It is possible to visit and view much of the area described in the foregoing narrative and this will be easily recognisable as the ground has changed little over the intervening years. The shape of some of the woodland has altered in places but for the most part this very attractive corner of the battlefields has changed little and provides the visitor with the opportunity to walk its sheltered, secluded, little valleys and with it comes a feeling of solitude and remoteness. It is a haven for wildlife. Buzzards often soar above the tree tops while harriers skim the ridges and woodpeckers are both seen and heard. Hares and rabbits scurry about and it is not unusual to see deer bounding from Caterpillar Wood or Bottom Wood into the greater security of Mametz Wood.
It is imperative though, to remember that all the ground belongs to someone and to respect it. Generations of French farmers have indulged the visitors to their fields and with a few exceptions it is possible to walk on ploughed fields or the stubble after the harvest without hindrance. However, on no account should crops be walked on and the instances of this occurring are unfortunately on the increase. Likewise, so is antipathy from the farming community which is not surprising when, as happened recently, a well known tour company, spilled a whole coach load on to the side of the road and then made off straight across the growing crops!
The woods, too, are private and should only be entered with permission, a gamekeeper (Gard du Chasse) or woodman may be on hand and might authorise a stroll if approached but visitations by those armed with metal detectors have put them on their guard and such requests may be declined. Beware, during the shooting season from the end of September to the end of February. The French are fanatical hunters and tend to shoot anything that moves, even each other on occasions!
This section has been designed with those in mind who wish, or who may only able to walk short distances but it also caters for those with greater ambition in as much that the routes, with one exception, dovetail, thus allowing an extended expedition to be undertaken.
The driving tour covers some parts of the walking routes and should be undertaken with this in mind as where these coincide the fuller description will be given in the walking route.
DRIVING TOUR
Leave Albert on the D938 travelling towards Peronne and pass Fricourt on the left. Also pass the major left turn signposted for both Fricourt and Mametz and continue until a square brick building appears on your left. Turn left here. This is the site of the railway halt where the 1 st Royal Welsh Fusiliers and 2nd Royal Irish convened for their attacks on Mametz Wood. The railway, rebuilt after the war, has now gone but the halt remains, recently inhabited, but now a store complete with station nameplate ‘Mametz’ and ‘Gare’.
Take the road from Mametz to Fricourt. As Fricourt is entered the road reaches the site of Rose Cottage on the right of a junction and as described in the walking route. Take the road on the right signposted to the German Cemetery. Follow the route as described in Walk 4. It is permissible to drive down the side of Fricourt Wood towards the farm and likewise to turn left at the farm and thence back onto the metalled road. Turn left to the German Cemetery. After leaving the German Cemetery turn the car around and drive towards Contalmaison passing the eastern end of Shelter Wood from where on the right excellent views of the Hedge Line and further on Bottom Wood can be obtained. The small copse is the Quadrangle and beyond that the western side of Mametz Wood can also be seen.
Further down the road as Peake Wood Cemetery is passed a track will be observed under the fold of the hill on the right. The western end of Quadrangle Trench curved round above the track keeping to the higher contours. Somewhere near the end of the track Shelter Alley ran up the escarpment and joined Quadrangle Trench. Note the shell scarring still visible in the fields on the right. As Contalmaison is entered look for a small concealed turning on the right to Mametz. This sign is not visible from the direction you have come. Follow the road to the communal cemetery and read the appropriate section in Walk 5. Continue down the road but first set the trip on your car’s speedometer to nought. When you have travelled four tenths of a mile you will be within a few yards of the place where Quadrangle Trench crossed the road. About thirty metres in the field on your left was the junction of Quadrangle Trench with Quadrangle Alley which led to the German ‘block’. On the right in the field about 120 metres distant Bottom Alley ran from Quadrangle Trench towards Bottom Wood.
Views of the Hedge Line and Bottom Wood can be seen on the right. Quadrangle Wood or Copse is straight ahead while Dantzig Alley Cemetery can be seen on the horizon.
Mametz Wood is on the left and more or less parallel with the end of the strip of trees in the valley, Wood Trench ran back to the western edge of Mametz Wood. Strip Trench ran down the edge of the wood.
Looking down the road from Contalmaison Cemetery towards Quadrangle Wood. Repeated German attacks from the right (Quadrangle Trench) failed to dislodge the defenders of Quadrangle Support Trench located in the field to the left.
The memorial seat at the Dragon was placed there by Major Huw Rodge in memory of his father (above) who fought at Mamtez Wood. When his father returned he found that his family had sold all his belongings believing him to be dead and he promptly left home. He revisted the Somme only once when a farmer attempted to charge him sixpence for crossing his field – he never returned.
Continue down the road until a track is reached on the right. It is a short stroll up to the front of Bottom Wood and the Hedge Line beyond. There appears to be no trace of Bottom Alley where it extended into the wood, but beyond in the Hedge Line what seems to be distinct traces of the old trench can be seen in places. There are excellent views of the ground in front of Quadrangle Trench. Return to the car and note on the far left regular deep indentations in the bank on the left, the origins of which I have found no reliable explanation for. Some have had trees planted in them. Turn sharp left following the sign to the Memorial and take the lower road and follow the information given in Walk 3. It should be possible to drive along the lower road in all but the wettest of conditions. (If in doubt turn round and take the top road). In due course you will meet the junction of the top road and continue to the Welsh Memorial Dragon.
It is about 500 yards further on to Flat Iron Copse Cemetery and if you consider that it is possible to negotiate the first fifty yards of the track you should have no problem with the remainder. Otherwise you will have to approach it from Bazentin le Petit via the metalled road, or walk it from where you are parked.
Return to Mametz village using the top road which roughly follows the site of White Trench, Cliff Trench turned off to the right. Pass the entrance to Queen’s Nullah on the left. On the right there are views of the front of Fricourt Wood and in the near foreground Railway Alley came across the field and entered the wood about 200 yards from the road. Enter the village by the war memorial on the left, turn left and drive the short distance to Dantzig Alley Cemetery. Refer to the second part of Walk 3, Part 2.
To visit Marlborough Copse follow the road from Dantzig Alley Cemetery passing the site of Pommiers Redoubt to Montauban. In the village turn left and drive through the small streets bearing to the left and to the single track road that leads directly to the Copse and Caterpillar Wood. See the text of Walk 1 for information. Return to the village and follow the signposts to the village of Longueval. Here take the road to Contalmaison. After passing Bazentin on the right a sign will be seen indicating a left turn to Flat Iron Copse Cemetery.
WALK 1 - THE ATTACK OF 7 JULY MAMETZ WOOD
Duration about one hour
Starting from the Dragon Memorial it should be possible to cross the narrow field to the Hammerhead opposite. At the time of writing there has been for some years, a large tract of ‘set-a-side’ land that is not used for cultivation. If this disappears in the future, then as long as there are no crops in the field there should be no objection to walking across anyway. Failing this to the right of the memorial there is a dividing strip between two fields which should enable access to be gained. Keep to the edge of the field, remember that the wood should not be entered unless permission has been obtained and follow the edge of the wood northwards. Looking to the left you will see excellent views right to left of Caterpillar Wood, the valley and the ridge, all the ground, in fact, across which the 16th Welsh on the left and the 11th South Wales Borderers on the right attacked. As they came over the ridge it is easy to imagine the German machine gunners in position on the edge of the wood where the reader is standing taking every advantage of the exposed troops in front of them. The attack was delivered on a frontage of about 500 yards. It is about 700 yards from the Dragon to Flat Iron Copse Cemetery ahead. It will be appreciated how close, therefore, the right flank of the 16th Welsh was to the machine gunners in Flat Iron and Sabot Copses which were linked to the German second position.
Flat Iron Copse cemetery was started after the capture of Mametz Wood and is notable for the existence of the graves of three sets of brothers who are buried there. Both the brothers Tregaskis and Hardwidge have a mention elsewhere in this book. Private Ernest Philby and Private Herbert Philby of the Middlesex Regiment died on 21 August 1916 when their battalion was attacked by gas shells.
Flat Iron Copse Cemetery.
Also buried in this cemetery is Corporal E Dwyer who won the Victoria Cross near Ypres in Belgium in April 1915. Prior to being killed in September near Guillemont a few miles from here he had taken part in recruiting campaigns talking about and recording his experiences. An example of this still exists and has been reissued as part of a Great War compilation by Pavilion Records.
Return towards the Dragon. At the time of writing the fields on the left above the bank have had a large tract of ‘set-a-side’ for some time and it is possible to walk back along the top of the bank if preferred, from where better views are obtained.
WALK 2
Duration about 1 hour
About two thirds of the way back there is a track running to the left. Although shown on the French equivalent of our ordnance survey maps as extending to the bottom of the field the farmer has ploughed about the last 100 yards up and it may not be possible to reach it at certain times of the year without going over crops. If it is possible to get on to the track this will go directly to Marlborough Copse and to the areas where the attacking battalions of the 38th Division gathered prior to forming up behind the crest of the ridge on 7 July. Turning round and looking back will give exceptional views of the Hammerhead and other parts of Mametz Wood to the south.
The village in front is Montauban and it is possible to return to the Dragon by following the edge of Caterpillar Wood along which there is yet another long standing stretch of ‘set-a-side’ along the whole route, emerging at the end of the valley where the left flank of the 11th South Wales Borderers advanced.
If it is not possible to access the track as described above then the alternative route to Marlborough Copse would be to walk up the edge of Caterpillar Wood, returning the same way.
At the end of Caterpillar Wood turn left into some rough ground with long grass, pass through the remains of an old barbed wire fence and turn right downhill towards the memorial car park. You should pass the remains of a concrete bunker of which only part of the roof is now visible before reaching your starting point again.
WALK 3 – ATTACK OF 10 JULY – MAMETZ WOOD
Approach on the signposted road to the Welsh memorial from Mametz village to where the single track road forks; take the lower left hand track and continue until it turns sharp right at about 400 yards.
It should be possible to park a vehicle by the hunters’ lodge on the corner.
Walk on about fifty yards until the point where the end of the narrow part of Mametz Wood approaches the track. Cross the rough ground and look to the left. There are clearly discernible traces of a trench which if followed become deeper and end in a series of large shell holes which destroyed the trench at that point. It is possible that this is the remains of the trench dug to connect Strip Trench with Cliff Trench. Cliff Trench was situated on the ridge just behind the hunters’ lodge. Walk to the right of the wood, keeping to the edge of the wood. There are plenty of opportunities to see the remains of Strip Trench on the left as the wood is very narrow before it broadens out. This is the part of the wood attacked initially by the 16th Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Further on there is a gap in the wood through which a natural gas pipeline has been laid. Just beyond this point is the approximate point where Lieutenant-Colonel Carden was killed on the edge of the wood. Look to the right and you will see a pronounced hollow in the ground in front of the track. If the ground is ploughed you will also see a dark strip of ground stretching across the field. This is the site of the railway track and where Captain Glynn Jones regrouped the 14th Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
Continue along the edge of the wood, on the left vestiges of trenches and defences can still be seen just inside the wood. Facing the wood is the ridge down which the attacking battalions of the 38th Division approached. Just before an old wire fence and some bushes are reached the entrance to the central ride of the wood will be found. It was from here that the Germans emerged with a white flag and surrendered to Captain Glynn Jones.
Continue along the edge of the wood and good distant views of Marlborough Copse and the Dragon can be seen. As the southern edge of the Hammerhead comes closer you are now approaching the approximate position attacked by Lieutenant Cowie and his platoon when he silenced a German machine gun before losing his life. It is not possible to be certain of the exact position.
As the Hammerhead is reached, in the corner, the first crossride will be found, which was the first objective on the 10 July. It is possible to see it disappearing to the opposite side of the wood. This was the site of much confusion and the position from where the troops outran the British barrage and had to retire because of inflexibility in the artillery plans.
Turn right and follow the southern edge of the Hammerhead. There is a small clearing on the left which forms the ‘head’ of the hammer on the map. In 1916 it was a much bigger area and it was here that Lieutenant J Evans and two platoons of men held on when counter attacked by the Germans through the wood and for which Evans was awarded the Military Cross. It should be possible to return from the wood to the track across long standing ‘set-a-side’ but should this disappear then there is a track to the right near the trees. Follow this and turn right keeping to the lower track where it divides following it below the ridge. The long rising approach ground crossed by the attacking troops on 10 July can be appreciated before arriving at the quarry. Much earth moving in recent years has uncovered the remains of several German dugouts and a large quantity of corrugated metal is lying around together with several live shells. All along the banking on the left were numerous dugouts made initially by the Germans and extended later by the British as the valley became a supply route. Evidence can also be seen of the bombardment it received with many shell holes clearly visible. As the valley was cleared at the end of the war it was reported that much debris was thrown into the bank and it was littered with battered equipment, including old helmets and rifles.
Even now it is possible to scramble up the bank and find old tins, bottles and shell fragments barely covered by the fallen pine needles, especially in the winter period. While preparing this walk the author found several live shells, two grenades, a rather battered Tommy’s helmet, part of a bicycle, a screw picket for holding barbed wire and bolts and fishplates from the old railway track.
The Dragon viewed from the edge of the wood, the ‘Hammerhead’ on the left and Marlborough copse on the horizon.
You will now be back at your starting point.
Unfortunately it is difficult to get an extensive view of the area from the bank above, but there is a gap in the trees that does give some view of Strip Trench and beyond. It is possible to visit the site of Strip Trench, Wood Trench and Wood Support Trench by walking up the left hand side of the wood. The wood is very narrow here where it comes towards the track like a pointing finger. Strip Trench is clearly identifiable even after all the shelling it received and the subsequent passage of time, just inside the edge of the wood. When approximately 450 yards have been covered you will have reached the site of Wood Trench which turned at right angles out of the wood to form the major defensive position. Thereafter Strip Trench continued, more of a communication trench, a further 450 yards approximately until it reached Wood Support Trench. About fifty yards from the corner of the wood it is still possible to see Wood Support Trench emerging from the wood at this point about three feet in depth. Looking west it is possible to appreciate how easy it was to enfilade the advance of the 38th Division through the wood from the position in the Quadrangle.
From this point it is possible to continue your walk around the edge of the wood taking in Walk 5, making a circular walk by returning from Contalmaison Cemetery via the road which passes Quadrangle Wood.
WALK 3 PART 2
QUEEN’S NULLAH - DANTZIG ALLEY CEMETERY
Waking time 1 hour
The starting point is the same as Walk 3. The track where you are standing is the same track on which the 2nd Royal Irish found themselves halted while a patrol went into Strip Trench on the night of 4 July and found German soldiers nearby. Walk back towards Mametz village along the track. The bank on the right is where the 2nd Royal Irish took the breech blocks from the guns. As you approach the junction where the upper track on the left rejoins the lower track a large rubbish dump will be seen. I have searched for the possible site of the quarry where the 1 st Royal Welsh Fusiliers took shelter after having got lost. This is the most likely site as for very many years there was a large rubbish dump on the corner here which about four years ago became full up. A further dump was made by digging out another artificial ‘quarry’ which at the same time exposed some tunnels of a German dugout in the chalk. Subsequent erosion has now eliminated all traces of this position.
Just after the junction a small track will be seen on the left. This is the entrance to Queen’s Nullah. It will be remembered that this was the scene of multifarious activity and of various battalion and brigade headquarters and of an advanced dressing station. The quarry appears to be recent. A track leads from Queen’s Nullah direct to Dantzig Alley Cemetery. Danzig Alley Trench (note the different spelling) ran along the opposite side of the road. All the original burials are in Plot 1 but after the end of the war eight other cemeteries were concentrated into Dantzig Alley.
In addition to the graves of those specifically mentioned in the text of the book other graves of men from both the 17th Division and 38th Division can be found here.
At the back of the cemetery there are excellent long distance views across the Quadrangle and Mametz Wood. A memorial seat will also be found dedicated to the 14th Royal Welsh Fusiliers. A translation of the inscription in Welsh reads:
Distance cannot make you forgotten The Children of thou dear hills Heart and heart remain together Even when separated
These are the words of Private E H Evans, 15th Royal Welsh Fusiliers, killed in action 31 July 1917. An award winning film was made in recent years telling how at the moment of achieving his ambition of being awarded the Bardic Chair at Birkenhead in 1917 he had been killed, never to know of his achievement. The chair was draped in black instead. The film is called Hedd Wynn which was Ellis Evan’s bardic name. He is buried at Artillery Wood Cemetery, Boesinghe, Belgium.
The site of Pommiers Redoubt is further up the road to the right towards Montauban. It is about 350 yards walk but there is nothing to be seen of this well known spot which was situated on the right hand side of the road and took its name from the apple trees that grew in the vicinity at the time. To return, it is possible to retrace your steps or go back through the village. If you wish to visit the church, where there is a memorial to the 38th Welsh Division, call at the first house on the right as you enter the village and obtain the key.
Dantzig Alley Cemetery with The Royal Welsh Fusiliers Memorial Seat.
Turn right at the crossroads and note the village war memorial on the corner with the shell cases. Follow the road back past the entrance to Queen’s Nullah and the hunters’ lodge.
WALK 4
FRICOURT - RAILWAY ALLEY- SHELTER WOOD
Approaching Fricourt on the D938 from Albert take the first turning left signposted into the village, pass the British Cemetery on the left and park conveniently near the Salle de Fête (Village Hall) in the Rue d’Ipswich. Opposite, on the left hand side of the road leading to Contalmaison. There is a track between some farm buildings and a white walled house numbered eleven. Follow the track until some rough ground is reached on the right. This is part of the Triple Tambour Mine Craters on the old German front line. Part of it is fenced off with cattle but it is normally possible to look over this part although it is very overgrown. The ground in front was that over which the British attacked on both the 1 and 2 July. The cemetery in front, Fricourt New Military Cemetery has over 200 burials mostly those of the 10th West Yorkshires (17th Division) who suffered the highest casualties of any battalion on 1 July. On 2 July, on your left the 6th Lincoln’s attacked and likewise on the right, the 8th South Staffordshires went forward.
Returning to where you parked the car take the road to the right signposted Mametz and named Rue du Marshal Foch until you reach a sign for the German Military Cemetery to the left. This is the site of Rose Cottage where the 6th Lincolns were held up. A track leads straight ahead along the edge of the wood. This was the site of Sunshine Alley Trench. Follow the road to the left and Fricourt Chateau will be found on the right, where several brigades had their headquarters in the cellars. Continue to the water tower and then right up the side of Fricourt Wood. The ground on the left was covered by the 8th South Staffordshires while the 6th Lincolns pushed through the wood. Continue walking until Fricourt Farm is reached on the left. Here, on the right, good views of the front of Fricourt Wood can be seen and across the middle of the fields in front was the site of Railway Alley. Railway Copse can be seen but it is generally more wooded around the area now than it was in 1916.
Straight ahead and beyond the Crucifix was the Poodles, originally two trees, but no longer there. Walking on Shelter Wood will be reached where a battalion of the 186th German Regiment surrendered. The path finishes at the eastern edge of Shelter Wood but good views of the ground ahead up to the Hedge Line and Bottom Wood can be obtained. Note the shell damaged field on the right where the railway line ran.
Dantzig Alley Cemetery with The Royal Welsh Fusiliers Memorial Seat.
Return to Fricourt Farm which is built on the site of Lozenge Trench. The original Farm was on the other side of the track in 1916. Turn right and walk towards the road, on the left is the remains of Lozenge Wood in which it is possible to find the remains of Lozenge Trench. Turn left towards the centre of the village. The German Cemetery will be seen on the left which contains the remains of over 17,000 German soldiers, mostly in mass graves. Lonely Copse is passed just after leaving the cemetery on the left. Continue back to the Salle de Fête. Fricourt church contains a plaque dedicated to the memory of the men of the 17th Northern Division who died in the Great War, 494 officers and 8,421 other ranks. Major R G Raper who commanded the 8th South Staffordshires in this attack on 2 July is also commemorated in the church which is not always open. Enquiries should be made at the school.
Fricourt Chateau where several brigades had their headquarters in the cellars. Above is as it was in 1914 and below a comparison taken in the 1990s.
Remains of German strong point and a fortified well in front of Fricourt Wood built on for present-day use.
Major Raper was originally buried in a separate private grave and so became regarded as the liberator of Fricourt. The villagers named the road after him that leads from the church to the village war memorial. He is now interred in Fricourt British Cemetery (Bray Road) near where your walk has finished.
WALK 5
WOOD SUPPORT TRENCH/QUADRANGLE ALLEY
This walk starts at the Communal Cemetery at Contalmaison which can be found on the road (C5) to Mametz. There are excellent views of the Quadrangle area and the western approaches of Mametz Wood. At the rear of the civilian cemetery is the memorial to the 12th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment, who, it will be recalled, lost so heavily in their attack on Quadrangle Support Trench on 7 July. It commemorates all those of the battalion who fell in the Great War.
The point where the track at the side of the cemetery meets the road was on the line of Pearl Alley. Stand looking directly down the C5 towards Mametz. On your immediate right the attackers attempted to get forward up Pearl Alley towards the junction with Quadrangle Support Trench.
Walk down the track by the side of the cemetery, after about 150 yards you will come to the site of Quadrangle Support Trench which ran parallel to the metalled road for about 350 yards. On the left, about fifty yards into the field is the site of the junction between Pearl Alley and Quadrangle Support Trench. It is in this area that Lieutenant Stanbury was wounded and last seen. A further 100 yards on the left the site of Acid Drop Copse will be seen from where deadly machine gun fire could fire directly down the valley in a southerly direction. It is also possible here to see how Quadrangle Support Trench lay over the crest of a spur and was not only invisible until attacking troops were on to it but was also extremely difficult to get artillery observation on to. Artillery fire for the most part fell very short. The result was that the Germans holding the trench had not suffered when the infantry advanced. Lieutenant-Colonel Castle of the 17th Division Royal Field Artillery was at the time attached to the 24th Division and was in Railway Alley. He could see the attacks being made and could even see Germans bringing up their machine guns on their shoulders as each fruitless attack was made. Some field guns of a neighbouring division stood nearby but he was refused permission to make use of them, controlling their fire by direct vision. The timetable of the artillery barrage did not allow for any flexibility.
It will be appreciated how Quadrangle Support Trench looked down on a bare natural glacis without a scrap of cover except, perhaps, for the inevitable shell holes.
Continue walking down the track until the wood is reached. This part of the wood is now known as Contalmaison Wood and it was about twenty yards inside the wood where Captain Job was killed. Follow the track to the top side of the line of trees and in about 100 yards you will arrive at the western end of Wood Support. This is where Second-Lieutenant Clarke and later Lieutenant Davidson of the 6th Dorsets were mortally wounded attacking the strong point. Continue along the track which suddenly ends, but it should be possible to walk along the edge of the field and reach the end of the line of trees. Fifty yards to your left was the end of Wood Trench captured by the Dorsets. Look to the right across the little valley through which the railway ran. On the far side, about 100 yards from the valley bottom just below the highest contour of the ground was the western end of Quadrangle Trench. It was across this valley that Lieutenant Sassoon made his dash to ‘capture’ Wood Trench after the death of Lance-Corporal Kendall who was sniped on the opposite bank.
Go through the trees, there is a gap and also a convenient long standing piece of ‘set-a-side’ which enables access to be gained on to the site of Quadrangle Trench. It is also possible to walk along the top of the contour about 250 yards and reach the approximate site of the ‘block’ in Quadrangle Alley. This is the scene of Lieutenant Holroyd’s attempt to get to the junction on the 7 July and later on 10 July Second-Lieutenant Goodwin was repulsed by machine gun fire while attempting to move forward up the valley.
It was also here that both Lieutenant Cracroft and Captain Heathcock lost their lives in the final attempt to break through made by the 7th East Yorkshires.
All this could eventually change of course if the ground is ploughed up and planted, nevertheless the area is a fine vantage point, quite remote and an excellent place to read the account of the struggle where it happened, given a warm summer’s day of course Retrace your steps to the cemetery, if preferred keeping to the left hand side of the strip of trees. The contour on your left follows the route of Quadrangle Alley.
Contalmaison Cemetery was near the junction of Pearl Alley and Quadrangle Support trench. It was here that Lieutenant Stanbury was last seen.