Achiet-le-Grand during WW1

             

It was during the March 1917 offensive, that Achiet-le-Grand was fried for the first time since the beginning of the war. The 18th Division 54th brigade pushed from south Achiet to advance to Bihucourt with the 7th Bedford Regt and the 12th Middlesex Regt on their right. During the battle, a stretcher bearer Christopher Cox was awarded a VC. On the 17th March Achiet-le-Grand and Bihucourt were liberated.  Achiet to the Bedfords and Bihucourt to the Middlesex.

The 53rd brigade was alloted the village of irles which was capture on the 10th March 

See also his grandson web site.

The casualty list : Research of Steve Fuller www.bedfordregiment.org.uk

 Source: Martin Deacon "the Shiny Seventh"       Advance of the 7th Bedfords

                                                

    

    Views to and from sunken road                                      7th bedfords casualty list

In April, the British army decided to install  a casualty clearing station composed with the 45th and 49th CCS and Achiet-le-Grand became a railhead for the British army.

This casualty clearing station photo was sent to me by Alan Ramsay with permission to use it  (Great war forum)

 Visit this website  http://www.pathsofglory.co.uk/contents.htm

These casualty clearing stations worked  until the German spring offensive in March 1918

 

• In the air a terrible battle was on , they called it " bloody April ".                                                    A British pilot lasted on average only 17 hours in the air before being shot down.
   

Some extract of diaries

I guess that lost of troops detrained at Achiet then moved to their camps but also some would have been billeted around the village.I am trying to find them!

 

• The 2/1st London regiment (173 brigade , 58th division) camped at Achiet-le-Grand from 15 April 1917  to May 1917 then they attacked the Hindenburg line at Bullecourt in mid June. The battalion attended a funeral service on the 1st of july 1917 at Achiet for 9 men.
•  Lawrence Brown the Royal British Legion representative at Thiepval visitor centre forwarded to me what he found in the book about Achiet-le-Grand    " Henry Williamson  and the first world war "               

Henry Williamson 2nd Lt 208 th MGC

22nd May : Raining heavily, went to Achiet le grand to cinema in the evening.

2nd June : went in the evening to a concert at Achiet le Grand

5th June : went to Achiet le Grand to the picture

                                                                                                     

• The 2nd and the 5th December  1917 bombs dropped without damage on the railhead.