Where is Pensam Post on a trench map? 1918

[mandy hall]

The 7th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment on the 1st February 1918 are at Fleurbaix providing working parties.

2nd February they received sudden orders to relieve 8th Royal Fusiliers in front line next day

3rd February they are recorded as Frontline relieved 8th RF completed at noon.

4th February Enemy raided Pensam Post held by A Coy at 5.30 am. Casualties 3 killed, 8 wounded and 4 missing

Mandy

[spof]

Mandy

Just outside Bois Grenier at point marked I 32.1 on this Sept 1917 map.

Glen

[mandy hall]

Thank you Glen, just what I was looking for. Later in the year I intend to visit the graves of the 3 casualties from 4th February at Croix Du Bac British Cemetery and now I can also go to Pensam Point.

Mandy

[CROONAERT]

Here it is marked up as such (Sept 1918) .....

[CROONAERT]

...and indicated by the red blob on this modern IGN map...

[mandy hall]

Thank you Croonaert for the maps. Nice and easy to find and not far away from the road. I'm going to be there much sooner than I thought. Will be there in two weeks time.

Will update with photos when I get back.

Mandy

[spof]

Mandy

If "two weeks time" is around the 9th May, there will be a small service at the Memorial Park in Fromelles for the Battle of Aubers Ridge and other actions which took place in the area between 1914-18. PM me if you'd like more details.

Glen

[mandy hall]

That's a real shame Glen we arrive on the 11th for a week.

Mandy

[mandy hall]

Just to update, I visited the field where Pensam Post was. We arrived at the lane from the D62 end to find it was no entry. After driving around for half and hour trying to find the other end of the lane, we ended up back on the D62 by the no entry sign. It was so quiet my other half decided to drive up the lane past the sign. While we were parked, we weren't the only ones to do this.

The field with Pensam Post in it

Grave Of Walter Kewell who was killed here on 4th February 1918, whose death plaque I own.

Graves of S Brown and William Charles Freeland killed at the same time.

Thanks for your help Glen and Dave

Mandy

All 3 graves are in Croix du Bac Cemetery

[connaughtranger]

From the 7th Royal Sussex Regiment history:

".......and at 5.30am on the 4th the enemy, after a short and fierce bombardment by heavy trench mortars, raided Pensam Post on our right company front and succeeded in entering it, killing 3 of the garrison and taking 4 prisoners. It afterwards transpired from intelligence reports that for some time previously the enemy had rehearsed this raid, which had been carried out by a unit of storm-troopers especially imported for the occasion. The whole affair was most unfortunate, and the trouble was mainly due to the hurried relief of the 8th Royal Fusiliers without any previous reconnaissance. The incident gave the Higher Command, who were evidently not in possession of all the facts, an opportunity to shower a considerable amount of undeserved censure on the Battalion."

It would seem that, at the time, not only was the Battalion accused of failure but also the fighting spirit of those manning the post was questioned. The historian vents a little anger at this injustice.

[mandy hall]

Thanks for taking the trouble to post this connaughtranger.

I imagine it is not possible to work out who the 4 taken prisioner were.

Mandy

[spof]

Mandy and Connaught Ranger

Thanks for the update. It does seem a little harsh for them to be accused of failure in those circumstances.

As for finding who became prisoners, unless they are mentioned in a report to Brigade HQ I think you'll have to wait for the Red Cross records to become available or look at the War Office Casulaty Lists held at the British Library in north London. I haven't really looke3d at local papers for 1918 but they may get a mention there - I know the Times stopped publishing full lists around early 1917.

Glen