Grandad Archie Posted 28 June , 2013 Share Posted 28 June , 2013 I am trying to find the location of Canteen Corner. So far the closest that I have is: "a short distance east of the intersection of the Bailleul-Armentieres and Nueve Eglise-Steenwerck roads" It was used a lot by the New Zealand Division (and I presume others) around the Battle of Messines. Any help in pin pointing this will be appreciated. Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksdad Posted 28 June , 2013 Share Posted 28 June , 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksdad Posted 28 June , 2013 Share Posted 28 June , 2013 G-day. 1st Otago marched to Canteen corner from Regina Camp on 16th Aug 1917 staying in 'huts' remaining there till 6am 21st Aug 1917 when they marched out. Cheers Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandad Archie Posted 29 June , 2013 Author Share Posted 29 June , 2013 Thanks Roger. Brilliant! I had been hunting all over the www for this, but couldn't find anything definitive. I did come across this which made me wonder if its location was lost: "Black and white photographic print which depicts a campsite known as 'Canteen Corner'. The exact location of Canteen Corner is unknown but various records suggest that it was located within the Messines area in Belgium." at the following link http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/1700733/photograph-canteen-corner-france-sergeant-john-lord-world-war-i-1916-1917 Many thanks, Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksdad Posted 29 June , 2013 Share Posted 29 June , 2013 interesting I have never seen a photo of the site. I have put the following comment on it: - Trench map location T. 26. c. (sheet 28 SW) from the war dairy 3rd Bn Otago Regiment, 4th NZIB. date 01/09/1917. It is mentioned in a number of the war diaries, but that is the only map coordinate that I can find, and that is not very specific, but it narrows it down to somewhere near those two corners. Cheers Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandad Archie Posted 29 June , 2013 Author Share Posted 29 June , 2013 I was surprised to see trees in good condition in the photo. I assume that it was taken early in the war. Have just found the same sheet reference in the forum Great War Forum in the post on "Major Harold Forster DSO and Bar MC" →The soldiers and armies of the Great War →Soldiers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksdad Posted 29 June , 2013 Share Posted 29 June , 2013 Canteen Corner was for most of the war well behind the lines and probably not of much interest to enemy artillery, unlike nearby Nueve Eglise which copped a fair bit of attention. For comparison this is a photo of Ploegsteert Wood, with the Kiwis, which was right on the frontline for most of the war and there is still plenty of tree cover here. Cheers Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandad Archie Posted 2 July , 2013 Author Share Posted 2 July , 2013 Great photo. I would have thought that the wood would have been high on the target list for shelling seeing as how much activity the allies used it for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandad Archie Posted 13 November , 2018 Author Share Posted 13 November , 2018 Further to the help greatly received from those above, and after much searching on and off, I have found map references to Canteen Corner in the following diaries: King's Shropshire Light Infantry 5th Battalion 14th Division 23-9-1917 T.26.5.1 Northamptonshire Regiment 2nd Battalion 8th Division 11-09-1917 T.26.c.50.20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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