38th (Welsh) Division Memorial, Mametz
On July 1, 1987 the South Wales Branch of the Western Front Association unveiled the magnificent memorial to the 38th (Welsh) Division near Mametz Wood.
Brothers killed in action
There are three pairs of brothers buried in Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Mametz. In all three cases, the brothers were serving with the same unit and were killed on the same day.
Mametz Wood
Mametz Wood from the southwest.
Mametz from the southwest
The village of Mametz from the southwest.
Mametz from the west
The village of Mametz from the west.
The Welsh at Mametz Wood
On September 28, 1914 there was a request from a meeting of men considered as representative of the views of the people of Wales that a Welsh Army Corps of two Divisions should be raised. Two weeks later on October 10 this request was officially sanctioned and the Welsh Army Corps came in to being from that date.
Between September and November nine battalions were raised. A further four battalions were raised early in 1915. In Spring 1915 the idea of a Welsh Army Corps in the strict sense was abandoned and the division that had been formed was granted the title "Welsh" and from that time on was styled as the 38th (Welsh) Division.
Fricourt from the west
The village of Fricourt from the west. The lightly wooded area left of centre in front of the village is the remains of the Tambour Mine Crater.
Fricourt from the south west
The village of Fricourt from the south west. Fricourt is in the centre, with the Bois de Fricourt beyond it.
Private Fred Bell's Memoir
Private Fred Ball enlisted in the Liverpool "Pals" in January 1915 - crossed to France on November 7, 1915 - served in France continuously during the remainder of the War.
He was wounded once - very slightly - near Arras in August or September 1918. After the Armistice he went into Germany with the Army of Occupation, leaving there to be demobilised at the end of March 1919. He neither sought nor received promotion. He wrote:
The action around Fricourt and Mametz
On July 1, 1916 Fricourt and Mametz lay just behind German lines in what was a pronounced salient. Like other villages in the area, they had both been heavily fortified with trenches, strong points and very deep dugouts. Mametz had excellent observation over the British positions from well-sited trenches and strongpoints.
