the site of action of such a brave man is very humbling, considering the lay of the land and the strong positions selected by the defenders, one can only appreciate the bravery of our soldiers. Our next stop was Ramicourt British Cemetery on the outskirts of the village, and this cemetery reflects the battle fought for this village. One small point that really brings these things home is that one of the men in this cemetery, his family had  lived very close to one of our committee members.

The remainder of the day was spent looking at other battle sites and cemeteries, which included Joncourt East Cemetery, allocated in a very remote spot and we would imagine during the winter months extremely difficult to get to, Other cemeteries included Estrees Communal, Fins New British, and a visit to the site of Fegicourt which was a village until the Great war and was totally destroyed and never rebuilt.

The final stop of the day was at the Memorial cross of Major Cedric Charles Dickens (Grandson of Charles Dickens the famous writer) near Combles, he was killed near this spot on 9^th September during an attack on Leuze Wood.  Thus another full day was drawing to a close, and it was time to return to barracks and our evening meal.

 

 

 

Day 3

The morning was again sunny, and after breakfast we set of for the Ancre Valley, but before that we visited the Hawthorn Crater and the Sunken Road, and it was from this area that Mallins recorded the now famous film of the Hawthorn Crater being blown. We then drove through Beaumont Hamel, through Beaucourt, and back across into the Ancre Valley, stopping at the Ancre British Cemetery, where 2540 Commonwealth soldiers lay, 1335 of them unknown. Lieutenant the Hon. Vere Harmsworth (Plot V grave E19) of Hawke Battalion, 63^rd Royal Naval Division, who was killed on 13thNovember 1916 has an interesting ornament, a bronze laurel wreath, which was laid in 1929.

 

 

                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next port of call was the Ulster Tower, and a welcome cup of coffee, it is always a pleasure to visit Phoebe and Teddy. Teddy’s knowledge about the Ulster 36^th Division in this area is we would imagine second to none, and he is always ready to share this. Sadly we heard that his tenure at the Ulster Tower is coming to an end this year, all we can say is that you will be sadly missed by members of this committee.

Next came a visit to the new Dorsetshire memorial which sits at the entrance to the path to the Lonsdale Cemetery, and of course we had to visit the Lonsdale cemetery, and here lays another VC Sgt. James Youll Turnbull VC.  Moving on we were then looking for the site where Albert Jacka VC won his controversial MC. Many people believe he should have had the VC.  We located the site and took some photos for some Australians who were staying in the same guest house.

At this point may we mention our accommodation, we were staying at Les Allouettes, at Hardicourt Aux Bois, which is run by Di & Vic Piuk we must recommend them as they themselves are dedicated to the memory of the forces of the Great War and they go out of their way to help, advise, they can even organise a tour for you.

No visit to the Somme is complete without a visit to Delville Wood, and the South African Memorial Museum, walking in the woods especially at quiet times of the year can be an experience in itself considering the actions that were fought here. The cemetery contains another holder of the Victoria Cross, Sgt. Albert Gill VC.

Next and last on the itinery was the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, along with paying our respects to the fallen this cemetery offers great views across the Somme battlefield, thus our third day came to another successful conclusion.

 

 

Day 4

Today was a more relaxed day after the 3 previous full days, with a gentle walk from Mesnil, and along a track to the Cemeteries of Mesnil Ridge and Knightsbridge; the walk is very peaceful in the rolling countryside, with the cemeteries being only approx 200 meters apart. It is not on the tourist track and is a good place to sit and reflect about what took place in this area. Looking across the fields one can see the busses lining up at the Newfoundland Park, and we were grateful to be here.

Continuing our journey we came across 2 concrete  British observation posts in a farmers field, we took our photos without going into the field, as we must respect that the farmer has his crops growing, and that message we would like to pass on to everyone.

Next time for a coffee break so back to the car and off to the Ulster Tower again, and a bite of lunch, and a natter with our old friends.  Then on to our next port of call Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery which contains the grave of Pte. William Henry Short VC. and then on to Fricourt New Military Cemetery which contains mainly men from the 10^th Battalion West Yorkshire Regt. Who also suffered the highest number of casualties on the 1^st July 1916 i.e. 710 of its men, of whom 159 lay in this cemetery.

Our last objective for the day was to locate the field where Captain Neville issued footballs at Carnoy, so that soldiers could attack kicking footballs before them, sadly Captain Neville now lays in Carnoy Military Cemetery,  unfortunately crops in these  fields prevented us pursuing this objective, and so after consulting our maps we decided to look for the Carnoy Craters, we did find the location but again crops were growing, even so there was a distinct dip in the ground at the exact location, and so we had to content ourselves with that, thus bringing the fourth day to an end.

 

 

Day 5

Our last day, after saying our farewells we made our way to our last port of call on the Somme and that was Flat Iron Copse Cemetery at Mametz Wood.  In this cemetery lays Corporal Edward Dwyer VC who actually made a recording and his voice can still be listened to. Another unusual aspect to this cemetery is that it contains 3 sets of brothers, and they are :- The Hardwidge brothers, The Philby brothers, and the Tregaskis brothers, each pair laying side by side.

 

 

 

 

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it was time to make our way back to Calais and our ferry home, we had achieved all of our original objectives, and so sadly our trip to the Somme came to an end.

Look out for our next visit as we have lots coming along in the pipeline