Walking The Somme: High Wood

Posted on June 26, 2021 by

24 Comments

High Wood was one of the most fought-over corners of the Somme battlefields in 1916. We take a walk from Caterpillar Valley Cemetery via Longueval, to stand beneath the dark trees of the wood. We learn about New Zealand’s Unknown Warrior, Indian Cavalry, and a father and son who were both awarded the Victoria Cross. 

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Category: Podcast Episode

24 Comments on “Walking The Somme: High Wood”

  1. Thanks Paul, excellent as always. Like you, I’m missing walking the ground and I hope we can meet up again soon. Take care in the interim.

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  2. Great story as usual……always had an interest in this area as it follows my old friends from the 47th Division from Loos to the Somme! Hope to do this walk sometime!

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  3. Just listened to this podcast, a good listen sitting in the back garden in the warm sunshine. Not like my only visit the London Cemetery, such heavy rain and a good breath of wind didn’t even get off the coach.
    Thanks
    Alan

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  4. What a fantastic podcast. Thank you for recognizing the New Zealand Division’s role around High wood, and Flers. I have three relations remembered on the NZ Memorial at Caterpillar Valley who died during September and October 1916, with no known grave

    Dean

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  6. Another fascinating podcast. Great to hear about the exploits of the NZ forces and Deccan Horse. The photo of them after their charge is one of my favourites from the Great War.

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  8. Working my way through your excellent series, this one especially poignant. Thank you for taking the time to put this together.

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  9. Excellent podcast on High Wood. Interesting what you say about what’s in the wood; my great-uncle, 2Lt AHG Clarke of 1st Northamptonshires, was killed on 9/9/16 in an attack following a mine being set off, which created a large crater. His brother, RAMC with the Glosters, found his grave in 1917 and ‘got a padre to do a stunt’. He now lies in Caterpillar Valley. That crater is now waterfilled (rare on the Somme?), and we found the exact spot he was last seen fighting in a trip in 1986, courtesy very good support from the IWM.

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    • What a fascinating story, Nigel! Thanks for sharing it! Yes water filled craters are rare and this one was originally dry in 1916-18.

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  10. Very interesting account, thank you. My grandfather fought in the Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, the 22nd London during this battle. I am hoping to visit the battlefield soon and wondered how accessible it is? Any guidance would be appreciated

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      • Paul
        Had to write and say how helpful your book ‘Walking the Somme’ had been.
        I very recently visited with my cousins the Pals Walk at Serre and also High Wood where grandfathers had fought. It made the visit very clear and I have a far greater understanding and also feeling for the geography than before. Many thanks.
        Richard

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  11. Peter H
    Thanks Paul. A very interesting podcast.
    My grandfather was in the Gordon Highlanders and fought in the wood during mid-July 1916.
    I am off to visit High Wood again, soon – should be there mid Nov 2023.
    At this same time last year (2022), the wood’s owner (?) was engaged in active and quite extensive logging, mostly around the north-east corner. Some pretty heavy-duty mobile plant was being used to cut trees within the wood. (So much for all those “keep out” signs, warning about unexploded ordinance!)
    Sadly, High Wood was not the tranquil sanctuary of remembrance we were expecting – and which is so deserving of being preserved.

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  12. Thank you for this. My Great Grandfather was killed in High Wood while serving with the 20th Bn Royal Fusiliers. He has no known remains.

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  13. Thank you for this podcast, it is obviously a valuable and heartfelt labour of love. I have recently come to develop an interest in WW1 due to a recent trip to Massiges and the reconstructed trenches there. I found this visit in the steady rain very atmospheric, especially helped by the sound of distant explosion from what I assume was quarrying activity. This led me to attempt to shed some light on the story of Rifleman Frederick Charles Miller, my great grandfather. My father remembered fragments of talks with him in the 60s, so we knew he was a Lewis gunner in the Post Office Rifles and had been wounded in service, but there was little fact or evidence to back this up. After a significant attempt to hack the metadata algorithm in forces war records I came across his pension statement which gave tantalising clues to being in the field from Nov 1915 in 1/8 Bn London Regt, until a gunshot wound to the chest received on 15 Sep 1916. Your podcast has really brought the engagement at High Wood to life for me and I can only wonder at what stage of the battle he received his wound. I am now trying to get my hands on any sort of account in order to see if I can find anything more. Unfortunately the Battalion’s war diary for the period of Flers-Courelette doesn’t seem to be online. The medical record details convalescence in Sheffield and a transfer to 1/5 Bn London Regt, again on the western front, from 4 May 1917 to the end of the war.  Sorry for the long comment – I must say that your podcast was a huge inspiration and I’m riding high on the dopamine buzz of slowly adding bits of evidence to my relative’s stories. Thank you again!

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