The Bunker
The Pillbox at Pondfarm.
Information:
This strengthening has been lain beside the farm Roeselarestraat 7 (with Right
of the road a chapel).It concerns here a similar construction such as Kaserne 2
dukeAlbrecht. Here there was however no pace with narrow gauge line. Supposedly
construction also this was used as aid mail . At present rest there still only
one of the five chambers. The front has a cross-section of 140 cm! The roof
measures 115 cm at its thinnest place (above the upper partof golf plate
formwork) nóg. The back is only 24 cm thick. The construction work was mainly
demolished in the summer 1961. In the immediate surroundings then also a second
similar strengthening with six chambers was clearred. There also Kaserne 1
sepulchre stood Haeseler some hundreds of metersnorthward (in the direction of
Sint-Julien, correctly at south of the ` Prinsenhof). These was, with its 40
meters length and 6 meters breadth, nóg larger than Kaserne 2. History: The farm
and its surroundings became, just like the previous strengthenings, conquered on
31 July 1917. In contrast with the previous places on our rondrit, the
surroundings had be given by at temporary hands. It would last then still wide
three weeks before they could reconquerthe strengthenings. 2/5de the battalion
Lancashire lost Fusiliers there by about 500 of the 593 men.
Found in a book:
Pill Boxes on the Western Front
Take the road south out of st-julien to fortuinhoek. An area well covered by
machine-guns housed in the pondfarm pill box. About 300 yards to the left. A
mile past Pondfarm in the direction of passchendaele, on the left at the
junction marked s’graventafel is a Brittish concrete shelter, named Winbledon,
built in to the lee of the rising ground.
Pondfarm pill box, by the crossroads South of St Julien, was
captured bye the 55th division 31 july, 1917, after the liverpool Scottrish and
South Lancashire battalions had been held up by machine-gun fire from it. The
Lacastrians consolidated the position and pressed on to Kansas Cross, 1.000
yards further on. The ground taken and the strongpoint at Pondfarm had to be
given up after a counterattack by the 60th reserve regiment, supported bye
aircraft bombing and machine-gunning grom low level. The Brittish front line
remained 300 yards in front of the farm ( just about where the crossroad is
today) for the next two weeks. On Ledlie, made a dermined attempt to take the
pillbox but where beaten back. On 22 August D company of the 14th Battalion
attacked and captured the position, lost it to a counter attack, and retook it
assisted by C Company at 12 noon that day. Captain Tubbs, second lieutenants
Davies and fifty-two men wounded in the attack.
The pillbox inflicted many casualties on the 21ste Oxfordshire
and Buckinghamshires, who were
trying
to advance ont he right. Their battalion war diary states, ‘The Hun fought well
when protected with concrete.
The back of the bunker.
Pay attention to the cross-section
of the roof (as from the upper partof access)
Left on the photograph: beginning
of the door of the second last chamber.
To here the strengthening was demolished.
Notice the breach of the opening.
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