Image: An aerial view of The Bridoux Salient (top) as it appeared six days before the German raid on 5 May 1916. The German trenches were 90 yards from the apex. AWM WW1 Photomosaic collection, detail of le Maisnil–en–Weppes, Sheet 36, Square I31...
Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, was drowned in HMS Hampshire on 5 June 1916, when it sank just west of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. Kitchener was on his way to a secret meeting with the Russians at Petrograd. This loss was seen as a se...
Dana Edmond Coates was born in Lodgepole, Nebraska, in 1894, the third of ten children. He was descended from one Charles Coates, a British soldier sent to America during the Seven Years War (1756-1763 - although hostilities started two years earlier...
My grandfather John Pearcy enlisted in Leeds in June 1916, he was posted to the 13th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment and he went for training to Rugeley Camp on Cannock Chase.
| Bannatine-Allason, R (1855–1940) | Major-General |
| GOC Infantry Division | CB CMG |
| Wellington College RMA Woolwich | Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery |
Richard Bannatine-Allason was the son of Richard Cunninghame Bannatine of Glaisnock, Ayrshire.
He was commiss...
Prior to the outbreak of the Great War, one of the main political issues in Britain was drink. Convictions for drunken behaviour regularly exceeded 200,000 pa (1) - significantly higher than in more recent times - and local newspapers were full of re...
The Western Front Association (WFA) was formed with the aim of furthering interest in The Great War of 1914-1918. We also aim to perpetuate the memory, courage and comradeship of all those on all sides who served their countries in France and Flanders and their own countries during The Great War.
Established in 1980 by noted military historian John Giles, the WFA has grown over the years to some 6,000 members worldwide. Please see the Branches Information section for details of your nearest WFA branch.
Through the work of the Association we do not seek to justify or glorify war. We are not a re-enactment society, nor are we commercially motivated. We are entirely non-political. The object of the Association is to educate the public in the history of The Great War with particular reference to the Western Front.
Applications for membership are warmly welcomed from anyone of a like mind.
If you would like to learn more, please look through our website. If there is any information on joining you cannot find here, please contact the Membership Office.
The Western Front Association is a Registered Charity No. 298365
In Their Own Words: ANZACs of the Western Front
This presentation of Great War film, together with voices of Great War veterans, was produced by the Australian War Memorial's film and sound curators. The footage and original oral history recordings are part of the rich film and sound collections of the Australian War Memorial.
Streamed courtesy of the Australian War Memorial and YouTube