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.



The Old Phone Box

I've moved this piece from my other blog, originally published 22 August 2014. About 2 dozen views.

The old man smiled sadly as he remembered their visits to Covent Garden. Impulsively, he swung the opera cape round his shoulders for one last time. Shoulders that slumped a little as he admitted to himself that he was too old for that sort of thing now - and it would be no fun without Janet anyway.  His daughter was right. He should declutter, stop clinging to old memories and act his age.

Excited voices interrupted the silence. “Doctor! We need you! The Daleks are coming!

The years fell away as he bounded to the door.

 
Arthur gasped and Susan’s eyes bulged. Mum and Dad were right when they said he wasn’t like other grandfathers. Today he was wearing what looked like Count Dracula’s cape. Everyone else's granddads wore normal clothes, or maybe a suit for Sunday best - and - none of them could travel through time.

Don knew what was expected of him. He grabbed two small hands and yelled “Run!” The Doctor and his companions raced to the old phone box by the village pub. As the children squeezed through the narrow door, they wondered what adventures were in store today. Don repeated the well-worn phrase “All of time and space; everywhere and anywhere; every star that ever was. Where do you want to start?”

Arthur almost shrieked: “The old days! When you were young!”

Don decided to let that pass.

Susan, almost pleading, “Can we go somewhere romantic this time?”

Arthur groaned “Nooo! We had soppy stuff last time.”

Don said, rather dryly, “Nelson’s victory at Waterloo was hardly soppy.”

Arthur’s said “There was kissing. Yuk. I want to see soldiers. I’m going to be a soldier when I grow up.”

Susan added “I’m going to be an Opera singer like gran.”

Don asked “Who said you can’t have romance and soldiers? … and Opera singing too?”  His hands moved deftly across the powerful objects in front of them. There was a wheezing, groaning sound as they were transported to 1981. It was the day when Lady Di, as she was known then, married Prince Charles.

 
The time machine had taken them to the heart of the action. As the procession wound its way round London, Arthur marvelled at the soldiers with gleaming medals and shiny boots. He was thrilled to see glossy horses pulling carriages.  Susan stood on tip-toe and craned her neck trying to catch sight of the princess-to-be, crammed in a coach with her bridesmaids and an implausible amount of creamy silk. 

“Why’s her dress so creased? It’s not as nice as Kate’s.”

The bride walked down the aisle, almost holding up her frail father. As the couple exchanged vows and muddled their names, Don glanced at Arthur wondering if he was getting bored.  The boy was absorbed in the scene – a spectacular birds-eye view of the couple on the red carpet surrounded by the black and white tiled floor. “That’s awesome. I’m going to build cathedrals when I grow up.” Susan hung onto every moment as the soprano sang her aria.

Then they were swept along with huge crowds in the Mall until they were right in from of the palace.  Arthur rolled his eyes as the couple kissed. And then …

A tap on the phone box door. “We need to go …” said Don. “… and let someone else choose a book.”

Inspirations:

 

The phone box by the pub gave me the idea for this story.

 

• The old red phone box, now a library, by The Foresters Arms pub in Fairwarp
• Bob’s sheet of paper that could transport people
• Trying to storyboard a first draft to show not tell
• … and, of course, a Sci-Fi series I have enjoyed since I was a child.