Officer's Training Manual

Revetments

Col. Hawkins R.E

Trenches made in the early stages of the war were deep and narrow and therefore had no room for revetting (p.25 MFE). Consequently they fell in owing to the action of damp and also by shells falling close to them.
Trenches to date are wider, have a parapet, in most cases not higher than 2' (earlier trenches had little or none), and are revetted. They are therefore less exposed to the influence of the wet and shells.

Revetment posts cannot alone keep up the revetment therefore they are anchored, either by a peg or by a log buried in the parapet or parados. In both cases a wire is stretched from the peg or log to the post.

In clay the anchor should not be less than 3 times the depth of the trench away from the post. The anchor should also be in an irregular line.

Materials for Revetting

Brushwood, watling, hurdles, sods, planks, corrugated iron, wire netting, sand bags (33" x 14"), expanded metal. Cement bags are too big and clumsy. Wherever possible local material should be used. Germans use concrete. Planking: Whether open or close planking is to be used depends upon the nature of the ground.

Wire Netting: Sides of trench should be vertical. Recesses cut for posts. The netting must be stretched between the end posts before the rest are put in.

Fascines = 6' x 9'

Hurdles

p.12 MFE, plate 5.
7'6" x 2'9". 6' between end posts giving 9" overlap.

7 posts 3'6" long driven into ground 1' apart. Binding wire A put in first and tightened. Watling built up from A to B. B wire put in. Watling built from B to C. C wire put in. Overlap of 9" trimmed with saw.

Sod and Sandbag Walls

Sods and sandbags when used to build walls should be laid 'stretchers and headers', i.e. the first row of sods should be laid at right angles to the line of the trench and the 2nd row parallel with the trench. The face of a sandbag or sod wall should not be vertical and the bags or sods in it should lie at right angles to the face.

Sods should be laid grass down except the top layer and each sod should be pegged down to the sod below it.

When sods are used as a revetment the turf and backing should be built up at the same time. The top edge of parados should be sloped off.

Wire tightened with 'Spanish Windlass' weakens it.

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© A.D. Hesketh. Copyright notes. The original notebook has been donated to the museum of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, The Castle, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 2AY. Before this was done the notebook was loaned to me, and I am grateful to Catherine Crossley, a relative of 2nd Lt. Roberts for permission to copy it.. Consequently the material and images in this section should not be reproduced without the written consent of myself or the RWF museum.


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Officer's Training Manual Revetments Col. Hawkins R.E Trenches made in the early stages of the war were deep and narrow and therefore had no room for revetting (p.25 MFE). Consequently they fell in owing to the action of damp and also by shells falling close to them. Trenches to date are wider, have a parapet, in most cases not higher than 2' (earlier trenches had little or none), and are revetted. They are therefore less exposed to the influence of the wet and shells. Revetment posts cannot alone keep up the revetment therefore they are anchored, either by a peg or by a log buried in the parapet or parados. In both cases a wire is stretched from the peg or log to the post. In clay the anchor should not be less than 3 times the depth of the trench away from the post. The anchor should also be in an irregular line. Materials for Revetting Brushwood, watling, hurdles, sods, planks, corrugated iron, wire netting, sand bags (33" x 14"), expanded metal. Cement bags are too big and clumsy. Wherever possible local material should be used. Germans use concrete. Planking: Whether open or close planking is to be used depends upon the nature of the ground. Wire Netting: Sides of trench should be vertical. Recesses cut for posts. The netting must be stretched between the end posts before the rest are put in. Fascines = 6' x 9' Hurdles p.12 MFE, plate 5. 7'6" x 2'9". 6' between end posts giving 9" overlap. 7 posts 3'6" long driven into ground 1' apart. Binding wire A put in first and tightened. Watling built up from A to B. B wire put in. Watling built from B to C. C wire put in. Overlap of 9" trimmed with saw. Sod and Sandbag Walls Sods and sandbags when used to build walls should be laid 'stretchers and headers', i.e. the first row of sods should be laid at right angles to the line of the trench and the 2nd row parallel with the trench. The face of a sandbag or sod wall should not be vertical and the bags or sods in it should lie at right angles to the face. Sods should be laid grass down except the top layer and each sod should be pegged down to the sod below it. When sods are used as a revetment the turf and backing should be built up at the same time. The top edge of parados should be sloped off. Wire tightened with 'Spanish Windlass' weakens it. Return to Manual © A.D. Hesketh. Copyright notes. The original notebook has been donated to the museum of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, The Castle, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 2AY. Before this was done the notebook was loaned to me, and I am grateful to Catherine Crossley, a relative of 2nd Lt. Roberts for permission to copy it.. Consequently the material and images in this section should not be reproduced without the written consent of myself or the RWF museum.