High Wood Barracks

Dear Jeff, May I have a copy of your notes you compiled from your research regarding the 1st Surreys engagement on 15 Sep 1916 please. I am the commanding officer of Dulwich Air Cadets. Many thanks. KEVIN MEHMET Flight Lieutenant Officer Commanding 1475 (Dulwich) Squadron ATC [email protected]

MacR, point taken! Thank you. The German fortification the Dulwich's Regiment was trying to take (and here, let's not forget the men from Peckham and Camberwell who were also in that regiment) was part of the Tank deployment plans. The book "The Hell They Called High Wood" covers it. Peckham-Perkster, thank you. I will speak with Greg and get back to you. If a fund were to be set up, I am sure my trustees would look after it as we are a registered charity and publish audited accounts. However, some news for you all. I am dealing with Southwark Council about this matter and we are looking at what preservatiuon and conservation issues there are. These need to be established before we apply for planning permission and go through that process. So I will keep you posted. Lastly, I notice how interested you all are about the Forces, so do have a look at this site please: http://www.1475.org/7001.html That is it for now. KM

Thank you, Scor46. I am Flight Lieutenant Kevin Mehmet RAFVR(T), the Air Cadets Commander and the senior officer at High Wood. That is a very kind offer of yours. By the way, which pub? Greg and I will drop in for a pint one evning, if that is all right? Thank you again. MacR, my apologies. I should have know it was ANZAC Day.

Hull MacRoban, I can see the 11th, but the 25th April?

Sorry it is: "THE HELL THEY CALLED HIGH WOOD"

Good afternoon, Forum. Commanding Officer Air Cadets here again. In answer to Lozzyloz, yes there is a book and it is called: "The They Called High Wood" by Terry Norman. Also, thank you Greg.

Hullo everyone. Writing under "High Wood Barracks," I am the senior officer commanding Dulwich Air cadets and together with the Army Cadets Commander we run the High Wood Cadet Centre on Lordship Lane (which we still refer to as High Wood Barracks to keep the name alive), which is now all that is left of High Wood Barracks (the TA Centre). I thought I should make a contribution to this forum. Firstly some history might serve a useful starting point. High Wood Barracks were named to commemorate the Battle of High Wood fought on the Somme, Northern France by the men from the villages of Dulwich, Camberwell and Peckham who made up the two battalions of Dulwich's own regiment, the 21st County of London Regiment (The First Surreys). The 2nd Battalion fought in Egypt while the 1st Battalion on the Somme. The Battle of High Wood began in the afternoon of 15 September 1916 when 550 men led by 19 officers of "The First Surreys" were ordered to make a direct attack on a line of German fortifications which was separating two wings of a British force. When the battalion reached the ridge of High Wood, they came into full view of the enemy guns. The leading platoons were wiped out by heavy German fire, but the survivors kept steadily on until they were able to make a final assault on the German trenches. The engagement had lasted for one hour, during which time "The First Surreys" were virtually annihilated, and when they were ordered to withdraw the following morning, 60 men and two officers returned. The war memorial on Dulwich Common was erected to honour the 1100 dead of Dulwich's own regiment in that war and of course now, like other memorials other wars too. In 1932 the Barracks were built and named "High Wood" for the same reasons. Now that the Barracks have been knocked down and turned into flats, we at the cadet centre keep the memory going. There are plans being considered to move the memorial to the cadet centre and dedicate the entire cadet centre as the memorial. The names of the dead were on a memorial in St Giles Church in Camberwell, until the vicar there some years back tore it down and disposed of it. If this forum is interested, the sacrifice of the men from Camberwell, Dulwich, and peckham is commemorated each year (the nearest Sunday to the 15th September) at St Giles Church, Camberwell. We hope to see you there! Watch this! space for deatils. That is it for now.