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Major 'Alastair' Soutar, M.C.
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One of the well known 'classic' accounts of the First World War is 'Twelve Days' published in 1933 (and more recently republished as 'Twelve Days on the Somme') by Sidney Rogerson, an officer on the staff of 23 Infantry Brigade (part of the 8th Division). Less well known is his second book, about his experiences in May 1918 on the Aisne. This accou…
Major Arthur Hughes-Onslow: soldier, jockey and one of the first British deaths in the Great War
Arthur Hughes-Onslow was born in 1862. He joined the 10th Hussars at Lucknow, India and stayed in the regiment for 20 years. Along the way, he acquired the nickname of 'Junks', although he had no idea why it was given to him. It soon became the name by which he was known by family, friends, the racing public and fellow soldiers alike. Everyone w…
Medal Index Cards
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During the late part of the First World War the Army Medal Office began a system of making out an index card for each individual soldier (officers and other ranks). This was in order to create a record of the individual's entitlement to campaign medals and gallantry medals. The Medal Index Card which were created include some or all of the follow…
A draft of 100, all boys from the Kings Liverpool Regt
/world-war-i-articles/a-draft-of-100-all-boys-from-the-kings-liverpool-regt/
Most people seeking to trace the steps of a soldier who served in WW1 will run into the same dead end that I did when I was trying to follow my father's journey through that war. His service record, the document that would have provided the necessary details, no longer exists because most of them were destroyed in the London blitz of 1940 - and tha…
Stewart McVey: The soldier with TWO aliases
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One of the many names listed on Le Touret Memorial to the Missing is that of Corporal Stewart McVey. Aged just 18 he was killed on 9 May 1915 at the Battle of Aubers Ridge, whilst serving with the 1st Battalion Black Watch. Unusually, but by no means uniquely he had a pseudonym, the CWGC noting he 'served as' (Stewart) Elder. But this is not as s…
The Censuring of Lieutenant Colonel John MacCarthy-O’Leary
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In February 1918, 55th (West Lancashire) Division took over trenches in the Givenchy sector. The division’s units had sustained severe losses during the German counter-attack at Cambrai at the end of November and had since been rebuilding and training in the rear. During that counter-stroke, 1/5th South Lancashire, of 166 Brigade, had been almost w…
A Liverpool Lad at Ypres Pte Joseph Gough KIA 31 July 1917
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“The Valley of the Shadow, 31 July 1917. Down in the valley the Steenbeek flows, A brook you may cross with an easy stride, In death’s own valley between the rows of stunted willows om either side. You may cross in the sunshine without a care, with a brow that is fanned by the summer’s breath, Though you cross with a laugh, yet pause with a pr…
The 'fake' French Aristocrat at Etaples
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In the vast expanse of Etaples Military Cemetery are thousands of headstones. Each of these represents the last resting place of a casualty of the war. No doubt all stories are unique, but to misquote George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, some are 'more unique than others'. Above: Etaples Military Cemetery Below is the image of a headstone of what wo…
A Century Old 'Thank you' : Frederick Clark KIA 21 March 1918
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The events of World War I have burned themselves into the national consciousness - especially during the past four years, when every battle, every incident, every death has had its 100th anniversary. With the centenary of the end of the war in sight, many are the stories that have been told and are waiting to be told. This is just one. My father […