In a vivid indication – if further indication were needed – of how fast the war was moving (and moving eastwards), 42 Squadron RAF was itself on the move again. After a mere nine days in Chocques, the squadron today travelled the 25 miles (40.5 km) ENE to Ascq, just east of Lille.
Log Book
Date: 22.10.18 Time Out: 7.00 Rounds Fired – Lewis: - Rounds Fired – Vickers: - Bombs: - Time on RE8s: 176 hrs 20 mins RE8: 2517 Observer: Scarterfield War Flying: 0 hrs 25 mins Height: 1500 Course/Remarks: Travelling flight to Ascq.
Squadron Record Book
Type and Number: R.E.8.27 Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Scarterfield Duty: Travelling Flight. Hour of Start: 0705 Hour of Return: 0735 Remarks: Travelling to new Aerodrome
This all looks fairly straightforward, until you consider which aeroplane Greg and Lt Scarterfield actually flew in. Was it 2517, as in Greg’s log book, or E27, as in the Squadron Record Book? Well, who knows. But if the reconnaissance flight on Friday 18 October 1918 (link below) wasn’t Greg’s last flight in E27, then today’s travelling flight certainly was.
From Artois to Flanders
Since 42 Squadron was deployed (as 42 Squadron RFC) to the Lys sector in March 1918, it has always operated out of aerodromes in the Pas-de-Calais département. These were (with dates of arrival, which are linked to the relevant posts):
- Chocques 22 March 1918
- Trèzennes 9 April 1918
- Rely 25 April 1918
- Chocques (again) 13 October 1918
Artois
Chocques, Trèzennes and Rely aerodromes were in the sizeable central portion of the Pas-de-Calais that was the ancient County of Artois (Dutch Artesië, whence the English adjective artesian, as in well), of which the capital was Arras.
Today was the day that 42 Squadron moved from Artois to Flanders – French Flanders, that is.
Flanders
Flanders was also an ancient (medieval) county whose territory is today in France and Belgium. Lille (Dutch Reisel) is one of its major cities, and its principal domestic railway station is Lille Flandres. Today, French Flanders is part of the Nord département.
The old course of the River Lys, as it flowed from west to east near Merville, marked the boundary between the counties of Artois and Flanders. It does the same job now, demarking the Pas-de-Calais and Nord départements. In acknowledgement of the ancient boundary, the dykes forming the north and south banks of the canalised River Lys are today known as the Digue de Flandres and the the Digue d’Artois.
Farewell to Chocques
Only having been in Chocques for just over a week, 42 Squadron barely had time to get their feet under the table. It can’t have felt much like home in so short a time. But Greg may have felt leaving Chocques to be significant for another reason. It was here that he first saw and probably heard the effect of the artillery of the Western Front, as he travelled through on his way to Rely in early June 1918. Chocques had been just 2½ miles from the front line:
Ascq
Ascq, where 42 Squadron was moving to, was a small settlement a couple of miles out into the countryside east of Lille, with a station on the railway line to Tournai. Today, it still has the station, but it has grown into Villeneuve-d’Ascq, which is practically a city in its own right. Villeneuve-d’Ascq is home to the Université de Lille, Campus Cité Scientifique, and to the headquarters of the well known French supermarket Auchan.
The site of the former aerodrome was south of the Rue des Fusilés (today the D941) and now accommodates a housing development. It is shown here with a red flag in the bottom right quadrant of square R.15 (i.e. R.15.d) of a First World War 1:40,000 scale map, and correspondingly on a modern map:
Zone Calls
The following zone calls are recorded in the Squadron Record Book today, together in each case with the word ‘Unobserved’. Presumably other squadrons put out these calls, calling for artillery fire on what appeared to be urgent and high value targets. The zones in question were all to the east of Tournai. But 42 Squadron was unable to observe the response to any of them as they were busy relocating to their new home, which was about 13 miles (21 km) miles to the west.
Zone Calls. P.C. G.F. TRAIN P.24.b.1.3 Unobserved J.C. N.F. A.A. J.25.a.85.75 " J.C. W.P. N.F. A.A. J.25.a " J.C. G.F. TRAIN J.31.d.2.6 W " J.C. G.F. TRAIN J.32.c.8.4 E " J.A. N.F. J.13.d.95.05 "
Translation Key:
- P.C., J.C. and J.A. are all map zones northeast (J.A. and J.C.) and east (P.C.) of Tournai.
- G.F.: Gun fire (or Fleeting target)
- N.F.: Guns Now Firing in position at…
- N.F.A.A.: Anti-aircraft ditto
- W.P.N.F.: Many batteries in square active (followed by location of square)
- W travelling west
- E travelling east
A Confusion of Zones
There’s something wrong with the first zone call (P.C. G.F. TRAIN P.24.b.1.3). Map position P.24.b.1.3 isn’t in zone P.C.; rather, it is is zone P.D. Which is wrong, the zone or the map reference? Well, a railway passes through P.24.b.1.3, so perhaps P.D. G.F. TRAIN P.24.b.1.3 was intended. But the same railway also passes through P.20.b.1.3, which is 4,000 yards to the west, in zone P.C. So maybe P.C. G.F. TRAIN P.20.b.1.3 was intended.
No doubt this ambiguous error caused some cursing on the part of the battery artillery commanders, as well as a few wasted shells.
A Bit of Light Exercise…
Armed with the above zone calls, the key, and knowledge of the above error, all that is needed to locate the targets on a map is, well, a map. So here it is, and I’ve marked the relevant zones on it. But the location of the targets is left as an exercise for the reader. (I’ve always wanted to write a sentence like that.) Help is at hand – see the link below the map.
Further information on map references and zone calls generally is available here:
Next Up…
The next entry in Greg’s log book is for Thursday 24 October 1918.