Pic Tor War Memorial Multi-Cache

This two stage multi cache takes you to a war memorial with a great view across Matlock. It is quite a steep climb up to the memorial if approaching from the riverside footpath, through Matlock Woods - a site of special scientific interest. The walk is more gentle when approaching through the churchyard from Church Street, where there is normally some roadside parking. We would recommend combining both paths to form a loop.

The Battle of the Somme began on July 1st 1916 & this cache was hidden to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this terrible event. Many of the soldiers remembered on this memorial died in the battle, which lasted for 141 days, killing over 1.12 million men in total. British forces lost nearly 60,000 men on the first day alone, including eight named on this memorial.

By the end of the battle, Allied forces had advanced no more than seven miles into previously German held territory. This equates to 88,000 Allied casualties per mile. During the course of the battle, the Victoria Cross, the highest British military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy", was awarded to 51 soldiers, 17 posthumously.

After problems at GZ, we have changed the original final coordinates to a second virtual stage. This can be found at;

N 53' 08.ABC  W 001 33.DEF

You will need to visit the war memorial to find the following information. Look at the names on the plaques & answer the following questions.

A) What was the total number of men named Shaw who were killed?

B) How many Smiths died in total?

C) What is the total number of men with the surname Gregory who died?

D) How many men with the name Barnes died in both wars?

E) In total, how many men with the surname Woolley are named on the memorial?

F) How many different surnames beginning with G are remembered from WW I?

This stage is located within a few hundred metres of the memorial & it will be easier to approach on foot. Once there, you will need to look for a plaque. There is an obvious large one, but you are looking for one that it much smaller! Once you have found it, answer the further questions to find the cache at;

N 53' 08.GHI  W 001 33.JKL

G) The number of vowels on the third line.

H) The number of consonants in the second word on the first line.

I) The number of Es on the first line.

J) The number of vowels on the second line.

K) The number of Rs on the first line.

L) The number of letters in the fourth word on the fourth line.

As a check sum, your final missing digits should total 21.

You will need your own pen. We hope that you enjoy your visit to the war memorial & especially the view of the town.

Congratulations to Mickeymoose for FTF!

Thanks to snugerly for allowing me to use her stunning photograph for the background image on the cache page. 😊