Improvised sign 'THIS WAS VILLERS CARBONNEL' : Villers-Carbonnel, France Accession Number: RELAWM00839

Description

Improvised sign constructed of two wooden planks painted black and stencilled with white letters 'THIS WAS VILLERS CARBONNEL.' 'No 27' is hand painted in small white lettering in the bottom left hand corner. There are two large splits in the wood and the paint is beginning to fade and wear off. There are five nail holes located centrally in the sign which were used for securing the sign to a post, in addition there are two metal hooks located at the reverse of the sign used for supporting the sign via a hanging wire.

Contextual Description

Villers-Carbonnel is a small village 7.5 kilometers south west of Péronne in the Somme. It was occupied by the Germans from 1914 until 1917 when they retreated voluntarily to the Hindenburg line. The village was recaptured by the Germans in March 1918 during their Spring Offensive and was finally recaptured by the Allies in August 1918. The main AIF action at Villers-Carbonnel was on 29-30 August 1918, when the 31st Battalion advanced through the village, taking two prisoners.

It was common for the British to erect place name signs at villages near the front line. However, in this instance the sign writer, presumably struck by the complete destruction of the village, added the text 'THIS WAS' in front of the village name.

Villers Carbonnel was less than 3 kilometres behind the German front line during the battle of the Somme (1 July - 18 November 1916). Like many other villages in the region, it was heavily shelled by French artillery in order to hinder German supply lines. By 1917 it was little more than a collection of heavily damaged buildings and by the end of 1918 it had been completely decimated. After the war Villers-Carbonnel was rebuilt and in 1929 Australian newspapers reported it was a flourishing community with 400 residents.