Bayernwald Trenches, Messine Ridge - Passchendaele

The Bayernwald trenches, near Wytschaete, in the Ypres Salient, were discovered and excavated, in the 1970s, by a local teacher and amateur archaeologist, Andre Becuart. Since his death in 1986 the recontructed trenches had fallen into dis-repair but upkeep has been taken on by the local authority. Entrance is through a coded lock, the pin for which is issued by the Kemmel Tourist Office when tickets are purchased.

Dug by the Germans in the winter of 1914/15, these are front line trenches leading in a more or less straight line to St Eloi to the North East and curving round towards the West of Wytschaete to the South.

1916 German trench maps show strong points (Anna & Berta) approximately at each end of the current bus parking bay on the nearby road. Further to the South West, at Hollandscheshur farm, was a further strongpoint, Gunther, destroyed at 3:10 am on the morning of the 7th June 1917 whan three of the nineteen mines fired at the opening of the battle of Messines were exploded under it.

Bayernwald now remains partly un-renovated within the wire. Care should be taken when exploring, there are two mine shafts still in place (both easy to see).

 Shelling shelters

Libby's trip to the Battlefields of WW1 - Part 1

Beaumont Hamel - Newfoundland Park


The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial is a memorial site in France dedicated to the commemoration of Dominion of Newfoundland forces members who were killed during World War I. The 74-acre (300,000 m²) preserved battlefield park encompasses the grounds over which the Newfoundland Regiment made their unsuccessful attack on 1 July 1916 during the first day of the Battle of the Somme. ^[1]

The Battle of the Somme was the regiment's first major engagement, and during an assault that lasted approximately 30 minutes the regiment was all but wiped out. Purchased in 1921 by the people of Newfoundland, the memorial site is the largest battalion memorial on the Western Front, and the largest area of the Somme battlefield that has been preserved. Along with preserved trench lines, there are a number of memorials and cemeteries contained within the site.

Officially opened by British Field Marshal Earl Haig in 1925, the memorial site is one of only two National Historic Sites of Canada located outside of Canada. The memorial site and experience of the Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont-Hamel has come to represent the Newfoundland First World War experience. As a result, it has become a Newfoundland symbol of sacrifice and a source of identity.

29th Division Memorial

Preserved Battlefield

The reason the trenches are roped off, is because there are so many unexploded shells.  In Northern France some 35 people are killed or injured annually by exploding shells.

Y Ravine
The Y ravine had been the scene of fierce fighting for the division on 13 November 1916

A wounded member of the Newfoundland Regt is helped to safety near Beaumont Hamel

The War Illustrated ~ 5th May 1917

Night Bombers - 1944, Colour, 59mins DVD

HMS Hood in colour

IWM Footage

FILM NUMBERMGH 2833

FILM TITLE:

[«HMS HOOD» AND »HMS REPULSE» IN MEDITERRANEAN DURING THE MUNICH CRISIS, 1938] [Allocated]

[AMATEUR FILM BY COMMANDER SYMES] [Alternative]

ACCESS CONDITIONS:IWM

FILM / VIDEO FORMAT:Std 8mm

BLACK & WHITE / COLOUR:B&W

IWM Footage

FILM TITLE: RMY 12

BRITISH PARAMOUNT NEWS (item) [Main]

PRODUCTION DATE:1935 (ca)

PRODUCTION COUNTRY:GB

PRODUCTION COMPANY:British Paramount News

SHORT SUMMARY:

"Navy demands control of own Air Arm." Item considers controversy between RAF and Navy over film of Fleet and aircraft.

FULL SUMMARY:

Air Commodore L E O Charlton argues that aircraft can now outfight sea vessels so the day of the capital ship is past. Vulnerability of battleship is now reduced however by latest anti-aircraft guns, although air-launched torpedoes remain a danger. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes counters with naval view that planes alone could not defend Britain and that their true function is to assist battleships in the protection of the country's lines of communication. Navy now fears that new air expansion scheme will delay delivery of planes from the Air Ministry. Opinions are expressed over views of County Class cruisers, «HMS Iron Duke» (training, with Y turret removed), «HMS Resolution», Queen Elizabeth Class battleships, «HMS Hood», «HMS Rodney» with «HMS Barham» in background, silhouette of «HMS Warspite» (before 1936 reconditioning) with another Queen Elizabeth Class battleship in background, aerial view of «HMS Barham», 4.7 inch anti- aircraft gun, A and B turrets of Nelson Class battleship firing and «HMS Furious» at sea. Planes in flight comprise Vickers Virginia and Vildebeest, Fairey Flycatcher, Blackburn Dart, Hawker Horsley and Osprey.

ACCESS CONDITIONS:LPU

FILM / VIDEO FORMAT:P 1/35/N

NUMBER OF REELS:1

LENGTH:252 ft

RUNNING TIME:3 mins

BLACK & WHITE / COLOUR:B&W

SILENT / SOUND:comopt

LANGUAGE OF SOUNDTRACK:English

LANGUAGE OF MAIN TITLES:English

LANGUAGE OF SUBTITLES:None

Personal Collection of War Docs/Films

This list is intended to keep a record of my private collection, nothing is for sale or trade.

First World War 1914- 1918
FEATURE FILMS
All Quiet On The Western Front - 1979 (Daily Mail DVD) 123mins
Aces High - 1976 (Daily Mail DVD) 109mins
The Red Baron - 2008, BBC 2, Colour, 120mins
Beneath Hill 60 - 2010, Colour, 117mins
Passchendaele - 2008, Colour, 109mins


DOCUMENTARY'S
Finding The Lost Battalion - TV , Colour, B/W, 1hr 30mins
WW1 From The Air - BBC 1, Colour, B/W, 60mins
The Last Voices Of WW1 - Channel 4, Passchendale & Arras, Colour, B/W, 60mins
The Great War - BBC 1 Series, 1964, B/W, 26 episodes, 1105mins (Daily Mail DVD)
Battle Of The Somme - VHS to DVD, IWM, B/W, 73mins
Battle Of Ancre - VHS to DVD, IWM, B/W, 63mins
Battle Of Arras - IWM 113, B/W, 67mins, Silent
The Battle Of The Somme - 2008, B/W, IWM Restored Version, 134mins
The Battle Of Ypres - 2010, B/W, Pathe Restored Version, 118mins
World War One In Colour - 2003, Colour, 377mins


Second World War 1939 - 1945 
FEATURE FILMS
The Lion Has Wings - 1939 (Daily Mail DVD) 63mins
Tunes Of Glory - 1960 (Daily Mail DVD) 102mins
The Long And The Short And The Tall - 1961 (Daily Mail DVD) 102 mins
I Was Monty's Double - 1958 (Daily Mail DVD) 97 mins
Carve Her Name With Pride - 1958 (Daily Mail DVD) 114mins
Malta Story - 1953 (Daily Mail DVD) 99mins
The Way Ahead - 1944 (Daily Mail DVD) 110mins
The Eagle Has Landed - 1976 (Daily Mail DVD) 130mins
Piece Of Cake 6 Parts - LWT 1988, Colour, 312mins
The Battle Of The River Plate - 1956  (Daily Mail DVD) 119mins
The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp - 1943 (Daily Mail DVD) 163mins
The 49th Parallel - 1941 (Daily Mail DVD) 117mins
Appointment In London - 1952 (Daily Mail DVD) 92mins
We Dive At Dawn - 1943 + BBC 2005 (Daily Mail DVD) 92mins
The Cruel Sea - 1953, DVD Copy, 121mins
Above Us The Waves - 1955 (Daily Mail DVD) 95mins
Escape To Athena - 1979 (Daily Mail DVD) 114mins
I'll Met By Moonlight - 1957 (Daily Mail DVD) 100mins
Too Late The Hero - 1969 (Daily Mail DVD) 129mins
Return From The River Kwai - 1988 (Daily Mail DVD) 97mins
Went The Day Well - 1942 (Daily Mail DVD) 89mins
The Wild Geese - 1978 (Daily Mail DVD) 133mins
The Cruel Sea - 1953 (Telegraph DVD) 122mins
The First Of The Few - 1942 (Telegraph DVD) 118mins
The First Of The Few - 1942, B/W, 123mins
Charlotte Gray - 2007 (Daily Mail DVD) 116mins
Anzio - 1968, Colour, 1hr 53mins
The Desert Fox - 1961, B/W, 84mins
The Desert Rats - 1953, B/W, 84mins
Thin Red Line - 1998, Colour, 164mins
To End All Wars - 2001, Colour, 111mins
Flags Of Our Fathers - 2006, Colour, 126mins
Letters From Iwo Jima - 2006, Colour, 134mins
Empire In The Sun - 1987, Colour, 147mins
Stalingrad - 1993, Colour, 132mins (Subs)
Windtalkers - 2002, Colour, 147mins
Saving Private Ryan - 1998, Colour, 163mins
Battle Of Britain - 1969, Colour, 2hrs 7mins
Come And See - 1985, Colour, 137mins (Subs)
Downfall - 2004, Colour, 149mins (Subs)
Dad's Army - 1968, 69, complete first series, B/W, 264mins
Battle Of The Bulge - 1965, Colour, 163mins
A Bridge Too Far - 1977, Colour, 2hrs 49mins
Fateless - 2005, Colour, 140mins (Subs)
Pearl Harbour, 2001, Colour, 176mins
Schindlers List - 1993, B/W, Colour, 3hrs 7mins
Saints & Soldiers - 2004, Colour, 86mins
Sink The Bismark - 1960, B/W, 93mins
The Enemy Below - 1957, Colour, 94mins
The Longest Day - 1962, B/W, 168mins
Where Eagles Dare - 1968, Colour, 149mins
Das Boot - 1985, Colour, 200mins
The Great Escape - 1963, Colour, 2hrs 45mins
The Bridge On The River Kwai - 1957, Colour, 155mins
633 Squadron - 1963, Colour, 1hr 31mins
In Which We Serve - 1942, B/W, 138mins
Reach For The Sky - 1956, B/W, 136mins
The Sands Of Iwo Jima - 1949, B/W, 2hrs
The Dam Busters - 1954, B/W, 120mins
Cockleshell Heroes - 1955, B/W, 1hr 34mins
Enemy At The Gates - 2001, Colour, 125mins
Attack On Leningrad - 2009, Colour, 106mins (Subs)
Band Of Brothers - 2001, Colour, 782mins
The Pacific - 2010, Colour, 522mins

*NEW*

The Dam Busters - 1954, B/W, 125mins Blu-ray

DOCUMENTARY'S
Hawker Hurricane - VHS to DVD, Colour,B/W, 60mins
De-Haviland Mosquito - Discovery Channel, Colour, B/W 30mins
Night Bombers - VHS to DVD, Colour, 60mins
The Perfect Lady - 1986, VHS to DVD, Colour, B/W, 60mins
Going Solo - 1990, VHS to DVD, Colour, 30mins
Absolute Heaven - VHS to DVD, Colour, 40mins
Spitfire Air-show - History Channel, Colour, 45mins
Classic Aircraft Hurricane - History Channels, Colour, 25mins
Fighter Bombers - TV, Colour, B/W, 25mins
Arnhem 1944 - History Channel, Colour, B/W, 47mins
Raid On St.Nazaire 1974 - BBC 2 , Colour, B/W, 50mins
The True Glory D-Day To Berlin - Channel 4, B/W, 1hr 20mins
Time To Remember 1941 - Channel 4, B/W, 30mins
Crusade In Europe Overlord (ep 14) - LWT, B/W, 20mins
D-Day To Berlin - BBC TV, Colour, 60mins
War In The Desert - VHS to DVD, B/W, 60mins
Monty vs Ike 1990 - TV, B/W, 50mins
Hitler To Bomb NYC - Channel 4, Colour, 50mins
Fight For The Sky's - VHS to DVD, B/W, 50mins
Churchills Few 1986 - Channel 4, Colour, B/W, 50mins
Ten Days To D-Day - BBC TV, Colour, 1hr 40mins
D-Day 6.6.44 - BBC TV, Colour, B/W 2hrs
D-Day In Colour - ITV TV, Colour, 47mins
D-Day The Lost Evidence - History Channel, Colour, B/W, 1hr 30mins
D-Day The Lost Evidence - Colour, B/W, 90mins
Battleship Bismark 1971 - BBC TV, Colour, B/W, 50mins
Sink The Bismark 1996 - History Channel, Colour, B/W, 1hr 40min
Battle For The Hood & Bismark - National Geographic, Colour, B/W, 50mins each
War In The Pacific - VHS to DVD, B/W, 60mins
Kamikaze In Colour - TV, Colour, 50mins
The Colour Of War, Air War - History Channel, Colour, 45mins
P-47 Thunderbolt In Colour Italy - VHS to DVD, Colour, 50mins
Spitfire Battle For The Skies - History Channel 2003, B/W 45mins
Spitfire 1983 - VHS to DVD, Colour, B/W, 60mins
Spitfire Ace - BBC, 4 episodes, Colour, B/W 45mins each
Battlefield Pearl Harbour - Discovery Channel, Colour, B/W, 45mins
Heroes Of Pearl Harbour - History Channel, Colour, B/W, 45mins
The Doolittle Raiders - History Channel, Colour, B/W, 45mins
Death Of The USS Arizona - Discovery Channel, Colour, B/W, 50mins
Dunkirk - BBC 2 Series - 3 parts, Colour, 60mins each
The Soldiers Story Dunkirk - BBC 2, Colour, B/W, 48mins
D-Day To Berlin - BBC 1 2005, 3 episodes, Colour, B/W, 60mins each
The Augsburg Raid - BBC 2, 1975 Colour, B/W, 30mins
Lancaster Bomber Target Germany - History Channel, Colour, B/W, 45mins
The Dam Busters Raid - History Channel, Colour, B/W, 45mins
Target Tirpitz - BBC 2 1974, Colour, B/W, 50mins
The Search For Douglas Bader's Plane - TV, Colour, B/W, 1hr 40mins
The World At War - 1973, 37 episodes, Colour, B/W, 36hrs
The True Glory - 2004, IWM, B/W, inc 4 films, 271mins
Target For Tonight - 2007, IWM, B/W inc 9 films, 2hrs 56mins
Royal Air Force At War - 2002, IWM, B/W, 27 films, 6hrs 20mins
War In The Pacific - Official War Dept by The Signal Corps,4 DVD set, Colour, B/W
Iwo Jima The Boys Of Company H - 2006, Colour, B/W 94mins
Hiroshima - BBC 1, 2005, Colour, 1hr 30mins
World War II - 1950's, Colour, B/W, 8 DVD set, 480mins
Crusade In The Pacific - 1950's, B/W 8 DVD set, 594mins
Royal Navy At War In Colour - 2006, Colour, 2hrs
Thunderbolt - 1947, Colour, 45mins, NTSC
Report From The Aleutians - 1943, Colour, B/W, 58mins, NTSC
Hook Down, Wheels Down - 1943, Colour, B/W, 59mins, NTSC
The Liberation Of Auschwitz - 2006, B/W, 54mins
Dachau & Sachsenhausen - 2006, B/W, 58mins
Ravensbruck & Buchenwald - 2006, Colour, B/W, 61mins
America's War In Colour - 2002, Colour, 221mins
D-Day In Colour - 2004, Colour, 80mins
Britain At War In Colour - 2000, Colour, 3hrs 38mins
Memphis Belle - 1944, Colour, 38mins
Japan At War In Colour - 2003, Colour, 151mins
The Second World War In Colour - 1999, Colour, 165mins
Apocalypse - 2010,  Colour, B/W, 280mins
WWII Lost Films - 2009, Colour, 7hrs 30mins
Dead Men's Secret - 2005, B/W, 45mins
The Story Of D-Day - 2005, B/W, 55mins

*NEW*

Night Bombers - 1944, Colour, 59mins DVD

Various Conflicts
The Falklands Port Stanley 1982 - History Channel, Colour, 45mins
Harry's Game/Belfast Assassin - TV 1982, 3 episode, Colour, 45mins each
Tigerland - 2000, Colour, 96mins
Behind Enemy Lines - 2001, Colour, 101mins
Apocalpse Now Redux - 1979, Colour, 195mins
We Were Soldiers - 2002, Colour, 133mins
Brotherhood - 2006, Colour, 142mins (Subs)
Platoon - 1986, Colour, 1hr 55mins
Three Kings - 1999, Colour, 111mins
The Final Countdown - 1980, Colour, 98mins
Jarhead - 2006, Colour, 1hr 57mins
Black Hawk Down - 2001, Colour, 138mins
Vietnam 1st Cavalry Div - 2002, Colour, B/W, 3 DVD, 250mins