Search results for Mesopotamia.

24 August 1918 Pte Thomas Jackson

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He lived at 88 Nairne Street and was connected with Mitre St Sunday School, he was, for a time, a regular player for their football team (where he played full-back). He was a weaver. Thomas was conscripted into the army in June 1916 and sent to join the 6th Bn King's Own in Mesopotamia in October 1916. He was involved in various actions in Mes…


Malaria in the Great War

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A 1946 map by kind permission of the World Health Organisation) Malaria in the Great War by Dr David Payne (This article first appeared in Stand To! No.77 September 2006 pp5 - 8) Introduction Throughout history pestilence has been the cause of the majority of the casualties of war. In general, the Great War proved to be an exception, with a r…


General Maude and the Recapture of Kut

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With temperatures ranging from freezing to 130ºF (50ºC) the campaign in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) was undertaken in one of the most inhospitable climates imaginable. Despite being a side-show to the main battles of the First World War in France and Belgium, the Mesopotamian campaign lasted virtually the entire period of the war. A mission had …


21 January 1916 : Pte Frederick C Baldwyn

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One of five boys, his father, Frank Baldwyn originally from Aberdeen, ran a market gardening business with his wife Florence out of Fleet Farm, Finchampstead.  At the outbreak of war in 1914 Frederick was living on the farm and working as a labourer and bricklayer. Fred enlisted at Salisbury in September 1914. Sent overseas on 18 March 1915, h…


19 April 1916: Pte Dennis Cyril Byrne

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The son of John and Elizabeth Fell. At the 1901 Census the family lived on Vicarage Place, Burnley. Dennis had an older brother John and younger siblings Douglas and Florence. At the 1911 Census the Byrne family were still living in Burnely, now on Napier Street. Dennis had another sister by then, Annie. Cousins Vincent and Reginald (adopted)…


Dunsterforce: The Fighting in North-West Persia During 1918

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The start of the Russian Revolution in the Spring of 1917 heralded the decline of Russia as an effective member of the alliance that was fighting the Central Powers who were led by Germany and Turkey. By December of that year revolutionaries had seized power in Russia and had signed a separate peace with the Central Powers at Brest-Livotsk. This re…


The Sons of John Company: The Indian & Pakistan Armies by John Gaylor

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1903-1991 Parapress. 1996. Hardback, 379 pp., £19.99. ISBN 1898594 414.  [This review first appeared in Stand To! no.51 January 1998. It is one of over 2,200 reviews of books about the First World War which are available to search in the Stand To! archive by members of The Western Front Association]. This is a very welcome book.  The contributio…


CANCELLED - The actions of the 2nd Battalion Leicestershire Regiment in Mesopotamia - Nigel Atter

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Due to the Coronavirus, all meetings have been cancelled until further notice. Please check the website for further information about the 2020 calendar of events.  Meeting at Sobraon Barracks on Burton Road in Lincoln the doors are open from 18.30. Free and ample car parking is available on-site. Tea, coffee and biscuits are available along with …


February 2020

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THE ROAD TO BAGHDAD Two:  “Mission Creep” It became apparent by January 1915 that the situation was not quite as was hoped for. The Turks were reinforcing Mesopotamia and it was learnt that German and Turkish diplomatic missions had been in Persia. Although the Southern oilfields were secured some of the local tribes had become restless and a pip…


3 March 1915 : Lieut. Wickham Harvey

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His parents were Arthur and mother Emily (née Stanger-Leathes and from New South Wales, Australia) of Hoon-Hay, the Drive, Belmont Surrey. At the 1901 Census, age 13, Whickham lived at home in Bromley with his parents, three  siblings, two aunts and three domestic servants. He went to school at Quernmore, Bromley, Kent and then joined the Royal…


Ep. 160 – The 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment in FWW – Nigel Atter

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Historian Nigel Atter talks about his book on the Great War service of the 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment. This is published by Helion. 11 May 2020 : Podcast 160 Nigel Atter, a self-styled ‘independent scholar’ is an active member of the Leicestershire  & Rutland branch of The Western Front Association. His interest in the First Wor…


A Tour of Mesopotamian War Cemeteries in 2003

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In the early summer of 2003, fortunately or not, I found myself and the Battalion I was commanding at the time, 7 Air Assault Battalion REME, based just outside of Al-Amarah in what had once been the British front line in Mesopotamia. Wherever I am in the world if there is an opportunity to visit a CWGC site then I will. A quick look on the map and…


Ep. 164 – The First Gurkha Officer – Pratap Chhetri

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Pratap Chhetri talks about his research into Rana Jodha Jung Bahadur, the first Gurkha officer in the British Army during the Great War. Your browser does not support the audio element. Dr Tom Thorpe [TT] : Welcome to ‘Mentioned in Dispatc…


ONLINE Carry On Up the Tigris – The Experiences of British and Indian Troops in Mesopotamia 1914-18 by Alan Wakefield

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ONLINE Zoom Meeting: Carry On Up the Tigris – The Experiences of British and Indian Troops in Mesopotamia 1914-18 by Alan Wakefield Between 1914 and 1918, British and Indian troops fought against the Ottoman Turks in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). After many setbacks, they finally took Baghdad in March 1917. This marked the high point of a long and tragi…


ONLINE 'Carry on up the Tigris' By Alan Wakefield

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ONLINE LECTURE 'Carry on up the Tigris' By Alan Wakefield Alan’s talk examines the changing nature of warfare during the Mesopotamia Campaign and looks at key factors that shaped the experiences of British and Indian troops fighting in that theatre of war between 1914 and 1918. Alan Wakefield has worked at the Imperial War Museum since 1999, in…


'Grandad’s War' by Prof. John Bourne

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Both my grandfathers were born in 1880, both were coal miners and both had large families. My paternal grandfather (and namesake) John Bourne was, according to my father, a very decent man, but I have rarely shown any curiosity about him. My maternal grandfather, Jesse Sheldon, has always been the most intriguing absence in my life. I think my inte…


ONLINE : ‘The Indian Army during the First World War' with Stephen Barker

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‘The Indian Army during the First World War: An Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry Perspective’.  During 1914-18, the 1st Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry fought in Iraq as part of the British Indian Army. Many of the soldiers who died in the campaign are commemorated on war memorials across Oxfordshire. This presentation highlights a project run by…


The 2nd Leicester’s in Mesopotamia - Nigel Atter

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PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF VENUE FOR THIS EVENT Nigel Atter, a self-styled “independent scholar” is an active member of the Leicestershire & Rutland Branch of the WFA, and explains that his interest in World War One came about after discovering his Grandfathers service papers.  His interest in the 2nd Leicester’s developed as a result of having…


The Coolie’s Great War. Indian Labour in a Global Conflict 1914–1921 by Radhika Singha

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£45.00, Hurst & Company, London,  392 pp, 21 ills, index, notes and refs ISBN 9781787382152  Military labour is a forgotten theme of First World War history. And yet the importance of labour behind the frontlines should not be underestimated. The Labour Corps was vital in securing Allied victory, yet John Starling and Ivor Lee’s 2009 No Labo…


Members' Afternoon (1)

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Our annual Members' Afternoon will be held on Sunday, 9th January 2022 - NB this is one week later than usual so that we avoid the New Year period. Again this year, we have a selection of talks which includes: Conscription in the NZEF A Gallipoli Photograph Album RFC (details TBC) The Battle of the Wilsons 1911 - A Monologue in Three Acts Armo…



Reports from Iraq - The Mesopotamia Commission Report and the resignation of Austen Chamberlain with Tony Bolton

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On the 20 July 1916, the Prime Minister H H Asquith bowed to the outrage sweeping Parliament and country and agreed to appoint a Commission of Inquiry into the debacle that was the Mesopotamia Campaign. The Inquiry established by Act of Parliament was to inquire into: ‘The origin, inception and conduct of operations of war in Mesopotamia, includin…


Gallipoli Association Zoom Talk: 'From disaster to triumph: the British campaign in Mesopotamia 1914-18’ with Prof. Gary Sheffield

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British operations in Mesopotamia in 1914-16 were over-ambitious and under-resourced, with senior commanders paying scant attention to logistics. The result was appalling suffering for British and Indian soldiers at regimental level, and military failure. A change of regime at the top brought in new, effective 'war managers' who transformed the for…


Twenty Years After: The Battlefields of 1914-18 Then and Now

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Quite a number of 'partworks' (magazines published over a number of weeks) were published between the 1920s and the start of the Second World War. The last of those dedicated to the history of WW1 came out in November 1937 and was called 'Twenty Years After'. Originally intended to be published in 'about 40 weekly parts' the first set of magazines …


The Staffords at Gallipoli in North Persia, Italy and Mesopotamia

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A special day with the Gallipoli Association to remember the important theatres of the First World War, away from the Western Front The service of the Staffords on the Western Front during World War One is familiar to many. Less well known is their contribution to the wider war. Battalions of both the North and South Staffords served in Gallipoli,…