York Historic Environment Record

During the course of the First World War, Walmgate Stray, like many other public open spaces, was utilised by the army as a training area, providing soldiers with experience of digging trench lines and possibly of combat within them. Trenches 5 and 6, in the centre of the Stray, and close to its south-west corner have been identified. Although these are the same width as the firing trenches, around 0.9m, they are laid out in an irregular zigzag pattern and are similar in form to communication trenches, which would have connected the front-line firing trenches with the rear lines.