Guest Montay Posted 11 December , 2003 Share Posted 11 December , 2003 Hello there, My hero is Pte. Frank Shawcross who was with the 8th Batt. South Lancashire regt. He was killed on 16/7/1917 near Busseboom, Ypres at a place called Swan Chateau. Can anyone please suggest sources where I might find out a bit more about this "hot spot" ? Thanks Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 11 December , 2003 Share Posted 11 December , 2003 Jane. According to the Battalion history,the Bn marched to Dominion Camp near Busseboom on 8th July. Here, they partook in various tasks in preparation for the forthcoming offensive and lost men nearly every night on working parties, "notably on the 16th, when 2/Lt.D.H.Wilkinson was wounded and 27 other ranks killed or wounded.The Germans were using a large proportion of gas-shell which forced the working parties to wear their masks, thereby reducing everybody's efficiency by at least 50 percent". Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jwillia5 Posted 12 December , 2003 Share Posted 12 December , 2003 Thank you Dave......that's very useful. Frank was part of a working party when he was killed, or at least mortally wounded by a shell explosion but I hadn't realised the extent of the gas threat at that point. Tom TM is in the process of retrieving the battalion diaries for me so hopefully I will have a better idea then. Do you know anything else about Swan Chateau at all? Thanks again, Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 12 December , 2003 Share Posted 12 December , 2003 Do you know anything else about Swan Chateau at all? Not a lot to be honest, apart from the fact that it was quite a way behind the front line, so Frank probably was killed by a shell going to or from the front. Below is a trench map extract showing the location (Swan Chateau is smack in the middle) just South of Ypres. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 12 December , 2003 Share Posted 12 December , 2003 ...and this is the location of Dominion Camp, near Poperinghe (mentioned in my first posting)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jwillia5 Posted 19 December , 2003 Share Posted 19 December , 2003 Just a line or two to say another thank you for this and Merry Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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