Le Rutoire Farm, Loos
Le Rutoire Farm 2004
Le Rutoire Farm was a large farm complex some distance behind the British front line and close to the village of Vermelles. On 25th September it was the advanced headquarters of the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Brigades, and it is known several divisional HQ staffs also used it during the battle. There were gun positions close to here, and the cellars of the farm were also used as an Advanced Dressing Station by the Royal Army Medical Corps.
Map of Le Rutore Farm showing units close by on 25th September 1915
As the line moved forward it remained an HQ and Medical Post, and in 1916 a concrete observation bunker was built here, which still survives. There was little left of the farm by 1918, but it was rebuilt in the 1920s on the same site.
To visit the farm take the D39 Vermelles-Hulluch road, and at a wayside shrine take a minor road direct to the farm, which you will see ahead of you. There is a parking bay outside the farm, and if not in use park here. The farm is private property, but if you speak to the farmer (in French only; they speak no English) they will normally let you visit the British bunker on their land.
British observation bunker, Le Rutoire Farm 2004
ŠPaul Reed 2005
