Suicide Corner

[Tom Morgan]

A soldier's handwritten diary mentions a location called "Suicide Corner." I know the Suicide Corner on the Somme, but for the entry in the diary to make sense, this other Suicide Corner has to be in the area of St. Omer. Has anyone ever heard of it?

While we're at it - were there any other Suicide Corners that people know of?

[Bob Coulson]

Tom, there was a "Suicide Corner" close to Kemmel I think.

[Paul Reed]

The two I know of are at Hamel (Somme) and at Kemmel in the Salient. Given that St Omer was always behind the lines, why there should be one there is beyond me - unless it was place RFC planes came down regularly!?

[andigger]

I thought I would bring this back up to see if anyone could identify the other 'suicide corner'. Andy

[BatterySergeantMajor]

If there are as many "Suicide corners" as there are "Sunken Roads" this may become a long thread.

[scottwhyte]

My relative Cecil B. Whyte ( Sapper, Canadian Engineers ) mentions a suicide corner near Kemmel in his diary. The entry date was October 1915.

[centurion]

Given that St Omer was always behind the lines, why there should be one there is beyond me -

I can think of some 'suicide corners' in the UK - nothing to do with the war but everything to do with dangerous (blind) road bends. Perhaps there was something similar near St Omer?

[Guest]

From an old thread HERE

A poem by A P Herbert

I wandered up to Beaucourt; I took the river track,

And saw the lines we lived in before the Boche went back;

But peace was now in Pottage, the front was far ahead,

The front had journeyed Eastward, and only left the dead.

And I thought, How long we lay there, and watched across the wire,

While the guns roared round the valley, and set the skies afire!

But now there are homes in Hamel and tents in the Vale of Hell,

And a camp at Suicide Corner where half a regiment fell.

The new troops follow after, and tread the land we won,

To them 'tis so much hillside re-wrested from the Hun;

We only walk with reverence this sullen mile of mud;

The shell holes hold our history, and half of them our blood.

Here, at the head of Peche Street, 'twas death to show your face;

To me it seemed like magic to linger in the place;

For me how many spirits hung round the Kentish Caves,

But the new men see no spirits - they only see the graves.

I found the half-dug ditches we fashioned for the fight

We lost a score of men there - young James was killed that night;

I saw the star shells staring, I heard the bullets hail,

But the new troops pass unheading - they never heard the tale.

I crossed the blood red ribbon, that once was No Man's Land,

I saw the misty daybreak and the creeping minute-hand;

And here the lads went over, and there was Harmsworth shot,

And here was William lying - but the new men know them not.

And I said, "There is still the river, and still the stiff, stark trees;

To treasure here our story, but there are only these";

But under the white wood crosses the dead men answered low,

"The new men know not Beaucourt, but we are here - we know"

September 1917

Mike

[Guest]

From THE STRUGGLE IN FLANDERS BY PHILIP GIBBS

page 197

All along the way to Wytschaete, where I went through

places which two days ago still lived up to the reputation of

evil names—Suicide Corner, V. C. Walk, Shell Farm—and

in woods like the Bois de Rossignol

page 219

The horror of that salient in its old evil days lives in its

sinister place-names : Dead Horse Corner and Dead Cow

Farm, and the farm beyond Plug Street, Dead Dog Farm,

and the Moated Grange on the way to St.-Eloi, Stinking

Farm, and Suicide Corner, and Shell-Trap Barn.

Mike

[mebu]

The NA trench map Atlas gives 7 Suicide Corners...Kruistraat, La Polka (Kemmel), Menin Road, Beaucourt Station, NW of Ypres, Pozieres, and Vermelles.

Regards Peter

[Tom Morgan]

I just noticed that this thread had another little burst of activity recently - thanks to the contributors for their information.

Tom

[John S]

Rats Alley only lists 2

28NW4 Ypres I 1 c 1.6 and

28SW1 Kemmel N 21` d 5.4

It also lists a Suicide Road at

28SW2 Wytschaete N 29 b 30a

Regards

John

[nicburch]

Anyone know location of Suicide Corner near Bailiff Wood as described by Masefield?

nick

[KIRKY]

Possibly Casualty Corner just down the road?

tony

[Guest Nevgill68]

I've just googled 'suicide corner' to find the one mentioned in 2/1 (West Riding) Field Ambulance. This is near Mailly-Maillet. 3/3/1917. Just thought I'd add this in case it was of any use.

[cwbuff]

I found this image of "suicide corner near Kemmel." Note the railroad tracks in the picture. 

 

 

 

[cwbuff]

Look at the section of a 1916 trench map below. You can see the tracks on the west side of the road (today's N331/Kemmelstraat) that goes northeast toward La Polka. Also note that the angle of the road intersection is similar in the map and in the photo.  So I would posit that suicide corner is at the intersection of N331 and Wijtschatesraat.

 

 

 

Edited 13 August , 2016 by cwbuff
Annotation of map

[Guest Kat]

@cwbuff  I think your location is correct.  I found a map in a war diary (can't upload it but I'll try to find the URL)  that indicates that Suicide corner is the bottom left corner of the intersection you indicated. On the map there is also a Suicide Road running from Suicide Corner to the right. 

Edited 1 September , 2016 by Kat

[Guest]

Hi. I'm new to this group, but I work for the Dartmouth College Library in the U.S. running Communications, and recently found some amazing images in our collection that might interest you. Some were taken by an American alum, and others by the French Section Photographique de L’Armee and Ministère de l'Instruction Publique. I don't have much information on them, but hope this particular one helps your research. 

 

 

[WhiteStarLine]

Hi Tomremp and welcome to the forum.  I think you have conclusively proved that Suicide Corner was at N.21.d.4.4!  Looking a lot better these day - feel free to post other images you have.

Source: National Library of Scotland and tMapper

[RegHannay]

Just been looking through my grandfathers diary, he mentions a suicide corner in the trenches.

Monday 23rd Aug 1915. 7th ESR.

"Most interesting morning in B Coy trenches. At suicide corner trenches are a huge network of huge sandbag barricades and the Bosch trenches are only 30 feet away"

 

The area was around Le Touqeut/Le Bizet area and He mentions Surrey farm and Lys farm

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

[EDWARD1]

The NA Trench map DVD lists a further six Suicide Corners:- 28NW4 I13c, I8d55.35, I1c1.6.  57DSE2Q18b5.9. 57DSE4R4 and 36CNW3G13d

[Ulsterdiv]

Has anyone have the Hamel Map showing suicide corner

 

Kind regards,

 

P

[Howard]

6 hours ago, Ulsterdiv said:

Has anyone have the Hamel Map showing suicide corner

 

Kind regards,

 

P

Of course and quite a few more on TrenchMapper. Right click, choose Map ID Jump with id=m_027996.

You can also search for just Suicide in Advanced Search then select from over 300 maps of the area.

Howard

Name: Kemmel, Lindenhoek,
Sheet: 28 SW [parts of]
Scale: 1:10,000
Edition: 1/02/1917
Secret . Printed 1/02/1917
Id: m_027996

 

[WhiteStarLine]

I wonder if @Ulsterdiv is referring to the Suicide Corner near Hamel in Sheet 57d?  There are no maps of TrenchMapper specifically showing this feature, but using the reference supplied by @EDWARD1 it seems to refer to a trench junction NE of Hamel.  Click to enlarge.