Category: WW2

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Thanks for cleanup of WW2 water tank

WW2 water tank and its interior (inset)

Readers may remember that this historic WW2 water tank on the Heath was in a real mess with all sorts of litter, wood and leaves. We made a big effort to clean it out in 2016 and 2017, but inevitably it started to fill again. Now, we are very pleased that someone has cleaned it out as shown in the inset picture. Thank you very much that person.

By the way, the depression inside the tank on the left has been the subject of some speculation – maybe it was designed to extract the last of the water which would otherwise be distributed over a larger area and difficult to pump out.

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Parchmarks on the Heath

Telltale signs
In very dry weather the grass of Verulamium Park shows clear signs of the Roman buildings below the surface. Bernards Heath, not to be outdone, has its own version, but indicating more recent history. The marks in the recent hot spell could not have been clearer (See ground level below and Google aerial photo, the latter taken before the marks had fully developed).

The marks in the recent hot spell could not have been clearer (See ground level below and Google aerial photo, the latter taken before the marks had fully developed).

Archaeologists refer to signs in vegetation growth as cropmarks, or parchmarks when the effect is extreme. If re-filled ditches or pits lie beneath the surface plants will grow better over them and resist drought. The reverse happens when walls or foundations just beneath the surface reduce the amount of topsoil holding moisture.

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Autumn Action Day 2017

Well done, and thank you, to everyone who helped with our action day on Sunday, 19th November. 

Litter and dumping of various items is a constant problem on the Heath, particularly around seating areas and on the sides of Harpenden Road.  We do our best to keep it clear and keep the Heath a welcoming area for public use.

Action days are not restricted to litter picking, and some of us worked on cleaning out the old water tank close to the old Judo Club.The tank was constructed during WW2 for a supply of water in the event of fire, but has since become a container for rubbish and leaves.  We made a start on cleaning it out last November and this was the second attempt.

A determined effort revealed that much more rubbish, especially rubble, had been dumped than realised, probably to a depth of nearly 10 inches (25 cm) in one area. More work is needed.

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Christmas on the Home Front – Bernards Heath in 1917

We’re having a tree at the St Saviour’s Christmas Tree Festival – our theme will be ‘Christmas on the home front in Bernards Heath in 1917‘. We know from the Roll of Honour that thirty-four  young men (see below) from the Bernards Heath area died at the Front that year, and we know their names, but we don’t know anything else about them. 16 of the 34  were killed at Passchendaele.

Our tree will honour them, and remember what was going on back home that Christmas. Can you, or anyone you know who had family in Bernards Heath back then, help us with any information about them, or the Christmas customs locally in 1917? If you can help, please get in touch emailing Jenny Burley, jennyburley1@gmail.com

Jenny is making 34 of these decorative poppies for the tree

The 34 names from the Roll of Honour for 1917:

Captain Guy Frederick Bailey MC, 7 July 1917 (Western Front)
Private Charles Aubrey Bamford, 29 November 1917 (Western Front)
Lieutenant Henry Lee Betts, 20 September 1917 (Western Front)
Private Percy Buck, 31 July 1917 (Western Front)
Private Albert Edward Butcher, 24 December 1917 (Western Front)
Corporal Frederick Ernest Butcher, 20 July 1917 (Palestine)
Gunner Cyril Hugh Thomas Calvert, 9 October 1917 (Western Front)
Private Charles Ridgway Cooper, 12 April 1917 (Western Front)
Private Albert Josiah Critten, 28 April 1917 (Western Front)
Driver Charles Robert George Day, 29 November 1917 (Egypt)
Private Walter Dennis, 28 April 1917 (Western Front)
Private George Field, 20 October 1917 (Western Front)
Private Harry James Gates, 26 November 1917 (Western Front)
Private Charles William Harris, 23 July 1917 (Western Front)
Private Alfred Thomas Hopkins, 20 September 1917 (Western Front)
Private George Marcus Hornett, 22 September 1917 (Western Front)
Private Arthur Ivory, 23 April 1917 (Western Front)
Private Harry Ivory, 3 August 1917 (Western Front)
Corporal Ernest Walter Izzard, 31 July 1917 (Western Front)
Private James William Keech, 21 September 1917 (Western Front)
Bombardier Henry John Manners, 21 October 1917 (Western Front)
Private Kenneth Ernest Knott, 21 September 1917 (Western Front)
Midshipman Richard Owen, 14 June 1917 (Atlantic Ocean)
Sergeant William James Payne, 31 July 1917 (Western Front)
Private Harry Peacock, 28 April 1917 (Western Front)
Lieutenant Geoffrey Edward Sewell, 2 September 1917 (Western Front)
Gunner Bertram Christian Sexton, 1 November 1917 (Western Front)
Lance Corporal Alfred Stone, 24 June 1917 (Western Front)
Private Charles Stratton, 28 March 1917 (Western Front)
Gunner William Taylor, 30 September 1917 (Western Front)
Gunner Arthur George Tyler, 8 July 1917 (Western Front)
Captain Harold Henry Underwood, 19 April 1917 (Palestine)
Private Frank Warwick, 8 December 1917 (Western Front)
Quartermaster Frank Arthur Wilkinson, August 1917 (on active service in the merchant marine)