Essex Farm Cemetery: Concrete bunkers

Restored and recently re-opened Allied bunkers next to the canal by Essex Farm Cemetery, the site of an advanced dressing station. These date from circa September 1916. It was in this immediate vicinity on 2nd or 3rd May 1915 that the Canadian major (later lieutenant colonel) and doctor John McCrae wrote 'In Flanders Fields'. He was working in this medical aid station where he cared for the wounded from the 1st Canadian Artillery Brigade, which was lined up on top of the Canal Bank. He also looked after many casualties who were brought from the battlefields near St Julien during the heavy fighting after the gas attack of 22nd April 1915. The Essex Farm Cemetery also came into being in those days. From September 1916, numerous reinforced dugouts were built in the left and right banks of the canal by the Royal Engineers of the 38th (Welsh) Division. On account of the incessant firing from the bridges across the canal and from the Canal Bank, constant repairs had to be carried out. More and more concrete was used to do this work. During preparation for the major offensive in the summer of 1917, various advanced dressing stations, such as Dulhallows, Talana Farm, and Essex Farm, were built at the bottom of the West Side of the Canal Bank. From here, the wounded were evacuated by motorised ambulances to the Main Dressing Stations, Casualty Clearing Stations, and Base Hospitals behind the front.

坐落于埃塞克斯农场公墓（Essex Farm Cemetery）旁运河沿岸的协约国掩体（Allied bunkers）已完成修复并重新开放，该公墓本身也曾是前沿急救站（advanced dressing station）的旧址，这些掩体的建造时间约为1916年9月。1915年5月2日或3日，正是在这片区域附近，加拿大少校（后晋升为中校）、医生约翰·麦克雷（John McCrae）创作了《在弗兰德斯的田野》（In Flanders Fields）。当时他就在这座医疗救助站中工作，照料在运河堤岸列阵的加拿大第一炮旅的伤员，同时也收治了大量从1915年4月22日毒气袭击后的激烈战斗中圣于连（St Julien）附近战场转运来的伤员。埃塞克斯农场公墓（Essex Farm Cemetery）也正是在那段时期建成。1916年9月起，第38（威尔士）师（38th (Welsh) Division）的皇家工兵（Royal Engineers）在运河两岸修建了大量加固掩蔽部；由于运河两岸桥梁及运河堤岸持续遭到炮击，这些工事需要不断进行修缮，修缮过程中逐步更多地使用混凝土材料。1917年夏季大型攻势筹备期间，运河西岸沿线陆续修建了多座前沿急救站，包括杜哈洛斯（Dulhallows）、塔拉纳农场（Talana Farm）以及埃塞克斯农场（Essex Farm）。伤员从这些急救站通过机动救护车被转运至前线后方的主力急救站（Main Dressing Stations）、伤员收容所（Casualty Clearing Stations）以及基地医院（Base Hospitals）。