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Operation Kiwi Monday, October 13th, 2014
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We are very pleased to announce that a DVD recording the work undertaken by the team during Operation Kiwi, the excavation of the Terrain Model of Messines on Cannock Chase is now available at at cost of ÂŁ15 + ÂŁ2 p&p for delivery to a UK address or ÂŁ15 + ÂŁ5 p&p for delivery outside the UK.
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Told in three parts of 50 minutes each, experts, volunteers and locals reveal the story of the model from its construction, through its use as a tourist attraction to the 2013 excavations and the landscape over which the Battle of Messines was fought in 1917. Created as part of the process of recording the excavations and research, this is a non profit product and is only available in the PAL format. (Europe, New Zealand, Australia).
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Filed under: A Dig Diary, Great War History by
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Finds from the Chateau de la Hutte Thursday, July 24th, 2014
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As the excavations continue up on the hill, amongst the ruins of the chateau we are getting a mixture of finds; some military and some probably from objects from a more domestic context. Through conservation yesterday was the sole of military boot (British type) with the date 1917 stamped into the insole.
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 British boot sole with 1917 on the insole _
We also had a large, white with blue fleck enamel kettle. This still had soot on the bottom (from the stove) and lime-scale inside. One of the benefits of doing the conservation work in the Plugstreet 14-18 Experience is we get to meet lots of visitors. Yesterday we spoke with a lovely elderly Belgian lady in her 80’s who remembered that her mother had a similar kettle in white enamel with roses on it.
 White enamel kettle _
We have also started to get lots of pieces of embossed sheet metalwork no doubt part of some decorative fixture from the chateau.
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Filed under: A Dig Diary, Archaeology by
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Some early finds Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014
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We are now on day 3 of Plugstreet 2014. We have got a wide variety of finds coming out of the trenches at Chateau de la Hutte and Plugstreet Wood._
The Finds Team always get quite excited when we can identify and provenance some of the objects we receive. For example, the bottle fragment below didn’t look much when it came in. After cleaning we could read the words “Royal Warrant”. Some cursory research revealed this is likely an Idris Ginger Beer bottle – a delightfully British find in rural Belgium! Lots of complete bottles of this type have been found on the Somme battlefields.
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 Idris Ginger Beer bottle _
Although most people think of fighting in this part of Belgium being associated with the First World War and especially the Battle of Messines in 1917. However this ground also was fought over during May 1940 when parts of the British Expeditionary Force attempted to delay the German advance and keep the “Dunkirk corridor” open for a bit longer. We were excited to find some German cartridge cases. These were cleaned to reveal the headstamps (markings on the base of the case which indicate such things as date and place of manufacture). In this case we had one brass case round made in Magdeburg in 1936, while others were of copper coated steel made in 1938/39. _
 German Mauser round |
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Back in Plugstreet Monday, July 21st, 2014
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The team assembled outside the Auberge at 9am today. This year we are investigating two sites behind the front line, one a point marked on the maps from 1917 onwards, the other situated on the highest land in Allied hands prior to the Battle of Messines.
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On of our two trenches in the grounds of La Hutte Chateau, with a curious spread of cinders and debris from the building.
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The other trench has also revealed a small amount of demolition rubble and evidence of communication wire.
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In the woods we have opened two trenches, one in search of the light railway, the other in search of the feature on the maps.
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In preparation for our 2014 excavations Monday, July 14th, 2014
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The team are currently preparing for the 2014 trip to the battlefields. As you can imagine a lot of work goes into researching potential targets for excavation long before we arrive on site, many hours are spent examining maps, documents, war diaries and photographs alongside geophysics results in order to maximize our limited time in the field.
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As this year sees the centenary of the start of the Great War, team members have been exceptionally busy all year with our own projects and working with other groups to help others learn about their own families and local communities. Already we have seen a large increase in the volume of contributions of stories and photos of those who took part in the Battle of Messines to be listed on our website, every one unique and a great addition to building the bigger picture of events. If your relative was one of the many men involved in the battle, please consider adding their name to our site along with any details you have.
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If you are looking for help with researching your relative, you may find the The Wartime Memories Project help with research useful, they also have a huge collection of stories from all aspects of the war.
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We have also recently been sent a copy of the excellent free booklet 1914-1919 As Reported At The Time, which has been produced by Historic Newspapers as a teaching resource. Teachers and education institutions can apply for a copy via the link.
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Filed under: A Dig Diary, Archaeology by
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Preparing for the Cannock Chase excavation Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013
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Plugstreet 14-18 Interpretation Centre Tuesday, March 6th, 2012
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This week we have a small team in Flanders, undertaking an evaluation of the site for the new interpretation centre prior to building works beginning.
 Starting the evaluation trenches
We will be looking at the area of the main building and the car park.
More photos are available at:
www.ploegsteert.info
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England v Germany Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
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Having received a challenge from a group of young Germans who are working in Flanders with the VDK, a football match was held in the field across the road from the Plugstreet Memorial. Despite the age disadvantage, our team scored first! Three cheese (yellow) cards were issued by the referee and one ham (red) to our cameraman for joining in play from the sideline. Alastair made some fantastic saves against the excellent skills of the opposition. Thanks to Claude from the Plugstreet Auberge for arranging the match and providing half time beers for our team (sorry Germany your players were too young to drink)
Final score was 7-4 to Germany.
 A good goal! |
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Plugstreet 2011 Monday, July 25th, 2011
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The 2011 season begins today, it’s good to be back on site with old friends and new. This year we are continuing investigations near Ultimo crater, hoping to resolve the 3 year long puzzle of Team Nosferatu’s epic excavations, Avril’s team will be looking at an area ajoining last year’s trench and Kirsty’s team will be looking at the German third line.
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