I'm wondering if anyone can upload an image of this infamous camp.

Anyone seen an aerial shot?

TIA
David

there is an official plan of the camp that can be downloaded here,

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/gwa/document/9127


a couple of views here,

cheers,
John.

John

Excellent material.

Many thanks
David

John

Likewise, a most useful document. The areas surrounded by red lines are where the Infantry Base Depots were.

Charles M

There is a well known photo of numerous squads being drilled on a large open expanse of snowy ground. I`m sure someone will have it.
This is a sobering one titled "Photograph of young British recruits at camp in Etaples, France, in July 1918. IWM Ref: Q_23586

This may be it Phil !, Charles , thank you for the additional information.
Regards, John.

This was titled:-
The Bullring The brutal retraining ground known as the 'Bullring' at Etaples. The troops who had returned from leave or from convalescence would be 'toughened' up here before being returned to the trenches. The picture here (and Joe's interpretation of it) shows bayonet practice on the beach. Up to 20,000 men would be drilled here at one time.
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Etaples doesn`t seem to have been all that safe:-
A terrific storm at Etaples, unfortunately, blew down our big tent and wrecked the scenery of this production.

Things had been very lively at the Base most of the time we were there, with aeroplane raids on the railway bridge an almost nightly occurrence for a while.

We were there when the Germans put a star shell up over St. John's Hospital and bombed it, so that there were over 360 casualties; we had given a concert there the week previously. Most of the men in the nearby camps were marched out to sleep in the wood every night, after a Canadian depot camp had been blown almost off the map with heavy bombs, which tore every tent in the place to absolute ribbons.

Etaples was not exactly the healthiest spot on earth in that summer of 1918.
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...sa%3DN%26um%3D1

There is a short film clip here
http://www3.nfb.ca/ww1/postwar-film.php?id=531255
(of the mass funeral in the aftermath of the air raid of the 19th/20th May - my great uncle was one of those killed, incidentally he was in the 14th Bn of the Argylls which makes the comments in the previous post quite poignant he was one of those 'highlanders' who survived the battles of the Lys). Gives an idea of the camp

Ken

Great posting ,all very interesting information on the famous camp..........the Cemetery here is such a sad sight, very moving

Just to show the size of the area that the camp took up around the town, here is an aerial comparison

Andy


Click to view attachment

Andy,
great comparision shot !!,
thanks for sharing this.
regards,
John.

From the current map and the aerial photos the area of the old camp now seems to be scrubland / woods. Has anyone been there recently?

John

Many thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

Like John, I'd like to know what it's like around there today.

David

It's mainly built on. The best way to view it is to go to under the railway arch to the the Chateau, the wood to your right before the building was the RE dump. From the chateau, follow the road to the right, and around the bend to another wood. Enter that and turn right. Over to your left, where the houses are, is the start of the hospital area. Continue ahead and you will find a large WW2 German bunker on your left. Go up the slope and cross the road into the wood the other side. You can look down on the old camp area from there.There is nothing left I'm afraid.

TR

Thanks for that information Terry.

David