johntanner Posted 7 December , 2016 Share Posted 7 December , 2016 Having first suggested bell tents, absolutely persuaded by the most recent photographs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roel22 Posted 8 December , 2016 Author Share Posted 8 December , 2016 So bell tents is the answer! Thanks to Aurel & all others for your contributions! Roel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 8 December , 2016 Share Posted 8 December , 2016 On a lighter note, an anecdote from the RAF c. 1975. On an RAF station a file was passed to a fairly senior officer for endorsement of a proposed course of action. He disagreed profoundly and, not wishing to be overtly crude, instead of writing "BALLS!" he wrote "Round Objects!". [see thread title] When the file reached the Station Commander he sent for the Adj [they had them in those days] and said "This is shoddy staff work. You needed to find out who is Round, and why he objects". True? Possibly, and I like to believe so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roel22 Posted 8 December , 2016 Author Share Posted 8 December , 2016 Never let the truth get in the way of a good story! Roel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 9 December , 2016 Share Posted 9 December , 2016 How interesting, entertaining and illuminating this thread has been! And so yes, those "ritual emplacements" are indeed "bell tents, for the use of", and not rare "disc barrows" of Neolithic / Bronze Age date, found only in S.England...! I wouldn't worry about the "un-military" lack of order so much. Remember that many units would make an encampment early evening after a day's march, and without the equivalent of Pseudo-Hyginus' De Munitionibus Castrorum to hand and no equivalent of the primus pilus around, they simply put them up where needed. The most likely purpose of those rings is, to my mind, to prevent localised 'flooding' in a rain storm: they are not high enough to provide protection from shrapnel, and all are continuous, with none having a clear break indicating an entrance way, where water could flow in. That said, in some of them one can see where the ring is depressed forming a shadow which is probably a worn down area indicating frequent passage towards and out of the entrance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roel22 Posted 9 December , 2016 Author Share Posted 9 December , 2016 The green dotted line crosses the area where the tents in the first post are. It may also show why these tents were here: the top of the green arrow points at "HQ 5 Y&L". The headquarters of 5th York and Lancasters. They were in a dugout beneath where now Kemmel no 1 French Cemetery is. Roel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roel22 Posted 15 September , 2019 Author Share Posted 15 September , 2019 On 07/12/2016 at 20:54, Phil Evans said: From the IWM Mapping the Front CD. Army Administrative Situation Map 1.2.18 Shamrock symbol is Supply Refilling Point B in a circle is Baths Wheel symbol is an Ordnance Workshop Take your pick Phil Just came across this old thread. I'm curious what is meant by "Baths". Is it a place where men could take a bath/shower, or something else? Roel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaureenE Posted 15 September , 2019 Share Posted 15 September , 2019 See the thread Battalion baths Cheers Maureen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roel22 Posted 16 September , 2019 Author Share Posted 16 September , 2019 Thanks Maureen! Roel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 17 September , 2019 Share Posted 17 September , 2019 Going back to the OP photo, who on earth would pitch Bell tents contiguously. Have another look. These are neither Bells nor shallow earth berms surrounding where tents have been surely? That is not to say that some other photos posted have not been of tents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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