A network of First World War training trenches in Norfolk have been highlighted as being the most unusual of 240 heritage sites given special listed status this year.
The training trenches found on a campsite, said to be rare because other examples were long ago filled in, have been added to the National Heritage List for England.
Rediscovered around a decade ago, the earthworks were constructed on land near the village of Stanhoe, near Docking in the north west of the county, to help troops prepare for battlefield conditions.
It was used by the Lovat Scouts, a regiment of the Scottish Highland Yeomanry, which began during the Boer War and fought in Gallipoli in 1915 and later in the Second World War.
Commanded by Lord Lovat - uncle of SAS founder David Stirling, a key character in current BBC drama SAS Rogue Heroes - the scouts pioneered the use of unconventional tactics and are credited with introducing the camouflaged sniper’s ghillie suit into the British Army.
Its soldiers were drawn from among workers of the Scottish Highlands, and Stirling would go on to employ their pioneering tactics against the Nazis and Italians in North Africa.
Training trenches were dug all across England during the First World War, but most have since been lost.
The Stanhoe network - which is now part of the Dreamy Hollow campsite - has been partly in-filled over the years and the 'enemy' trenches have been lost under ploughed agricultural land.
Heritage minister Lord Parkinson said: “Heritage sites tell the story of our country, boost tourism, and help us understand and take pride in where we live.
“By listing buildings and protecting wrecks, battlefields and monuments, we can safeguard our history for future generations to enjoy as well.”
Granted only to sites of national importance, other unusual sites given listed status in 2022 include two shipwrecks off the Isle of Wight, a pair of Victorian London cabmen’s shelters, and an 18th-century Cumbrian watermill drawn by the famous landscape artist John Constable.
Chief executive of Historic England, Duncan Wilson, said: “The variety of listings this year illustrates the rich diversity of our shared heritage and the importance of everyday places that make up the fascinating fabric of our past.”
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