John Masefield’s Somme
John Masefield (1878-1967) was already a well known and prize winning poet by the time of the Great War. After being rejected for service as a commissioned officer on medical grounds in 1914, he served…
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Then and now: the 8th Lincolns in Leighton Buzzard
Imperial War Museum photograph Q70596: Troops of the 8th (Service) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment marching through Leighton Buzzard. Major John Storer, one of the battalion’s officers, can be seen in the middle, mounted. The same scene…
Into action: 1/12th Londons raid on the Magpie’s Nest 8 November 1917
This article describes a minor disaster: a trench raid designed to kill or capture the garrison of a German outpost that was cut short when British artillery fired into the attacking party. The raid was…
Into action: 1/4th West Riding Regiment trench raid 17 February 1917
This article describes an attack made by the 1/4th Battalion of the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment) on 17 February 1917. The battalion was under command of the 147th Infantry Brigade of the 49th…
Some “Then and Now” images from the Battle of the Marne 1914
Not British Army but I though these may be of interest to readers. The “now” photos are from a battlefield trip I made in 2012. The two villages are close to each other but were…
The strange case of Aaron Charles Warren
I found this news clipping when searching for some details of my own family history. My grandparents lived at the back of 33, Ashley Street in Birmingham. The article, from the “Birmingham Mail” on 26…
Post-1918 adoption of French towns and villages
“Charity begins at home – but it should not end there” Leamington Spa Courier, Friday 16 December 1921 in an article announcing the adoption by the town of Biaches, a Somme village in France British…
Synchronise watches!
Time was of the essence for many military activities during the Great War. The precise firing of artillery bombardments, co-ordination of attacks by different units, and the advance by infantry under a creeping barrage all…
The fight for Claude, Clarence and Cuthbert Craters
German attack near Arras: 4 June 1916 Location Lying north of Arras (but now, with the city having expanded, absorbed into it) lay the village of St. Nicolas. Leading away from it to the north…
Deadly air raids on Saint-Omer in September 1917
Medical units and military billets under attack. Location Saint-Omer is a town in the French département of Pas-de-Calais. It had been the location of the General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force in 1914-15 but…