On 6 Oct 1918, the 15th Durham Light Infantry would attack across this ground to take the fortified Ferme de Montecouves, seen in the distance. A number of Durhams would die that day, amongst them was Corporal Thomas Marshall Iley, my wife’s great uncle.

An insignificant piece of farmland today but back in 1918 it formed part of the Beaurevoir Line which was well wired and strong in concrete machine-gun emplacements. The Durhams took and held their objectives without artillery support but not without cost.

By Paul Colbourne, SGWT Battlefield Guide