Somme Woodlands

[Doug504]

It is well known that the many woodlands in the Somme region provided all sides with both shelter and defensive positions.

Do any members have a hierarchical list of the woodlands which received significant artillery bombardments. I'm aware of the major sites i.e. Highwood, Delville, Mametz, Thiepval, Gommecourt Park, Trones Wood, but am sure many others must have received significant attention.

Trying to short cut working my way through G. Gliddon's excellent work "The Battle of the Somme - a topograhical history".

Any information appreciated.

Information supplied may be used in a future project regarding monitoring possible increased levels of particular metals in woodland soils. Similar studies have been carried out in Northern France / Belgium on a wider landscape scale but less so on a regional level.

Doug.

[Sly]

Hi,

There were so many woods affected, some of the significant woods in the French sector of the Somme were: Bois étoilé (Vermandovillers), Bois de Chaulnes, Bois de St PIerre Vaast (Bouchavesnes), Bois Marrière, Bois des Loges, Bois Blaise (Biaches), Bois en H (Lihons), Bois de la vache (Frise), Bois de Méréaucourt, Bois des Satyres (Fay)... etc

Sly

[auchonvillerssomme]

What an interesting project, not so long ago I had a discussion with someone about lead contamination of soil where the land is used for shooting of game, evidently pheasants have been found with high lead levels. Personally I wouldn't have thought they lived long enough for contamination to be a problem.

[Doug504]

Hi,

There were so many woods affected, some of the significant woods in the French sector of the Somme were: Bois étoilé (Vermandovillers), Bois de Chaulnes, Bois de St PIerre Vaast (Bouchavesnes), Bois Marrière, Bois des Loges, Bois Blaise (Biaches), Bois en H (Lihons), Bois de la vache (Frise), Bois de Méréaucourt, Bois des Satyres (Fay)... etc

Sly

What an interesting project, not so long ago I had a discussion with someone about lead contamination of soil where the land is used for shooting of game, evidently pheasants have been found with high lead levels. Personally I wouldn't have thought they lived long enough for contamination to be a problem.

Thank you for the information these will be a useful addition to my possibles list as I'm not too familiar with the French Sector.

Elevated levels of Copper, Zinc and Lead associated with WW1 have been recorded around the Ypres area but do not reach a level which would give rise to concern to humans, (the difference between the elevated levels and background = 6mg/Kg) The battlefield zone around Ypres = approx. 625 sq. Km so at this level of increased copper content this is comparable to 2813 ton of Copper in the soil!.

My project, which is still in the planning, is to investigate if an equivalent increased level of soil contamination resulted in some of the Somme Woodlands. However, planning is at an early stage and obviously I will have to rely on the assistance and good will of woodland owners. Finding out the names of landowners will be the greater problem for me rather than the analysis of soil samples!!! Any clues for sources of these would be of assistance.

Doug.

[horrocks]

I find this quite interesting. I recall walking through Delville Wood a few years ago and finding that one of the rides had been cultivated, presumably to reseed the grass. The freshly turned soil across the entire area was characterised by the rust-red of iron oxide, with greater concentrations here and there, together with copious amounts of shell fragments, some quite large, and several concentrations of scattered .303 rifle ammunition and clips.

[Sly]

Hi,

Most of the woods in the Somme are privately owned, some of them are even divided in sections with different owners. It can be difficult to get the permission to enter into their wood, depending on the owner but some of them don't let any access. It has nothing to do against the Brits (it's the same with the locals): it's their land, and they do what they want. The "top ones" on my blacklist are the Bois étoilé at Vermandovillers and the Bois de Saint Pierre Vaast near Rancourt. Don't try to get there !

Sly

[auchonvillerssomme]

Bois de Saint Pierre Vaast near Rancourt. ------------- or be prepared to run very fast!

[stoj22]

I explored Bois de Saint Pierre Vaast a couple of times in October, I didn't realise I was in peril!!

[Sly]

Thank God you are still alive (and I'm not joking!)

Sly

[stoj22]

Wow, I was going to go again in April but on reflection I'll give it a miss, thanks for the warning!

[Doug504]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Sounds like it could be fun, break out the old flack jacket!!!!!

[Dave1418]

What an interesting project, not so long ago I had a discussion with someone about lead contamination of soil where the land is used for shooting of game, evidently pheasants have been found with high lead levels. Personally I wouldn't have thought they lived long enough for contamination to be a problem.

On the funny side

I would have thought that most pheasants that have been shot with a shotgun would have high levels of lead in them

Dave

[8055Bell]

I'm a bit late to this thread, but wonder if the obscene orange slugs in Trones Wood are related to the munitions or just something I've missed everywhere else on my travels? http://17thmanchesters.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/trones-wood-then-and-now/#jp-carousel-3747

Has anyone seen these preposterous monsters in other woods? Not the shells...

Tim

ps not ever having been in the private Trones Wood and seeing said slugs from a distance. Honest messr yer honor

[Terry Carter]

Yes seen them in Thiepval Wood

[8055Bell]

I just googled to find they are actually known as red slugs and quite common. Hence unrelated to soil conditions in the Somme woods. There's a suggestion they are eaten by Belgians so less likely to see them Ypres!

T

Corrected for the good people of Belgium.

[Doug504]

Arion rufus - European Red slug, 75 - 180mm! is commonly found throughout North Western Europe, commonly found in gardens, waste and disturbed ground and woodlands. Omnivorous, feeds on living and dead plant material, fungi and carrion, (disturbing to think which food source was most commonly available during WW1). A great pest of vegetable plots and constant war waged against them by both gardeners and farmers. Frankly I find them quite attractive!! but as my wife keeps telling me I'm odd!!

One of the, one would have thought, oddest company's with links to the WW1 Centenary - Rentokil, has this quote;

"Trenches often flooded with rain in which frogs swam. Red slugs would ooze from the mud. At night opportunist rats crept out. Discarded food cans would rattle as the rats crept inside to lick the remains. More horrifically the rodents were sometimes referred to as corpse rats. They bred rapidly in their millions and swarmed through No-Mans Land gnawing the corpses of fallen soldiers."

full article at;

http://www.rentokil.co.uk/blog/rats-in-the-trenches-wwi/#.VD1vO2ddWSo

Doug.

p.s. initial offer of part time Ph.D. to study metals contamination of Somme woodlands fell through. Anyone aware of a university dept that may be interested in supervising said project?

[SiegeGunner]

There's a suggestion they are eaten by Belgium's so less likely to see them Ypres!

Please, the country is called Belgium, the adjective pertaining to it is Belgian and the inhabitants are called Belgians!

[Steven Broomfield]

Although, obviously, "Belgiums" are a measure of size, as in "an area of the Amazon rain forest the size of three Belgiums".

[8055Bell]

All corrected as requested. Would a PM be a more decent approach to silly typo. errors?