The Western Front Today - 18th Division Memorial, Clapham Junction
Not one but two memorials are located at what was referred to as Clapham Junction in the Ypres Salient, where numerous roads met, hence the naming after the famous British railway station.
One memorial is to the Gloucestershire 1st and 2nd Battalions which saw heavy service during the First and Second Battles of Ypres in 1914 and 1915 respectively. Click here to view this memorial. The woods of the infamous Stirling Castle are to the right of both memorials.
Sited across the road from the Gloucestershire obelisk memorial is one to the British 18th (Eastern) Division, one of three erected in their honour after the war (the others located in Trones Wood and Thiepval, click here and here for details).
The 18th Division served in this locale during the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917.
References:
Before Endeavours Fade, Rose E.B. Coombs, After the Battle 1994
Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide - Ypres Salient, Leo Cooper 2000
An 'Old Sweat' was slang to denote an experienced soldier.
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