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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Mametz Wood


Janus

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Mametz Wood. Most everything you need can be found in the Battleground Europe book, 'Mametz Wood' by Michael Renshaw, price £9.95 Pen and Sword Books.

Otherwise is there anything specific you want looking up?

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Try Colin Hughes - 'Mametz Wood - Lloyd George's Welsh Army at the Battle of the Somme' available from your local library by order I guess as I think its out of print.

Simply, after a couple of false starts the 38th (Welsh) Division battered its way in on 10 July and captured the whole wood by the 12th at a cost of 4,000+ casualties.

I have a book out on the Swansea Battalion (14th Welsh) next year (Pen and Sword Books - sorry to beat own drum!) which includes about 20 pages on Mametz Wood (mainly 10 July) and numerous eye witness accounts of men of the 14th who fought there. Quoted as being 'the hardest thing the (Swansea) battalion ever did...' - and it took part in day one of third Ypres and the Advance to Victory too so the wood was a very tough fight.

If you have any info on men who fought there please let me know...

Bernard Lewis

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Woods in France are privatre property, and are not open to the public except with the permission of the owner.

Paul, it seems there will not be any change to the access for Thiepval Wood - you will not be able to wander around it with the knowledge and permission of the Somme Association who now own it. Rightly so in my opinion, otherwise it would be open house for grave robbers...

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Perhaps the Welsh Assembly could find some funds to buy and preserve Mametz Wood - if it's possible Northern Ireland then why not.

Ultimately I suppose you can preserve anything by locking it up and not letting anyone look at it - ever ! But if this is going to be the attitude of any organisations that obtain control of these sites , we may as well save the expense and let French hunters and gamekeepers do the same job with their shotguns.

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I am very glad to here that the Somme Association now owns Thiepval Wood! Not that I had any thing against the previous owner, she is quite a nice Lady but my French is very poor and gaining permission to visit the woods was beyond my level of fluency. At least I speak the same language as our friends from Ulster and can discuss a visit with my friends in the Association. :D

ianw I too would like to see Mametz Wood purchased by a like minded ground and like wise High Wood. A long shot on both I'm sure but realities start with dreams.

Cheers,

Jon

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Come to think of it Chris I have walked the path through Authuille with Flanders Tours when Graham Parker still had it.

Seems to me Somme Association should have a few trails through Thiepval. There is nothing but fear of French farmers/gamekeepers to keep the grave robbers out now. One dealer in the USA advertises battlefield dug stuff. No shame. The owners are also reenactors and that was NOT an attack on them.

Paul, I do not quarrel with asking permission, I just hope that there is someone there at Ulster Tower to ask.

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But if this is going to be the attitude of any organisations that obtain control of these sites , we may as well save the expense and let French hunters and gamekeepers do the same job with their shotguns.

In the case of Thiepval Wood, if the wood had passed to another French owner rather than the Somme Association, it would have been torn down and replanted - and the preserved battlefield beneath would have been lost forever.

I suspect in the long term there will be 'Thiepval trails', but the Somme Assoc. are seemingly (wisely in my view) feeling their way around at the moment, and deciding what would be the most appropriate way ahead. For now, the wood will be managed and hunted like it was before. I am sure, however, they would welcome approaches from groups and individuals who would like to seriously visit the place, rather than just have a casual stroll around.

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Paul, I take your point that at the very least , the wood is happily now protected from future destruction. However, I sincerely hope that serious efforts will be made to allow some access to it. This is especially important given that , as I understand it , substantial amounts of the British public's money was used to make the purchase possible.

I don't quite know how one can easily distinguish between "serious" visits and those of a more casual nature. The vast majority of visitors to the Western Front are not pursuing serious academic projects/research but I do not think they should be generally excluded from sites of interest because of that. It may be problematical if a small group of individuals (of whatever nationality ) is empowered to control access and I look forward to seeing sensible proposals for access which fully respects the integrity of the site.

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  • 1 month later...

My Great Uncle, Pte. James Leahy, was killed in Mametz Wood on 15th July 1916. He was a sculptor's model and was at a cushy posting inWoolwich Arsenal, but transfered to be with my other uncle, James MacDonald, Somerset Light Infantry, who was killed on the First Day of the Somme at the Quadrilateral, near Serre. I walked the fringe of the wood in Summer 1985 after light rain and after a few steps the mud had panned on my boots and walking became almost impossible. How can modern historians rehabilitate the crass incompetence that sent men out to fight and die in these conditions?

Kerry Sullivan

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I sometimes think that people believe it rained every day of the war; you may like to know that on 15th July 1916 it was a misty morning leading to a fine, bright and warm day with temperatures of 72o. Very different to when you were there.

You may already know that the wood was already taken by 15th July; I am supposing your relative was a regular in 7th Division on his way up to the even more deadly High Wood?

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