During the First World War, Etaples, a coastal fishing port
situated on the North-East French coast, 15 miles south of
Boulogne, was a base camp for the British Army, as well as a major
medical facility for wounded and sick troops, including both
British and Canadian hospitals. The Etaples camp also included a
military cemetery, which by the end of the war contained the graves
of more than 11,000 British and British Imperial soldiers. Soldiers
crossing the Channel on their way to the battlefields of the
Western Front found themselves at the Etaples camp, where they
would stay an average of two weeks undergoing further training and
drills. The training staff who oversaw them had a bad reputation
for either their training methods or their lack of genuine military
experience at the Front. The Etaples camp was also part of the
route taken by men on their way back to the UK. Opportunities for
leisure and recreation activities for soldiers away from the camp
could be found in Etaples town. Officers, meanwhile, headed to the
slightly more up-market beach resort of nearby Le Touquet, which
was separated from the Etaples area by the river Canche, and
accessible by a bridge. To ensure it remained 'just for officers,'
pickets, usually members of the Military Police, were placed on the
bridge to enforce its exclusiveness. The men's overall treatment,
conditions in the camp and the poor relationship between them and
members of the Military Police, was a cocktail for disaster,
culminating in a number of incidents in September 1917, which have
collectively become known as the Etaples Mutiny, the full story of
which can be found in this book.
General
Imprint: |
Pen & Sword Military
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
October 2020 |
Authors: |
Stephen Wynn
|
Dimensions: |
234 x 156 x 18mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
128 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4738-4603-6 |
Categories: |
Books >
Humanities >
History >
General
Books >
History >
General
|
LSN: |
1-4738-4603-X |
Barcode: |
9781473846036 |
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