Chris Posted 24 February , 2004 Share Posted 24 February , 2004 Hi. Wonder if anyone can tell me of a map that shows the above trench, as so far i have drawn a blank. the soldier i am interested in CSM Pickard ( C Coy 1/5th Lincs) was awarded the DCM for organising the wiring 300 yards of line in front of this trench on the night of June 8th 1917. It is in the region of Lens, refernces in the Bn history putting it close to Hill 65 and Fosse 3, but cannot seem to find it. Regards Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 25 February , 2004 Share Posted 25 February , 2004 Chris, I have had a quick look on the IWM trench map archive to no avail - have you any more details ie map reference or rough position relative to Lens itself? Is it definitely Fosse 3 of LENS not another Fosse 3? This is from 36c (44a) SW1 (Lens) trenches corrected to February 1917. The archive also holds a map for 6/16 and 5/18. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 25 February , 2004 Share Posted 25 February , 2004 ...just realised I have an original of this map. This one is corrected to October 1917, the picture below shows Hill 65 by Fosse 3 de Lievin. There are lots of original annotations but I cannot see Brick trench. Unlike the IWM scanned map mine does not have many trenches named. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted 26 February , 2004 Author Share Posted 26 February , 2004 Many thanks for all your help Giles. We are definetly in the right area, your second map confirms this as several places mentioned in the unit history are on this map. Other trenches mentioned in the text for the same days actions are Absolom and Assert. The 1/5th Lincs had spent the day of the 8th JUne at Red Mill before moving up to the area of the 'church'. It would seem likely that Brick trench may just have been taken from the Germans. Thanks for your help Giles Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 26 February , 2004 Share Posted 26 February , 2004 No problem Chris - if you need any more photos of the map let me know. Looking again on the original there are actually quite a lot of the trenches named but not as many as on the IWM archive version. But...it is very difficult looking on my 14" laptop as to make the names large enough to read I must view a very small area at a time and my eyes end up looking like this: All the names are grouped alphabetically - there are a huge number of 'C' names and a huge number of 'A' names but I cannot see any 'B' s! I will have another look at the CD rom and let you know if I find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 26 February , 2004 Share Posted 26 February , 2004 Chris, there may be something...have a look at the picture below. The item (arrowed) says "brickened (sic?) excavations average 4ft"; given that this is right in the middle of your area of action and given the way the British tended to name trenches an educated guess might suggest this is the area of 'Brick Trench'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 26 February , 2004 Share Posted 26 February , 2004 And here is the same area on the original map, marked with a white arrow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted 26 February , 2004 Author Share Posted 26 February , 2004 Giles. Once again thank you for all the trouble you are going to. This is definelty the area and i agree Brick trench was very likely named due to the brickened excavations. Have been reading the next few pages in the unit history to see if there are any more clues or mentions of Brick trench, and have found some. It states on the 12th June D Company 1/5th Lincolns 'moved forward to the bottom of the slag heap......., a special bombing party.... endevavoured to bomb down Brick trench and join hands with the Canadians on our right. A German dugout was bombed, the sentry being killed, but several of the enemy came out into the trench through another entrance.....another party of the enemy came forward from Boot trench, but were dealt with.....' On the night of the 15th June the battalion was employed digging an advanced trench for assembly (for a forthcoming attack) between Crocodile and Absalom trenches. Both on the maps you posted. On the 19th June the BAttalion attacked again, having spent the night before in the line at Cite de Riaumont (A and B Company) D Comapny in Cite Garenne and C Company in Lieven. This attack was near Admiral trench and the German unit facing the 1/5th Lincs were the 118th Regiment (according to the history they lost 48 men to the Lincolns and CAnadians in this attack as prisoners) Sadly CSM Pickard who began this thread with his DCM was killed on June 25th whilst in nearby Ahead trench. Thanks again for your help and tremendous map Giles. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now