Mail call for Scottish troops after the Battle of the Ancre, during World War 1. A soldier distributes mail to the troops who eagerly gather around him on a hill overlooking fields below.
Battle of the Ancre in World War 1. The British 63rd Division (Royal Naval Division) assembling after the attack and capture of Beaucourt-sur-l'Ancre. Troops of the Division smiling as they pose for the camera. Two are seen wearing captured German helmets. Four of the troops pose wearing captured German helmets. The troops march in formation to the rear for rest.
Following the Battle of Ancre in World War 1, British troops await buses to take them back from the front to Rest Billets in the rear. The transports arrive and they board.One bus stops enroute for several more soldiers, including an artilleryman wearing Goatskin. Soldiers of the British West Yorkshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's own) and the Worcester Regiment, marching to the rear for a rest, alongside line of trucks headed the opposite way, toward the front.
Ruined villages of Martinpuich and Beaumont Hamel show utter devastation with nothing left standing above ground level. A lonely soldier walks through the silent wreckage. Scene shifts to Scottish troops resting at side of road near Beaumont Hamel. British soldier walks along what was the main street of Beaumont Hamel, where nothing is left standing but a few stubs and twigs of trees. British soldiers, digging in a hill of debris, unearth a German machine gun.
Battle of the Ancre in World War 1. Views of German positions that British Forces captured, on the higher bank of the river. Marshes of the Ancre River, showing barbed wire in the water through which the British troops had to struggle during the battle.
World War 1. after the Battle of the Ancre. Scottish Rifles Cameronians Regiment marching back from the front lines, led by their Regimental pipe band. Soldiers from Ireland (Irish 16th Division) take advantage of the temporary calm to sleep and rest in their trenches. Soldiers using the respite to wash and shave in their redoubt. Trops of the Scottish Rifles Cameronians Regiment gather together for evening of relaxation and song, accompanied by musicians from their Regimental band. Soldier in right foreground wears the insignia of the Cameronians on his service cap.