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Overview
This paper and cloth sheet trench map of Ficheux, France is part of a set issued to Captain George Middleton Turner (15th Royal Warwickshire Regiment, United Kingdom) in preparation for the Battle of the Somme. Turner survived the War and after travelling widely through the 1920s, he settled in New Zealand. He retired to Nelson and died 1973.
This map was produced by Ordnance Survey, Southampton, United Kingdom and bears the hand written date 26 June 1916. The map depicts known German trenches and defences. A small hand drawn overlay at top left depicts British trenches with red crayon arrows depicting lines of attack. The map contains a glossary on verso and its cover features a visual index of adjoining maps. British Army trench maps such as this example are an excellent resource for studying First World War battlefields. They show the location of front lines, communication trenches, enemy positions, strongpoints and defences. They also show the names of farms, woods and villages, many of which have become famous in themselves.
The large 1/10,000 scale of the map is also of First World War military history significance. British Army Trench Maps developed from the shift from movement to a static situation of trench warfare on the Western Front. This shift required the production of larger scale maps so that units in the trenches could use them to locate enemy defensive positions and to accurately build a picture of the type of ground held by the enemy. New maps were produced from a new survey of the ground on the British fighting front from January 1915. These maps were produced by a large operation of field survey companies. By the time this map was produced, the Geographical Section of the General Staff at the War Office were joined by trained surveyors from the Ordnance Survey in Southampton and Royal Engineer observers and topographers.