In a sign of the changing fortunes of the war, Greg and Lt Scarterfield today had the task of locating battery positions. Nothing unusual about that, you may think, as locating hostile batteries in Counter Battery Patrols was a staple activity for corps squadrons such as 42 Squadron RAF. But the difference here was that the batteries being located were not hostile but friendly. The question being asked of the aircrew was: where have our artillery advanced to?
Log Book
Date: 6.10.18 Time Out: 8.50 Rounds Fired – Lewis: - Rounds Fired – Vickers: - Bombs: - Time on RE8s: 164 hrs 45 mins RE8: 4889 Observer: Scarterfield War Flying: 1 hrs 35 mins Height: 1000 Course/Remarks: Battery positions. Four found.
Although Greg’s log book doesn’t tell us where the batteries were, the Squadron Record Book does:
Squadron Record Book
Type and Number: R.E.8.4889
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Scarterfield
Duty: Reconnaissance
Hour of Start: 0850.
Hour of Return: 1025.
Remarks: Locating battery positions.
Ground strips at the following places.
S- H.17.d.4.4. )
P- H.28.d.5.6. )
F.J- H.3.c.5.5. ) Dropped at C.W.S
B.J. H.9.a.5.5. )
===
Returned owing to mist and rain.
Vis. fair. Height 1000 ft. Obs. by P.&.O.
The S, P, F.J and B.J would have been battery identification letters, marked out in ground strips, discussed in the background article on Shoots. “C.W.S.” is the Central Wireless Station, where the message containing the positions was dropped.
All the four battery locations were to the west and south of Armentières, as the following map shows:
Not many weeks before, all these positions were behind the German front line, which was here known to the British as the Estaires-Lys Line. The position in square H.28 was even behind the German second line (the Fleurbaix-Houplines Line).
Today, the battery positions in squares H.9 and H.17 are more or less on the path of the high speed rail line from Calais to Lille. The Eurostar trains smoothly race over a lot of history.