Current Information:

Enlisted-Mill Hill

In mid-February , 1916, 12th Division returned to the area of the Hohenzollern Redoubt that they had left in November 1915 after the Battle of Loos. Since then, by mortaring, shelling and mining the Germans had captured The Chord, a trench that had been the British front line.  They had exploded some shallow mines in the clay above the chalk which formed craters with high lips which made perfect observation posts for them with the British front line strung across the slope below them. 

On 23rd March, 1916, 11th Middlesex of 36 Brigade moved into the front line here.  On the evening of the following day, 24th March, the enemy exploded a mine which enlarged one of the existing craters and at the same time destroyed 3 of the saps that pushed forward from the British front line. The sentries who were holding these saps were, in the words of the Battalion Diary, ‘wiped out’. The Germans followed this up by occupying the new crater and thereby threatening the British front line. During the night 2 raiding parties of about 20 men each, were sent to clear these saps of the enemy, which they managed to do successfully, but they were unable gain control of the crater. 11th Middlesex suffered over 20 casualties in this incident, including 9 men who were either killed or missing, presumed killed. One of the dead was Frederick Mills.