Delville Wood

[AGWR]

Does anyone know when exactly it was christened Devil's Wood, and by whom?

Regards

AGWR

[Paul Reed]

I had always presumed it was during the July-September period when British units were in the wood; I would be interested to know if you can pin-point it to a precise date and unit.

[Rob Ruggenberg]

The French name is Bois de Delville. I think the South-Africans were the first to call it Devils Wood ?

My 2 cts,

Rob

[AGWR]

Thanks for the replies. I am not sure that we'll ever know.

Has anyone ever come across the term 'Devil's Wood' in anything resembling a contemporaneous document? I have not yet come across the term being used during the summer of 1916.

Regards,

AGWR

[Malcolm]

pp134 History of 9th Scottish Division,:

" All this time the South Africans had maintained their position against prodigious odds at the corner of Princes Street and Buchannan Street. Lt Col Dawson did all that was possible to assist them; he sent up reinforcements, ammunition, rations and store. Towards midnight he went up himself to Lt Col Thackery's HQ. Every yard of the mangled wood bore plain traces of the desperate fighting that it had witnessed. ' Devil's Wood ' it was called by our men and that was the correct name for it. "

so South Africans it is.

Aye

Malcolm

[Paul Reed]

Thanks for that Malcolm - it has answered something I have often wondered about.

[AGWR]

Thanks for that, Malcolm. That's exactly what I needed to know.

Incidentally, I note from your signature that you have a Girdwood connection. You haven't, by any chance, come across a David Girdwood, who was born in Law Junction circa 1890?

Regards,

AGWR

[PhilB]

Malcolm - weren`t the Scots of 26 & 27 brigades the first to come up against Delville Wood? In fact weren`t the 12 Royal Scots the first in? Surely they are more likely to have given it the name? Aye! Phil B

[jdajd]

Not that I claim to have any authority on the matter, but isn't it possible that it was just the BEF bastardization a la Wipers, Funky Villas, Eat Apples. It would seem that it may have been in use before the fighting took place there in 1916, just from seeing it on a map, and that the fighting in 1916 actually gave it real meaning. Just a guess.

Jon

[PhilB]

Yes, it`s such an obvious bastardization, Jon, that one assumes it came up as soon as Delville Wood became a feature. I`m assuming that wasn`t till mid July when the Scots arrived, followed by the South Africans. Until then it may have been masked by the more obvious Longueval. Phil B

[Malcolm]

Thanks for that, Malcolm. That's exactly what I needed to know.

Incidentally, I note from your signature that you have a Girdwood connection. You haven't, by any chance, come across a David Girdwood, who was born in Law Junction circa 1890?

Regards,

AGWR

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Girdwoods of Carluke and Carnwath area by the sound of it. My lot from Loanhead/Gilmerton and area.

There is a David Girdwood buried in Colinton Church Cemetery but he was 1880s.

Aye

Malcolm

[Malcolm]

Malcolm - weren`t the Scots of 26 & 27 brigades the first to come up against Delville Wood? In fact weren`t the 12 Royal Scots the first in? Surely they are more likely to have given it the name?  Aye! Phil B

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes they were but the first mention of Devils Wood is as I gave. I imagine both Scots and South Africans were the same in their description.

Aye

Malcolm

[John_Hartley]

pp134 History of 9th Scottish Division,:

" All this time the South Africans had maintained their position against prodigious odds at the corner of Princes Street and Buchannan Street. Lt Col Dawson did all that was possible to assist them; he sent up reinforcements, ammunition, rations and store. Towards midnight he went up himself to Lt Col Thackery's HQ. Every yard of the mangled wood bore plain traces of the desperate fighting that  it had witnessed. ' Devil's Wood ' it was called by our men and that was the correct name for it. "

so South Africans it is.

Aye

Malcolm

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Malcolm

Although, I accept that it seems reasonable that the term might well have been coined by the South Africans after their time in the Wood,I don't reckon a Divisional History, written presumably in the 20s or 30s, can be regarded as conclusive evidence, only as supporting information. Surely, what we need is some form of contemporary reference - and I'd suggest that this is likely to be newspaper reports, personal diary or letter, rather than something official or semi-official.

John

[Malcolm]

Possibly you're right. History was published 17th October 1920. It is the only mention I can find at present.

Aye

Malcolm

[Clive Maier]

My uncle Oscar was killed in Delville Wood but I can’t claim to be expert on the locality. I agree that Devil’s Wood is a fairly obvious outcome if the British wanted to Anglicise the name but it seems likely that the name may not have gained general acceptance until the wood became a hellhole, even by the standards of the Somme.

In his The Battle of the Somme – A topographical history (formerly When the Barrage Lifts), Gerald Gliddon suggests that the name Devil’s Wood may have taken hold on the 17th of July 1916 when the intense bombardment caused the village of Longueval to burst into flames, enveloping the wood in smoke and silhouetting what remained of the trees against the fire.

On my admittedly inexpert reading, the fragment that Malcolm quoted seems inconclusive. In that quotation “our men” seems to mean no more than men of the 9th (Scottish) Division and that could mean Scots or South Africans.

[AGWR]

Girdwoods of Carluke and Carnwath area by the sound of it. My lot from Loanhead/Gilmerton and area.

There is a David Girdwood buried in Colinton Church Cemetery but he was 1880s.

Aye

Malcolm

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks. It was a complete shot in the dark, but I felt that I had to ask...

Regards

AGWR

[AGWR]

I was interested because I have read several letters written at the end of July, and I have yet to come across the term 'Devil's Wood'. It is, however, hard to believe that some wit didn't christen the wood as such by mid July!

Regards,

AGWR