C Trenches- Wulverghem area? 1915 Canadians.

[paul.pengelly]

 Looking for help with location of trenches C1/2/3/4  somewhere between the  Wulverghem to  Wytschaete /  Messines roads.

 

My Great -Uncle Thomas Henry Pengelly A/264 was wounded there 20/11/1915 whilst serving with 1st Bn Canadian Infantry.(1st Canadian Division) eventually after 18 months and 7 operations he got back to Canada and then the US

 

These trenches had briefly been held by 4th Bde Canadian Inf from 19th Sept to 8th Oct 1915;and they took over from the 85th Bde ,(Royal Fusilers ?) before them. 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WhiteStarLine]

Hi Paul,  your Canadian pals at McMaster University have these details.  View https://library.mcmaster.ca/php/searchwwimaps.php?f=search&s1=C&type=trench&submit=Search and one of the many returns is:

 

C 1 [trench 1915, E of Wulverghem]

Ploegsteert

28SW4

T 6 d, U 1 a

 

C 2, C 3 and C 4 are shown in the result list as well.  Here are the 2 locations for C 1, from tMapper:

 

 

Here is a trench map, but from 18 months later:

 

[paul.pengelly]

Thanks for that you are a star.

Typically I had been on the McMaster site looking at the area and thought I had tried the Trench name search button but had no joy,must have been using the wrong term, of course just been back on and it worked straight away ! 

 

Spent all afternoon reading the 1st Btn/Div war diaries looking for names of places to look for, there was a mention of Midland Farm defences   and Btn HQ was at St Quentin Cabaret so knew it was around there.

Also checked the GWGC for the cemeteries around there’re and 1st Btn had 16 men buried on 13/14 Oct 1915 at St Quentin Cabaret cemetery,behind their RAP

 

 

Now knowing that he was hit by German shrapnel while in square 28SW.T6 it gets a bit strange.

 

His younger brother Sydney John Pengelly was not so “lucky”,killed 2 years later in the next square 28SW.T5 !

Died 5/6/1917,whist serving with  75th Bde RFA D battery (Howitzers ) ,part of 11Anzac Corps softening up the wire before Messines “Z day” ,hit by Counter bombardment from German artillery ,he’s buried at Kandahar Farm Cemetery with 3 more “D” battery men .

 

Thanks again for your help.