By Des Quinn and Martin Williams

Unfortunately, we don’t know who

Bert was. He is just one of the

countless young men who went from

Wales to fight in the fields of France

and Flanders.

The cap badge tells us that Bert was

in the Welsh Regiment. Welsh

Battalions were heavily involved

during the Battle for Mametz Wood

in July 1916.

Bert could have been one of these

soldiers.Bert would most certainly have had a wealth of knowledge regarding Welsh involvement on the Western Front and the terrible conditions that troops found themselves living and fighting in.

Photograph courtesy of M. Williams

If Bert had been at Mametz Wood, imagine what he would have

to say on the morning of the 12th July when the wood was

finally cleared by the 21st Division.

Welsh soldiers had been engaged in battle with German

soldiers within the wood from the 7th of July. On the 7th July

alone the 38th (Welsh) Division suffered 400 casualties as

German artillery and machine-gun fire ripped into advancing

troops. Three sets of brothers died during the assault on the

wood that day.

On the 10th July another frontal assault on the wood took place,

and again many men were lost due to machine-gun fire and

‘friendly’ artillery rounds that fell amongst the battalions who

had forged ahead into the wood itself.

Again, on the 11th, attacks took place, this time on the northern and eastern edges of the wood. Exhausted, many battalions had to be withdrawn from battle and replaced by fresh soldiers that had been held in reserve. As had happened on the 10th, the British artillery “opened up” and for hours the Welsh soldiers had to take cover in shell holes and ditches before continuing the advance against heavy German resistance.

The 38th Division losses at Mametz Wood:

Killed 46 Officers 556 other ranksWounded 138 Officers 2,668 other ranksMissing 6 Officers 579 other ranks

Total 190 Officers 3,803 other ranks

Why did the soldiers of the 38th Division carry on the attacks on Mametz Wood even thought the loss of life was immense?

Imagine what Bert would have said about the assault on

Mametz Wood, what he would have felt and how he would have

described his experiences.

Because of censorship he would not have been able to write

much about what had happened. But what if he did write a

detailed letter home, or a diary entry, that he had no intention

of posting. Many cards and letters were never posted, but

handed over to family members and loved ones by friends who

went home on leave.

You are Bert.

Write a letter or series of diary entries describing the

preparation for the assault on Mametz Wood and the assault

itself.

* How did your battalion prepare for the battle? What did you expect?

* How did you feel before the battle and when you saw the first troops advance?

* What happened during the battle? Which events stood out from others?

* How did you feel on the 12th July when you knew the battle for the wood was

over?