Not strictly Enfield, but I thought......

[Roger Payne]

these might be of interest. We all have preconceptions of the carnage of the Western Front; as many photographs from the time testify, but the Somme is now a beautiful place to behold. The photo's of the woodland are of High Wood, one of the most dangerous places on Earth in the High Summer & Autumn of 1916, & still supposed to contain anything up to 8,000 unrecovered British & German soldiers. In Summertime it is now quite stunning - though notice the gentle undulations amongst the bluebells - the infamous German 'Switch Line' exited the wood just at this point. And of course the shell craters are still there in their hundreds. The views of the river valley are of The Somme itself, photographed from The Belvedere at Vaux. This was in the French sector in 1916, but was subsequently taken over by the British after the German withdrawal to The Hindenburg Line.

I hope people find them of interest.

Information

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[Wayne T]

Great Pics, will get there myself oneday.

[Warren]

Now that we will both be retired (mind you I beat you by 16 years) I am still willing to redo the wiring for wine and a baguette at the " Somme Chalet" :-)##

[MGMike]

These are wonderful photos. I went to Verdun and Fort Vaux more than 45 years ago, and marveled even then how Nature had covered the wounds of a pitiless mankind.

M

[paulseamus]

Roger

Thank you for your photos.

The colour and vegetation are such a contrast to the historical photographs.

Please post more as they bring a reality to the history.

I am eagerly saving my pennies so that I may enjoy one of your tours and visit a particular cemetry near Warlencourt.

Thanks again

Paul

[Roger Payne]

Guys,
Thanks very much. If there is a bit of interest I'll see what other photo's I can dig up (if you'll forgive the expression).

Paul, if you have a family member in a Somme cemetery (might it be Warlencourt Military Cemetery?) I'll gladly take a photo of the grave stone for you next time I'm over. I've done this for one Aussie collector already. He bought a No32 bracket off me & we got talking on line & it turned out he has a relative in Warlencourt Cem. I took him a selection of pix & sent over. PM me your details if you'd like me to do the same. I'll be over at Easter & possibly before that at some point during next month.

Best

P.S. Warren, the wiring's up to latest French specs., but you can pop in for a baguette anyway!

[Roger Payne]

Hopefully the Devonshires pic of the cemetery at Mansell Copse will be self-explanatory, so long as the wording is legible on the photo. The war poet William Noel Hodgson lies in here.

Photo of overgrown dugout entrance at Suzanne, for the intrepid explorers amongst us. I've found quite a few over the years but have never had the bXXls to risk entering one...

A couple of Warlencourt Military Cemetery. Quite a few Aussies in here, a few Kiwi's, & of course, lots of Tommies.

P.S The component parts of the Livens flame projector that was excavated last Spring & featured in a Time Team special, were found only a few hundred meters fom The Devonshire's cemetery. I heard that Peter Barton was planning to return to the site with a view to recovering the rest of the projector (if it is still there), but I suspect he is rather busy with the La Boisselle tunnels/Glory Hole project at the moment.

[Surpmil]

In grimmer times.Attachment 31594

[Norton1]

Lovely photos - Fed by the blood of warriors and watered by the tears of God..