WWI Verdun Oak - Scaynes Hill

I was intrigued by the Woodland Trust's call for information about Verdun Oaks. They say:

• More than 400,000 French and German lives were lost in the longest running battle of the First World War.
• After the fighting ended, acorns were collected from the battlefields and planted in our towns as a tribute to the fallen. Why and how the acorns came to the UK is an unfolding story and one we would love to complete.

They also have pictures of some of the oaks in Coventry, Pembridge, Lichfield, Southwold, Leominster.  I found myself wondering more about the battle, which I'd never encountered.

The battle of Verdun

The East Sussex WWI web site explains that Verdun was a fortress town. They say:
The German artillery opened fire at 7:15am on 21st February 1916 and over the course of ten hours fired over one million shells before the German infantry attacked.

They go on to describe a lengthy war of attrition. Meanwhile the Battle of the Somme was starting.
... the effort required from Germany to defend against the British to the north whilst also fighting the French at Verdun proved almost impossible to maintain.
... By the time the battle ended on 20th December 1916 the Germans had lost all of the territory they had gained earlier in the year and the area around Verdun had been utterly devastated by nearly ten months of constant fighting.

Verdun: A Field Kitchen © IWM (Art.IWM ART 3342) - shows trees in the background.

 The Keep the Home Fires Burning web site quotes from a contemporary publication, which said:

When Lord French visited Verdun he picked up a handful of chestnuts and announced his intention of planting in his grounds an avenue as a perpetual souvenir of the city. When this became known the authorities at Verdun were besieged with applications for acorns and chestnuts. They could not supply all the demand but a quantity was sent to the L&N.W.R., and were put on sale in aid of the War Seal Foundation (L.&N.W.R. Section.) This aims to provide homes for employees of the company totally disabled in the war. Boxes containing specimens are available from 7, Euston Square, London, for 2s 6d. The acorns are from the forests of Vaux and Douaumont, and the chestnuts from the Place de la Madeleine, at Verdun.

Having seen the Woodland Trust piece, I did a bit of Googling and found a couple of mentions of a Verdun Oak in Scaynes Hill.  In 2009, the council replaced the plaque explaining what the tree is. The newsletter says:

This is a call to local historians to tell us more about the “Verdun Oak”. There was a plaque on the Oak Tree in Ham Lane that it had been agreed we should replace. This is however a potentially expensive exercise so before we sally forth we would like to find out more about the history of the tree and its relevance to Scaynes Hill. It is reported that the acorn was brought back from Verdun after the battle in 1916. If you know anything about the history of the tree please contact our Parish Clerk, Karin Milne in the office.

The plaque was subsequently installed.  I visited some years later, on Saturday the 21st of February, 2016, exactly 100 years after the battle of Verdun started.  A gentleman walking his dog pointed the tree out and I took a photo.

Verdun Oak, photographed 21 February, 2016.

I hope to find out more about this tree.  I have connections in this area and am wondering if they are connected with this tree in some way.  I've started collecting some information about Scaynes Hill in the WWI era.