Walking The Somme: Mametz Wood

Posted on June 6, 2020 by

35 Comments

We return to the Somme this week and walk the ground from Dantzig Alley Cemetery to Mametz Wood, looking at the Manchester Pals, Generals killed on front line and the Welsh Volunteers who fought and died at Mametz Wood in July 1916. Our object this week is a unique photograph taken by an officer on the Somme.

Podcast Extras: WW1 Photographs

Podcast Extras: Mametz Wood Battlefield

Category: Podcast EpisodeTags:

35 Comments on “Walking The Somme: Mametz Wood”

  1. Thank you very much , Paul. Your description of the Mametz area now and the information about what happened in that fateful month July 1916.
    I visited Mametz with a group from South Wales a few years ago. We stood by the memorial to the Welsh regiments and sang the National Anthem as we looked across at the woods where young men were sent to their death. Poignant and unforgettable memory.

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      • Thank you for another brilliant podcast. What do you know about tunneling in the Mametz area. My grand father was with the 15 Corps Army Cyclist Battalion in the war diaries it states that 100 men were sent the help with the tunneling in Mametz. As my grandfather was a miner he may have been one of them

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      • There was a lot of mining at the Bois Français above Mametz before 1st July, so I would guess it would be there. Many of the mine craters are still there in the woods.

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  2. Another immersive and hugely interesting ‘walk’; this time around one of the most evocative and atmospheric battlefields on the entire Western Front, in my personal experience. I enjoy these podcasts so much – thank you.

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  3. Another Great podcast. Have visited many parts of the Somme and other WW1 areas but your podcasts always bring the battles alive and are so vividly described. Thanks and keep them coming. I also Enjoyed the Loos one where a distant relation was killed with the South Staffs,
    Keeps all the sacrifice alive.
    Many Thanks

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  4. Another excellent podcast Paul. We’ve done this walk from your book many a time. Thank you for these podcasts.

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  5. Another superb podcast Paul, Great to start at Dantzig Alley a place often visited by myself & one that holds a personal meaning to me, 2 of our London Road Memorial men of the Manchester Pals battalions now rest there. Down at Mametz Wood, I closed my eyes and I was there walking those much trodden tracks with you, as ever accompanied by the Ghosts of the Somme who’s stories you tell so well

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  6. Another great podcast. Once again I had your “Walking the Somme” open at the same time. The recording of Edward Dwyer VC was extremely moving. Good point that not all WW1 generals were “Chateau Generals either.

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  9. Great podcast! I followed you every step of the way via Google Earth. I visited the Somme a few years ago and have been interested in its history, particularly WWI, every since. Please keep the podcast coming.

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  11. Another wonderful , respectful and very informative podcast . To hear the voice of Edward Dywer sounding so cheerful knowing what he had been through and what he was returning to was so very moving, my wife and I shed a tear.Having lost 4 ancestors in WW1 I take great interest in listening to these accounts which give me some insight to what they endured.Please keep them coming.

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  12. Never less than brilliant. Thank you so much again for yet another eagerly anticipated podcast combining interest and information with a weight of such poignancy. Having been to Mametz a couple of times and walked the area, with your excellent book, I was able to close my eyes and picture the landscape, and landmarks, perfectly.

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  13. Great postcards and photographs..sounds like there is a book there! Great podcast on Mametz……

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  14. Great episode. Fascinated by the officer’s photograph of Mametz Wood prior to the attack. How long before the attack was it taken? It’s just not what I had in mind when I’ve read about the battle! Fascinating.

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  15. Pingback: Lance Corporal David Jones Davies, 11th Battalion, South Wales Borderers | Opusculum

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