Military Landscapes
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1248 First World War Military Sites Military Landscapes Part 1: Report and Gazetteer Ymddiriedolaeth Archaeolegol Gwynedd Gwynedd Archaeological Trust First World War Military Sites Military Landscapes Part 1: Report and Gazetteer Project No. G2180 Report No. 1248 Prepared for: Cadw March 2015, corrections May 2015 Written by: Jane Kenney and David Hopewell (with a contribution by Robert Johnston) Illustration by: Jane Kenney, David Hopewell and Neil McGuinness Cover photograph: Postcard of Camp at Conwy Morfa 1914, with Deganwy camp in background (postcard, owned by R Evans) Cyhoeddwyd gan Ymddiriedolaeth Achaeolegol Gwynedd Ymddiriedolaeth Archaeolegol Gwynedd Craig Beuno, Ffordd y Garth, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2RT Published by Gwynedd Archaeological Trust Gwynedd Archaeological Trust Craig Beuno, Garth Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2RT Cadeiryddes/Chair - Yr Athro/Professor Nancy Edwards, B.A., PhD, F.S.A. Prif Archaeolegydd/Chief Archaeologist - Andrew Davidson, B.A., M.I.F.A. Mae Ymddiriedolaeth Archaeolegol Gwynedd yn Gwmni Cyfyngedig (Ref Cof. 1180515) ac yn Elusen (Rhif Cof. 508849) Gwynedd Archaeological Trust is both a Limited Company (Reg No. 1180515) and a Charity (reg No. 508849) FIRST WORLD WAR MILITARY SITES: MILITARY LANDSCAPES GAT PROJECT NO. G2180 GAT REPORT NO. 1248 Part 1: Report and Gazetteer Contents Summary................................................................................................................................................................. 4 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 4 2. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................................ 4 2.1. Desk Top Study ..................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2. Fieldwork .............................................................................................................................................. 5 2.3. Report .................................................................................................................................................... 7 2.4. Archiving .............................................................................................................................................. 7 2.5. Public engagement ................................................................................................................................ 7 2.6. Copyright .............................................................................................................................................. 8 3. RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................................... 8 3.1. Training camps ...................................................................................................................................... 8 3.2. Practice Trenches ................................................................................................................................ 14 3.3. Rifle Ranges ........................................................................................................................................ 20 3.4. Prisoner of War camps ........................................................................................................................ 24 4. DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................................................. 26 5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... 26 6. REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................ 27 6.1. Published references............................................................................................................................ 27 6.2. Unpublished reports ............................................................................................................................ 27 6.3. Websites .............................................................................................................................................. 28 6.4. Record Offices and Archives .............................................................................................................. 28 6.5. Newspapers ......................................................................................................................................... 29 6.6. Aerial photographs .............................................................................................................................. 29 6.7. Other ................................................................................................................................................... 29 7. APPENDIX I: Contexts from Cichle Farm Practice Trench Excavations ................................................... 30 7.1. Trench 1 .............................................................................................................................................. 30 7.2. Trench 2 .............................................................................................................................................. 31 8. APPENDIX II: Gazetteer of Military Landscape Sites ................................................................................ 32 8.1. Artillery Range .................................................................................................................................... 32 8.2. Military Camps ................................................................................................................................... 32 8.3. Practice Trenches ................................................................................................................................ 35 8.4. Prisoner of War Camps ....................................................................................................................... 38 8.5. Rifle Ranges ........................................................................................................................................ 42 9. FIGURES AND PLATES ............................................................................................................................ 56 1 FIGURES AND PLATES Figures Figure 1. Distribution of First World War sites studied under the Military Landscapes theme Figure 2. Location of Conwy Morfa Camp and Rifle Range shown on 1913 25 inch map (Caernarvonshire sheets IV.8 and IV.12) Figure 3. Plan of Conwy Morfa Camp, 1910 with additional annotations 1912 (Conwy Archives CP/Maps and Plans/23/2/287) Figure 4. Site of Conwy Morfa Camp and Rifle Range today (© Next Perspectives. Welsh Government 2015) Figure 5. Location of Deganwy Camp and practice trenches shown on 1913 25 inch map (Caernarvonshire sheets IV.8 and V.5) Figure 6. Location of Kingsbridge Camp and practice trenches shown on 1919 25 inch map, with some huts shown within the camp (Anglesey sheet XV.9) Figure 7. Limits of Bronaber Range (in red) (National Archives WO 78/4935 dated 1933) with the camp as shown on the 1953 6 inch map as inset Figure 8. Grey scale plot of gradiometer survey of the field at Cichle Farm Figure 9. Interpretive plot of gradiometer survey of the field at Cichle Farm Figure 10. Interpretive plot of gradiometer survey combined with transcription of 1945 aerial photograph Figure 11. Location of trenches in relation to geophysics plot and aerial photograph transcription Figure 12. Plan of trench 1 Figure 13. North facing section of trench 1 Figure 14. South facing section of trench 1 Figure 15. Plan of trench 2 Figure 16. North-east facing section of trench 2 Figure 17. South-west facing section of trench 2 Figure 18. Survey of Tan y Coed Trenches 2015 Figure 19. Diagrammatic sketch of a portion of a front line from British Trench Warfare 1917-1918 Figure 20. Alternative diagrammatic organisation of a front line from British Trench Warfare 1917-1918 Figure 21. Plan showing proposed layout for Afonwen Rifle Range, annotations dated 23/8/1911 (Caernarfon Record Office XD35/503) Figure 22. Plan showing proposed layout for Pant Glas Rifle Range, dated 1898 (Caernarfon Record Office XD35/201) Figure 23. Location of sites at Graig Lwyd, Penmaenmawr shown on 1914 25 inch map (Caernarvonshire sheet VIII.2) Figure 24. Plan and section of stop butt and mantlet at Porthmadog (PRN 33601) (Caernarfon Record Office XD35/508, undated) Figure 25. Location of Penmaenucha rifle range (approximate outlines in red) with modern digital mapping overlaid on 1901 6 inch map Figure 26. Rifle range shown on 1901 25 inch map (Merionethshire sheet XXXVII.02) with location of target butts and layby superimposed and inset showing marker huts Figure 27. Detailed topographic survey of target butts (PRN 58762) on Penmaenucha rifle range (PRN 58671), partially carried out by GPS and partially by hand drawing Figure 28. Terrain lidar data for northern part of the Penmaenucha rifle range (PRN 58671) showing traces of firing points Figure 29. 1921 sketch of Graig Lwyd by Samuel Hazzledine Warren showing “German prisoner’s path” (highlighted in red) (from Warren 1922, fig 1) Figure 30. Location of Frongoch Camp shown on 1901 25 inch