hospital in mailly-maillet

[andypugh]

Does anybody have any imformation about the battlefield hospital built by the Canadians in 1917 in Mailly Maillet? I have stayed several times at the house which was the hospital. Mdm Pecor is the lady that owns it.

The operating theatre was built under the house with a ramp at each end. You can imagine the horrors

that occured there. The hospital must have some kind of history, so if anybody has any imformation, could they please share it with me.

Thanks Andy.

[Paul Reed]

I hate to pour cold water on your entusiasm, but there was never a 'battlefield hospital' built by Canadians in Mailly-Maillet. Several Field Ambulances operated here, and there were both Advanced Dressing Stations (ADS) and a Main Dressing Station (MDS) in operation from mid-1915 until the spring of 1917, when the Germans withdrew to the Hindenburg Line. All of these were on the western edge of the village, towards Mailly woods. On the side nearest the battlefield there were a couple of collecting posts (if memory serves me correct), but no ADS - the nearest ADS there being the Red Barn in Auchonvillers. Canadian soldiers also never served in this sector, either in 1916 or 1918. Whereabouts in the village is the place you mention - is it a B&B?

[egbert]

I have stayed many times in the B&B of Mme Pecourt. She has a lot of material about the house being a first aid station in the Great War. Detailed drawings of the sandsack protection, pictures etc. There is a closed dug out in the cellar where she says the doctors performed the surgeries under relative protection

[Paul Reed]

Where in M-M is this place, Egbert? Somehow I don't know it! There is a place on the Amiens-Arras road with flags out front, almost one of the last houses in the direction of Serre - surely you don't mean there?

[egbert]

Paul that's the place! Do you suggest fake?? Where does she (the owner) has all the pics and drawings from???

[Paul Reed]

Not suggesting any fake - just surprised as that side of the village was nearest to the front lines, and I wasn't aware of any ADS there: no buildings were big enough, and the whole area was pummled by shell fire. Perhaps it was a SBs post?

[egbert]

Paul, the drawing I refer to is from Great War period and shows an amazing sandsack barrier stacked up to the roof, very massive and impressing. The sick rooms today are guest rooms; after some whisky's with Mme Pecourt they are even today still used as "sick rooms'

If you google "Les Bieffes" you'll find descriptions and pictures

Edited 10 December , 2005 by egbert

[andypugh]

Whoops have i opened a can of worms here?

There is a carved stone above the door with the information on it i remember seeing it last time i visited.

[Mat McLachlan]

I've stayed there and also saw the pictures and heard the stories about the Canadian Hospital.

Tom Morgan stays there all the time, so he may have some further info... Over to you, Tom...

Cheers,

Mat

[andypugh]

Is there a Canadian website, or Forum that may help to discover which Canadian Engineer Bn may have built or converted this building into a hospital in mailly-maillet?

Or is there someone out there that may know?

I have since found out that Madame Pecourts(Paulette) son wanted to open it up some years ago but unfortunately died at an early age, it was her wish after his death to do the opposite, and keep the operating theatre closed to the public.

I have stayed there 3 times and found this B+B a wonderful place to stay to sample the rustic life of that area, and she is a lovely lady(i wanted to bring her back with me to the uk so i could carry on eating her fabulous traditional cooking!!, but she said " NON ")

The thread seems to have gone cold, is this a difficult subject or something that no-one really knew about?

Look foward to someones reply

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone on the Forum. Thanks for all the info and help i have received over the last couple of months.

Andy

[egbert]

Andrew, its Paul's turn now!

[Paul Reed]

I am sure it is a great place, but I would repeat, Canadian troops did not serve in Mailly-Maillet, either in 1916 or 1918. It was not in the CC area at all. I am hoping to pay the place a visit in 2006 when I have a spare moment to find out more.

[nilis11]

I know the place well, and I have stayed there several times.

The house was built shortly before the outbreak of the war and it was a café. During WW1 the front of the house was covered with sandbags for protection. The cellar, where the dressingstation is, runs under the house and was also used during WW2 by the Maquis. Part of the house was damaged by a shell in ww1. According to Madame, the cellar was used for amputations and other operations. In the thirties they cleared out a lot of rat's nests under the house where they found many human bones. They were buried in the garden. I believe the drawing is post WW1 but I am not sure. The house has always been in the family and Madame's Mother was in the area during WW1 and met the troops passing through. I am not sure of the Candian origin of the cellar.

Nilis

[egbert]

Mme Paulette Pecourt has died in April 2021

R.I.P.

[AOK4]

6 hours ago, egbert said:

Mme Paulette Pecourt has died in April 2021

R.I.P.

 

Weren't we there together once, many, many years ago, hunting ghosts?

[egbert]

Yes that is correct. I enjoyed our trips very much

[andrew pugh]

Hi Egbert

Thank you for mentioning the passing of Mme Pecourt. She was a lovely lady. I think she had a lot of tragedy in her life which she obviously kept to herself. My brother and I will miss her greatly. We always popped in from time to time with a large bunch of flowers and a couple of boxes of Roses chocolates which she loved. Egbert, was she buried in Mailley Maillet area?

Regards

Andy

[egbert]

Andy , obviously she died in a Arras hospital April 18. That's what I take from the death notice. Other than that-I do not know. 

Also, do not know whether the B&B will be continued 

[michaelpi]

Actually, she died on 18 April 2020.

Cremation took place at Beaurains.

[andrew pugh]

Gentlemen

Thank you both for that information. Keep safe.

Regards

Andy

[Bruce L]

Stayed there about 25 years ago. I remember Madame had a very large collection of army badges in a large glass framed presentation box. She told me that they had been given to her mother by passing soldiers - apparently she used to stand on the footpath watching them go past and they would often stop and give her a badge. It was quite a collection. I too remember her telling me the story of the basement being used as an operating theatre and she actually took me down there. I wonder if the house will remain in the family? I last drove past there in 2019 - incredible to think that she was still with us at that point in time. I'd have thought she would have passed away years ago. Thanks for the updated information - very helpful and interesting.

[andrew pugh]

Hi Bruce

My Brother David and my son Wayne and I stayed there several times and I remember the collection of badges she had. My son Wayne made a new frame for her because the original one was about to fall apart. I also remember her showing us the spot on the floor in the dinning room where the shell destroyed the tiles on the floor when it landed, it obviously didn't explode. It must have been a very active and busy location when in use as a medical centre, especially being next to the railway which ran past the house. We know that she had a fall and broke some bones in her leg and had problems recovering from the injury. I also think her mother ran or helped run an estaminete during ww1. That's where the badges came from. She gave my brother and son a couple of badges that she had found in her garden. There are probably several more in the garden know doubt. I think her son played the organ in Mailley Maillet church  and passed away quite young.

Regards

Andy 

[Bruce L]

Hello Andy,

Interesting story in regards to your son Wayne making a new frame for the badges - it was pretty ancient when I saw first it a quarter of a century ago, so I can only imagine the state it was in when you saw it! It was a rather quaint and unique place to stay. Mme Pecourt was an elderly woman when we first stayed there, that's why I was surprised to learn here that she only passed away last year. There's still no cafe in the village, and I remember during our stay having to buy bottles of vin rouge down at local butcher's shop on the corner. Plastic bottles with a screw top!

I'm Australian with a great interest in the Great War - had seven family members serve in the A.I.F. My wife and I normally spend 6 months of the year in nearby Authuille, however Covid has put a stop to that and we have been home here in Queensland since 2019.

I have only just joined the Forum this week and am amazed at the knowledge and expertise of the members. Thanks for taking the time to reply, I found it very informative.

Best wishes,

Bruce

 

[andrew pugh]

Hi again Bruce.

 

The Forum is a fantastic source of information given by experts, they have helped me out so many times over the years. I cant wait to get back over to France I have several rededications services to attend. But as they say patience is a virtue. You mentioned that you spend time in Authuille., is it the caravan site you stay at? A good friend of mine called David also spends a  few months of the year there. Look after yourselves and stay safe.

Kind Regards

Andy  

 

 

[Bruce L]

Hi Andy,

I've looked at this forum for many years, but have only just joined, as I mentioned previously. This is certainly the place to be for WW1 enthusiasts - I'm sure someone here will always have an answer to your questions. Yes, we stay at Camping Bellevue in Authuille - we acquired a permanent, on-site caravan there about 4 years ago. We put a full length covered balcony on it just before we left in 2019, thinking we'd be back to enjoy it in March 2020. The way our Government has kept us locked up, still forbidding any international travel, I doubt we'll be there now until late 2022.

I don't know a David at Camping Bellevue - at last count there was 7 English families with permanently owned caravans there. There were also Scottish and Irish families there for a while, but they have since sold up and moved on. We are friends with all the English families and even had one couple come out and holiday with us here in Queensland a couple of years ago. We have a great social life at the campsite and share many boozy evenings together. We went with one couple from the campsite down to Gallipoli for 10 days in 2019 and had a great time. My grandfather was there with the 24th Battalion A.I.F. and my great uncle with the 2nd Australian Light Horse.

Members here may have heard of Barry Cuttell - both he and his wife lived in the south of France for many years. Barry had written a couple of books on the Battle of the Somme, I've seen them in the bookshop at Thiepval. They had a caravan about 3 up from us and used to stay at the campsite on odd occasions. I learnt last week from one of our English campsite friends that Barry passed away a couple of weeks ago. I only met Barry about 3-4 times, so didn't know him all that well, but others tell me he had quite a prodigious knowledge of the Great War. A great loss when such knowledgeable people leave us.

Kind regards,

Bruce