Yorkshire Trench: Bid to restore Ypres World War One front line site

The Yorkshire Trench was built in 1915, but was rediscovered and excavated in the 1990s

A unique part of Yorkshire's World War One heritage in Belgium has become the focus of a new fundraising campaign.

The Yorkshire Trench, near Ypres, was built and occupied in 1915 by soldiers from the county.

It was rediscovered in the 1990s when amateur archaeologists found the bodies of about 200 soldiers there.

The trench has since fallen into disrepair again and campaigners have begun efforts to raise the estimated £200,000 for its restoration.

The structure is now in a poor state of repair, fundraisers say

Piet Chielens, a volunteer from the In Flanders Field Museum in Ypres, said the trench was "in a very sorry state at the moment - you can see it but you cannot enter it".

"The structure itself is rotting away," he added.

John Morrison, who mentors university Army cadets from Carlton Barracks in Leeds, said if the trench could not be saved, it would be "a real loss to our heritage".

"At the end of the day, these men gave freely of their lives to go and defend this country. I think we owe it to them and their memory and to future generations to teach them just what war is."

The remains of more than 200 soldiers were found in the trench, along with their personal possessions

A BBC documentary aired in 2002 charted the excavation of the trench by a group of volunteer archaeologists.

In the documentary, the remains of one soldier are found alongside his haversack and the blade of an entrenching tool.

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Talking about the conditions faced by the soldiers, Mr Morrison said the Yorkshire Trench was one of the "most dangerous" places to be.

"In fact, it was so close [to enemy lines] the Germans and the British couldn't really use artillery against each other for fear of hitting their own side."

Instead, he said, "they would throw grenades at each other from the trenches".

The estimated cost of the restoration of the Yorkshire Trench is about £200,000

A number of fundraising events are due to take place to raise money for the Yorkshire Trench restoration and an online donation page has been launched.