A brief history of the trench:

1914: September - The French dug the original communication trench when the front line trenches were established facing Beaumont Hamel.

1915: July - When the British took over this sector of Auchonvillers from the French, the 2nd Monmouthshires re-dug the trench, strengthened the walls and lined the floor with bricks from the destroyed house.

1916: July 1st - Men of the 29th Division used this communication trench taking them to the front lines facing Beaumont Hamel for the opening of the Battle of the Somme. Many of these men would have walked, or been carried, back along the same trench.

1918: The trench was used once more, this time by the New Zealand Division when the Spring Offensive brought the Germans back to the Beaumont Hamel area.

1997: The Khaki Chums, a living history group, began to dig the trench as we know it today, revealing enough evidence to attract the interest of professional historians and archaeologists.

1998: Andy Robertshaw brought together a team of specialists in the field to conduct a professional archaeological investigation of the trench, the first of its kind. The team, originally known simply as the 'Trench Team', are now known and respected internationally as 'No Man's Land'.

1999 to date: An Army team, nicknamed the 'Pink Panthers', led by Sean Featherstone undertook maintainance of the trench, revetting it to combat the effects of erosion on the trench sides. They also rebuilt 'Sam's Abode', the sentry post at the front of the property, featured in Edmund Blunden's 'Undertones of War'. With more excavations lengthening the trench, it was necessary to carry out more revetting and thanks go to all volunteers who helped maintain and improve the excavation.

As with the trenches during the Great War, constant maintainance is necessary to stop the walls collapsing, thus allowing visitors to view the trench as it would have looked when in use through the Great War.

All of the artifacts discovered during the excavations can be viewed in the Tea Rooms.