WING CORNER

WING CORNER, FRICOURT

This is a recent photograph of the German "Wing Corner" machine gun position of 1^st July 1916. The telegraph pole marks the spot. The camera is facing No Man's Land with the site of the British front line trenches on that day marked by the line of houses in the photograph. The present tree lined Bois Francais location is on a ridge to the left of the camera. The posts at the end of the lane on the left of the photograph mark the end of the Sunken Road. The 7^th Green Howards came from the position of the line of houses across the fields (then No Man's Land) towards "Wing Corner" bravely charging into devastating enemy fire. It will be noted that the German machine gun position also enabled accurate fire to be focused not only across No Man's Land to the front but also to the right and to the left up the Sunken Road. This accounts for the heavy casualties received by the 10^th West Yorks (on the German’s right) at 0730 hrs on the 1^st July and by the 20^th Manchesters (on the German’s left) later that day. "Wing Corner" was finally taken by the 1^st Royal Welch Fusiliers bombing down the German trenches running parallel to the Sunken Road.

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