Le Rutoire Farm

If you look out across the Loos battlefield from almost any of the main vantage points you will see this large farm sitting between Vermelles and Hulluch.

It is upon their land that the Lone Tree is situated.

The easiest way to find the farm is to take the D39 between the two villages. St Mary's ADS Cemetery is on the same road so following the signs for that will help you.

As you approach Vermelles you will come across a small oratoire on the side of the road and a road leading down to this large complex of buildings.

There is a small area in which you can park the car for a moment just after the buildings.

Headquarters

It is easy to see with the size and placement of the farm why it was chosen as a Headquarters for both the 2nd and 3rd Brigades.

Like all French farms of this nature their are deep cellars and these were used as a dressing station.

Of course what you see today has been rebuilt following the war. About all that was left of the farm by the time that the war ended was a British built concrete bunker that had been put up in 1916.

The bunker is still there to be seen today.

Hohenzollern Redoubt