Help needed for imaginative reconstruction of Observation Post nr. Bea

[KathyP]

I’m a writer interested in the story of Edward Thomas, who died in action on April 9^th 1917.

He was in 244 siege battery. This enquiry is about the construction of an allied observation post near Beaurains, April 1917. It was S of Arras, about half a mile W of Telegraph Hill.

According to biographer Matthew Hollis:

“Thomas started late for the observation post and had not rung through his arrival when the bombardment began…. two hours later, he left the dugout behind his post and leaned in to the opening to take a moment to fill his pipe. A shell passed so close to him that the blast of air stopped his heart..”

I don’t have any military background which hampers me in trying to see the OP in detail in my mind’s eye, as if I was making a film of it (though I’m not, just need to see it in order to write the story!). How would this post have been constructed? How big? Is it likely to have been a trench, behind the guns, a little higher up? With some kind of protective parapet, if so, made from what? Or?? Would Thomas have been using field glasses? A periscope?

And, very importantly, what is "the opening" to which Hollis refers?

The “opening” is previously referred to in an eye witness account recorded in a memoir by Eleanor Farjeon. She reports a sergeant who saw him die saying, “Mr Thomas came out form the dug out behind his gun and leaned into the opening to fill his pipe.”

I also need to understand the relationship between the Observation Post and the guns: how far away? Hollis writes that on the 7-8 April “the heavy guns of 244 siege battery stood wheel to wheel on the sunken road before the quarry that ran parallel to the front.”

Thomas’ letter of 30 March mentions the observation post as being close to “a chalk-stone cellar with a Bosh dug-out far under, and by the last layer of stones is a lilac bush… nearby a graveyard for the ‘tapferer franzos soldat’ with crosses and Hun names.” It sounds as if he slept in the cellar. He mentions a hedge through which he observes, and a cherry tree with its roots in the trench.

There are other references to chalky mud.

By the way, I did ask Mr Hollis all this but, understandably perhaps, no reply. Any ideas, images of possibly similar OP and dugouts and “openings” would be much appreciated. Any leads at all gratefully received. I don’t think there is much to see of the OP these days, but of course the view of the landscape from that spot would also interest me too.

Supplementary info:

Thomas refers to: “Gun positions which are at the edge of a cathedral town a mile or two along the road we look out on. We are to fight in an orchard there in sight of the cathedral.”

According to another biographer, R. George Thomas, on Monday 2^nd April, Thomas supervised the reconstruction of an “emergency dugout” close to the final position of their guns.

[ianjonesncl]

This is a reconstruction of an Trench OP in the Royal Artillery Museum, "Firepower" in Woolwich.

[ianjonesncl]

In this one you can see an Officer observing with binoculars with his signaller nearby.

[centurion]

Unfortunately there is no standard pattern for an observation post. I enclose photos to illustrate something of the variety. A case of as circumstances dictate One of these is American but would be the same if British (or French or German)

[centurion]

Some more

[centurion]

And more observation posts

[centurion]

And more

[centurion]

And now a French observation post

[centurion]

Plus a Turkish one

And another French one

[centurion]

And another tree top observation post

[KathyP]

Many thanks to you both. I am pretty sure the OP was on the ground, and I think sandbags were involve in the construction. And I am guessing that "the opening" was very likely just the way in or out of it. But it's still not clear.. is the dugout separate from the OP...

[WhiteStarLine]

Kathy, this is a hard one, but the good thing for you as an author is that whatever you write, in the absence of a detailed description or photograph, cannot be disproven. The photographs give widely different observation posts and 1 or 2 of them appear to be sentries. The photographs of artillery observers typically show a team with one or two observers, a signaller and someone with a map.

My thoughts on a possible contender reflect the photo of Montfaucon in post #4. Perhaps the observation post was accessed via an entrance to the chalk-stone cellar. An observation post loses its safety if the enemy can see men walk in and out of it, so you would want a concelaed entrance and a dugout associated with the observation post where soldiers could shelter during hostile bombardments. In this case, the observation post would have been at ground level. Bruce Bairnsfather describes a similar setup using an entrance at the rear of an abandoned house.

An alternative is that Mr Thomas came out from the dug out behind his gun and leaned back into the opening of his own dugout to fill his pipe. This is in line with the sergeant's witness statement. He might have left the entrance and leaned back out of the wind when the shell passed by. This photo shows the entrance to a constructed WW1 dugout:

[kevinrowlinson]

Kathy,

I think how you write your description will depend on how accurate you wish to be. I am in near total agreement with WhiteStarLine except the reference to you as an author may write anything that cannot be proven. Reading your post and rereading the chapter "Arras" in "Now All Roads Lead To France" I cannot see any real evidence that he was actually at an OP, except M. Hollis's remark in your post about starting late for the OP etc. but which is not referred to in the book. Most OPs, I suggest, could be some distance away from the guns and obviously anywhere where the FOO had the best observation; from a building, tower, tree or in a frontline trench. The map published in his book indicates where the OP was, but he does say where the location came from.

I cannot see that the batteries war diary has survived at the Nat. Archives so one would have to view the Heavy Artillery Group it was attached to. If you start a new post in "Units" headed "244th Siege Battery location" and give the date perhaps someone may have the relevant diary to pinpoint it ( 35 HAG). If the location of the battery is the same as that given in the book then one couldn't say that it was the OP, or at least I would find it hard to believe.

You probably know that at that time it was a 4 x 6in (26cwt) Howitzer Battery. A Google search will probably give you plenty of illustrations of what these How.s looked like.

Kevin

[KathyP]

Kevin/Whitestar,

Thank you, this is very helpful indeed. I know there's no way I can be absolutely accurate here, but I do want to be able to make a (plausible) picture in my mind's eye, and have been struggling to line up the guns on the road (which Hollis mentions) the OP and the dugout. I will follow all these suggestions and in due course see if I can put something together, a sketch maybe.

I have to say I'm very glad my interest brought me to these forums: a huge and ongoing act of collective remembrance...

Kathy

[Simon_Fielding]

I'm heading out to Arras on Friday and would love a clear location for where Thomas died - are you any further on with your research??

Simon

[MichaelBully]

Simon has drawn my attention to this thread as have an interest in Edward Thomas. To be honest I haven't really considered the questions raised in this thread so am getting a lot out of reading the posts here.

Had wondered, has anyone found Edward Thomas' war service records -maybe something would come to light there? I haven't been to the NA for a while.

Also it might we worth contacting the Edward Thomas Fellowship to see if any of their members can add any information

http://www.edward-thomas-fellowship.org.uk/

Have been looking through 'Under Storm's Wing' -Helen Thomas (with Myfanwy Thomas) but nothing particularly appears in answer to this question.

Regards

Michael Bully

[Simon_Fielding]

Service records here http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/db/results.php?CISOBOX1=official+document&CISOBOX2=edward+thomas&CISOFIELD1=objecb&CISOFIELD2=author&CISOOP1=exact&CISOOP2=all&CISOROOT=%2Fww1&CISOSORT=descri%7Cf

but can't see anything....

[MichaelBully]

Fascinating Simon, had no idea that Edward Thomas' war service records were on line. Thanks for posting .Regards, Michael Bully