• Pension Records

    Pension Records

    As members of The Western Front Association will know, in 2012 the WFA stepped in to save from destruction over six million pension records of men who served in the Great War. Below are various articles...

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  • TrenchMapper (Public)

    TrenchMapper

    This portal enables users to study thousands of trench maps from the First World War. To benefit from the full capabilities of this, members can use the full version in the members area of the website...

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  • The Imperial Western Front: Free Online Course

    The Imperial Western Front: Free Online Course

    The Western Front Association in partnership with the University of Kent has produced a four-week course focused on the imperial dimension to the war on the Western Front.

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  • Stereoscope

    Stereoscope

    Stereoscopic, or 3D, photography was very popular at the time of the Great War. Use the Filter function to select your area of interest from the thousands of images from the conflict that are available here...

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  • A name for the fallen: how the MOD's ‘war detectives’ identified two Scottish soldiers

    A name for the fallen: how the MOD's ‘war detectives’ identified two Scottish soldiers

    Lieutenant James Grant Allan (left) and Lance Corporal Gordon McPherson. (Image: MOD) More than 110 years after the...

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  • The Western Front Association Calendar 2026 is now available

    The Western Front Association Calendar 2026 is now available

    We are delighted to announce that the 2025 Calendar from The Western Front Association is now available. As ever, thi...

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  • I Was There! Another chapter (playlist) completed: The Gallipoli Campaign is over !

    I Was There! Another chapter (playlist) completed: The Gallipoli Campaign is over !

    In the last few weeks, we've reached two milestones with the 'I Was There!' project. Episode 100 was published in ear...

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  • Artefacts from HMHS Britannic retrieved for display in Greek museum

    Artefacts from HMHS Britannic retrieved for display in Greek museum

    A new expedition has recovered objects from Titanic’s sister ship, sunk by a German mine when serving as hospital shi...

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  • New Collecting Project at Imperial War Museum: can anyone help the IWM

    New Collecting Project at Imperial War Museum: can anyone help the IWM

    As part of a drive to develop its collections to cover subjects identified as currently underrepresented, the Imperia...

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  • Alfred Buckham exhibition opens at National Galleries of Scotland

    Alfred Buckham exhibition opens at National Galleries of Scotland

    A major retrospective of Alfred Buckham (1879-1956), the pioneering aerial photographer who served with distinction i...

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  • Oak Grove College: 2025 Ypres Trip Review

    Oak Grove College: 2025 Ypres Trip Review

    As a result of a generous donation from a member, the Western Front Association is able to support a number of specia...

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  • Never Such Innocence Military Kid’s Choir in Ypres

    Never Such Innocence Military Kid’s Choir in Ypres

    As a result of a generous donation from a member, The Western Front Association is able to support a number of specia...

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Benefits of Membership

The Western Front Association was formed in 1980 with the purpose of furthering interest in the history of the First World War of 1914-1918. We also aim to perpetuate the memory, courage and comradeship of all those who served, on all sides, across all theatres and fronts, on land, at sea and in the air and at home, during the Great War. The Western Front Association is non-political and does not seek to glorify war. For a modest annual subscription, our members receive a wide range of benefits including our regular, high-quality publications Stand To! and Bulletin six times a year, access to the Stand To! archive, Gun Fire Archive, Military Factsheets and Pension Records database. In particular, belonging to The Western Front Association provides you with the opportunity of meeting like-minded people to learn, share, explore and exchange information and knowledge of the First World War in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

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Join The WFA

Our aims are 'Remembrance and Sharing the History of the Great War'. You get 6 magazines per year. For more information on how to join and what membership options are available, please click the button below.

Click here to join

For all enquiries, please contact the office:
+44 (0) 207 118 1914

  • 'When Woolwich Went to War' by Steve Roberts

    'When Woolwich Went to War' by Steve Roberts

    15 Oct 2025 19:45 Surrey

    'When Woolwich Went to War' by Steve Roberts The London Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich has long been associated wit...

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  • 'The Indian Army at the Palace' with Dr Tejpal Singh Ralmill

    'The Indian Army at the Palace' with Dr Tejpal Singh Ralmill

    16 Oct 2025 19:30 London (East)

    Dr Tejpal Singh Ralmill will be sharing the stories of some of the Indian Army soldiers encamped at Hampton Court Pal...

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  • ‘Motorcycle Despatch Riders In 1914' by Nick Shelley

    ‘Motorcycle Despatch Riders In 1914' by Nick Shelley

    17 Oct 2025 19:30 Worcestershire & Herefordshire

    In this talk Nick describes the motorcyclists' contribution to the 1914 campaign, using their own words and their own...

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  • Dublin WFA Conference: The Great War and the Irish Revolution

    Dublin WFA Conference: The Great War and the Irish Revolution

    18 Oct 2025 11:00 Dublin

    The Irish Revolution encompasses Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising, its War of Independence (1919-1921) and its Civil War...

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  • WFA Trench Mapping Project – Mark Taylor

    WFA Trench Mapping Project – Mark Taylor

    18 Oct 2025 14:00 Birmingham

    The process, trials and tribulations of the WFA project in saving and making available Trench maps.

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  • Stuart Hadaway presents 'On to Aleppo'

    Stuart Hadaway presents 'On to Aleppo'

    18 Oct 2025 14:30 Ox & Bucks

    Stuart makes a welcome return to our branch to present 'On to Aleppo' culminating in the 1918 Battle of Aleppo. Recen...

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  • British Artillery on the Western Front 1914-1918: Learning - Developing - Achieving by Richard Smith

    British Artillery on the Western Front 1914-1918: Learning - Developing - Achieving by Richard Smith

    20 Oct 2025 19:45 Tyneside

    We look at the Artillery Brigades of the BEF from the early months of the war, at the processes involved, and the les...

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  • Once they were young: British generals at the Battle of Omdurman, 1898 by Peter Hart

    Once they were young: British generals at the Battle of Omdurman, 1898 by Peter Hart

    20 Oct 2025 20:00 Southend on Sea

    In the 1880s, control over northeastern Africa was a political minefield into which Prime Minister Gladstone did not...

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  • Riding the Rouge Zone

    Riding the Rouge Zone

    30 Oct 2025 20:00 Thames Valley

    Tom Isitt: Riding in the Zone Rouge Tom Isitt will talk about a mad bicycle race in 1919 across the battlefields of t...

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  • The Great War,  And The Birth of Modern Horror

    The Great War, And The Birth of Modern Horror

    01 Nov 2025 13:30 Yorkshire (West Riding)

    At our meeting today we welcome Mr Andy Moody, who will be talking to us about the Horrors of Modern Warfare, and all...

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  • Beyond the Trenches: Indirect Approaches and Irregular Warfare in WWI

    Beyond the Trenches: Indirect Approaches and Irregular Warfare in WWI

    23 Oct 2025 10:00

    2025 Symposium at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, USA, hosted online and in-person. Riflemen “g...

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  • ONLINE: The War Detectives: The work of the JCCC

    ONLINE: The War Detectives: The work of the JCCC

    27 Oct 2025 20:00

    The presentation will be live and online. The Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) Commemorations Team, als...

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  • Courage without Glory – Gallipoli and the Western Front in 1915

    Courage without Glory – Gallipoli and the Western Front in 1915

    01 Nov 2025 10:00

    A joint conference between the Gallipoli Association and The Western Front Association. Speakers: Sir Hew Strachan:...

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  • ONLINE: Almost cruelly severe: Charles Holden's work for the Imperial War Graves Commission by Prof Mark Connelly

    ONLINE: Almost cruelly severe: Charles Holden's work for the Imperial War Graves Commission by Prof Mark Connelly

    03 Nov 2025 20:00

    The presentation will be live and online. Charles Holden was unique among the IWGC’s architects for he was the only o...

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  • Passchendaele Remembrance Ceremony and Torchlight Procession

    Passchendaele Remembrance Ceremony and Torchlight Procession

    10 Nov 2025 18:30

    On the 10th November 1917, the village of Passchendaele was taken by troops of the Canadian Corps and this marked the...

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  • ONLINE: Le Cateau - A complete re-evaluation by Phil Watson

    ONLINE: Le Cateau - A complete re-evaluation by Phil Watson

    10 Nov 2025 20:00

    The presentation will be live and online. The verdict of history is largely based on the Official History and the wor...

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  • Ypres Poppy Parade and Remembrance Ceremony

    Ypres Poppy Parade and Remembrance Ceremony

    11 Nov 2025 08:45

    The annual Remembrance ceremony in Ypres this year will commemorate the 107th Anniversary of the Armistice on Tuesday...

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  • The WFA Commemoration Event at the Cenotaph 2025

    The WFA Commemoration Event at the Cenotaph 2025

    11 Nov 2025 10:00

    Members are invited to join us at the Cenotaph on 11 November. This is a Western Front Association event, and members...

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  • Vimy Ridge - Remembrance Day Commemoration - 11th November 2025

    Vimy Ridge - Remembrance Day Commemoration - 11th November 2025

    11 Nov 2025 11:00

    Canadian students will be holding an act of remembrance at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, on Tuesday 11th Novem...

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  • Lochnagar Remembrance Ceremony - 11th November 2025

    Lochnagar Remembrance Ceremony - 11th November 2025

    11 Nov 2025 12:00

    The Friends of Lochnagar invites everyone to an Armistice Day remembrance Ceremony at Lochnagar Crater which will com...

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Arthur William Heptinstall died of wounds on this day in 1914. Arthur Heptinstall was born in Batley, Yorkshire in 1878, the son of James (a joiner) and Ann Heptinstall. Arthur was the seventh of their children born between 1864 and 1878.  He enlisted in Bradford on 10 November 1899, joining 2nd Bn Royal Scots (Infantry) at the age of 21. He served in South...

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15 October 1914 : Pte Arthur William Heptinstall
Pension Records

Pension Records

As members of The Western Front Association will know, in 2012 the WFA stepped in to save from destruction over six million pension records of men who served in the Great War. Below are various art...

READ MORE
The Latest WWI Podcast

The Latest WWI Podcast

The Western Front Association's podcasts 'Mentioned in Dispatches' with Dr Tom Thorpe are an eclectic mix of relaxed discussions with all kinds of contributors: experts in their particular fields,...

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World War I Articles

World War I Articles

Articles on every aspect of the First World War written by experts in their field. Some were first published in Stand To! or Bulletin, others have been researched and written for the web. If you wo...

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‘I Was There!’ – The Great War in Their Own Words

‘I Was There!’ – The Great War in Their Own Words

The Western Front Association is pleased to present audio narrations of personal accounts from I Was There! magazine, bringing to life the voices of those who experienced the Great War first-hand...

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