The Plugstreet Archaeological Project

Sponsored by We are currently seeking a sponsor for this website as it follows the progress of the excavations on the battlefield, with contributions from established historians and well known experts, as the team attempt to match the historical evidence and family history to the archaeology on the ground. Please contact us for more details. If you enjoy this website please consider making a donation towards the costs of the project.

The Plugstreet Project is a non profit project lead by No Man's Land Archaeology Group, a multinational team of volunteers specialising in the study of the First World War though archaeological excavations, historical research, map work and aerial photography. Working with academic departments, local and international partners, cutting edge techniques are being employed to gain a greater understanding of life in the trenches and the effect of the war on the local population. The first attempt in any period of archaeology to follow a military unit from formation through training, to a baptism of fire, in an attempt to establish whether their training had indeed been successful. In addition it aims to examine the ongoing effect of the conflict, over a lifetime ago, on the residents of the area and also the families of over half a million men who fought in these fields. The website of The Plugstreet Archaeological Project is currently in development. Contact the Plugstreet Team

Bibliography & Sources At the War. Lord Norcliffe (1916) Australian War Memorial Comines-Warneton Historical Society Digging up Plugstreet Martin Brown and Richard Osgood (2009) A Guide to WW1 Battlefields and History of the First World Wa Imperial Germany Army 1914-18: Organisation, Structure, Orders of Battle Herrmann Cron and Duncan Rogers (1937) Messines Ridge: Ypres (Battleground Europe) Peter Oldham (1998) Military operations, France and Belgium, 1914. James E. Edmonds (1937) Never A Backward Step. John Edwards (1996) No Man's Land - The European Group for Great War Archaeology Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 Charles Bean (1941) The Aerodrome - Aces and Aircraft of World War I Pillars of Fire: The Battle of Messines Ridge, June 1917 Ian Passingham (1998) The Wartime Memories Project

Credits Archaeology & Research: Sylvia Agius Graham Arkley Bev Bailey Martin Brown Gontrand Callewaert Peter Chasseaud Carla Connolly Adam Cooper Henry Daniels Nicholas De Simpel Jane Draycott Kat Fennelly Paola Filippucci Alastair Fraser Avril Gibson Rob Janaway Angela Jobson Androla Johnson Sue Jordan Swanjte Krause Steve Litherland James MacNaughton Keith Maddison Peter Masters Audrey McCready Mat McLachlan Michael Molkentin Kirsty Nichol Richard Osgood Dan Phillips Erika Pownell Jon Price Carl Ralling Chris Ralling Joanna Ramsay Glen Redman Ant Roberts Steve Roberts Tori Roddy Justin Russell Nicholas Saunders Laura Scharding Becki Scott Rod Scott Brian Shottenkirk Derek Smith Egon Soenen Birger Stichelbaut Chantel Summerfield Fran Valle Jean-Michel Van Elslande Shirley Whitfield Ralph Whitehead Lesley Wood Artwork: Peter Chasseaud Camera: Angela Jobson Derek Smith Computer Generated Imagery: Kenton White Music: Kevin MacLeod Narrator: Robert Daws Stills Photography: Luke Barber Martin Brown Angela Jobson Peter Masters Richard Osgood Renata Peters Erika Pownell Derek Smith Birger Stichelbaut Sound: John Lucas Jeremy Stephens       Meet the Team

Links L' Auberge, Ploegseert Ancestry.co.uk Australian War Memorial Beneath Hill 60 - Feature Film Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Maple Leaf Legacy Project No Man's Land The Peace Village, Messines Talbot House The Wartime Memories Project

"Digging Up Plugstreet" by Richard Osgood and Martin Brown, an account of our research to date is now available. The compelling story of the Australian soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division who journeyed to England in 1914, and who fought and died on the Western Front during the First World War. Using archaeology as the vehicle for their story, Martin Brown and Richard Osgood follow in the footsteps of the 'Aussies', from their training on windswept Salisbury Plain to the cheerless trenches of Belgium, where they 'dug-in' north-east of Ploegsteert to face the Germans. It presents a unique window into the world of the men who marched away to fight the so-called 'war to end wars Click to order "Digging Up Plugstreet"