Background The 11th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) went to France under the command of 27th Infantry Brigade of 9th (Scottish) Division in May 1915. It had participated in the Battle of Loos in late September 1915 and after a period in the Ypres salient moved with the division to take over […]
On tidying up some admin files this morning, I came across an old receipt, dated November 2010. It was the happy day that I bought the LinesMan product from Great War Digital. I have used this product literally every day since then, other than the time when I was in hospital undergoing surgery! Let me […]
Allies are a tiresome lot: the British Army in Italy in the First World Warby John DillonPublished by Helion & Company in 2015Hardback ISBN 978 1 910777 32 9209 pages plus bibliography and indexIllustrated with 15 photographs and 4 mapsMy thanks to Helion & Company for sending me a copy. The campaign in Italy has […]
The action of 4 July 1918 known as the Battle of Hamel is often regarded as a turning point of the war on the Western Front. It was a relatively small, brilliantly executed attack carried out by the Australian Corps with attached American units and supported by British tanks, artillery and aircraft. Hamel tends to […]
This article is based on research I carried out in 2015 on Private 58043 Herbert Clayton, who was killed in action at Bol’shie Ozerki on 2 April 1919. The action formed part of the campaign in North Russia. Background to the campaign in North Russia Often referred to as the Allied Intervention in North Russia. […]
In which they served: the stories of five men and women of the Great War as told by their medalsby Richard CullenPublished by Unicorn Publishing in 2020Hardback ISBN 978 1 913 491 031315 pages including chapter end notes, plus references and end notesReviewed by Chris BakerWith thanks to Unicorn for sending me a copy to […]
You think you have hit a brick wall. You have a man in your family tree and you want to know details of his army service, but you do not know his regiment and number. You do not even have a photograph that reveals a cap badge (like the one above). Problem. Especially if he […]
The Royal Marines on the Western Frontby Daniel J. McLeanPublished by Pen & Sword Military 2021Hardback ISBN 978 1 52676 386 0132 pages plus appendix (list of honours and awards), bibliography, endnotes and indexReviewed by Chris BakerWith thanks to Pen & Sword for sending me a copy to see. For some years I have owned […]
If you are lucky enough to find the service record of a man you are researching, it is likely to include his attestation form. This will provide excellent clues regarding the nature of his service. Look out in particular for the terms of his engagement. This will appear at the top of the attestation form. […]
Army Council Instruction 16A of 4 January 1919 laid down the regulations for the composition of drafts of men to be sent for demobilisation. The regulations attapted to tackle the complex and sentivice task of sending men home as quickly as possible, but balanced by industrial and economic priorities and the continuing demand in certain […]