First World War Camps and Training Areas - Clwyd

Transcription

CPAT Report No 1311
First World War Commemoration
First World War Camps and Training Areas
SCHEDULING ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMME
THE CLWYD-POWYS ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST
Client name:
CPAT Project No:
Project Name:
Cadw
1860
First World War Commemoration
Report Title:
CPAT Report No:
Issue No:
Report status:
Confidential:
First World War Camps and Training Areas
1311
2
Final
No
Report Prepared by:
Position:
Completion date:
J Spencer
HER Officer
07 August 2015
Checked by:
R J Silvester
Checked on:
Position:
Head of Field Services
07 August 2015
Signed:
Bibliographic reference:
Spencer, J., 2015. First World War Camps and Training Areas: Scheduling Enhancement
Programme. Unpublished report. CPAT Report No. 1311.
The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
41 Broad Street, Welshpool, Powys, SY21 7RR
tel: 01938 553670, fax: 552179
email: [email protected]
www.cpat.org.uk
© CPAT 2015
Cover image: David B. Milne – Kinmel Park Camp: The Middle Section of the Camp from the
Hills above Kinmel. 14 January 1919.
(National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, © NGC).
1
CPAT Report No. 1311
First World War Camps & Training Areas
CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES
4
1
SUMMARY
5
2
INTRODUCTION
5
3
SCOPE OF THE WORK
5
4
PROJECT METHODOLOGY
7
5
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
7
6
THE CAMPS
a) Bettisfield Park, Hanmer
b) Caerwys
c) Crickhowell
d) (Cwmdauddwr), Rhayader
e) Cwm Gwdi, Brecon
f) Fenn’s Bank, Bronington
g) Foryd, Rhyl
h) Glanusk Park, Crickhowell
i) Gwaynynog, Denbigh
j) Gwernigron, St Asaph
k) Hay-on-Wye
l) Kinmel Park
m) Llangammarch Wells
n) Llangorse
o) Prestatyn
p) Rhos-on-Sea
q) Slwch, Brecon
r) Welshpool
s) Ystradgynlais
10
11
13
14
14
15
15
16
17
18
18
19
24
25
25
26
27
28
30
THE TRAINING AREAS
a) Bryn y cabanau, Wrexham
b) Bodelwyddan
c) Foryd, Rhyl
d) Heldre Hill, Long Mountain & Leighton
e) Kinmel Park
f) Vale of Clwyd
30
30
33
33
34
35
8
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER WORK
35
9
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
35
10
SOURCES
36
7
APPENDIX 1 – First World War era camps and associated sites
in east and north-east Wales.
2
42
Copyright Notice
This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance
Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown Copyright.
Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil
proceedings. Welsh Government. Licence Number: 100017916 (2015).
Atgynhyrchir y map hwn o ddeunydd yr Arolwg Ordnans gyda chaniatâd Arolwg Ordnans ar
ran Rheolwr Llyfrfa Ei Mawrhydi © Hawlfraint y Goron. Maeatgynhyrchu heb ganiatâd yn torri
Hawlfraint y Goron a gall hyn arwain at erlyniad neu achos sifil. Llywodraeth Cymru. Rhif
Trwydded: 100017916 (2015).
3
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Distribution map.
Figure 2: Officers' Mess, Bettisfield Camp.
Figure 3: The Camp, Caerwys.
Figure 4: Caerwys Camp, partial plan.
Figure 5: Royal Garrison Artillery Camp, Rhayader.
Figure 6: Women’s Land Army and Land Army Agricultural Section good service badge.
Figure 7: Volunteer Training Corps in Camp at Gwaynynog.
Figure 8: Kinmel Park Camp: Abandoned Training Trenches, David B Milne.
Figure 9: Dinner at 57th TRB, Kinmel Park Camp.
Figure 10: View of a hut, probably at Kinmel Park Camp.
Figure 11: Trenching. Probably the Trench Training Area at Kinmel Park Camp.
Figure 12: Sergeants at a tented camp.
Figure 13: Plan of Prestatyn Camp, 1914
Figure 14: Area of Slwch Camp, Brecon.
Figure 15: Photograph of Montgomeryshire Yeomanry camp at Hope.
Figure 16: Approximate areas of Kinmel Park Camp and training areas in Kinmel Park and
Bodelwyddan Castle Park.
Figure 17: An officer throws a hand grenade.
Figure 18: Training trenches in Kinmel Park.
4
1
SUMMARY
1.1
A study, funded by Cadw as part of the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust’s First
World War Commemoration project, was undertaken of camps and training areas in
east and north-east Wales, to attempt to quantify the resource and identify surviving
remains. While one or two other sites have some potential, it is clear that the training
area at Bodelwyddan is an exceptional site which merits further investigation.
2
INTRODUCTION
2.1
In 2013/14 with the approach of the centenary of the First World War and supported
by grant-aid from Cadw, the Welsh Archaeological Trusts turned their attention to
studies of the physical remains associated with the First World War. At the ClwydPowys Archaeological Trust this took the form of two scoping studies. The first
attempted to understand the size and nature of the likely surviving resource of
buildings, sites and structures in east and north-east Wales built or taken over for use
during the First World War, the results being presented in CPAT Report 1226. The
second focussed on the training camp at Kinmel Park and training landscapes in
Kinmel Park and Bodelwyddan Castle Park and generated CPAT Report 1255.
2.2
The scoping studies demonstrated the potential for the survival of remains of this
period, so a programme of thematically driven studies examining the heritage of the
First World War was devised. The proposed approach to be taken over several years
(subject to continued funding) relates to five broad themes identified in the Council
for British Archaeology’s Modern Military Matters publication, namely:
1. The militarised landscape
2. Research and Development and manufacturing
3. Infrastructure and support
4. Operations
5. Commemoration (Schofield 2004).
2.3
The present project is an examination of camps and training areas, within theme 1
above (the militarised landscape). The intention is to identify and record sites before
assessing the surviving resource and proposing examples for designation as Scheduled
Ancient Monuments, if appropriate. If evidence for other site types within the theme
comes to light during the course of the study, they will be considered in a similar
fashion to the camps. It is also hoped, in the course of this study, to place the training
camp at Kinmel Park and training landscapes in Kinmel Park and Bodelwyddan Castle
Park into the broader context of camps and training areas in the Clwyd-Powys region.
3
SCOPE OF THE WORK
3.1
This report provides information on army camps of the First World War in east and
north-east Wales, comprising Powys and the old county of Clwyd (now eastern Conwy,
Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham).
5
Figure 1: Distribution map of camps and training areas in this study
(This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of
Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to
prosecution or civil proceedings. Welsh Government. Licence Number: 100017916 (2015)).
6
3.2
For this study the definition of army camps has been borrowed from the English
Heritage England’s Army Camps project (see 5.15 below) and is
Sites used to accommodate large numbers of soldiers under canvas or in temporary or
semi-permanent hutting (Schofield 2006).
3.3
Camps of the regular army and the volunteer Yeomanry and Territorials (what we
would today call the reserves), constructed and used in the run up to the outbreak of
the war, during hostilities, or in its aftermath are considered in this work.
3.4
Throughout this report any numbers in brackets, except where they relate to written
references or archive catalogue numbers, refer to the Primary Record Numbers (PRNs)
assigned to the site, and which feature in the Historic Environment Record.
4
PROJECT METHODOLOGY
4.1
The four Welsh Archaeological Trusts are working to agreed guidelines, in order to
deliver consistent information to Cadw. At a project monitoring meeting with
Jonathan Berry of Cadw in May 2013 the Trusts agreed that their First World War deskbased assessment projects should utilise the same sources and site-type terms to
ensure common project outputs. It was agreed that the sources to be examined would
include Historic Environment Record (HER) data, National Monuments Record
(NMR) (and Coflein) data, secondary sources, historic Ordnance Survey mapping,
Britain from Above imagery, relevant Defence of Britain data and records held in local
record offices. It was further agreed that the project officers would employ the First
World War Site-Types Thesaurus (the FISH Thesaurus Listing) published by English
Heritage.
4.2
It is also proposed, by studying aerial photographs, to identify sites with potential for
surviving physical remains and to assess their archaeological significance in both a
regional and a national context.
4.3
Information will be fed back into the regional Historic Environment Records in order
to contribute to our understanding of the turbulent nature of the 20th century through
surviving military structures and provide a basis for future heritage management and
development control.
5
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
5.1
5.2
The Historic Environment Record (HER)
The first source consulted was the Historic Environment Record database. By
searching for terms such as army and military in the site type and description fields
about 20 sites of potential interest were identified. These formed the core of the project
database, to which other records were appended as they were recognised in other
sources, details of which follow below.
National Monuments Record (NMR) and Coflein
The NMR was visited as part of the First World War Scoping Study (CPAT Report 1226)
but failed to yield any relevant information, therefore a visit as part of this project was
not felt to be worthwhile. Coflein was searched for army and military site types in the
Clwyd-Powys region but no additional sites were identified.
7
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
5.10
The National Archives
Discovery, the online catalogue of The National Archives was searched by place name
for references to the army camps in this report. While no relevant documents held at
TNA were identified, records of interest held elsewhere, such as those relating to
Bettisfield Park at Liverpool Record Office, were located.
National Library of Wales (NLW)
Aquabrowser, the online catalogue of the National Library of Wales was used to
identify material relating to a camp at Brecon (132156) not previously recorded in the
Historic Environment Record.
National Gallery of Canada
CPAT’s scoping study of Kinmel Park Camp and Bodelwyddan Castle Park (CPAT
Report 1255) discovered that the artist David B Milne painted watercolours of Kinmel
Park Camp whilst stationed there in late 1918/early 1919. Scans of a selection of
paintings were purchased from the National Gallery of Canada and have added detail
to our knowledge of the camp immediately after the end of the war.
County Archives
The catalogues of Denbighshire, Flintshire and Powys archives were searched online
and produced information on four camps not previously recorded in the Historic
Environment Record; at Caerwys (132146), Prestatyn (132169), Rhayader (132154) and St
Asaph (132162). Particularly valuable are several photographs of camps, some of which
have been reproduced in this report. The catalogue of Conwy Archives did not yield
anything pertinent to this study.
Secondary sources
The publication in 2014 of The Story of Kinmel Park Military Training Camp 1914 to 1918
by Robert H Griffiths was timely, being very useful for adding details about Kinmel
Park Camp (17101). As ever, publications by Derrick Pratt and Mike Grant proved
invaluable in identifying sites of interest in north-east Wales such as Bettisfield Park
(64056) and Fenn’s Bank camps (132159).
Ordnance Survey maps
Digital Ordnance Survey historic mapping has been of limited value during this
assessment. The majority of camps studied were temporary, tented affairs of
insufficient permanence and longevity to be captured by the Ordnance Survey (Oliver
1993, 52).
Aerial photographs
Vertical aerial photographs taken by the RAF in the 1940s provided by the Central
Register of Air Photography for Wales proved helpful in identifying the army camp at
Cwm Gwdi, Brecknockshire (35094). The Britain from Above website yielded a July 1927
oblique aerial photograph from the Aerofilms collection of the practice trenches in
Bodelwyddan Park (23082) with huts at the eastern end of Kinmel Park Camp (17101)
in the background, the earliest confirmed aerial photographic evidence for the
trenches yet identified. Next Perspectives digital aerial photography provided by Welsh
Government was used to establish the potential for the survival of First World War era
remains at the study sites.
Online
The results of the National Library of Wales’ Cymru 1914 project (scans of
contemporary newspapers and other relevant original documentation) were searched
8
for references to army camps in the study area and proved to be a very useful resource,
returning information on six new sites: Crickhowell (132175), Hay-on-Wye (132176),
Llangorse (132178), Rhos-on-Sea (132179), Rhyl (132170) and Ystradgynlais (132180). In
addition, further information about 5 previously recorded sites was found.
5.11
The Council for British Archaeology’s Defence of Britain project database, hosted
online by the Archaeology Data Service, was searched for First World War remains in
each unitary authority in the Clwyd-Powys region, but no sites were returned.
5.12
biab online - the British and Irish Archaeological Bibliography was searched for
references to articles and books of relevance to this study but yielded nothing of
interest.
5.13
No new sites of interest were identified via the Imperial War Museum’s online
collections search facility, although details of features of the camps, and of camp life,
are likely to be forthcoming from recorded interviews held there.
5.14
The Peoples’ Collection Wales website was searched for images and other documentary
evidence for army camps in east and north-east Wales but no relevant information was
forthcoming.
5.15
Undertaken by English Heritage in 2006, the England's Army Camps project represents
the most recent and most detailed survey and analysis of camps in that country.
However, the first stage consists of a documentary study of the evidence for the
construction and use of army camps in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
between 1858 and 2000 and includes a gazetteer of all camps identified by the
documentary study and proved a useful cross-referencing tool. It also provides a good
history of the development of army camps in Britain.
5.16
Complementing the above is a list of camps in Wales compiled by Paul Francis,
Archivist and Chairman of the Airfield Research Group and posted on that
organisation’s Airfield Information Exchange (AiX) online forum. From it came basic
information on camps at Denbigh (132158) and Welshpool (132160).
5.17
5.18
Other
The writer is very grateful to Mr Jerry Bone for the loan of a remarkable primary source
of information, in the form of two volumes of journals: The Chronicle of Private Vernon
Williams, from Tal-y-Cafn, Caernarfonshire, who served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers
during the First World War. His numerous photographs show comrades at work and
play at several camps in the UK, including Kinmel Park Camp (where he appears to
have been based between late March and early July 1916). Unfortunately, it is
impossible to be certain that the photos reproduced here were taken at Kinmel (and
the adjacent training area at Bodelwyddan) because although names of individuals
were carefully recorded, dates and locations were less so. However, mention of the 57th
Training Reserve Battalion, which is known to have been based at Kinmel, the order
of appearance of the photos in the journals, and some of the details captured in the
background, make it likely that they were taken at Kinmel Park Camp.
Numerous contemporary postcards, usually of servicemen but with camps in the
background can be found on the websites of regimental museums and people’s private
collections shared on sites such as Flickr.
9
5.19
Lastly, the valuable assistance rendered by members of the public must be
acknowledged. Their help has been vital in identifying the location of the
Montgomeryshire Yeomanry Cavalry camp near Welshpool. Figure 15 was posted to
the CPAT Facebook page and very swiftly elicited detailed information subsequently
verified by use of Google Earth and a site visit.
6
THE CAMPS
a)
Bettisfield Park, Hanmer (Flints)
64056 SJ 45667 37606
Pratt and Pratt claim that a remount battalion camp was established in the grounds of
Bettisfield Park during the First World War, suggesting that its role was to process
horses. In his online list of army camps and barracks in Wales, Paul Francis attributes
the camp to the Royal Field Artillery (RFA). The two statements are complementary as
the RFA required large numbers of horses and confirmation of this comes from Pratt
and Grant (2005) with their assertion that peat from nearby Fenn's Moss was
transported to the wharf at Bettisfield for horse bedding at the artillery lines.
6.1
6.2
The camp doesn’t appear on the 3rd edition 1:10,560 OS map of 1914-15. However,
correspondence has been identified concerning compensation for damage to land at
Bettisfield Park leased to the War Department in 1915 for use as a camp. This material,
which includes a plan, is archived at Liverpool Record Office and in due course will be
accessed in order to establish the precise location of the camp and any additional
details therein. In the meantime, the grid reference above is for the approximate centre
of the park.
6.3
Newspaper articles of January and October 1917 accessed online at Cymru 1914.org
indicate the camp was still in use in 1917 and a postcard in Flintshire Archives shows
the YMCA hut at the camp decorated for a harvest festival, probably in October 1919,
so it would appear that the camp remained in use after the end of hostilities, at least
for a while. A second photograph, this time undated, from the private collection of the
late Derrick Pratt, shows the interior of the Officers' Mess. While only showing the
interiors of buildings, together the postcards indicate that the camp comprised timber
buildings.
6.4
Survival and significance
There are no signs on modern aerial photography of any surviving remains. The timber
buildings could be expected to have had concrete bases; however, if constructed, they
appear to have been removed along with the rest of the camp in the intervening years.
A complicating factor is that the park was also used as the site for an army camp in the
Second World War.
Cymru 1914.org; FCC PH4/16; Francis 2011; LRO 720KIR/3576; Pratt and Grant in Berry
et al 1996; Pratt & Grant 2005, 42-3; Pratt & Pratt 2000.
10
Figure 2: Officers' Mess, Bettisfield Camp during WWI
(D Pratt private collection, reproduced in Berry et al, 1996, pp63).
b)
6.5
6.6
Caerwys (Flints and Denbs)
132146 SJ 12108 71751 and SJ 12008 73332
A tented camp was constructed for a fortnight-long divisional army exercise in August
1909 and while predating the First World War by five years it has been included here
because it belongs to the period of increasing military activity in the United Kingdom
in response to the rise of Germany and because it is particularly well documented.
In excess of 12,000 men of the West Lancashire Division of the Territorial Force
participated in 1909. The main site (for three brigades of infantry) was at Croes-wian
to the north-west of Caerwys in fields west of Coed Maes-mynan (132152) where,
“the monotony of hundreds of bell tents in symmetrical lines is relieved by the marquees
of the Officers' and Sergeants' messes, the various store tents, the cook houses, ablutions
quarters and other erections of both canvas and wood” (unnamed reporter quoted in
Lloyd-Roberts, 1994, pp26).
Nearby were detachments of Royal Engineers and Field Ambulance units.
6.7
A second site was established at Afonwen, in fields either side of the railway line close
to Caerwys station for three brigades of artillery, a further Field Ambulance Unit and
the Divisional Transport and Supply Column Camp and Supply Depot (132153). The
general commanding the exercise had his HQ at Bryngwyn Hall (132171). The layout of
the whole camp, including the positions of horse troughs and the lines of the
11
temporary water supply taken from the Caerwys main, can be seen on a contemporary
annotated and coloured copy of the 1899 2nd edition 25” to the mile OS map held at
Flintshire Archives, part of which has been included below (Figure 4).
6.8
A photograph inscribed Caerwys 1910 has come to light indicating that the area, and
probably the same site, was employed at least once more after 1909. It might be
thought that camps of this sort made little permanent impact on the landscape, but
such sites actually retain high potential for buried archaeological evidence. Even the
sites of temporary camps may retain evidence for rubbish middens, lost small finds,
cut drains, cooking areas, latrines and so on. A note on the above-mentioned plan
refers to the removal of a fence between fields west of Coed Maes-mynan, presumably
to facilitate the erection of tents. However, it is marked on the next edition of the
Ordnance Survey (1953) so its removal was evidently a temporary affair. Modern aerial
photographic coverage shows no signs of the camp, though coincidentally Barlows
Caravan Park now occupies part of the site.
J. Bone pers. comm. 2015, FCC 13/63; FCC D/DM/121/5; Flickr; King's Own Royal
Regiment Museum; Lloyd-Roberts 1994, J. Berry pers. comm. 2015.
Figure 3: The Camp, Caerwys, probably a postcard published by the YMCA
(Image from Lloyd-Roberts 1994).
12
Figure 4: Caerwys Camp (part of the Croes-wian site), extract from plan of 1909
(Flintshire Record Office, D/DM/121/5).
c)
6.9
Crickhowell (Brecks)
132175 SO 21 18
The Brecon & Radnor Express of Thursday 4th June 1914 reported on a weekend camp
of the 1st Welsh Field Ambulance, RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) at Crickhowell
in June 1914 and alluded to a camp the previous year, presumably also at Crickhowell.
Although the article mentions that the men detrained at Gilwern (Mons) about four
miles to the south-east of the town, the precise location of the camp is not reported
and no further details have been found.
Cymru 1914.org
13
d)
6.10
6.11
6.12
(Cwmdauddwr), Rhayader (Rads)
132154 SN 94725 71437 or SN 91916 71195
A camp associated with an artillery testing range (132164) in the hills above Rhayader
active between 1903 and 1914.
An undated postcard from Powys Archives (see Figure 5 below) depicts a substantial
tented camp in an upland location (presumably in a similar area to the gun
emplacements) while the Elan Valley Trust claim that the Lion Royal Hotel, Rhayader
was the HQ for the officers and other ranks were billeted in a tented camp in fields
near Nannerth Fawr, Cwmdauddwr. Unfortunately, this information isn’t attributed to
a source but it is possible that the camp changed location during the life of the range.
This temporary canvas camp was not mapped by the Ordnance Survey and no plan has
as yet come to light. It has left no traces in the fields at Nannerth Fawr that are
discernible on modern aerial photography.
Elan Valley Trust 2015, PCC B/X/10/7.
Figure 5: Royal Garrison Artillery Camp, Rhayader, undated postcard
(Powys County Archives Office, B/X/10/7).
e)
6.13
Cwm Gwdi, Brecon (Brecs)
35094 SO 02463 24879
A small tented army camp was established during the late Victorian era in association
with a rifle range further up the valley to the south (34080). It remained in use during
the First World War, was retained after 1918 and had buildings added before 1947 when
they were photographed from the air by the RAF. Several lengths of trench dug near
the camp may date to the First World War era but may also have been dug in training
for the Boer War or for one of the other conflicts fought by the British Army up until
14
the 1980s, when regular use of the site by the army came to an end. The aerial
photographic evidence all post-dates the period which is the focus of this study but
the 1947 frames show what appear to be the impressions left by two or three rows of
circular tents, suggesting that even after the construction of buildings,
accommodation under canvas was still employed.
6.14
6.15
It is likely that any infrastructure pertaining to the accommodation at the camp used
during the First World War was replaced when the first buildings were erected, these
have all now been cleared, leaving just their concrete bases.
In 2014 parts of the former camp were surveyed by volunteers under the guidance of a
member of National Trust staff on a Council for British Archaeology Community
Archaeology Bursary. Lengths of trench were still visible at that time and were
recorded, but from descriptions received from the National Trust they would appear
to post-date the period of this study.
National Trust; RAF CPE/UK/2079 Frames 2269-2273; RAF 58/3609 Frames 340-343.
f)
6.16
Fenn’s Bank, Bronington (Flints)
132159 SJ 50 38
Pratt and Grant state that by 1st July 1916 a new camp had been established for troops
training on the North-East Fenn’s rifle ranges (87308) with a capacity for 1000 men
under canvas. It is also noted by Francis in his list of camps in Wales. It has not so far
been possible to establish the duration of its period of use, nor its precise location.
Francis 2011; Pratt and Grant 1996.
g)
6.17
6.18
Foryd, Rhyl (Denbs)
132170 SH 98 80
The existence of a camp or camps at Rhyl is known from two primary sources. A
lengthy Flintshire Observer article of August 1913 reported a very successful camp,
under canvas of four battalions (some 4000 men) of the North Wales Infantry Brigade
of the Territorial Force, at Foryd to the west-south-west of the town. The second source
is a photograph (probably a postcard) from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regimental
Museum showing medical staff at a camp of the Denbighshire Hussars at Rhyl in 1914,
behind whom can be seen numerous bell tents, two marquees, the ubiquitous flagpole
and horses (presumably belonging to the hussars). An album of photographs of The
Cheshire Regiment Camp at Rhyl dated 1914 held at the Cheshire Military Museum in
Chester may provide the detail necessary to determine whether the site at Foryd was
reused by different regiments or whether different locations at the town were utilised,
but it has not yet been possible to visit Chester to check.
There is no camp noted in or near Rhyl on the 3rd edition 1:10,560 scale map of 1914 and
there are also open spaces suitable for a camp to the east-north-east of the town. Foryd
possesses good road and rail links and a rifle range is also shown nearby. Just
discernible in the background of the photograph of the 1914 Denbighshire Hussars
Camp are the masts of a sailing ship which supports Foryd as being the location of this
camp, it being likely that the ship is berthed at the mouth of the River Clwyd. Despite
all this it has not been possible to identify its location with greater certainty than to
the nearest kilometre square.
15
Since the First World War the area of Foryd has been developed for a holiday camp
and subsequently housing and this, coupled with the fact that the camps only
consisted of tents, makes it unlikely that any substantial remains survive.
6.19
CMM CHEM 0014.02.08; Cymru 1914.org; MRO(MA) 1456/9; RWFRM 7246a.
h)
6.20
6.21
Glanusk Park, Crickhowell
130936 SO 19629 19472
A newspaper article of July 1918 reported that in the previous month a Women’s
L.A.A.S. (Land Army Agricultural Section) camp was established in Glanusk Park and
became home to 26 L.A.A.S recruits. It was hoped that a further eleven would shortly
join them for training on neighbouring farms. The women lived in tents and Lord
Glanusk selected the site for the camp, close to a safe bathing pool on the River Usk
(which forms the eastern and northern boundaries of the park). He also offered to lend
timber for a bath house, cook house, store hut, and drying hut, although it is not
recorded whether these were actually built.
The park was used again during the Second World War, limiting the likelihood that
traces of the L.A.A.S. camp survive; therefore, the grid reference above is for the centre
of the park.
Cymru 1914.org; IWM, 2014.
Figure 6: Women’s Land Army and Land Army Agricultural Section good service badge
(© IWM (INS 8096)).
16
i)
6.22
6.23
Gwaynynog, Denbigh (Denbs)
132158 SJ 03399 65353
Francis lists a camp at Denbigh as a pre-WWI Volunteer/Territorial Force Annual
Camp but gives no further details as to its location. However, an extract from the diary
of D.S. Foulkes-Roberts lodged with Denbighshire Archives provides details of a tented
weekend camp at Gwaynynog to the south-west of the town in August 1916. It seems
logical therefore that these camps were one and the same. The diary keeper's father,
A. Foulkes-Roberts, was Company Commander of the Denbigh Company, Denbigh
Volunteer Regiment at the time and 2 photographs in the diary show troops parading.
In the background can be seen bell tents, a marquee and a flagpole. About 150 men
were in the August 1916 camp, which was described as being about a mile from Denbigh
on the Bylchau Road. The parkland at Gwaynynog would have made a suitable location
and the given grid reference is for the approximate centre of the park. An article in the
Denbighshire Free Press reported that the Denbighshire Volunteers camped at
Gwaynynog again, at Whitsuntide 1917.
Unsurprisingly, this temporary canvas camp was not mapped by the Ordnance Survey,
even though it is likely to have been used on more than one occasion. It has left no
discernible traces.
DCC DD DM 770 7; Francis 2011.
Figure 7: Volunteer Training Corps in Camp at Gwaynynog, a postcard from the diary of D.S.
Foulkes-Roberts (Denbighshire Archive Service, DD/DM/770/7).
17
j)
6.24
Gwernigron, St Asaph (Flints)
132162 SJ 02 75
Two letters, dated 1914, from the staff of the Midland Divisional Union of YMCAs in
Flintshire Archives, first drew attention to the presence of a camp at St Asaph.
“From a note in our local paper I notice that it is the desire of the Inhabitants of your
City to accord a welcome to the Staffordshire Territorials when they come in to Camp in
August and from the behaviour of these men when they have visited other towns in Wales
and elsewhere I am sure you will have no cause to regret their stay.” (Letter by Carey M
Livens, Hon. Treasurer, Midland Divisional Union of YMCAs to W Davies Esq., June
1914). Mr Livens goes on to mention that no Territorials have been encamped at St
Asaph before.
6.25
The YMCA were granted permission to erect marquees within the camp, one 90ft by
30ft in size (“which will be seated for 300 and will hold twice that number”) and the other
60ft by 30ft, to provide facilities for Reading & Writing and Refreshment & Recreation.
A post office, savings bank and temperance refreshment stall are also mentioned,
although it is possible these were accommodated within the marquees.
6.26
The camp was apparently a temporary establishment of tents and was sited at
Gwernigron just outside St Asaph in the direction of Rhuddlan. A short advertisement
in the Denbighshire Free Press seems to confirm its temporary existence, while also
suggesting that it may also have comprised timber buildings. On 7th October 1915 there
was to be a sale at Gwernigron Camp, organised by Clough & Co, Auctioneers, of
Denbigh upon the termination of a War Department Contract. For sale were a:
“Quantity of Timber, Flooring Boards, Scantlings, and Wooden Buildings, Corrugated
Sheets, Shedding, Suitable for Stables or Lock-Up Stores, &c., &c.” (Denbighshire Free
Press, Saturday 25th of September 1915).
It is possible that this material came from the camp upon its closure; apparently the
men at Gwernigron were transferred to Kinmel Park Camp.
6.27
Unfortunately, no detail of the plan of the camp has come to light and it is not depicted
by the Ordnance Survey. There are no traces of the camp visible on modern aerial
coverage and marks visible on the fields around Gwernigron are more likely to be
fluvial or geological.
J. Bone pers. comm. 2015; Cymru 1914.org; FCC PC/57/44.
k)
6.28
Hay-on-Wye (Brecs)
132176 SO 24 39
The Brecon and Radnor Express of 4th June 1914 reports on a successful camp of the
Brecknockshire Battalion of Territorials on the Black Mountain near Hay over a
weekend in late May. The location of the camp can be more precisely identified from
a second, fuller article, published on the same day in the Brecon County Times, which
states that camp was pitched “at the foot of the Black Mountain above New Forest
Farm”, a location apparently used some 20 years previously for an artillery camp. New
Forest Farm lies some 2.5 miles south-east of Hay and the grid reference given above
is for the km square in which the farmhouse lies. Accommodation was under canvas
and a recreation tent was provided. Some 120 officers and men conducted practice in
18
attack and defence of a position in the uplands and with the help of Hay Boy Scouts, a
“scheme of manoeuvres” was undertaken in the landscape between Hay and
Abergavenny.
6.29
While there are several fields around New Forest Farm which would appear suitable
for a tented camp it has not been possible to identify which were used in June 1914.
Cymru 1914.org.
l)
6.30
Kinmel Park (Flints and Denbs)
17101 SH 98715 75673
Built in late 1914 by McAlpines, Kinmel Park Camp was constructed in parkland largely
requisitioned from the Kinmel estate. It was at the time the largest army camp in Wales
and by 1919 measured over 2km long with a width of up to 0.75km. It was initially
intended for the training of the Welsh Army Corps. It was planned that the camp
would primarily provide soldiers with a certain amount of military training before they
were sent overseas to the battle zones.
6.31
Kinmel Park Camp consisted of twenty sub-camps, each with their own canteens and
messes as well as accommodation and rooms for instruction, in timber and corrugated
iron huts. There was also a headquarters, stores, a Post Office, bakery, theatre/cinema,
Wesleyan chapel, Free Church, Salvation Army and three YMCA buildings. There were
stables and training areas for bayonet practice and trench fighting within the camp
and extensive use was made of detached training areas in parkland in the locality as in
Bodelwyddan Park (23082) but possibly also in Kinmel Park (129623). The camp was
served by its own railway (129738) and near the main gate on the Abergele road (the
old A55) was a tin-town of corrugated iron shops (132182) set up by local people.
6.32
A plan was published by Putkowski in 1989 but to date no contemporary plan of the
camp has been identified, although further detail is provided by the 1918-19 paintings
of Canadian artist David B Milne. Two, painted from high ground to the west and
south-west, show the scale of the camp with its rows and rows of huts. That entitled
Kinmel Park Camp: The Middle Section of the Camp from the Hills above Kinmel
(reproduced on the cover of this report) is particularly useful in that a YMCA building,
Church Army Hut, Free Church Hall and Garrison Theatre are labelled, along with Tin
Town and the settlements of Prestatyn, Rhuddlan and Dyserth. Kinmel Park Camp:
Abandoned Training Trenches (see Figure 8 below) features part of a trench system in
the foreground and the camp beyond. The proximity of the camp negates these being
the trenches in Bodelwyddan Castle Park (23082); therefore they are likely to be part
of the Trench Training Area shown on Putkowski’s plan south of Camp 18 and the main
east-west road through the camp. However, it has not been possible confidently to
match the painting to the plan; either blocks of huts have been omitted from
Putkowski’s plan (possibly to make room for labels), or Milne has employed artistic
licence. Comparison with a photograph in Vernon Williams’ journal (see Figure 11),
while faint, suggests the former as there is a marked similarity between them. Kinmel
Park Camp: Dinner is Served gives an impression of the kitchens: larger, open buildings
with tall windows and back-to-back rows of solid fuel cookers and ranges.
6.33
Various photographs and postcards of the camp survive in Denbighshire Archives and
private collections, not least in the journals of Vernon Williams (see 5.17). They show
that the main entrance appears to have utilised an existing gateway of the Kinmel
19
estate (41026) with the addition of a flag pole just inside the gate. Another estate
entrance in St George (41018) at the north-west end of the camp may also have been
used to access the camp, and an additional camp entrance was created near Tin-Town.
The barrack huts were single storey, set on concrete bases and of timber- framed
construction; with an external cladding of horizontal boards or sheets of corrugated
iron, an internal lining of vertical boards (and possibly asbestos or plywood sheets
according to another painting by Milne), and pitched roofs (which appear to have been
felted). Windows were located in the long walls and had hinged top halves which
opened by tilting inwards; doors of vertical boards were located in the gable ends.
Several photographs show metal flues from heating stoves projecting through the hut
walls and connecting to external, tubular metal chimneys topped with cowls. Many of
the huts were arranged end-on to, and on either side of, paths and had duckboards
leading from the paths to the doors. Photographs show that gardens were created in
front of some of the huts.
20
Figure 8: Kinmel Park Camp: Abandoned Training Trenches. c. December 1918 – 17 January 1919
(National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, © NGC).
21
6.34
6.35
The YMCA recreation buildings were larger, the Central Pavilion substantially so, yet
also timber-framed. The Central Pavilion was painted black and white to imitate a
Tudor timber-framed building, and had 'YMCA' and 'CINEMA & CONCERTS' painted
in white on the roof; slatted vents were located along the ridge. Elsewhere in the camp
there was a raised, polygonal, timber bandstand reached by two or three steps of brick
or concrete. Roads were flanked by the ubiquitous whitewashed boulders seen at
virtually all military establishments.
The camp was cleared in about 1920, presumably at least in part as a consequence of
the damage cause by the 1919 riots, an auction catalogue for the disposal of equipment
from Camp 20 in the collections of the National Library of Wales would support this
and there are no upstanding remains of First World War era buildings surviving on the
site. However, it would appear that several huts were dismantled, sold and re-erected
elsewhere in north Wales. Kinmel Camp huts are believed to stand in Bodelwyddan
Castle Park (129616), at Rhewl (132150), Rhyl (129635), Trefnant (132174) and even
Llanfair PG on Anglesey; others once stood at Bodelwyddan Castle (129609, 129610 and
129611), Gwernaffield (132173) and Meliden (132151) but have since been demolished.
6.36
The 4th edition 1:10,560 scale OS map of 1953 shows numerous tracks through the
western section of the camp which was returned to the estate after the First World
War. While some are estate drives and others are likely to relate to the planting of the
woodland now covering the site, one or two might date to the First World War era.
6.37
Earthworks and structures were identified by CPAT during a site visit, as part of a 2011
Better Woodlands for Wales application, to an area of the Kinmel Park Estate thought
to have been at the western end of the First World War camp. These appear to be the
remains of the trench training area (115308), with trenches surviving to a depth of 0.5m0.75m in places and around 1m-1.5m in width. Building bases (115310, 115311, 115313,
115314) and other structures, the purposes of which are unclear (115309, 115312), may be
survivals of Camp 20, or ‘Western Ontario’ as it was known in 1919. This suggests that
there may be more surface and sub-surface remains of Kinmel Park Camp surviving
than initially thought.
6.38
An approach was made to Mr Dickon Fetherstonhaugh, owner of the Kinmel Park
Estate in 2013 with the aim of gaining access to that part of the former Kinmel Park
Camp in his ownership, which includes the area described in 6.36 above.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the activities for which it is now used (which
include police dog training and deer stalking), he felt unable to grant permission.
6.39
Local researcher Jerry Bone claims to have located a second site where at least five
building bases remain, along with surface scatters of artefacts. If the remains at either
of these sites can be established with confidence as dating to the First World War they
would be significant remains in the context of the First World War in Wales.
J. Bone pers. comm. 2015; Cymru 1914.org; FCC NC/819; FCC NC/772-774; Griffiths 2014;
K. Mason pers. comm. 2013; NGC8498, 8499, 8511, 8512, 8516, 8529; Putkowski 1989;
Spencer 2014; Williams 1916.
22
Figure 9: Dinner at 57th TRB. The 57th Training Reserve Battalion, Kinmel Park Camp, 1916
(From the journals of Vernon Williams, courtesy of Jerry Bone).
Figure 10: Cartwright. View of hut, probably at Kinmel Park Camp, 1916 behind
23
Figure 11: Trenching. Probably the Trench Training Area within Kinmel Park Camp, 1916.
Note buildings just visible in background
m)
6.40
Llangammarch Wells (Brecs)
130759 SN 95 48
From information gleaned from a postcard reproduced below and extracts from the
Brecon County Times dating to 1913, it has been possible to establish that a tented
training camp of about three weeks duration was established on land at Tyncoed Farm
to the north-east of Llangammarch Wells in May of that year. The Welsh Border
Mounted Brigade (of the Territorial Force), consisting of the Shropshire, Cheshire, and
Denbighshire Yeomanry Regiments and amounting to over 1500 men engaged in
manoeuvres and practice on Mynydd Epynt to the south-south-east.
“Much of the time will be devoted to rifle practice and cavalry work on the neighbouring
Epynt Hills, a range excellently adapted for the purpose.” (Brecon County Times, 8th
May 1913).
6.41
6.42
The weather was apparently so poor during the period of the camp that the worst
affected squadrons of cavalry were moved to new ground. During the course of the
exercises two squadrons of the Cheshire Yeomanry spent a night camped on the east
side of the Epynt, at Upper Chapel, before retreating to Brecon.
No plan of the camp has come to light and it was not mapped by the Ordnance Survey.
There are no traces of it visible in the fields around Tyncoed Farm on the modern aerial
coverage.
Brecon County Times 1913 and postcard via Dyfed Archaeological Trust.
24
Figure 12: Sergeants at a tented camp, probably that at Llangammarch Wells in May 1913. On
the reverse is the postmark “Llangammarch Wells / A / May 16 / 13”, an address in Cheshire
and a comment about having ‘removed our camp to next field’ (see 6.40 above).
n)
6.43
Llangorse (Brecs)
132178 SO 13 27
A camp for Officers' Training Corps cadets from King Edward's School, Bath was held
at Llangorse for three and a half weeks in August 1918 to help with the harvest on local
farms. Again, the existence of the camp was recognised from an article in a
contemporary newspaper, but it gives no detail of its location and layout. Mention of
a tent mallet tossing contest, however, gives an indication of the type of
accommodation provided!
Cymru 1914.org.
o)
6.44
Prestatyn (Flints)
132169 SJ 0614 8196
The presence of a First World War army camp at Prestatyn is attested to by a file of
miscellaneous papers including a copy of a plan dated 1914 lodged at Flintshire
Archives. The camp lay in a triangle of land between Penrhwylfa (now Fforddissa) and
Meliden Roads and consisted of about eight fields, several presumably for tents but
including a Drill Field, a Driving Field and one for a Brigade Headquarters. Standpipes,
washing places and horse troughs were connected to a water main, and cookhouses,
incinerators and latrines erected. The Flintshire Observer of 11th June 1914 mentions a
camp of the Lancashire Fusiliers at Prestatyn in a report of two accidents to
servicemen.
25
6.45
The majority of the area of the camp has been developed for housing since the First
World War, but one field to the south of Princes’ Avenue (B on Figure 13 below)
remains undeveloped as the playing field for Ysgol y Llys. There is the potential here
for small finds and buried evidence for two latrines, an incinerator, a horse trough, two
washing places and up to six cookhouses.
J. Bone pers. comm. 2015; Cymru 1914.org; FCC UD/E/5/6/2.
Figure 13: Plan of Prestatyn Camp, 1914
(Flintshire Record Office, UD/E/5/6/2).
p)
6.46
Rhos-on-sea (Denbs)
132179 SH 83 80
A camp of the Denbighshire Volunteers of at least five days duration was held at Rhoson-Sea in August 1917 and reported on by the Denbighshire Free Press. An account of
a tour of inspection by Brigadier-General Cuthbertson from Kinmel Park Camp reveals
that accommodation comprised tents, with stores and an efficient camp kitchen. It has
26
not been possible to ascertain the precise location of the camp and the grid reference
above is for the kilometre square in which the town lies.
Cymru 1914.org.
q)
6.47
6.48
Slwch, Brecon (Brecs)
132156 SO 06217 28134
Twelve buildings are depicted on the 2nd edition OS 25" to the mile map of 1904 on
land that had formerly been used as a rifle range (89157), possibly associated with the
Victorian Brecon Barracks (59499). In 1914 land at this location was bought by the War
Office from the Tredegar Breconshire Estate for the construction of Slwch Camp for
the army. Correspondence, a valuation and a plan are lodged at the National Library
of Wales. The plan is an annotated copy of the 2nd edition OS 1:10,560 scale map of
1905 with five fields outlined in red, presumably the planned extent of the camp. On
the reverse is the annotation Plan to accompany letter to Messrs Harris & Thomas, 17
August 1914. It is unclear whether the First World War camp utilised the existing
buildings, whether new ones were constructed, or whether tents were employed. The
site was redeveloped, expanded and named Dering Lines (132157) in 1939 and today is
the British Army’s Infantry Battle School.
According to the Brecon County Times a temporary camp of the Welsh Border
Mounted Brigade (see 6.31 above) was also held at Brecon in 1911, but no further details
have been forthcoming.
“This very smart body of territorial cavalry will be well remembered in Breconshire,
having trained at Brecon two years ago, with that distinguished Welshman, Lord
Kenyon, as their colonel”. (Brecon County Times, 8th May 1913).
6.49
From study of the OS maps it would appear that the buildings depicted on the map of
1904/5 had all been cleared by 1953 as Dering Lines expanded, and it is considered
highly unlikely that there are any surviving traces of the First World War camp or of
the earlier rifle range.
Cymru 1914.org; NLW 154/299-303.
27
Figure 14: Area of Slwch Camp, Brecon as depicted on purchase documentation dated 1914
(Reproduced from the 1904 Ordnance Survey map).
r)
6.50
6.51
Hope, Welshpool (Monts)
132160 SJ 2473 0771
Francis records that Welshpool was the site of a pre-First World War
Volunteer/Territorial Force Annual Camp and ascribes a date of 1907. A photograph
from Powysland Museum inscribed J H Anderson, Welshpool, shows a camp of the
Montgomeryshire Yeomanry Cavalry on land at Hope Lane, between Buttington and
Leighton, probably taken in 1912. The field at the above grid reference held the main
concentration of men and horses, with at least one tent and another construction of
wood and canvas in the field to the north (the field at the left of the photograph). In
the main field horses can be seen tethered in lines, with the tents and marquees of the
camp beyond. A sentry box stands at the entrance to the field and set a little apart are
other constructions, of wood and canvas, which may be latrines. The quality of the
photograph is such that clear detail of the post and wire tethering lines for the horses
can be seen. The men are wearing distinctive bush hats harking back to the regiment’s
service in South Africa in 1900 and 1901, during the Boer War.
From checking the modern aerial photographs and a field visit it is clear that there are
no signs of past military activity on the surface of the fields at this location. The fields
are prime arable land close to the Severn and have been regularly ploughed; the field
boundary to the north-east has also been moved since 1912. There is little chance of a
clear archaeological footprint surviving with tent pegs and tethering posts having been
hammered into the ground.
Anderson nd; Francis 2011; C. Rogers pers. comm. 2015.
28
Figure 15: Photograph of Montgomeryshire Yeomanry camp at Hope inscribed J H Anderson, Welshpool (courtesy of Powysland Museum).
29
s)
6.52
Ystradgynlais (Brecs)
132180 SN 78 10
The Brecon County Times article of June 1914 about the Breconshire Territorials camp
at Hay (see 6.27 above) mentions in passing a similar camp at Ystradgynlais (so
presumably also for Territorials). However, no further information about it has been
found to date.
Cymru 1914.org.
7
THE TRAINING AREAS
a)
Bryn-y-cabanau (Denbs)
132163 SJ 34019 48660
The valley of the River Clywedog between King’s Mills Bridge and Erddig may have
been used as a training area by troops of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers based at the nearby
Hightown Barracks (129626) during the First World War. There is certainly a history
of military activity in this valley, with two Volunteers’ rifle ranges depicted at the
southern end of this area on the 1st edition OS 25” to the mile map of 1872 and a third,
on a slightly different alignment, on the 2nd edition of 1899. This third range remains
in use into the First World War period and beyond, appearing as it does on the 3rd
edition 1:10,560 map of 1915.
7.1
7.2
A letter dated 7th May 1915 to Philip Yorke, the owner of Erddig from an officer of the
Royal Welsh Fusiliers suggests a larger area, rather than just the rifle range, was
utilised. The correspondent thanks Yorke for allowing his land to be used as a training
ground, enabling the officer to draw his men together, something he claims would have
been impossible without use of the Park.
M. Grant pers. comm. 2014; Jarrett 2014.
b)
7.3
7.4
Bodelwyddan (Denbs)
23082 SH 999 742
Griffiths states that the training area in the park at Bodelwyddan Castle was established
at the same time as Kinmel Park Camp, in late 1914. The earliest evidence for a military
presence in Bodelwyddan Park yet found relates to an officer saving lives during hand
grenade training in September and October 1916.
First World War training trenches extend over several hectares of parkland at
Bodelwyddan Castle. Jon Berry of Cadw explains the reasons for their creation, “the
trenches were built so that soldiers could practice constructing, living in and fighting
in the conditions that they would encounter on the Western Front. The construction
of these trenches also developed physical fitness, ingrained drill routines and
established esprit de corps”. Routes into the trench systems can be recognised, and
troops passed along zigzag communication trenches through parallel reserve (3rd) and
support (2nd) lines on their way to the fire trenches as they would have expected to do
when they reached the front. Several different traces of trench (a plan view of a length
of trench is known as the trace of trench) are recognisable, including the island
traverse (earth banks called traverses were constructed to protect soldiers from
enfilading fire from an enemy entering the trench). There also appear to be dugouts
(perhaps for command posts or first-aid stations), passing bays, saps (trenches dug out
30
into ‘no-man’s land’ from the front line) and redoubts (strongholds). Other features in
the training area visible on aerial photographs have yet to be interpreted.
7.5
From the study of the photographs it seems that there were several distinct groups of
trenches in the parkland, some perhaps dug as opposing systems and presumably
indicating that the training area was in use throughout the First World War. Over
much of the area circular craters indicate that efforts were made to create a realistic
battle landscape for troops to negotiate. Rather than bombarding the trenches, the
craters were created artificially by detonating charges set in the ground. None of the
craters have damaged the trenches and none overlap any other. The craters are all a
regular circular shape on plan, by contrast incoming projectiles create an elliptical
crater with a pronounced throw of spoil forwards of the impact point. Some of the
craters have been joined by digging between them. There is also what may be the site
of a remote observation post or machine gun emplacement on slightly higher ground
(132340) overlooking part of the training area. In 2001 a section of tunnel (129936) was
discovered to the north-north-west of this feature, which was traced for 18 paces
running from north-north-east to south-south-west, but has yet to be investigated
further due to concerns over having to work in a confined space.
7.6
During the course of research for this project the earliest aerial photographic evidence
for the Bodelwyddan Castle Park trenches was identified, with an Aerofilms image from
1927 showing disused trenches towards the northernmost extent of the complex. The
journals of Vernon Williams may hold particularly rare treasures, photographs of the
Bodelwyddan trenches in use during the First World War. Two images (see Figure 15
below) of an officer throwing a hand grenade may have been taken in Bodelwyddan
Castle Park in 1916. He stands on a patch of bare ground with what appear to be
trenches in the fore and background, one of which may have a revetment of rough
hurdle.
7.7
The trenches were re-discovered by CPAT staff in 1992 during an assessment for
development in the castle grounds and in 1995 a well-preserved section and the
possible command post were given statutory protection as a Scheduled Ancient
Monument (SAM FL186). Interpretation boards have been erected by Bodelwyddan
Castle Trust but aerial photographic coverage suggests the scheduled area forms only
part of a more extensive trench system, or is one of a series of systems in the park no
longer easily discernible at ground level. Other areas of trenches have been backfilled
and are now visible only as soilmarks and marks in pasture on post-Second World War
and later aerial photographs. The full extent of the trenches appears to have survived
until sometime between 1948 and 1954 when an Aerofilms image shows the trenches
in the field at the south-east extent of the area to have been backfilled.
Berry 2014 & pers. comm. 2015; Cadw 2008; Griffiths 2014; Spencer 2014; Williams 1916.
31
Figure 16: Approximate areas of Kinmel Park Camp and training areas in Kinmel Park and Bodelwyddan Castle Park.
(This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown Copyright.
Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Welsh Government. Licence Number: 100017916 (2015)).
32
Figure 17: An officer throws a hand grenade, possibly at Bodelwyddan Castle Park in 1916
c)
7.8
Foryd, Rhyl, No.3 Manoeuvring Area (Denbs)
132184 SH 98 80
The Flintshire Observer article of August 1913 about the North Wales Infantry Brigade
camp at Foryd (see 6.16 above) mentions that an inspection was held on the No.3
Manoeuvring Area connected with the Foryd Camp. However, no further information
about it has been found to date. Presumably therefore, there were also No.1 and No.2
Manoeuvring Areas and while these might have been within the camp it is possible
they were separate distinct areas. The grid reference above is therefore the same as
that for the Foryd camp.
Cymru 1914.org.
d)
7.9
Heldre Hill, Long Mountain and Leighton, Montgomeryshire Yeomanry
manoeuvring grounds (Monts)
130733 SJ 24 05, SJ 27 07, SJ 28 09
A large area of upland to the east of Welshpool, comprising Heldre Hill, the Long
Mountain and around Leighton was used as manoeuvring grounds by the
Montgomeryshire Yeomanry (a volunteer cavalry unit) in the early 20th century. In 1912
a temporary camp at Welshpool (132160) was located nearby.
Williams-Wynn and Freeman 1909.
33
e)
7.10
7.11
Kinmel Park (Denbs)
129623 SH 98085 75082
A probable First World War military training area including trench systems for
training troops. Several areas of trenches have been identified within the park from
vertical aerial photographs. South of the main house a very crisp, symmetrical trench
system (129617) comprises opposing crenellated firing and support trenches and there
are at least five other areas of trenches or military excavations and a building visible
on RAF aerial photographs taken in 1946 (129618, 129619, 129620, 129621, 129622). While
it is likely that Kinmel Park was used for training during the First World War
conclusive proof has not yet been obtained; it is likely that some of the trenches were
dug during the inter-war period or the Second World War.
The trenches visible on the 1946 photographs have all been backfilled since that date,
but despite this, surface marks are discernible on modern aerial coverage.
Google Earth; Next Perspectives; RAF CPE/UK/1996 frame 4253; RAF 3G/TUD/UK/33
frames 5411-15; Spencer 2013.
Figure 18: Training trenches in Kinmel Park (129617), extract from RAF photograph
3G/TUD/UK/33 frame 5413 of 1946.
(Courtesy of the Central Register of Air Photography for Wales).
34
f)
7.12
Vale of Clwyd (Denbs)
132183 SJ 00 78
The newspaper article about the camp at Foryd, Rhyl in summer 1913 mentions that
the brigade proceeded to their drill ground on the outskirts of the Vale of Clwyd. Other
than this hint however, it has not been possible to identify any other details about this
possible training area and only a very approximate grid reference has been allocated.
Cymru 1914.org.
8
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER WORK
8.1
This study has established that surviving traces of camps and training areas of the First
World War era in east and north-east Wales are scarce. Concrete building bases,
overgrown earthworks and artefact scatters are all that remain of Kinmel Park Camp,
although transplanted huts may survive at Bodelwyddan, Rhewl, Rhyl and Trefnant. It
is believed that the trees that once covered the former trench training area at the camp
have recently been felled and new ones planted; it is hoped that the remains haven’t
suffered as a result. A fresh approach to the landowner for permission to access, or at
least discuss the site, might be timely.
8.2
The visible practice trenches in Bodelwyddan Castle Park are worthy of their
Scheduled status, particularly with those once visible in Kinmel Park now backfilled.
Plotting the full extent of the trench systems from 1940s aerial photographs and
surveying those that survive using an EDM would be appropriate next stages of work.
From this could be established the full extent of the wartime excavations at
Bodelwyddan, the two plots could be compared to identify the amount of backfilling
that has occurred and the full extent of the surviving earthworks would be established
for the first time. It is possible that specific elements of the resource would be
recognised and the beginnings of a site development chronology established. The
implementation of changes to battlefield tactics and training as the war progressed
may also be revealed.
8.3
The trenches at Cwm Gwdi should be compared to those at Bodelwyddan and Kinmel
in an attempt to determine whether they belong to the same era. Their extent and
condition could then be assessed to see whether they merit statutory protection.
8.4
A programme of structured metal detecting might result in the more precise location
of some of the camps, as distinctive artefacts are likely to survive in the soil.
9
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
9.1
The writer is grateful to for the assistance of Kate Pitt and Bob Silvester of CPAT who
made copies of documents during visits to local archives and the National Library of
Wales in December 2014 and January 2015. Colleagues Ian Grant and Richard
Hankinson provided welcome support and assistance. Thanks go to Cadw for funding
the project and specifically Jon Berry for his advice and guidance and also to Jerry Bone
of St Asaph for generously sharing his knowledge of military sites in north Wales and
in particular for the loan of Vernon Williams’ journals and for giving permission to
copy and reproduce images from them in this report.
35
10
SOURCES
10.1
Published sources
Berry, J, 2014. The trenches reconsidered, Heritage in Wales 59, Winter 2014, pp22-3.
Griffiths, Robert, H. 2014. The Story of Kinmel Park Military Training Camp 1914 to 1918,
Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch.
Lloyd-Roberts, Tom. The Great Battle of Caerwys Camp in Country Quest, July 1994
Vol.35 No.2, pp25-7.
Oliver, Richard. 1993. Ordnance Survey Maps, a concise guide for historians, London:
Charles Close Society for the study of Ordnance Survey maps.
Pratt, Derrick and Grant, Mike, The Military Takes Over in Berry, Andre, Q, Gale, Fiona,
Daniels, Joan, L and Allmark, Bill (eds), 1996. Fenn's and Whixall Mosses, Mold:
Clwyd Archaeology Service, pp63-86.
Pratt, D & Grant, M, 2005. Wings Across the Border. A History of Aviation in North
Wales and the Northern Marches Vol.III, Wrexham: Bridge Books.
Pratt, S & Pratt, D, 2000. A Millennium History of Penley, Wrexham: Bridge Books,
pp192.
Williams-Wynn, R. W. H. and Freeman, B, 1909. The Historical Records of the Yeomanry
and Volunteers of Montgomeryshire 1803-1908, Oswestry: Woodhall, Minshall,
Thomas.
10.2
Unpublished sources
Cadw
Cadw Field Monument Warden’s Report (AM107), 2008 - Fl186(DEN).
Cheshire Military Museum
CHEM 0014.02.08 - 47 pictures of The Cheshire Regiment Camp at Rhyl and 2 of
Spanish Cavalry being sworn in.
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
Grant, I, Hankinson, R & Spencer, J, 2015. Bodelwyddan Castle Park Practice
Trenches, Denbighshire: Archaeological Investigations 2014. Unpublished report.
CPAT Report No. 1303.
Spencer, J, 2013. First World War Scoping Study. Unpublished report. CPAT Report
No. 1226.
Spencer, J, 2014. Bodelwyddan Castle Park Trenches & Kinmel Park Camp Scoping
Study. Unpublished report. CPAT Report No. 1255.
36
Denbighshire Archives
DRO DD/DM/770/5-7 - Diaries of D.S. Foulkes-Roberts.
DRO DD/DM/1328/1-2 - Photographs of Kinmel Camp c.1979 and in process of
demolition and redevelopment.
Flintshire Archives
D/DM/121/5 - Tracing of map showing army camp in Caerwys/Afonwen.
NT/588 - Two postcards with verses from Kinmel Camp.
NC/772 - Signatures of soldiers from Kinmel Park Army Camp found on shed door in
Rhewl, Denbigh Free Press.
NC/773 - Farm shed in Meliden - originally from Kinmel Army Camp, Liverpool
Daily Post.
NC/774 - Barracks Room from Kinmel Army Camp that was moved to Meliden for
use as a shop, Rhyl Journal.
D-LR/1/3/17 - Copies of 'Country Quest' Articles incl. one on army camp at Caerwys.
NC/819 - Link between Wern Stores, Gwernaffield, and the Kinmel Park Camp riots,
Chester Chronicle.
PC/57/C/17 – Letter concerning provision of YMCA tent in proposed camp at St.
Asaph by Staffordshire Territorials.
PH/4/16 - Bettisfield Park camp WW1 (postcard)
PH/13/62 - Divisional Officers at Caerwys Military Camp, 1909
UD/E/5/6/2 - File containing Misc. Papers incl. - (c) Copy plan of Prestatyn Camp,
1914.
13/63 – Archive photo - 'A' Company, Liverpool Scottish at Caerwys military camp.
1909.
Gloucestershire Archives
D2299/3632 - Afan Lodge and Links Hotel, Llangammarch Wells, Brecon, Sales
Particulars, plans; Correspondence re war damage, 1923-5.
Greater Manchester County Record Office (with Manchester Archives)
1456/9, Negative Sheet Number 1/K37/1 - Photograph taken at Rhyl Camp where
Thomas Nott was stationed, as a member of the 6th Cheshire Regiment, 1914.
Liverpool Record Office
Bettisfield Park: correspondence, papers and plan concerning compensation for
37
damage to area leased to War Department in 1915 as military camp 1922-3
(including plan of camp, nd). Ref: 720KIR/3576.
National Gallery of Canada
Milne, David B, paintings
Kinmel Park Camp: The Camp at Night, 12-13 December 1918. Acc. No. 8498.
Kinmel Park Camp: Private Brown Writes a Christmas Letter, 25 December
1918. Acc. No. 8499.
Kinmel Park Camp: Dinner is Served, c.15 December 1918 – 17 January 1919. Acc.
No. 8511.
Kinmel Park Camp: Abandoned Training Trenches, c. December 1918 – 17
January 1919. Acc. No. 8512.
Kinmel Park Camp: The Middle Section of the Camp from the Hills above
Kinmel, 14 January 1919. Acc. No. 8516.
The Canadian Camp at Kinmel Park Seen from the Old Roman Camp at St
George, 1 February 1919. Acc. No. 8529.
National Library Wales
Correspondence, valuation and plan relating to Slwch Camp, Brecon, and the
purchase of the land by the War Office from the Tredegar Breconshire Estate,
1914. Catalogue number 154/299-303.
National Trust
Jarrett, Sadie, 2014. Erddig Rifle Range. Unpublished report.
National Trust Sites and Monuments Record, 2015. SMR extract and map for Cwm
Gwdi, Brecon.
Powys Archives
Postcard, R(oyal G(arrison of) A(rtillery) Camp (Cwmdeuddwr), Rhaeadr n.d (7/66).
Catalogue number B/X/10/7.
Powysland Museum
Bredsdorff, E, 2014. Montgomeryshire Yeomanry Cavalry, Powysland Museum World
War 1 and The Men of Montgomeryshire exhibition text.
10.3
Online sources
Baker, Chris/Milverton Associates Ltd, 1995-2015. The Long, Long Trail. The British
Army of 1914-1918 http://www.1914-1918.net/38div.htm accessed 05/03/2015.
Berry, J, 2014. Welsh History Month. How Great War soldiers were made, Western Mail
16/10/2014
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/welsh-historymonth-how-great-7944929 accessed 21/07/2015.
38
Elan
Valley Trust, 2015. The Elan Valley Involvement in Two Wars,
http://www.elanvalley.org.uk/discover/history/wartime accessed 25/02/2015.
English
Heritage,
RCAHMS,
RCAHMW,
nd.
Britain
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/ accessed 27/02/2015.
from
Above,
Flickr, nd. Vintage postcard Liverpool Scottish Regiment at Caerwys Camp 1909,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54996985@N00/4444441022/in/photostream/
accessed 04/03/2015.
Francis, Paul, 2011. Army Camps / Barracks Wales,
http://www.airfieldinformationexchange.org/community/showthread.php?6860Army-Camps-Barracks-Wales accessed 29/04/2014.
Historypoints, 2012. Former Anderson photo studio, Welshpool,
http://historypoints.org/index.php?page=former-anderson-photo-studiowelshpool accessed 25/02/2015.
Imperial
War
Museum,
2014.
IWM
Collections,
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30060233 accessed 25/02/2015.
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru/National Library of Wales, 2014. Cymru1914,
http://cymru1914.org/en/home accessed 20/11/2014.
National
Trust,
nd.
Cwm
Gwdi,
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wra1356313008035/view-page/item388943/ accessed 06/03/2015.
Schofield, John, 2006. England’s Army Camps,
http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/armycamp_eh_2006/
accessed 24/02/2015.
Trustees of the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum, 2010. King's Own Royal
Regiment Museum Lancaster. Photo Gallery Territorial Force 1908-1914. 5th
Battalion Annual Camp, Caerwys, North Wales, 1909
http://www.kingsownmuseum.plus.com/gallerytf005.htm
accessed
04/03/2015.
Cymru 1914.org – accessed 14/10/2014
Thursday 6th of April, 1916 – The Brecon County Times, Boxing at Slwch Camp
http://cymru1914.org/en/view/newspaper/3858055/4/ART34/
22nd December 1916 - Visit of concert party to Bettisfield Park Camp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/midwales/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_
8470000/8470779.stm
Thursday 4th June 1914 – Territorials in Camp
Thursday 4th June 1914 - HAY CAMP. [Brecknockshire Battalion
Territorials' Busy Week-end
39
of]
Thursday 5th of September, 1918 - O.T.C. CAMP AT LLANGORSE.
Thursday 6th of April, 1916 – The Brecon County Times. Boxing at Slwch Camp
Saturday 16th of October, 1915 - Denbighshire Free Press. Army Service Corps camp,
parade through Denbigh with horses & mules
Thursday 4th of September, 1913 - Flintshire Observer. Denbigh Camp
Thursday 11th of June, 1914 - Flintshire Observer. Camp at Prestatyn
Saturday 29th of August, 1914 - Cambrian Daily Leader. YMCA at Brecon Camp.
Thursday 4th of June, 1914 - Brecon & Radnor express.
Crickhowell Camp. I FIELD AMBULANCE UNDER CANVAS.
Saturday 2nd of June, 1917 - Denbighshire Free Press.
Denbighshire Volunteers in Camp. (Gwaynynog)
Saturday 11th of August, 1917 - Denbighshire Free Press.
Denbighshire Volunteers in Camp. (Rhos-on-Sea)
Thursday 7th of August, 1913 - Flintshire Observer. TERRITORIAL PAGEANT.
(Foryd) http://cymru1914.org/en/view/newspaper/3799064/2/ART22/
Saturday 25th of September, 1915 - Denbighshire Free Press. Gwernigron Camp, St
Asaph.
http://cymru1914.org/en/view/newspaper/3611734/3
Thursday 11th of July, 1918 – The Brecon County Times, Land Workers’ Camp in
Glanusk Park.
Gathering the Jewels
Photograph from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regimental Museum - Members of the
Medical Corps at the Denbighshire Hussars Camp, Rhyl, 1914. Accession
number
7246a.
http://education.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/25355
accessed
03/03/2015.
10.4
Cartographic sources
Ordnance Survey digital historic mapping
2nd edition 25” to the mile maps, 1899-1905
40
3rd edition 1:10560 scale maps, 1914-15
4th edition 1:10560 scale maps, 1938-53
10.5
Aerial photography
General
Next Perspectives 2006 colour vertical aerial photography
Google Maps
Google Earth
Aerofilms black and white oblique, accessed via Britain from Above
WPW018780 (July 1927) – Bodelwyddan practice trenches and part of Kinmel
Park Camp.
A217940 (18/9/71) - 3 low huts at the back of Bodelwyddan Castle, possibly
WWI vintage.
A217942-3 (18/9/71) – the trenches at Bodelwyddan before area N of diagonal
fence improved and trenches all but destroyed. Also show fairways and 6 golf
greens as square fenced areas.
R16866-8 (27/06/52) – Bodelwyddan Castle with practise trenches in the
background.
18776 (date lost, but probably July 1927) - 2 of low military type huts bottom
left of shot.
18783 (08/07/27) - 2 of low military type huts just visible in background.
RAF black and white vertical
3G/TUD/UK/33 Frames 5411-21
CPE/UK/1996 Frames 4249-53
CPE/UK/2079 Frames 2269-2273
58/3609 Frames 340-343
41
APPENDIX 1 - First World War era camps and associated sites in east and north-east Wales.
PRN
Site Name
17101 Kinmel Park Camp
23082
Bodelwyddan WWI practice trenches
and command post
35094 Cwm Gwdi army training camp
64056 Bettisfield Park, camp I
Form
Multiple
Period
Modern
Type
Army camp
Broad
Class
Defence
Unitary
Authority
Denbighshire
Community
NGR
Bodelwyddan SH9871575673
Earthwork
Modern
Training area
Defence
Denbighshire
multiple
Modern
Training camp
Defence
Powys
Glyn Tarell
SO0246324879
Multiple
Modern
Army camp;
Remount
depot
Defence
Wrexham
Hanmer
SJ4566737606
129609
Bodelwyddan Castle, Kinmel Park
Camp hut I
building
Modern
Military
building
defence
Denbighshire
129610
Camp hut II
building
Modern
Military
building
defence
Denbighshire
129611
Camp hut III
building
Modern
Military
building
defence
Denbighshire
129616
Bodelwyddan Castle Park, "Bursar's
Bungalow"/Kinmel Park Camp huts
building
Modern
Military
building
defence
Denbighshire
Bodelwyddan SJ0078175189
129617 Kinmel Park training area, trenches I
earthwork Modern
Training area
defence
Conwy
Abergele
SH980745
129618 Kinmel Park training area, trenches II
earthwork Modern
Training area
defence
Conwy
Abergele
SH979756
42
PRN
Site Name
Form
Period
Type
Broad
Class
Unitary
Authority
Community
NGR
129619 Kinmel Park training area, trenches III
earthwork Modern
Training area
defence
Conwy
Abergele
SH98527522
129620 Kinmel Park training area, trenches IV
earthwork Modern
Training area
defence
Conwy
Abergele
SH98567505
129621 Kinmel Park training area, trenches V
earthwork Modern
Training area
defence
Conwy
Abergele
SH98667511
129622 Kinmel Park training area, trenches VI
earthwork Modern
Training area
defence
Conwy
Abergele
SH98767504
129623 Kinmel Park training area
multiple
Modern
Training area
defence
Conwy
Abergele
SH9808575082
Building
Modern
Military
building
defence
Denbighshire
Rhyl
SJ0116781196
Heldre Hill, Long Mountain & Leighton,
130733 Montgomeryshire Yeomanry
manoeuvring grounds
landscape
PostMedieval
Training area
defence
Powys
Forden with
Leighton and
Trelystan
SJ2405
130759 Llangammarch Wells, army camp
multiple
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Powys
Llangamarch
SN9548
130936 Glanusk Park, L.A.A.S. Camp
multiple
MODERN
Womens Land
Army Camp
agriculture
and
subsistence
Powys
Llangattock
SO1962919472
132146 Caerwys, army camp
document
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Flintshire
Caerwys
SJ1200873332
129635
Rhyl, Vale Road, boxing club, Kinmel
Park Camp huts
43
Site Name
Form
Period
Type
Broad
Class
Unitary
Authority
Community
NGR
Rhewl, The Grange, Kinmel Park Camp
hut
building
MODERN
MILITARY
BUILDING
defence
Denbighshire
Llanynys
SJ1055360891
132151 Meliden, Kinmel Park Camp hut
document
MODERN
MILITARY
BUILDING
defence
Denbighshire
Prestatyn
SJ0625181055
132152 Caerwys army camp, Croes-wian site
document
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Flintshire
Caerwys
SJ1200873332
132153 Caerwys army camp, Afonwen site
document
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Denbighshire
Aberwheeler
SJ1210871751
Rhayader, Nannerth-fawr, artillery
camp
document
MODERN
Army camp
defence
Powys
Rhayader
SN9472571437
132156 Brecon, Slwch Camp
multiple
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Powys
Brecon
SO0621728134
132158 Denbigh, Gwaynynog, army camp
multiple
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Denbighshire
Denbigh
SJ0339965353
132159 Fenn's Bank, army camp
multiple
MODERN
Training camp
defence
Wrexham
Bronington
SJ5038
132160 Welshpool, army camp
multiple
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Powys
Trewern
SJ2471007787
132162 St Asaph, army camp
multiple
MODERN
Army camp
defence
Denbighshire
St Asaph
SJ0374
132163 Bryn-y-cabanau, training area
landscape
POST
Training area
MEDIEVAL
defence
Wrexham
Offa
SJ3401948660
132169 Prestatyn, army camp
multiple
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Denbighshire
Prestatyn
SJ06148196
132170 Rhyl, army camp
multiple
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Conwy
Kinmel Bay
and Towyn
SH9880
PRN
132150
132154
44
Site Name
Form
Period
Type
Broad
Class
Unitary
Authority
Community
NGR
Gwernaffield, Wern Stores garage,
Kinmel Park Camp hut
building
MODERN
MILITARY
BUILDING
defence
Flintshire
Gwernaffield
SJ2066064565
132174 Trefnant, Kinmel Park Camp hut
building
MODERN
MILITARY
BUILDING
defence
Denbighshire
Trefnant
SJ0525570636
132175 Crickhowell, army camp
multiple
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Powys
Crickhowell
SO2118
132176 Hay-on-Wye, army camp
multiple
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Powys
Hay
SO2242
132178 Llangorse, OTC camp
multiple
MODERN
Training camp
agriculture
and
subsistence
Powys
Llangors
SO1327
132179 Rhos-on-Sea, army camp
multiple
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Conwy
Rhos-on-Sea
SH8380
132180 Ystradgynlais, army camp
multiple
MODERN
ARMY CAMP
defence
Powys
Ystradgynlais
SN7810
132182 Kinmel Park Camp, 'Tin-Town'
multiple
MODERN
SHOPPING
CENTRE
commercial Denbighshire
132183 Vale of Clwyd, training area
multiple
MODERN
Training area
defence
Bodelwyddan SJ0078
PRN
132173
45
Denbighshire
PRN
Site Name
132184 Foryd, Rhyl, No.3 Manoeuvring Area
Form
Period
Type
Broad
Class
Unitary
Authority
Community
NGR
multiple
MODERN
Training area
defence
Conwy
Kinmel Bay
and Towyn
SH9880
46

First World War Camps and Training Areas - Clwyd

Transcription

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