AN ARCHAEOLOGIST has recreated a First World War dugout outside his home in Charlwood.
Andrew Robertshaw spent a month shifting 200 tonnes of earth to build the scale replica trench system at Windacres Farm in Russ Hill, Charlwood..
The 58-year-old historian, who runs the Royal Logistics Corps Museum in Deepcut, was inspired to build the replica because his grandfather fought in the trenches during the war.
The trench was built by a team of more than 40 volunteers, and is complete with barbed wire, sandbags, sleeping huts and an officer's dugout.
The 60ft replica was built using original plans and aerial photos of a trench system built by British troops near Ypres, in Belgium.
Mr Robertshaw, who worked as a military advisor on Steven Spielberg's film War Horse, is opening the trench to the public for two days this weekend – Saturday and Sunday, August 2 and 3, from 10am to 4pm.
He said: "For more than 20 years I was head of education at the National Army Museum, and despite using images and artefacts, I felt most audiences failed to grasp the reality of the war. This trench offers a real experience in the most authentic way."
