Le Cateau Horse Trough Memorial

[Quadey]

Hi everybody, a small family group will be going to France in 5 weeks to honour our Gt Uncle who was killed in action on the opening day of the German Spring Offensive 1918.  He was in 4th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment, part of 66th Division. We visited the 66th Division Memorial Window at Paschendael Church several years ago so whilst we are in the Somme area, we would like to visit the  Le Cateau Horse Trough Memorial to the 66th Division.  I have tried to locate this on Google Maps and have been unsuccessful. Can any of you clever people point me in the right direction?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Pete.

[Mike Cross]

On Rue Fontaine a Gros Bouillons - crossroads at the junction with Rue de Landrecies.  In front of the Hostellerie du Marche.  A short walk from the town centre.

MC

[Quadey]

Thank you so much Mike. I've just got it up on Google Maps Satellite and this will be marked for a visit on our 2nd day.  We will be doing a tour of Hargicourt first and go through what went on on 21/03/1918.  I have 9 reports of what went on that day written by captured British officers of the 4th East Lancs Rgt upon their repatriation.  Non of what they wrote is in any of the War Diaries.  We'll then go to Pozieres Memorial to pay our respects to our Gt Uncle and the 10 soldiers remembered there who are from my home town. Then it's off to Le Cateau and the Horse Trough, so it should be a very good day.

 

Thanks again for helping me with this,

 

Pete.

[nigelcave]

Now used as a planter - or at least it was a couple of years ago.

Edited 25 August , 2019 by nigelcave

[Michelle Young]

Went through earlier this year  and it was still planted. Photo from April 2012.

 

Michelle 

 

 

[Quadey]

Thanks Michelle, I'm really looking forward to it now :-) 

[Michelle Young]

The cemeteries at Hargicourt, the communal extension is actually separate now, as the German graves were removed.

 

Michelle 

[Michelle Young]

Might also be worth you finding the private memorial to Lt Col Wrenford between Villeret and Hargicourt, you get good views of the battlefields from there.

 

Michelle 

[Quadey]

We are planning on visiting these Michelle.  We will walk the track from there to Colonel Wrenford's Memorial, then walk up to what was Bobby Quarry as this was C Company HQ on 21/03/1918.  My Gt Uncle was C Company Scout so will have been in there at some point and we will be effectively walking in his footsteps.

[Michelle Young]

Excellent, the track to the Wrenford memorial was a bit tricky to locate but it was worth the perseverance. We visited his grave at Cabaret-Rouge the day after we'd walked to his memorial.

 

Michelle 

[Quadey]

I followed a few threads on here prior to me going to Hargicourt last year for the Centenary of the German Spring Offensive.  One thread mentions a relative who was in 4th East Lancs Rgt and was killed at Malakoff Farm.  That was on the right flank of 197 Brigade sector near to where the 198 Brigade sector started and didn't make sense to me at the time. After reading the repatriated Officer reports which I have recently received, they tell of a raiding party done by 2 Officers and an unknown amount of men of C Company 4th ELR as they were reserve company that day.  The raid went over the top at 04:30hrs in dense fog, visibility was down to 5ft and the German barrage commenced at 04:40hrs, so they will have been out in the open and directly under the massive barrage and it's quite possible that this raiding party got lost in the fog and mayhem and made it back to the Lancashire Fusiliers lines at Malakoff Farm instead of their own lines.  I actually went to where Malakoff Farm was last year and laid a wreath for the brave men of the 66th Division.  I will take my family there too in 5 weeks.  I could not believe how much shrapnel and WW1 artefacts were littering the field!  Amazing!

[Quadey]

This was the wreath to the 66th Division and a picture of my Gt Uncle.

[Michelle Young]

That was a chilly week last March, we started the week in snow and very cold temperatures, it did improve though. I'm impatiently counting the days to my next battlefields visit.

Michelle 

[Quadey]

It was bitterly cold!  I was first person in at Pozieres Memorial that day and the iced grass was crunching under my feet.  At least when we go in a few weeks it will be considerably warmer. Can't wait :-) 

[Michelle Young]

Could you please say hello to Herbert Dubrey, RWK, KIA 21/3/18 when you visit Pozieres  please? A few years ago, I placed a tribute to him from his niece. It was still there last March. 

Michelle 

 

[Quadey]

We certainly will Michelle :-) 

[Quadey]

Thanks for the help everybody, we found it quite easily and had a brilliant trip 😊

[Quadey]

We got there Michelle 😊

[Chris_Baker]

Here's a bit on Hargicourt: https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/battlefields/gazetteer-of-the-western-front/gazetteer-western-front-hargicourt/

[Michelle Young]

Brilliant thank you. I'm so glad the photo is still there! 

 

Michelle 

[Quadey]

5 hours ago, Chris_Baker said:

Here's a bit on Hargicourt: https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/battlefields/gazetteer-of-the-western-front/gazetteer-western-front-hargicourt/

 

Thanks for the link Chris, I have read it before and it is slightly wrong in that it states there are no Memorials in the area.  If you look at Michelle's previous photo's, there is one of Lt. Col. Wrenford's Memorial and this is situated on the outskirts of the village in the middle of the fields.  You can get to it by car but it is easier to park up at Hargicourt British Cemetery and do a 10 minute walk along the farm tracks.  Lt Col Wrenford was Commanding Officer of 4th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment who was killed in action on 21/03/1918 at Hargicourt.  From this Memorial, it overlooks most of the Battlefield, so for any 66th Division enthusiasts out there, this is a must see!  It can be difficult to find and we had to use Google Maps.

 

Regards, 

 

Pete.