Photos by Chris van Houts.
Wellbeing & Excavation
Our expert team of welfare professionals provide year-round support to the veterans on all of our programmes. David Ulke and Rod Eldridge, our lead Welfare Officers, share how Waterloo Uncovered uses archaeology to aid veterans in their recovery from the mental and physical impacts of war.
"There'll be people here suffering with anxiety, depression, or just having difficulty transitioning from the military." - Rod Eldridge
"It’s only the second day of the dig but we're already seeing these guys starting to gel as a team. I've already seen changes in people that are amazing." - David Ulke
Ken Follett Visits
Today we were joined by author and Waterloo Uncovered supporter Ken Follett! We're grateful to Ken for his support, and were excited to show him around Plancenoit and Mont-Saint-Jean as he learnt more about our work and chatted to our veteran participants.
"It’s really fascinating work. Waterloo Uncovered is a great charity to support." - Ken Follett
Digging Deeper
At Mont-Saint-Jean, progress is being made on the first trench of the excavation season. The trench is being dug in the same location that human remains were found during our 2019 excavation. This year, we hope to dig deeper to see what may lie beneath - there's a strong possibility there may be more human remains here, or medical equipment associated with the Napoleonic field hospital that once stood here.
Surveying Plancenoit
At our second site, Plancenoit, we've been using geophysical survey methods and metal detecting to determine the best spot to open a trench. The team are being led by the work of Duncan Williams, who is a PhD candidate studying the geophysics of the battlefield with Bournemouth University, in collaboration with Waterloo Uncovered. Duncan's work will identify anomalies in the landscape that could indicate features such as mass graves or large collections of metal objects. These anomalies will guide where our archaeologists choose to excavate.
Check out our video recap of day two of our 2022 Excavation - featuring David and Rod from our welfare team!
We wouldn't be able to conduct our groundbreaking archaeological excavation at Waterloo, or deliver our life-changing veteran support, without the generosity of our supporters. To help us continue our work and support those who have served their country when they need it the most, please consider making a donation.