Chapter 5d – Arras trenches

Historical Context The Arras offensive, which is now officially referred to as the Battle of Arras, ended on the 24th of May. Although more limited actions did continue in the area right through…

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1. Tunnel Trench ran from the Knuckle (near ‘The Hump’ referred to earlier in the text) for approximately four kilometres in a northwesterly direction towards Heninel
2. Bullecourt 51bSW4 Ref: U.7.d
3. Sgt Leslie Bell (No 200088) was mentioned in General Sir D. Haig’s May dispatches for distinguished conduct 
4.  Bertie William Adcock (9007) was mentioned in General Sir D. Haig’s May dispatches for distinguished conduct 
5. Lt W. M. Turner (Transport Officer) was mentioned in General Sir D. Haig’s May dispatches for distinguished conduct
6. The 2^nd Inoculation is likely to have been for Typhoid. Typhoid innoculations were voluntary at the outbreak of war but mandatory by 1915. Many of the wounded were also administered anti-tetanus serums. www.westernfrontassociation.com 
7. Boiry Becquerelle -   Lat/Long 50.12.49N  2.49.06E
8. Boisleux au Mont horse troughs   Boisleux Map:  10-51BSW3     Ref: S.10.d.8.2
9. Boisleux Au Mont -  Boisleux Map:  10-51BSW3-3A   Ref: S.10.c
10. Boisleux St Marc - Boisleux Map: 10-51BSW3– S.11.d -      Ref: S17 c central 
11. Cavalry Farm -  Vis en Artois Map: 51BSW2    Ref O14a.6.5
12. Neuville Vitasse -  Lat/Long 50.14.44N;  2.48.59E
13. 2^nd Lt H.B. Bell has not been identified at this time 
14.   Lat/Long 50.13.12N: 2.42.55E
15. Wood Trench: Bullecourt Map: 51bSW4 -   Ref: O.31d.2.2
16. Fontaine Wood: Bullecourt Map: 51bSW4 - Ref: U.2a.7.3
17. The Rookery –   Map       Ref: N.30.c
18. Bullfinch trench –    Map           Ref: O.25.d 
19. Spoor Lane appears to have been renamed Monkey Lane later in the conflict
20.  Nut trench –  Map -  Ref: O.20.b & d
21. St Rohart’s Quarry -  Map:     51BSW2-7A            Ref: O.15.c
22.  Kestral Avenue - Map  Ref: O.19.c.50.25 
23. Bison Trench -      Vis-en-Artois Map: 51bSW2   Ref: O.20.c
24.  Ibis Trench –   Vis-en-Artois Map: 51bSW2   Ref: O.26.a
25.  Neuville Vitasse crossroads:  Ref N.20.a.l 
26. Neuville Vitasse crossroads:    Ref N.20.a.l 
27. Neuville Vitasse Camp:   Map 51b S.W.1 –     Ref
28.  In an ‘Application shoot’ the rifleman tries to achieve a high score, correcting his aim after every shot, whereas in a grouping the rifleman strives to put every round through the same hole by aiming all shots at exactly the same point 
29.  Coy ‘J’ was part of the 3^rd Battalion of the RE Special Gas Brigade 
30.  Sgt Fred Pittendreigh (4/1531) 
31.  L/Cpl George E. Clark (4/2555, 200783) 
32.  Pte R. Robson (200829) 
33.  Pte Matthew Anderson (4/5071, 201960) was transferred to the 4^th NF from the 8^th NF (8/29534). ‘B’ Coy was awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty near Wancourt on the 24^th and 25^th April 1917
34.  ‘B’ Coy recipients were L/Cpl Robert McClure (4/2829, 200917); Sgt James R. Saint (4/1930, 200504); Thomas Sterling Nichol (204607)
35.  Pug Lane – Map Reference: U.1.b. which was probably a former enemy communication trench linking to the Hindenburg Line
36. Rotten Row – Vis en Artois Map: 10-51BSW2: Ref: O.31.c
37. Avenue Trench – Vis en Artois Map: 10-51BSW2: Ref: N.36
38. 4.5 Howitzers
39.  Pte Thomas Hanley (4/9418, 235072) was born (b. Monster Tiererart) (e. Jarrow) and is buried at Héninel Communal Cemetery Extension
40. 77mm was the calibre of the standard German field gun
41. Junction of Egret Loop with Foster Avenue.  Vis en Artois map: 10-51BSW2 - Reference: N.30.b.2.4
42. Tunnelling activity in order to lay mines had passed its peak by this time
43.  Junction of Cuckoo and Foster Avenue –  Vis en Artois Map   10-51BSW2 -  Ref: O.25.c.2.6 
44.  Trench mortar emplacements –  Vis en Artois Map: 10-51BSW2 -      Ref: O.31.d.4.4 
45. Egret Trench –  Vis en Artois Map: 10-51BSW2 -           Ref: N.30.b.2.4 
46.  Concertina wire, or coiled barbed wire as we now know it was was stretched out and secured in place with metal pickets which were hammered or screwed into the ground
47. 149^th Bde Reserve Camp.   Neuville Vitasse Map: 51BSW1-6A -       Ref: N.25.a.5.4
48. Concrete Trench – Bullecourt Map:   10-51BSW4-2A:  Ref: N.36.c
49.  Swift Trench -   Map         Ref: O.31.d.4.4 
50.  The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is still going strong around the world as a youth development charity. The first YMCA was formed by George Williams in St Paul's churchyard in the heart of London in 1844. During WW1, the British YMCA extended its work across the Channel to support the troops. YMCA huts provided soldiers with food, drink and free writing paper and envelopes
51.  Shaft or Tunnel Trench was built by the Germans as part of the Hindenburg Support Line approximately 1 mile south of Héninel and stretching approximately 4 kilometres towards Bullecourt. Bullecourt Map: 6a (25.4.18) T.5. & T6 
52. Vickers Ltd originated as a Sheffield steel foundry in 1828, but by 1914 it was a major manufacturer of military equipment including the machine gun
53. 60cm was the common railway gauge used by the military in France
54. Jackdaw was the frontline trench in this sector and was immediately in front of Ibis Support
55.  Buffalo Trench – Was probably the trench looping round from Spoor Lane in the south to the northern end of Ape Support 
56. Curlew Trench junction with Kestral Avenue :  Vis En Artois Map: 51BSW2-8A -  Ref: N.24.d.6.5 
57. The bank was probably alongside the road - Neuville Vitasse map: 51BSW1-6A -   Ref: N.21.a
58. Lion Trench: Vis En Artois Map: 51BSW2-8A -     Ref: O.19.c.9.9
59.  Duck Trench:  Vis En Artois Map: 51BSW2-8A -  Ref: N.24.d.9.5 
60. 2^nd Lt Davies 
61. Possibly the ... inch Skoda howitzer
62. Metal rods with a corkscrew end to enable them to be quietly screwed into the ground (rather than hammered) to support barbed wire.
63. Buck Reserve Trench –     Vis En Artois Map: 51BSW2-8A -           Ref: O.19.b
64. The 2^nd Northumbrian Field Coy RE was renamed the 447^th Field Coy 
65. Screens were used to hide trenches, gun emplacements, busy road intersections etc
66. The two-inch medium trench mortar fired a spherical shaped bomb attached to a long shaft which slotted into the mortar barrel. It soon acquired the nickname ‘Toffee Apple’ 
67. Unclear whether this 2^nd Lt Davies served with 4^th or 6^th NF
68. Dummy figures and heads were used to fake attacks (sometimes referred to as a Chinese attack) or attract sniper fire 
69. During WW1 the General Service (GS) wagon was the British Army’s principal horse drawn logistics vehicle 
70. No4 post was approx 150 yards east of the end of Shikar Avenue.      Vis En Artois Map: 51BSW2-8A -           Ref: O.20.d.4.9
71.  Buffalo Trench – Was probably the trench looping round from Spoor Lane in the south to the northern end of Ape Support 
72.  Buck Reserve Trench – Vis En Artois Map: 51BSW2-8A -           Ref: O.19.b 
73.  L/Cpl John Ralph Carson (204569) (b & e. Newcastle) was transferred from the 25^th NF to the 4^th NF. He is buried at Héninel Communal Cemetery Extension 
74.  Pte George Fuller Poppy (4/5260, 202120) was transferred to the 4^th NF from the East Yorks Regt (4/7983). George is buried at Héninel Communal Cemetery Extension 
75. Thiromite - possibly meant Thermite
76. Narrow and Narrow Support Trenches. Vis En Artois map: 51BSW2-8A -.Ref: O.26.c.25.10 to O.26.c.5.70
77. The 6^th DLI were carrying out this action with dummies. A dummy tank was also used
78. The dummies were fixed in position near Post No4 on the night of the 14^th 
79. Jackdaw was the frontline trench in this sector and was immediately in front of Ibis Support
80. 149^th Bde Reserve Camp.    Neuville Vitasse Map: 51BSW1-6A -       Ref: N.25.a.5.4
81. The sunken road appears on the trench map, but has now gone.  Neuville Vitasse map: 51BSW1-6A:  Ref: N.15.d
82. Details camp:     Map       Ref: M.29 
83. Boisleux Au Mont:    Boisleux map 51BSW3-4A -         Ref: S.10.a
84. Southampton Sidings were part of the original French railway system on the northern outskirts of Boisleux-au-Mont. : Boisleux map 51BSW3-4A - Reference: S.10.a
85. Dug out
86. Rifle Range:    Map      Ref: M.24.a – M.23.b
87. Durham Lines:  Map        Ref: S.1.a.51.b. SW
88. Horse Shoe Sap:      Bullecourt map: 51BSW-6A     Ref: O.31.b.75.15 
89. Broom Tank: Bullecourt map: 51BSW-6A - Ref: U.1.a.25.50
90. Dodo Trench: Bullecourt map: 51BSW-6A - Ref: U.1.a.90.90
91. Buffalo Trench – Was probably the trench looping round from Spoor Lane in the south to the northern end of Ape Support
92. The No4 Post in this sector was where Pelican sunken road crossed into No man’s land. U.1.b.3.7
93.  Buck Reserve Trench –Vis En Artois Map: 51BSW2-8A -   .Ref: O.19.b
94. 51^st Divn - recently transferred from the fighting around Ypres
95.  Boiry St Rictrude:    Boisleux map: 51BSW3-4A -   Ref: S.14.c
96.  Rees returned to France to take command of 149^th Bde. (50th Divn) on 8^th March 1917, seeing action at Arras during the following month. At the end of July, Rees was taken ill and hospitalised; losing command of 149th Bde. Following his recovery, he returned to the 50th Divn in France and took command of the 150^th Bde on 27^th February 1918
97.  Edward Pius Arthur Riddell (b. May 1875) was commissioned into the NF from the Militia in Feb 1900 and served in South African War (1901-1902). Transferred to the Rifle Brigade in June, 1908. Based at Sandhurst in command of a Coy of Cadets at the outbreak of WW1. Commanded 1^st Cambridgeshire Regt (TF) from 10 Jun 1916 until 30 Sep 1917. Award D.S.O. for conspicuous gallantry in action on the 14^th Oct 1916 at Schwaben Redoubt [zotpressInText item="{A8MRVADT}"]