100 British WW1 shells found near Mauberge

[Hedley Malloch]

According to a report in today's 'La Voix du Nord' more than 100 British WW1 80 mm shells have been found in a field near Mauberge. They were found in near perfect condition 'lined up like sardines in a tin'. Seven were found in August; the local authority put a security cordon around them and called in the bomb squad. They turned up last Wednesday (!), had a little dig around and found another 93. The whole lot, weighing about one ton, was placed on the back of a lorry and taken to Arras.

It's not the first time that this field has yielded an 'iron harvest'. Two years ago four similar shells were found there.

[Chris]

Hedley.

Given the facts that the shells were 'lined up like sardines in a tin', combined with the fact that others have been found in the field, i would guess it is likely that this location must have been used as a ammo dump at some point. Do you know if this is the case?

Chris

[Hedley Malloch]

Chris,

No, I don't know. One reading of it is:

1. The shells were found in Mauberge. They are British. Therefore we are looking to either the first or the last few days of the war. A look at the headstamps would help here.

2. They are small calibre, probably field artillery, and all of the same type. Are we looking at a 'dump' for a battery, or possibly one gun?

3. They were left in good order. This could suggest that they were abandoned in a hurry.

This could mean that they are a remnant of '14 rather than '18; they were left behind in the retreat to the Marne. But that's just a guess - and your guess is as good (or even better) than/as mine, Chris.

The only other piece of information I have is that they were found in an area of Mauberge known as Vieux Mesnil. That name might ring a bell with artilllery buffs.

Regards