• 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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  • Fully funded PhD on War, Commemoration and International Relations – applications open

    Fully funded PhD on War, Commemoration and International Relations – applications open

    The University of Chester, in collaboration with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, is offering a rare fully fun...

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  • New member resource: WW1 Orders of Battle (ORBATs)

    New member resource: WW1 Orders of Battle (ORBATs)

    We’re pleased to announce the addition of a significant new resource to The Western Front Association website: a sele...

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  • Archaeologists uncover World War I training camp in Bexhill

    Archaeologists uncover World War I training camp in Bexhill

    Image: Archaeology South-East On 15 January 2025, BBC Sussex reported on an archaeological excavation at Cooden Cam...

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  • Campaign for RNAS memorial

    Campaign for RNAS memorial

    Squadron Commander Edwin Harris Dunning, DSC (17 July 1892 – 7 August 1917), the first pilot to land an aircraft on...

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  • I Was There! Newest episode published

    I Was There! Newest episode published

    The latest video from the 'I Was There!' series has just been published. In this series of videos we are 'voicing' th...

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  • Piecing together the past: The men of Wadham College, 1915

    Piecing together the past: The men of Wadham College, 1915

      Officers Training Corps, Wadham College. (Image: Adrian Maasz) A sepia-toned photograph, purchased from a charity...

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  • The Historic Christmas Truce of 1914 by Capt Sir Edward Hulse, Bart

    The Historic Christmas Truce of 1914 by Capt Sir Edward Hulse, Bart

    Despite the bitter fighting which had been going on for over four months, a remarkable armistice was observed in many...

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  • Back issues of Bulletin now available to WFA members

    Back issues of Bulletin now available to WFA members

    We are delighted to be able to announce a major new 'perk' of membership of The Western Front Association.  Using the...

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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. Currently there is a 3 extra months Free offer - ask office for details. 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

  • The Lewis Gun - Darren Berry

    The Lewis Gun - Darren Berry

    12 Feb 2025 19:30 Somerset

    The Lewis Gun - Darren Berry The Somerset Tommy   This month we welcome the return of Darren Berry, The Somerset Tomm...

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  • Laugh or Fly: The Air War on the Western Front - Peter Hart

    Laugh or Fly: The Air War on the Western Front - Peter Hart

    12 Feb 2025 20:00 Essex

    On Wednesday February 12th we welcome to return of Peter Hart to our Hornchurch Venue. In this talk, based on a recen...

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  • The Flying Fury: James McCudden by Ross McLachlan

    The Flying Fury: James McCudden by Ross McLachlan

    14 Feb 2025 19:00 Sussex

    We welcome Branch Member Ross McLachlan to open our year of talks. He will be speaking about: The Flying FuryJames Mc...

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  • Ocean Greyhounds: The Battle of Dogger Bank - 1915, Dr Scott Lindgren

    Ocean Greyhounds: The Battle of Dogger Bank - 1915, Dr Scott Lindgren

    14 Feb 2025 19:30 Midlands (East)

    In January 1915, the British Battlecruiser Fleet under David Beatty pursued their opposite numbers of the German 1st...

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  • The Road to Baghdad – Jonathan Dale

    The Road to Baghdad – Jonathan Dale

    15 Feb 2025 14:00 Birmingham

    The campaign in Mesopotamia started out as a simple operation to protect the new oil fields, : It finally ended up in...

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  • A talk about two brothers who fought in the war - Deville Wood 1916 and Arras 1917 presented by Simon Cains

    A talk about two brothers who fought in the war - Deville Wood 1916 and Arras 1917 presented by Simon Cains

    15 Feb 2025 14:30 Ox & Bucks

    We welcome our branch member Simon Cains who will be discussing 'two brothers who fought in the war - Deville Wood 19...

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  • Branch AGM and the Chairman's Lecture - "The role of the CWGC".

    Branch AGM and the Chairman's Lecture - "The role of the CWGC".

    16 Feb 2025 14:00 Scotland (South)

    Annual General Meeting (AGM)During the event our Chairman, Ken Nisbet, will deliver a lecture, "The role of the Commo...

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  • February 2025 Branch Meeting - Nigel Atter talks about Douglas Haig's Command at the Battle of Loos 1915

    February 2025 Branch Meeting - Nigel Atter talks about Douglas Haig's Command at the Battle of Loos 1915

    17 Feb 2025 19:30 Leicestershire & Rutland

    For our February 2025 Branch meeting we welcome back Branch member Nigel Atter who will be presenting a talk on Haig'...

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  • No Hiding Place: Evasion Behind Enemy Lines by Tony Ball, commencing with our branch AGM

    No Hiding Place: Evasion Behind Enemy Lines by Tony Ball, commencing with our branch AGM

    17 Feb 2025 19:45 Tyneside

    In August 1914, more than 8,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force found themselves cut-off behind enemy lines in...

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  • "Known unto God": the missing of the Great War' with Simon Fowler

    "Known unto God": the missing of the Great War' with Simon Fowler

    17 Feb 2025 20:00 Southend on Sea

    ‘Known only unto God’ the missing of the two world wars About a third of the men who were killed while serving in the...

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  • ONLINE: The British Way of War - 1890-1918, shaping strategy for an age of transition

    ONLINE: The British Way of War - 1890-1918, shaping strategy for an age of transition

    24 Feb 2025 20:00

    The presentation will be live and online.  At the turn of 20th century Britain, as a global maritime empire shaped b...

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  • 127th (Manchester) Brigade at the Third Battle of Krithia - Paul Knight

    127th (Manchester) Brigade at the Third Battle of Krithia - Paul Knight

    25 Feb 2025 19:30

    After the Third Battle of Krithia, Hamilton wrote to Major General William Douglas commanding 42nd Division, saying "...

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  • ONLINE: From OTC to OCB: the professionalisation of the selection and training of junior temporary officers during the Great War

    ONLINE: From OTC to OCB: the professionalisation of the selection and training of junior temporary officers during th...

    10 Mar 2025 20:00

    The presentation will be live and online.  This talk by Charles Fair looks at the formation of the Officer Cadet Bat...

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  • ONLINE: The New Zealand Division in the Third Battle of Ypres

    ONLINE: The New Zealand Division in the Third Battle of Ypres

    24 Mar 2025 20:00

    The year 1917 had been a year of growing professionalism for the New Zealand Division under its New Zealand commander...

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  • 2025 Spring Conference & AGM

    2025 Spring Conference & AGM

    05 Apr 2025 09:30

    Spring Conference and AGM – Saturday 5 April 2025 Start 10.15am (doors open from 9.30am). Speakers: Dr. Emily Mayhew...

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  • ONLINE: British Cavalry on the Western Front by Prof Stephen Badsey

    ONLINE: British Cavalry on the Western Front by Prof Stephen Badsey

    07 Apr 2025 20:00

    The presentation will be live and online.  Of all the myths of the Western Front, those of the uselessness of cavalry...

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  • WFA 'President's Tour' to Gallipoli

    WFA 'President's Tour' to Gallipoli

    22 Jun 2025 11:00

    Once again, The Western Front Association is delighted to offer members the chance to visit the battlefields of the G...

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  • WFA Battlefield Tour: Cambrai 1917 and 1918

    WFA Battlefield Tour: Cambrai 1917 and 1918

    19 Sep 2025 11:00

    The Western Front Association is delighted to offer the second Battlefield Tour of the year, which will focus on the...

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Robert Spencer died on this day in 1917 Robert was born in Skipton in 1895. He was the eldest of five Peter and Martha Spencer. Before the war he was a warp dryer in a cotton mill. His father Peter was a 'stationary engineman' in a limestone quarry - according to the 1911 England Census. His brother Edgar (three years younger) served i...

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12 February 1917: L/Cpl Robert Spencer
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 Book Reviews

World War I Book Reviews

First World War book reviews by academics, amateur historians, Western Front Association members and keen readers. 

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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 are were first published in Stand To! or Bulletin, others have been researched and written for the web. If yo...

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