Was your soldier paid a bounty?
If you have been lucky enough to obtain a copy of a soldier’s service record it may include details of payment of a bounty. What was it all about? Army Order 86 of 1916, published…
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10th Scottish Rifles trench raid and an oft-used photograph
The 10th (Service) Battalion of the Scottish Rifles returned to the front line of the Arras sector on 23 March 1917, relieving the 7/8th Battalion of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers. It war diary reads,…
Review of digital services from Naval & Military Press
I did not mention Sussex company Naval & Military Press in my recent review of online military research services. On reflection that was on omission. It is a company whose work I use almost every…
Online information service providers for researching British soldiers – which is best?
Many British military records relating to soldiers and the army of 1914-1918 have been digitised in recent years. There is no doubt that it has made finding information very much easier and quicker than before….
The work of the transport section of an infantry battalion
The classic memoir of the Great War, “Four years on the Western Front: being the experiences of a ranker in the London Rifle Brigade, 4th, 3rd and 56th Divisions” by “A rifleman” includes some wonderful,…
New article on a much-visited location: Brandhoek
Today’s addition to the Long, Long Trail’s gazetteer of the Western Front is about Brandhoek, a hamlet between Ypres and Poperinge that developed into a major medical centre. See Gazetteer of the Western Front: Brandhoek
Amazon links to be removed from the Long, Long Trail
For many years, payments received from Amazon have helped keep this website alive. Any time a user clicks through one of the affiliate links and then buys something from Amazon, a small cash payment has…
The annual WFA weekend seminars at Abergavenny
I used to greatly enjoy the seminars organised by the Western Front Association and attended them each year from 1992 to 2001. In many ways they encouraged my interest in the subject and built my…
Time on the Western Front
In relation to Greenwich Mean Time Unlike today, Great Britain , France and Belgium all operated at the same time during the Great War. (The latter two countries are of course now one hour ahead…
7th Infantry Brigade’s raid on Factory Farm 17 February 1917
The general staff of the headquarters of 25th Division ordered 7th Infantry Brigade to carry out a raid on enemy trenches to obtain identification of enemy units in the trenches; to kill German troops; and…