The Meaning Behind Shaiba Place in Poundbury: A Family Story from Paul Coggins

Every day, residents and visitors walk past Shaiba Place in Poundbury, perhaps noticing the unusual name but not pausing to consider its meaning. Behind this quiet street name, however, lies a story of extraordinary courage, unimaginable hardship, and a deep personal connection that reaches right into our community.

A Discovery Close to Home

When l began researching the meaning of Poundbury's street names, I uncovered something unexpected: a direct family connection to the very battle that Shaiba Place commemorates. My Great Uncle Ernest had fought in the brutal engagement honoured by this street—the Second Dorset Regiment's actions on the Tigris against the Turkish army during the Mesopotamian campaign of 1916. Discovering that connection took my breath away. Here I am, living in Poundbury, walking past a street that commemorates the very battle my Great Uncle Ernest fought in. 

Diagram of positions April 14th 1915.

Four Brothers, One War

The story begins at Manor Cottage on the Mapperton Estate, where James and Mary-Ann Trevett raised seven children. When the Great War broke out, all four of their sons answered the call: Bertram, Ernest, Francis, and Percy. Each would serve, each would face unimaginable conditions, and remarkably, three of the four would survive to return home.

Ernest, born in 1895, was 21 when he joined the 2nd Battalion Dorset Regiment—right here at the Army Reserve centre on Poundbury Road in Dorchester. From that familiar local street, his journey took him to Liverpool, then by troop ship to Mesopotamia—present-day Iraq—and into one of the war's most brutal campaigns.

Hell in the Desert

The Battle of Shaiba in 1915 was just the beginning. What followed were years of suffering that went far beyond the battlefield, with the men facing disease, sandstorms, suffocating heat, and marches through deep mud—challenges that stretched human endurance to breaking point. The 2nd Dorsets endured the Siege of Kut-el-Amara, where they were captured by Turkish forces in April 1916. The battalion suffered such devastating losses—fewer than 30% returning home—that they had to amalgamate with the 2nd Norfolk Regiment, forming a composite unit nicknamed "The Norsets."

Ernest served under Major FW Radcliffe, who would later become Lieutenant Colonel commanding the battalion. After the amalgamation and eventual reconstitution in July 1916, the reformed 2nd Dorsets participated in the final recapture of Kut in December 1916 and the clearing of the Shatt-al-Hai, before moving to Egypt, Palestine, and Syria in 1918.

Certificate presented to EV Trevett 2nd Battalion. Note Shaiba on left hand side.

EV Trevett’s WW1 Medals. The Kings Medal and the Victory Medal

Three Brothers Return

Against extraordinary odds, Ernest survived. So did his brothers Francis (my grandfather) and Percy. The weight of what they endured—and what they witnessed—must have stayed with them for the rest of their lives. I knew both of them well. Bertram died a long time ago but has his own place in Dorset history: after the war, he returned to work as a gardener at the Mapperton Estate, playing an instrumental role in designing and building the gardens that visitors can still enjoy today. A plaque in the garden recognises his contribution—a quieter legacy, but no less meaningful.

Names That Remember

Today, as you walk through Poundbury, you'll find that many street names carry similar stories. They're not arbitrary choices but deliberate acts of remembrance, honouring the Dorset Regiment's service across multiple theatres of war. And now, just steps from Shaiba Place on Peninsula Way, a new memorial to the Dorset Regiment has been installed—a physical reminder of the sacrifice these names commemorate.

For me, the discovery has transformed my daily experience of Poundbury. Every time I pass Shaiba Place now, I think of Ernest at 21, signing up on Poundbury Road, not knowing what lay ahead. I think of him surviving against those odds, coming home, and living the rest of his life with those memories. Old soldiers never die, they simply fade away. For me, the street name isn't just history—it's family.

Living History

This is what makes Poundbury's approach to street naming so powerful. These aren't just words on a map; they're threads connecting us to real people who lived, fought, and—in Ernest's case—came home to the very place we now call home. They walked these Dorchester streets. They knew this landscape. And now their courage is woven into the fabric of our community.

Next time you pass Shaiba Place, perhaps you'll pause for a moment. Behind that name stands Private EV Trevett, service number 16390, aged 21, and thousands like him who endured the unendurable so far from home. Their sacrifice lives on—not just in monuments and memorials, but in the everyday places where we walk, the streets where children play, and the community we share. 

The Mapperton Estate, where Ernest's family lived and his brother Bertram helped create the gardens, is now owned by the Earl and Countess of Sandwich and is open to the public. Visit mapperton.com for more information.

For a map of Poundbury go to: https://www.lovepoundbury.org/poundbury-map