trenchwalker Posted 26 October , 2003 Share Posted 26 October , 2003 yesterday on the battlefield i came acrooss a place i havent seen before. aveluey wood cemetary. has anyone been there there is a gate thats leafds into the wood where the trenches are still there as was with elaphant irons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 26 October , 2003 Share Posted 26 October , 2003 Aveluy Wood. Yes, I’ve been there. We find it has a charged atmosphere because it seems quite unexpected and secret when you arrive there after a walk in the wood. We have often been puzzled by the drainage of one of the ditches in what I would call the Ancre water meadows near the Crucifix. According to my husband, who is a chartered engineer qualified in hydrology, the drainage is contrary to the direction which he would have predicted and he speculated whether there is some drainage into an underground working (perhaps somewhere near the ridge which runs behind the Crucifix). Might this be possible? I have looked on trench maps of that area for ideas but not arrived at an answer. What are elephant irons, please? Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 26 October , 2003 Share Posted 26 October , 2003 Aveluy Wood is a fascinating place, with acres of trenches - most of them from the 1918 battles in the wood. Once I even managed to locate the exact trenches dug by 7th Royal Sussex during their 'last stand' in the wood in March 1918. However, a word of warning. The wood is these days heavily hunted, and owned by more than one person - and it is VERY dangerous to wander around this time of year. So please take care and respect private property, as always. Elephant Iron are the curved bits of 'wobbly tin' used in dugout and funk-hole construction in WW1 trenches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 26 October , 2003 Share Posted 26 October , 2003 One of my memorial researchees, Walter Carter, is buried here. The chaplain subsequently wrote to his family giving details of how he died (artillery shell - killed 6 members of a carrying party) and concluded "The cemetery is in the middle of a beautiful wood at a place called "Lancashire Dump". I think the cemetery's official name is Aveluy Wood (Lancashire Dump) Cemetery. I visited Walter's grave a few weeks ago and found his headstone was engraved "When the warrior's task is o'er, he shall rest in peace for evermore". And, I thought, not a bad place to do it in. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchwalker Posted 26 October , 2003 Author Share Posted 26 October , 2003 it was just so weird to come across it. just by chance we had gone the wrong way to albert instead of going up to the ulster tower from newfoundland we went right and we just saw this little cemetary stuck in the middle of a wood. hunting i know it is the heart of the season as we found whilst at the sunken road on top of hawthorn ridge as we were being shoot over . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 26 October , 2003 Share Posted 26 October , 2003 Thanks for the explanation of ‘elephant’. Why ‘elephant’? Why not ‘corrugated’? Just curious. I just want to add that I never go into woods unless there’s a clear path and it’s obvious that access is intended. To me, seeing relics or trenches is less important than my own safety. I could have picked up a barrowful of intact shells etc, were I inclined to do so, last time I walked round the edge of a particular wood, so I prefer to be cautious and avoid what I don’t understand. We have usually found that a friendly, courteous conversation (in French of course) with a farmer to check that it’s ok to walk on a particular piece of land or track not only produces permission but interesting information as well. (In Normandie and Alsace we’ve encountered some very friendly old people who were keen to impart what they remember about the last War, and described their experiences with passion and often anger, but I struggle a bit with the Somme region’s accent because I’m less familiar with it.) Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWills Posted 26 October , 2003 Share Posted 26 October , 2003 Gwyn, If you think the "patois" is strong on the Somme you should try sampling some of the coarse "picard" to be heard nearer to the coast. It is indeed a potentially bemusing dialect and one of which the "picards" are fiercely proud. Kate and and myself had the privelege of an invitation to a friends wedding in Amiens - her husband being a "picard". French wedding receptions are quite an experience on any occasion but with a lot of the highly entertaining proceedings being conducted in "Picard" in the early hours of the morning it is not something we wil ever forget. When called upon to add to the entertainment we decided that it was about time "Les Picards" learnt to dance "the Hokey Cokey" - something they managed with great gusto. The reception started at 5pm and finished at 4pm (and yes, those times are the right way round). Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 26 October , 2003 Share Posted 26 October , 2003 Dragon "Elephant" because of its rounded shape, roughly resembling the outline of said beast. Terry Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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