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War & Peat: the History, Archaeology & Ecology of the Military Heritage of Moors, Heaths, Bogs and FensRotherham, I.D. & McCallam, D.(2008) Peat Bogs, Marshes and Fen asdisputed Landscapes in Late eighteenthCentury France and England. Lyle, L.&McCallam, D. (eds) Histoires de laTerre: Earth Sciences and FrenchCulture 1740-1940. Rodopi B.V.,Amsterdam & New York, 75-90.Rotherham, I.D. & Handley, C. (2012)Moor Memories from across the PeakDistrict. Wildtrack Publishing,Sheffield, 44pp.Rotherham, I.D. & Handley, C. (2012)Mosses and Cloughs. Moor Memoriesin the Holme Valley area. WildtrackPublishing, Sheffield, 32pp.Rotherham, I.D. & Handley, C. (2012)Hills, Dykes and Dams. Moor Memoriesin the Bradfield, Midhope and Langsettareas. Wildtrack Publishing, Sheffield,32pp.Figure 5. Tolstoy and our aplogies to the greatmanFigure 6. War & Peace as published byPenguin and based on the colossal BBCdramatization6

War & Peat: the History, Archaeology & Ecology of the Military Heritage of Moors, Heaths, Bogs and FensWar & Peat: exploring interactions betweenpeople, human conflict, peatlands, and ecologyIan D. RotherhamSheffield Hallam UniversitySummary6. Conflicts, socio-economic stressesor extreme weather all influencedfuel use and competition andtherefore peat exploitation.This chapter addresses the issues ofpeople, peatlands, conflict and ecology.It does so by considering seven maininteractions and presents pertinentexamples to illustrate these.7. Fens & Bogs as places of sanctuary,of non-conformism, andindependence.1. Peatlands influence war and conflictthrough topography and nature,often being of critical significanceto strategy and outcome.The central argument is thatpeatlands of varying sorts have beenhugely important to people in times ofconflict or stress, and that the resultinginteractions have had major impacts onthe ecology and landscapes we seetoday. In addition, it is suggested, thatmost of these complex phenomena havebeen largely overlooked or at leastforgotten.2. Heaths and moors were often usedas military training grounds, fromearly times up to the present day.3. Peatlands were used as wartimebases especially during World War 2when they were brought into usageas airfields and similar facilities.Introduction4. Bogs and moors especially, hadunplanned and passive roles inwarfare such being the last restingplaces for stricken or lost bombersof both sides during World War 2.Peatlands such as heaths, moors, bogsand fens have all been of importanceand significance in the landscape and topeople in many parts of the world andthroughout many centuries. In terms ofthe land areas covered, sphagnum mossitself must rate as one of the mostabundant plants on Earth. This scale ofsignificance and the nature of theselandscapes have led to a remarkablerelationship throughout the history ofhuman conflicts and stresses andpeatlands, especially in times of war.5. Peatlands, especially bogs and fens,provided materials of immensevalue to wartime efforts such assupplying horse litter, Sphagnummoss, alder buckthorn or peat fuel.7

War & Peat: the History, Archaeology & Ecology of the Military Heritage of Moors, Heaths, Bogs and FensSome of the issues and observations arediscussed in my three books, Peat &Peat Cutting (Rotherham, 2009),Yorkshire’s Forgotten Fenlands(Rotherham, 2010), and the Lost Fens(Rotherham, 2013). However, whilstissues of landscapes and conflict, andespecially ‘landscapes of conflict’ havereceived attention in recent years (e.g.Pearson, 2008, 2012; Cole, Coates, &Pearson, 2010), the roles of wetlandsgenerally, and peatlands specifically,have for the most part, been ignored.Academic authors have begun toaddress these issues for example inrelation to broader matters of terrainand warfare (e.g. Doyle & Bennett,2002), and in relation to environmentalfactors (e.g. Tucker & Russell, 2004).I suggest there are perhaps sevenmain ways in which people andpeatlands have interacted in times ofconflict or other stresses, and I presentexamples below. Some of the uses andinteractions are developed further laterin the paper.Impacts, utilisation andexamples1. Peatlands influence war andconflict through topography andnature, often being of criticalsignificance to strategy andoutcomeExamples: The military significanceand use of moors, heaths, fens and bogs,extends over millennia. The moors andbogs around the western edge ofSheffield with their Iron Age hillfortscan trace a military presence acrossmillennia. In modern times, they werenot only used as military traininggrounds, but also during WW2 as adecoy area to protect the vital steelindustry to the east of Sheffield. Moorsand heaths also provided the sites forairfields for the Battle of Britain and thestrikes against Nazi Germany.For moors, bogs, heaths and fens,conflict does not just mean battlefieldsfor conventional warfare, but forcontested spaces. From the battles forKinder Scout and access to the moors,to saving Thorne Moors and HatfieldChase, peat bogs and moors have beenevocative places for the region’s people.Not only this, but they played a majorrole in the war effort of two World Warstoo. Forgotten wartime aspects of peatbog and fen were things like the supplyof vital horse-litter (cut peat turf) fromsites such as Thorne Moors in SouthYorkshire. Conflicts over the proposeddrainage of the Fenlands were even akey factor in triggering the EnglishCivil War in the 1600s. It is clear thatpeople and peatlands interact in manycomplex and complicated ways.Furthermore, human conflicts affect andare influenced by these once vastlandscapes.However, there is more. Wetlands,especially peat bogs, fens and moorswere of huge significance to militarycampaigns. In the landscape, thesetreacherous areas of neither firm groundnor navigable water were a seriousproblem for soldiers or warriors, mostof who could not swim anyway.Furthermore, slip into a fen or bogwhen wearing armour and you sinkslowly to a very unpleasant death. The8

War & Peat: the History, Archaeology & Ecology of the Military Heritage of Moors, Heaths, Bogs and FensSaxon troops of Hereward the Wake,holding out on the Isle of Ely inCambridgeshire, drove the Normaninvaders off the fragile causeways byfiring the reeds. The Normans in theirchainmail sank deep into the quagmire.The battle of Stamford Bridge hadearlier been settled in a vast wetlandlandscape in which the one rivercrossing was vital strategic key. Thisaspect of wetlands in the landscape wasused to great effect by the Scots againstthe English at the battles of StirlingBridge and of Bannockburn. Battlessuch as Solway Moss, Culloden, andFlodden all turned on the impact of abog or wet moor, in these cases withcatastrophic consequences for the Scots.Flanders Moss and the River Forthwere of huge strategic significance inScotland, and it was said that he whocontrolled Stirling Castle, the gatewayto the Highlands, controlled Scotland.In England, many of the battles of thecivil wars such as the Wars of theRoses, and of the English Civil War,were acted out on heath, moor, and bog.The Battle of Sedgemoor itself was atragedy played out in a foggy, dankmarshland, and earlier, Alfred the Greathad sought refuge in the nearbywetlands of Athelney.In the European arena of the twoWorld Wars, peat bogs and fens playeda major strategic role, with the Dutchfor example, flooding the former peatcuttings to halt the German advance asthey retreated. The Somme and othercatastrophic campaigns were fought invast wetlands and peat bogs.2. Heaths and moors were oftenused as military traininggrounds, from early times up tothe present dayExamples: Around Sherwood, thefamous heaths of old Sherwood Forestbecame military training grounds, andin WW2, Clumber Park was a transitand camouflaged storage site for tanks.Dartmoor, Cannock Chase and otherheath and bog sites were used formilitary manoeuvres probably as farback as the Crimean War.Figure 1. Battle of Solway Moss November1542 15,000-18,000 Scots routed by 3,000English9

War & Peat: the History, Archaeology & Ecology of the Military Heritage of Moors, Heaths, Bogs and FensFigure 2. Cannock Chase 1873Figure 3. Dartmoor 1870Figure 4. Hampstead Heath August 186010

War & Peat: the History, Archaeology & Ecology of the Military Heritage of Moors, Heaths, Bogs and Fensbuckthorn or peat fuel3. Peatlands were used aswartime bases especially duringWorld War 2 when they werebrought into usage as airfieldsand similar facilitiesExamples: Early twentieth centurywartime aspects of peat bog and fensuch as the supply of vital horse-litter(cut peat turf) from sites like ThorneMoors in South Yorkshire, or theharvesting of sphagnum for wounddressings,are now almost forgotten.Examples: In Nottinghamshire andLincolnshire, commons, heaths, andfens were turned to use as airfields;some still surviving today. Moors andheaths provided the sites for airfieldsfor the Battle of Britain and the strikesagainst Nazi Germany.One of the main uses of peat in thelate 1800s and early 1900s was litter foranimal bedding. With huge numbers ofanimals powering farms, towns andcities, there was a big demand formaterial to keep things clean, and peatwas ideal. Once soiled, its nutritivequalities enhanced, it went on the landas fertiliser. At Thorne Moors in SouthYorkshire, the English Moss Littercompany extracted peat moss up to the1960s, and from 1923 to 1962, theMidland Litter Company took mossfrom Fenn’s Moss near Wrexham.Although raw peat was widely used aslitter by farmers and peasants, widerusage took off in the early 1900s.Processed and packaged as acommercial product, during the FirstWorld War with its absorbent andfibrous combined with antisepticproperties it was used extensively ashorse bedding for the military.4. Bogs and moors especially,had unplanned and passive rolesin warfare such being the lastresting places for stricken orlost bombers of both sidesduring WW2Examples: In Roman times, the fensand bogs were brought under varyingdegrees of control through ambitiousdrainage schemes, but the primaryfunction of these waterways wasprobably military in moving men,animals and supplies speedily throughotherwise difficult terrain.These landscapes also became thelast resting places of aircraft and crewsthat crashed on Kinder Scout andBleaklow in the uplands, and ThorneMoors in the lowlands. This is a tragichistory, which should not be forgotten.It was also used as animal feed,mixed with green fodder and perhapsmolasses. Again its antibacterialproperties may have a therapeutic effectand it was used either coarse or as apowder mixed into a cattle cake.5. Peatlands, especially bogs andfens, provided materials ofimmense value to wartimeefforts such as supplying horselitter, Sphagnum moss, alderTo give some indication of theemerging demands for peat moss litter,there was now nationally an increase of11

War & Peat: the History, Archaeology & Ecology of the Military Heritage of Moors, Heaths, Bogs and Fensaround 98,353 working horses between1901 and1906. These were employed byrailways, tramways, omnibuscompanies, various local authorityundertakings and of course many otherbusinesses. Peat moss litter (dried peat)made an ideal bedding material forthem. By the late 1890s, at ThorneMoors, the British Moss LitterCompany was formed and took over anumber of established peat works acrossthe region between the Rivers Don andTrent. Alongside the system of canalsand boats there developed a network ofnarrow gauge railways and connectionsbeyond to the wide rail network. A new‘pressing mill’still known as the‘Paraffin Mill’ or the ‘Paraffin Works’was being built in 1895. This was toproduce gas for fuel, ammonia water,paraffin, creosote, methyl alcohol, tarand even alcohol for motorcars. Peatdust was used to pack fruit and peat waseven fed to cattle. However, thesediversifications did not last long and themill closed in 1922. With declining useof horses for industry and transport, themoss litter business also collapsed.South Yorkshire moors. The region’smoors and bogs were also used toharvest sphagnum moss for wartimemedical uses. (See Griffiths, Rotherham& Handley, this volume).6. Conflicts, socio-economicstresses or extreme weather allinfluenced fuel use andcompetition and therefore peatexploitationExamples: Often forgotten, are theeffects of post-conflict scenarios such asafter WW2 in Britain and the resultingenergy crisis for domestic and industrialfuels. At Holme Moss, in the southPennines, one of England’s lastcommunity turbaries (legal peat cuts fordomestic fuel), two discharged soldiersarrived after the Second World War toset up business. Recently dischargedfrom the army, they used their money toset up a peat fuel business and forseveral years, in the post-war energycrisis, they supplied peat fuel tofactories as far away as Sheffield andLeeds. Similar exploitation affected thepost-WW2 blanket peats of the southwest Pennines as large areas were cutfor peat fuel to supply Pilkington Glass.Established as a major centre formoss litter production, and employingat its peak around 350 men, ThorneMoors in South Yorkshire produced vastquantities of peat litter for the horsessent to the World War 1 front line. Inthe First World War, many horses weredespatched to war zones and they had tobe catered for. Horticultural use of peatwas a much later afterthought thatbrought catastrophe to the region’s peatmoors and bogs, triggering the battlesby ‘Bunting’s Beavers’ and others tosave the last remnants of the once vastWar also meant on the one handintensification of land use and WW2brought about the final demise of theremaining Southern Fens of easternEngland. On the other hand, conflictcould lead to the abandonment of forexample, drainage schemes. AtWalberswick in Suffolk, marshlanddrainage was unmaintained and thisallowed reversion to fen and marsh.Around Leighton Moss, the long12

War & Peat: the History, Archaeology & Ecology of the Military Heritage of Moors, Heaths, Bogs and Fensup to this conference, we made aremarkable discovery. Something foundby me and Thelma Griffiths of theNational Trust at Longshaw in the PeakDistrict resonated with an interviewwith locals at Holme Moss who hadspoken of people collecting Sphagnumor bog moss for the war effort in 1940s.We were told of a hitherto forgottenway in which people across Yorkshirewent out to collect a healing harvestfrom peat bogs and mires across thecounty. Sphagnum moss, todayassociated with hanging baskets, hasremarkable properties to hold liquid andto cure or stop infection. In a medicalworld pre-antibiotics the combination ofthe power to mop up copious quantitiesof blood and staunch open wounds, andits healing powers, made sphagnuminvaluable for helping the terribleinjuries of war. (The sphagnum story ispresented in more detail in otherpapers).standing peat cuttings were abandonedas the site re-wetted due to neglect ofdrainage. The ultimate result in bothcases has been the development ofmajor nature conservation sites by thetwenty-first century.7. Fens & Bogs as places ofsanctuary, of non-conformism,and independenceThroughout history, peat bog and fenhave provided sanctuary for people intimes of conflict or oppression, and fornon-conformists and others seeking todistance themselves from the law or thechurch. Rich in natural resources forthose who knew and understood theirways, but difficult to enter or transverseif you did not, these were idealhideaways from the time of Alfred theGreat to Hereward the Wake, and fromthe nineteenth-century French forces inthe Franco-German war, to the MarshArabs of Iraq seeking protection fromSaddam Hussein. One consequence ofthe sanctuary that wetlands gave fromthose in authority was that those inpower sought to remove them from thelandscape and to control both theenvironment and the people.The story relates to landscape changeacross the county, since at the time, peatbogs and wetlands were morewidespread across England, andespecially prevalent and important inYorkshire. Therefore, the call went outto communities and people across thecounty to go to the bogs and harvest thesphagnum. This was then carefullyprocessed and shipped out to the frontor to hospitals where the injured werebeing treated. Our research has foundthat some people still remember howthis was done, if not themselvesdirectly, then from parents or evengrandparents. At Longshaw in the PeakDistrict, we have found a family whoserelative, a nurse, helped gather moss forResults: The case studies inmore detailThe particular case of theSphagnum harvestThe once widespread peat bogs andmoors of Yorkshire also helped aremarkable national and internationaleffort to save the wounded in two worldwars. As a part of the research building13

War & Peat: the History, Archaeology & Ecology of the Military Heritage of Moors, Heaths, Bogs and Fensattended the National Trust talk byThelma, they had only half-believedgrandma’s tales of roaming the moors insearch of moss. However, further northin the Pennines, at Holme Moss, wehave older people that still recall thecollection of sphagnum during theSecond World War. A pattern isemerging, and it is now clear that thiswas no cottage industry but a majorundertaking and in places an industrialoperation. Huge efforts went intocollecting, sorting, processing andpackaging the healing harvest, and thiswas across Britain, from North America,and in Europe itself.Magazines and newspapers carriedstories and calls for action fromvolunteers. The Northern Rambler, June1942, for example stated ‘FORFigure 5. Sphagnum for the hospitals, Country MOORLAND WALKERS. Sphagnummoss is wanted for surgical dressings.Life, XXXIX, Saturday January 1st 1916There is an urgent demand for this. It isthe sick. Thelma met the family at aonly necessary to squeeze out theNational Trust event and the storysurplus moisture before packing.unfurled about their grandmother. DorisSupplies should be sent to EV BenettEmma Elliott was born in StanningtonStanford, Pythouse Hospital Suppliesin 1898, and worked at Longshaw as aand Comforts Depot, Tisbury. PostageVAD (Volunteer) nurse in 1918. Thiswill be refunded.’was when she was 20 years old. Hergranddaughter, Beverley Hardy, came toNevertheless, there were stillone of Thelma’s

The battlefield at Northampton (Wars of the Roses, 1460) 115 Peter Burley In to the bog: ‘silently and in good order. . book were addressed at a major international conference in 2013, and . Terre: Earth Sciences and French Culture 1740-1940. Rodopi B.V., Amsterdam & New Yor