Whitby High School
Battlefields Tour 22nd-25th March 2009
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Whitby High SchoolBattlefields Tour 22nd-25th March 2009 |
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Sanctuary Wood/Hill 62
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The Site Today: The trenches preserved in the wood are British front line trenches belonging to a system known as Vince St. and Jam Row. They are the best example of the front line trenches left in the salient. They include a communication tunnel and several dugouts. Also of note are the shell blasted stumps of trees - all that remained of the original forest. The site is privately owned and has been in the same family since 1923. When visiting any of these preserved sites, it is natural for a historian to question their authenticity, although this does not interfere with the purpose of remembering those who fought here. Sanctuary Hill in particular has come in for criticism by those who feel the site has been more than 'recreated'. |
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 The museum contained some fascinating objects including a water pump, which must have seen a great deal of use in keeping the tunnels clear,
and mustard gas shells. Shells of all shapes and sizes are constantly coming up from the former battlegrounds every year, and a small munitions team are still kept in full employment in dealing with the on going problem. Near the entrance was a stack of shells recovered from this site by the landowner. The weather all day on our visit was showery, with a bitterly cold wind. The trenches here had become flowing streams with slimy, clinging mud everywhere. It was certainly a comfort to return to the warmth of the coach, but it really made you think hard about the conditions during WWI. |
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On the site today there is a demarcation stone at the road junction, indicating the nearest that the Germans ever got to Ypres in April 1918. The original crossroads was replaced by a roundabout in 1994. |
Unfortunately, time ran out and we were unable to complete the full tour of the Salient, which would have included Spanbroekmolen. This was the largest of the mines which were blown at the start of the assault on Messines Ridge. Work on it commenced on January the 1st, 1916, and the mine was effectively completed by the 26th of June, 1916. The long-term plans meant that it was not actually detonated until nearly a year later. Before it was blown, the mine was 88 feet deep, containing 91,000 lbs of ammonal. Once it was blown, the crater was 250 feet wide (with a 90 feet wide rim), and 40 feet deep. The crater was purchased in 1929 by Toc H and has thus been preserved. It was renamed "The Pool of Peace". The photograph shows the flooded crater of this huge mine the result of the explosion of 91,000 lb. of ammonal at 3.10 a.m on 7th June 1917.
Kieran bangs his head again Hayley wearing her regulation dainty white trench pumps hopes in vain to emerge from the tunnel clean and dry. She must have missed the 'sensible shoes' reminder on the what-to-bring list (or was that us teachers just being boring and lacking any sense of fashion?)
The Whitby High School, Cheshire County Council.
The name was given by the British troops who used its shelter to regroup during the 1st Battle of Ypres. The wood changed hands many times - notably in 1916 when the Canadians re-took the wood and Hill 62, just above the present museum site, only to lose it again shortly afterwards. In 1917 Sanctuary Wood was the starting point of several costly attacks during the opening days of the Passchendaele Offensive.
On our return we passed through