War Diaries Talk

The Dell

  • Stork by Stork

    I've seen The Dell in may diaries but there's nothing about it on the web. This page mentions a town in day 11- Sailly-au-Bois. What is it, and should it be tagged?

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    I've also seen The Dell mentioned in one of these diaries, and one of them gave the grid coordinates for it. If I remember correctly, it was a camp of hutments in the wood to the west of Sailly-au-Bois. The wood is clearly visible on Google Earth and The Dell was near where there is now a large oval road or track, the purpose of which I cannot figure out.

    I didn't tag it as a place, thinking it was just a name used by the one unit and that it seemed a bit vague. But since it appears in other diaries as well, perhaps we should tag it.

    Any thoughts on this, Rob?

    Posted

  • marie.eklidvirginmedia.com by marie.eklidvirginmedia.com

    A dell is a small secluded hollow, (implying also) a grassy, park-like, usually partially-wooded valley.

    The word "dell" comes from the Old English word dell, which is related to the Old English word dæl, modern 'dale'. Dells in literature are often portrayed as pleasant safe havens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_(landform)

    Also: A dell is a small valley with trees, often as part of a forest. It may also have a small stream running through it.

    PS I think I tagged it in the diary as a place - The Dell-Sailly. As written on this diary page.

    Like Cynthia I have come across it in other diaries. It is also mentioned in the diary I am presently working on.

    Posted

  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist

    In the 12th Y&L diary, I didn't tag it to begin with, but it appeared so frequently I did begin to after a while. When it appeared with a town name as well, I tagged both separately. That's more useful as we can then locate the town on a map.

    Posted

  • cyngast by cyngast moderator

    Thanks for your input, Rob.

    It seemed to me at first just too vague to tag, sort of like Sunken Road. From now on, I'll tag it if I come across it again.

    Posted