C21:39 (1) Montauban trench map
Sometimes you come across an artefact that brings you face to face with one of history’s momentous events; something that provides a tangible link to the past in a way that reading a book or watching TV can never do. This map is such an artefact.
Today is Armistice Day, so I thought it would be appropriate to talk about a map that calls to mind the sacrifices made in the Great War.
At first glance this map is nothing special, worn, stained and annotated in pencil. It shows the area around the village of Montauban in France and is overprinted in blue and red. The key to the map reveals what these overprints mean and the purpose of the map; this is a trench map, one of many produced during the war to show the layout of known German defences.
Detail of the area around Mametz Wood
The legend states that the trenches have been corrected to the 2nd June 1916; soon after this map was produced the men of the 38th (Welsh) Division attacked Mametz Woodas part of the Battle of the Somme. Between the 5th & 12th of July 1916 about 4000 men of the Division were killed or wounded in capturing the wood.
The map was formerly owned by 2nd Lt. Hugh Richard Watterson, of the Royal Garrison Artillery, and it bears the following note in his hand “Used in very wet & muddy trench when on duty as F.O.O. (Forward Observation Officer)”. 2nd Lt. Watterson, was responsible for observing the British artillery barrage and reporting back its accuracy and effects.
It isn’t often that we can pin down an historical document to an exact time, place and person, but this is one of those rare instances where we can. On this day I think it is fitting to remember those who
sacrificed so much for their country.
Huw Thomas