Writer bought a battlefield

MEET the Broughty Ferry man who cares for a Somme battlefield and has now written a book about the iconic First World War site.

Military historian Bob Paterson acquired the Butte de Warlencourt site in 2018 through the Western Front Association.

The ancient chalk mound was the scene of one of the First World War’s bloodiest battles as British troops sought to dislodge the defending German forces.

The Butte – French for hill – was dubbed “Little Gibraltar” and was heavily fortified with barbed wire, machine guns, tunnels and mortars.

Taking it became an “obsession” for the Allies — hundreds of soldiers died trying to claim the prehistoric burial site, despite some claiming it had little strategic value.

The Butte – which was never captured – marked the final line of the British advance in November 1916 and Bob is working to restore the site to attract more visitors.

Dundee gave 6,089 soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War, and Bob’s father told him stories of the impact on the City of Discovery.

Those stories ignited a desire to learn more and Bob developed a deep passion for researching the history of the First World War, and especially the Battle of the Somme.

One of his first trips to the Western Front was to visit the grave of his wife’s great-uncle, Hugh Carmichael, who was killed in the Battle of Festubert in May 1915.

Bob – who held senior positions in local companies before taking early retirement two years ago – bought a property near the Butte site with his wife in 2007.

He also established the Tayside branch of the Western Front Association (WFA) in 2008, before joining the WFA’s National Executive Committee as European Officer.

The WFA purchased the Butte in 1990 and Bob’s remit was to lead an effort to restore and improve it to make it a major attraction for battlefield visitors.

Bob’s book about the Battle of the Somme highlights the fighting south of the famous AlbertBapaume road. Bob said: “I started putting pen to paper three years ago and the draft was handed over in September 2020, with publication delayed by the pandemic.

“The Butte de Warlencourt had never been covered, so I saw it as a vital step in telling its story and getting more visitors to engage with it. It is an immense honour to be custodian of the Butte de Warlencourt.

“It is a very special place, with a very special history which many people do not necessarily know.

“We are now putting the Butte firmly on the tourist map.”

In figures that are still difficult to comprehend, by the end of the first day of fighting on July 1 the British suffered 57,000 casualties, of whom 20,000 were fatalities.

British Empire forces suffered around 420,000 casualties, French forces 200,000 and the German losses were estimated to be around 450,000.

Improvements undertaken by Bob at the Butte since 2018 include path upgrades and the erection of information boards.

He added: “It’s a pleasure and also very exciting to lead the project to care for the Butte.”

Bob Paterson with his book on the Somme battlefield.

The Butte battleground site now.