moo cow farm

[trenchwalker]

can anyone tell me when you drive past moo cow farm next to poziere you have the memorial on the side of the road to the ozzys . but in the field you have the farm house but next to it is a huge indentation in the ground which has been fenced off. the question is that a mine crater?

It has always been one of the thing we have always wondered.

can you help?

[Marco]

The site of the original farm?

Regards,

Marco

[trenchwalker]

yes,thats the one.

or are you staying it could be the site of the orignal?

[bmac]

According to Graham Keech's Pozieres, the original farm was behind and to the left of the current building (as you look from the memorial). To the right of the new farm, between the road and farm was a quarry/chalk pit.

[Paul Reed]

As Bill says it is a quarry, and it was there during the battle. Both Canadian and British units had advanced BHQ in it at varying times, and you will have seen the ground around it is very much in its wartime state with shell holes etc.

The original farm buildings were in the tree-lined grazing land directly opposite the new farm; another piece of shell scared landscape with numerous bits of concrete from the German defences sticking out.

The same family that owned it in 1914 (Gonse, who live at Courcelette) still own it now, and it also has the same tenants as in 1914 - the Vandendriessche family.