Monument record MDO31301 - First World War practice trench system, Bovington Tank Training Camp, Bere Regis

An extensive system of First World War practice trenches is visible as earthworks on undated aerial photographs (probably 1930's in date) within the area of the First and Second World War Bovington Tank Training Site, on Bere Heath.

From 1916, Bovington Camp was used by the Heavy Section of the Machine Gun Corps, and became the primary tank training centre for the British Army. An extensive recreation of part of the Western Front at Gallows Hill, covering some 16 hectares, was developed specifically for tank training, with two opposing groups of trenches with a small ‘no man’s land’ in-between, with ‘front lines’ oriented north-west/south-east and approximately 1.9km long, with a ‘depth’ of 1.6km south-west/north-east. The trenches were recorded as being used in April 1917, albeit with wood and canvas mock-ups as no real tanks were available.

A surviving plan of these trenches, dated to 1917, shows the parallel pair of trenches to the south-west represented British lines (with British trench names such as ‘Oxford Street’ and ‘Piccadilly’), separated by a small ‘no-man’s land’ from the complex representing German lines. The ‘German lines’ consisted of five irregularly spaced crenellated trenches, interconnected with a complex of communications trenches and redoubts, with ‘German’ names like ‘Fritz Redoubt’, and ‘Hansa Line’, with more distant trenches named ‘Potsdam Line’ and ‘Berlin Line’. Parts of the complex have been recorded as part of the Wild Purbeck National Mapping Programme, and this differs somewhat from the 1917 plan.

The area north of Puddletown Road has seen significant post-Second World War disturbance, with a number of gravel pits and a modern rifle range. A slightly curved 440m long section of crenellated trench, running north-north-west to south-south-east from ‘Gallows Redoubt’ at SY 843 909 to ‘Wilhelm Redoubt’ at SY 845 905, survives as earthworks. A further 70m long section to the east of the pond is visible at SY 847 904.

A second area on Stoke Heath, south of the Puddletown Road, has some of the best preserved and the most extensive earthworks at Bovington. There is an approximately 490m length of trench with a regular crenellation, with approximately 4m traverses between 5m legs, labelled as the ‘Kaiser Line’ on the 1917 plan. It runs south-east from the boundary of the Stoke Heath SSSI at SY 847 900, curving northwards to a possible gun emplacement at NGR SY848900, before turning south east to the ‘Hohenzollern Redoubt’ at SY 850 897. The redoubt itself is oval, and measures approximately 50m by 40m, and is divided into thirds by crenellated trenching. There is a crenellated trench running from the redoubt south-west/north-east, that ends in a possible gun emplacement. There are two further sections of crenellated trenching extending from the redoubt, oriented south-south-east, and east-south-east. The limits of these trenches is unclear due to scrub vegetation. Further east on Stoke Heath, two crenellated trenches and a possible communications trench appear to converge at SY 848 897. The northern crenellated trench is at least 50m long, and is slightly curved. It has fairly open crenellations, with 12m legs between 4m traverses. The intermediate zig-zagged trench, similar in form to communications trenches, is approximately 80m long and oriented west-north-west. The southern crenellated trench is approximately 110m long and slightly curved, and oriented west- south-west. It has a slightly more closed crenellation, with 4m traverses every 8m.

A third area, at Higher Hyde Heath (known as the ‘Berlin Line’ on the 1917 plan) occupies a north facing slope, and consists of a pair of crenellated trenches, 50m to 100m apart, the most northerly running north-west/south-east for 110m, and the more southerly running for 150m north-west, with a curved crenellated spur projecting southwards that is approximately 50m long. The trenches are connected by a pair of zig-zagged communications trenches 70m apart. <1>

An extensive system of First World War practice trenches is visible as earthworks on undated aerial photographs (probably 1930s in date) <2> within the area of the First and Second World War Bovington Tank Training Site, on Bere Heath. The trenches are constructed in a stepped fashion, broken up into fire bays. They are visible over an area measuring approximately 1385 m by 400 m. Other areas of practice trenches are located to the north and east of the system (see MDO31302-3). These features were digitally plotted during the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project.

<1> Historic England, HE0045-Review of FWW Fieldworks Project Documents (HE Archive AF00421) (Unpublished document). SDO19689.

<2> Crawford, O G S, No date, NMR SY 8391/1 CCC/11755 5851 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13615.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1622707 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Nov 1 2024 11:39AM