Man builds 60ft-long World War I TRENCH in his back garden

[Drache]

Surrounded by barbed wire, sandbags and mud, this 60ft trench is barely distinguishable from those occupied by British soldiers fighting in the First World War almost a century ago.

The enormous dugout has been painstakingly recreated by an ex-history teacher in his back garden in Surrey, and the dedicated 55-year-old even spent 24 hours living in its confines with a team of volunteers as part of his efforts to experience life as a WWI soldier.

Andrew Robertshaw and 30 helpers spent a month shifting around 200 tonnes of earth to build the enormous three-room trench, which he hopes will teach people more about the horrific living conditions endured by British troops during the Great War.

The father-of-one has even spent 24 hours living in the hole - which features a kitchen, infantry room, and officers' dugout - as part of an overnight re-enactment of trench warfare in the garden in Charlwood.

Mr Robertshaw - who acted as a military advisor on the Steven Spielberg epic War Horse - and a band of volunteers dressed up in replica uniforms and used rifles to fire blanks into the countryside during their stint in the trench.

'My grandfather fought in the war and was wounded three times,' said the historian, who also runs the Royal Logistics Corps Museum in Deepcut, Surrey.

'I wanted to show people that the war was about survival and not just about death. When the soldiers weren't fighting this is how they were living.

'The most common experience was living in a trench and trying to be as comfortable as possible while living in a hole in the ground,' he added.

With Remembrance Day approaching, Mr Robertshaw said it was particularly important to reflect on the living conditions endured by British troops.

'Many people will know someone who was involved in the war and it is a direct legacy to the world today,' he said.

Mr Robertshaw and his band of volunteers - which included soldiers from the 23 Pioneer Regiment Royal Logistics Corps - got a glimpse into the life of a Tommy when they spent 24 hours living in the trench and kept a diary of the experience.

'It's all about learning,' said Mr Robertshaw, who explained that all of the participants wrote about their experiences of cooking, eating and cleaning in the trench.

'I am an ex-history teacher and I just want people to know more about our history and the First World War is such a big part of that,' said the historian, who has appeared on the television programme Time Team and worked behind the scenes on Who Do You Think You Are?

'Particularly as Remembrance Day is coming up it is important to realise how those troops were living.'

The former teacher is in the process of creating a video for use is schools, which will explore the trench and include footage of some of his First World War re-enactments.

Mr Robertshaw is also hoping to launch a website through which schoolchildren can virtually explore the dugout.

The historian, who has opened the trench to the public in the past, said: 'I usually target war enthusiasts and societies like the Western Front Association, as it will mean more to them,' he said.

'I have just made a tester video for schools to use when teaching about the war and I have had an idea to make the trench available via the web.'

Mr Robertshaw said such a website would help bring history to life for youngsters watching.

'A website for the trench could be used by schools to give lectures which are much more realistic then looking at a black and white photograph, which is what we have at the moment,' he said.

Photographs of Mr Robertshaw's 24-hour stint in the trench are also included in his book, entitled 24 Hour Trench: A Day In The Life Of a Frontline Tommy, which is set in April 1917.

While the sprawling trench is overlooked by a number of other houses in Charlwood, Mr Robertshaw said he had received no complaints from neighbours and some even made cups of tea for the 'troops' during the overnight battle re-enactment.

Since building the dugout last summer Mr Robertshaw has sold his Surrey house and moved, but eager to hold on to the results of his ambitious project, he has retained ownership of the land housing the trench.

Steven Andrews, 63, who lives next to the trench in Charlwood, told how he hears the sound of gunfire emerging from the dugout when re-enactments are taking place.

'My land borders Andy's land but we have never had any real problems,' he said.

'The only issue I have ever raised is that I have horses and when the re-enactments are going on they can get easily spooked.

'Last time we came to an agreement that Andy would stop shooting at certain times when the horses were out.

'We can hear the gunfire from the house, he uses real rifles used in WWI, but as it isn't very often we don't mind,' Mr Andrews said.

Mr Robertshaw's latest book, 24 Hours In Battle, is due to be released next year.

Images of the re-enactment are taken from the book 24hr Trench: A Day in the Life of a Frontline Tommy by Andrew Robertshaw, published by The History Press, www.thehistorypress.co.uk.
























http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2226235/Historian-Andrew-Robertshaw-builds-60ft-long-First-World-War-TRENCH-Surrey-garden-highlight-plight-frontline-Tommies.html#ixzz2AysjpGsj

[JB400]

Sorry kids, grandpa took out your swing set.  Your going to get to play WW1 in the trench in the backyard.  No video games either.  Here's your rifles and your grenades, go have fun.  Don't get trenchfoot.  If you get hungry, there's horsemeat next door.  Just remember to have a truce at Christmas




No disrespect to our vets.  Thanks for your service

[Drache]

FYI the guy who has that in his back yard has a TV show called Trench Detectives: Finding The Fallen on the History channel. They dig up WWI trenches for artifacts, figure out who they belonged to, then contact the descendents of those soldiers and sometimes give them back the items.

[Old Moparz]

It's kind of neat, but I don't bring my work home with me like that.

[4cruzin]

I  say build another on the other side of the yard and have a paint ball war!   

[Magnumcharger]

Perhaps this is his physical manifestation of a past-life experience?

[Dino]

I  say build another on the other side of the yard and have a paint ball war!   

I like the way you think.   

[Chryco Psycho]

I hope I am never that bored !!

[Dino]

I hope I am never that bored !!

Yeah, don't start digging a trench in Panama now, that's been done.   

[Back N Black]

That's a lot of work. I hate digging trenches,especially at 0 dark stupid in the pouring rain. 

[Todd Wilson]

Great article! Glad to see someone is preserving the WWI era.   Its mostly been forgotton.


Todd

[DixieRestoParts]

Very Cool. WWI history is often overlooked. The 100 year anniversary is coming up, get your gear now to reenact !

My son and I participated in the 150th Anniversary of the battle of Antietam. It was a great experience, but physically very tough. It kicked my old butt. Here is a short clip made about the reenactment:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtAt5O8ax0l0%26feature%3Dyoutu.be%26hd%3D1&h=EAQHnG9JW&s=1

[Back N Black]

Very Cool. WWI history is often overlooked. The 100 year anniversary is coming up, get your gear now to reenact !

My son and I participated in the 150th Anniversary of the battle of Antietam. It was a great experience, but physically very tough. It kicked my old butt. Here is a short clip made about the reenactment:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtAt5O8ax0l0%26feature%3Dyoutu.be%26hd%3D1&h=EAQHnG9JW&s=1

Cool video! 

[ACUDANUT]

Only 24 hours in that dry trench would not give you a real feel of the misery endured.  It's cool though

[Ponch ®]

I hope I am never that bored !!

Yeah, don't start digging a trench in Panama now, that's been done.   

a man a plan a canal panama.

[ACUDANUT]

They should have just saved alot of money on that Panama Canal and just blew it up and flooded some land. No water locks.

[Drache]

Only 24 hours in that dry trench would not give you a real feel of the misery endured.  It's cool though

Dry at that moment, maybe. But if you look at the one picture of him standing in the trench, you can see his trench has the tendency to get very sloggy...

[JB400]

They should have just saved alot of money on that Panama Canal and just blew it up and flooded some land. No water locks.

If I remember correctly, one ocean is higher than the other.  I guess rotation of the Earth and the tides have something to do with that.  That is one reason why they have locks.  The other reason is the cost of having to go through all the rock.

[Ponch ®]

They should have just saved alot of money on that Panama Canal and just blew it up and flooded some land. No water locks.

If I remember correctly one ocean is higher than the other.  I guess rotation of the Earth and the tides have something to do with that.  That is one reason why they have locks.  The other reason is the cost of having to go through all the rock.

You remember correctly.  

[ACUDANUT]

They should have just saved alot of money on that Panama Canal and just blew it up and flooded some land. No water locks.

If I remember correctly, one ocean is higher than the other.  I guess rotation of the Earth and the tides have something to do with that.  That is one reason why they have locks.  The other reason is the cost of having to go through all the rock.

So, what would happen when some commie blows it all up.  ?

[JB400]

They should have just saved alot of money on that Panama Canal and just blew it up and flooded some land. No water locks.

If I remember correctly, one ocean is higher than the other.  I guess rotation of the Earth and the tides have something to do with that.  That is one reason why they have locks.  The other reason is the cost of having to go through all the rock.

So, what would happen when some commie blows it all up.  ?

Nothing really, except blowing it up.  Part of the reason for the locks are to raise the ships up high enough to get to the lake in the middle.  I'm sure there are probably some parts that would get flooded though, but not the whole country.  There is a mountain range running through the Central Americas

[TheGhost]

They should have just saved alot of money on that Panama Canal and just blew it up and flooded some land. No water locks.

If I remember correctly, one ocean is higher than the other.  I guess rotation of the Earth and the tides have something to do with that.  That is one reason why they have locks.  The other reason is the cost of having to go through all the rock.

So, what would happen when some commie blows it all up.  ?

This:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=epx_S05r-5E