First World War.com - The Western Front Today

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The Western Front Today - 7th Division Memorial, Zonnebeke
Updated - Wednesday, 25 June, 2003

The 7th Division Memorial, some 20km from Ypres by road, comprises an obelisk bearing the legend '7' on all four sides. The lettering inscribed upon the memorial - which was erected in 1924 on the site of a pre-war chapel - is now somewhat faded.

The memorial, sited in Broodseinde, is located in the area where the first trenches were dug - by the British 7th Division in mid-October 1914 - in the Ypres Salient. The memorial commemorates the actions of the 7th Division who were based in the area in both 1914 and 1917, securing the Zonnebeke Ridge on the latter occasion, albeit at a heavy cost in casualties (2,672).

References:
Before Endeavours Fade, Rose E.B. Coombs, After the Battle 1994
Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide - Ypres Salient, Leo Cooper 2000

"Coffin Nails" was a term used by British soldiers to describe cigarettes.