A group of six postcards said to be of the 2/4 Leicesters

Military Camp Pictures held by the St Albans Museum.     2/4 Lincolns, 1915   North Staffs, Batchwood, 1915   Britons Camp

Other Pictures   Lincs and Leices Camp, St Albans, 1915 photographed by L. L. Christmas, of St Albans Undoubtedly the same camp, and length of shadows suggest summer, but no location clues. [Thumb from card advertised on ebay, 2010]

See also First World War pages

While Briton's Camp was somewhere near St Albans it exact location is, at the time of writing, unknown. Mike Neighbour kindly suggested it might be the area between Sandridge Road and Beech Bottom. He pointed out that a firm called Hammonds had built the houses in this area on what was called the "Briton Estate" in 1938 - and there is a pub called the Ancient Briton, which was built at about the same time (first listed in 1937 Kelly's Directory for Hertfordshire). I know this area very well (see A Short History of Bernards Heath) and it is very likely that troops made use of the area during the First World War. However a careful look at the picture and a comparison with old maps suggests it was somewhere else  - so another job for the Postcard Detective.

Evidence for the Location of Briton's Camp

1. There is only one photograph which shows enough of the area where the camp is to be of any use in identifying the location

2. This photograph shows no building or any distinctive single feature which would be sufficient to identify the area.

3. A straight road cuts across the picture from left to right.

4. On the near side of the road there are two fields, one containing the horses and the other empty, separated by a straight hedge meeting the road at right angles.

5. On the far side of the road there is a large field containing the tented part of the camp.

6. At the top right of the camp field there are a significant number of large trees - which must be part of a wood.

7. Beyond the camp field there are indications of two further fields.- but no clues as to their shapes.

8. The photograph is looking down a comparatively gentle slope, and can see the tented part of the camp over a hedge which would hide it if the ground was level.

9. Allowing for the trees the horizon is level - suggesting the absence of and significant gradients.

10. The trees are in leaf - ruling out the possibility that the picture was taken in the winter.

11. The absence of single or groups of trees in the fields suggest that it not part of the park of a large house.

12. The sub is shining and the shadows of two of the horses can be clearly seen, and the length of the shadow suggests that the sun is about 50^o above the horizon. This suggests the picture was taken towards the middle of a Summer day and the road is running towards the North.

If we put all these observations there is a lot of evidence to say where the camp was not. We need three field separated with a straight length of road running somewhere between NW and NE with a wood to the North. In addition the general conformation of the ground would appear to rule out the valleys of the Ver and the Lea.

In theory it might be possible to look at a large scale map of the area round St Albans made at anout this time - the O.S. 1:2500 maps made at the very end of the 19th century might do, and eliminate fields one by one - and see how many candidate sites are left, However if anyone knows the location of any temporary army camp near St Albans I would be grateful is they could tell me.

February 2010

Extract from the Leicestershire Regiment page of The Long Long Trail.

2/4th Battalion Formed at Leicester in September 1914 as a second line unit. Became part of 2nd Lincoln and Leicester Brigade, 2nd North Midland Division. Moved in January 1915 to Luton and by July 1915 was at St Albans. August 1915 : formation became the 177th Brigade, 59th (2nd North Midland) Division. April 1916: moved to Ireland. January 1917 : returned to England and moved to Fovant. 24 February 1917 : landed in France. 8 May 1918 : reduced to cadre strength and returned to England with 16th Division. 20 June 1918 : absorbed by 14th Bn

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Suggestion received: Britons Camp could be, Bridons Camp located one mile from Water End on Red Lion Lane nr Hemel Hempsted .

Thanks for an interesting suggestion which I had not considered, with the soldiers giving their camp a name similar to an existing place name.

I have now looked at modern satellite photographs and the 1880s Ordnance survey and compared them with the photograph.  Clearly Britons Camp would not have been on Bridens Camp (which is in a wood)  but looking at the maps there was a possible similarity with the location of road, field boundaries and woods  involving Red Lion Lane and Birchley Wood. However a closer look show that some groups of trees which were there in 1880 were still there over 100 years later - but are not in the photograph. In addition the camp was on comparatively level land - while the Red Lion Lane area is on the side of the Gade Valley and the lie of the land is wrong.

If you can add to the information given above tell me.