• 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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  • 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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  • Rob Thompson RIP

    Rob Thompson RIP

    It is with the deepest of regret that we must inform members of the passing of our friend and colleague Rob Thompson. Ro…

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  • Stand To! No. 129 Out Now

    Stand To! No. 129 Out Now

    Members and Digital Members should all have received the latest issue of Stand To! No.129 by now.  If you'd like a co…

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  • Announcing the Launch of The Western Front Association 2023 Master’s Grant Scheme

    Announcing the Launch of The Western Front Association 2023 Master’s Grant Scheme

    Today, The Western Front Association Master’s Grant Scheme is launched for 2023. The Aim of the MA Grant Scheme The …

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  • WFA Battlefield Tours in 2023

    WFA Battlefield Tours in 2023

    Do you have an interest in the Battles of Arras or Verdun? The Western Front Association's National tours, in associatio…

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  • Announcing the Winners of the 2022/23 PhD Grant Scheme

    Announcing the Winners of the 2022/23 PhD Grant Scheme

    The Western Front Association is pleased to announce the recipients of its annual PhD Grant Scheme. The Scheme is offere…

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  • Out Now! Bulletin December 2022

    Out Now! Bulletin December 2022

    Out now, the first Bulletin of 2023 (though dated December 2022) is richly packed with news and articles, photographs, c…

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  • Sad News from Beaurains

    Sad News from Beaurains

    We have just received the sad news that Monsieur André Coilliot, a long standing Honorary Vice-President of the Western …

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  • The Western Front Association 2023 Calendar

    The Western Front Association 2023 Calendar

    The Western Front Association's 2023 calendar is now available. Once again it features images of the battlefield taken b…

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  • Armistice Day: Cenotaph Live Stream from 10:30am 11 November 2022

    Armistice Day: Cenotaph Live Stream from 10:30am 11 November 2022

    For the first time you will be able to watch our Armistice Day Ceremony live as it will be streamed from the Cenotaph,…

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  • Just out! Stand To! No. 128

    Just out! Stand To! No. 128

    In his introduction, the editor Matthew Leonard introduces the many articles featured in this issue about conflict, the …

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  • Forgotten Voices

    Forgotten Voices

    'Forgotten Voices' is based on the best selling book by Max Arthur and adapted for the stage by Malcolm McKay.   Sele…

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  • Seminar Series 2022-2023

    Seminar Series 2022-2023

    In Flanders Fields Museum, Ieper – School of History, University of Kent in partnership with the Western Front Associati…

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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

  • 'Riding in the Zone Rouge' by Tom Isitt

    'Riding in the Zone Rouge' by Tom Isitt

    30 Mar 2023 19:30 Kent (North West)

    Caption: A section of the 1919 Zone Rouge bike race. It covered 2000-km (1200 mls) in 200km stages over ten days. The or…

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  • Reports From Iraq: The Mesopotamia Commission Report and the Resignation of Austen Chamberlain

    Reports From Iraq: The Mesopotamia Commission Report and the Resignation of Austen Chamberlain

    30 Mar 2023 20:00 Thames Valley

    For our March 2023 meeting Tony Bolton will be our speaker on the subject of: Reports From Iraq. The Mesopotamia Commis…

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  • Ross Beadle: "More to it than tanks- The Battle of Cambria Nov-December 1917

    Ross Beadle: "More to it than tanks- The Battle of Cambria Nov-December 1917

    31 Mar 2023 19:30 Devon and Cornwall

    The tank battle lasted 8 hours on the first day whilst the battle itself lasted officially for 19 days. As ever artiller…

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  • 'Ernst Junger' by Mike McCarthy

    'Ernst Junger' by Mike McCarthy

    02 Apr 2023 14:00 Wiltshire

    For our April meeting our attention turns to the German side of the wire. Mike McCarthy will speak to the branch on Erns…

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  • ‘Rethinking the Leeds Pals’ with Tim Lynch

    ‘Rethinking the Leeds Pals’ with Tim Lynch

    03 Apr 2023 19:15 Northumberland

    Tim Lynch will be giving a talk on the Leeds Pals.  We suggest a voluntary donation of £3 per person.  Come and join u…

    Event Details
  • 'The Eastern Front 1914 by Andrew Brooks'

    'The Eastern Front 1914 by Andrew Brooks'

    03 Apr 2023 19:30 Lancashire (North)

    The Eastern Front by Andrew Brooks The month's talk is being given by Andrew Brooks.  Everyone will know Andrew, a regu…

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  • A talk by Marko Gasic 'What really happened in the Balkans in 1913'

    A talk by Marko Gasic 'What really happened in the Balkans in 1913'

    04 Apr 2023 19:00 Kent (East)

    (Serbian troops marching. Unknown author - Library of Congress https://lccn.loc.gov/2014696820 Flickr Commons pr…

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  • "The Assault on infantry hill & the 10 men who saved Monchy-le-Preux" by Richard Burgess

    "The Assault on infantry hill & the 10 men who saved Monchy-le-Preux" by Richard Burgess

    05 Apr 2023 19:30 Cambridgeshire

    In the spring of 1917 Field Marshal Haig launched an offensive to the East of Arras using the 1st & 3rd British Armi…

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  • A Rugby Club at War by Peter Threlfall

    A Rugby Club at War by Peter Threlfall

    06 Apr 2023 19:00 Merseyside

    A look at the men of the Birkenhead Park Rugby Football club who died during the Great War

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  • 'German grand strategy and the introduction of new tactics in 1916-1917' a talk by Dr Tony Cowan

    'German grand strategy and the introduction of new tactics in 1916-1917' a talk by Dr Tony Cowan

    06 Apr 2023 19:25 Middlesex

    An analysis of the grand strategic background to the introduction of new German tactics and weapons in 1916-1917: everyt…

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  • ONLINE: Communications at Cambrai

    ONLINE: Communications at Cambrai

    03 Apr 2023 20:00

    The presentation will be live and online.   In light of the enormous attention it has generated, one could be f…

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  • Concert:  The Men Who Marched Away  'Songs of the Great War'

    Concert: The Men Who Marched Away 'Songs of the Great War'

    15 Apr 2023 20:00

    Acclaimed musicians Chris Green and Sophie Matthews use music and song to convey the story of "The War to End All Wars,"…

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  • ONLINE: Doomed Youth: the Germans at Vimy Ridge 1917 with Jesse Alexander

    ONLINE: Doomed Youth: the Germans at Vimy Ridge 1917 with Jesse Alexander

    17 Apr 2023 20:00

    The presentation will be live and online.   The Battle of Vimy Ridge is one of the most prominent events of the F…

    Event Details
  • Spring Conference and AGM 2023 : National Army Museum, London

    Spring Conference and AGM 2023 : National Army Museum, London

    22 Apr 2023 09:30

    Programme for the Day 9.30am Doors open – Teas Coffees 10.15am Welcome by the Chair 10.20am 'The British Wes…

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  • ANZAC Day Commemoration Ceremony  108th Anniversary

    ANZAC Day Commemoration Ceremony 108th Anniversary

    25 Apr 2023 06:00

    Details from the Australian Embassy in Brussels. The program includes a dawn service at Buttes, New British Cemetery an…

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  • The 11th President's Conference : '1913 Expectations Meet the Realities of War'

    The 11th President's Conference : '1913 Expectations Meet the Realities of War'

    20 May 2023 09:30

    Times: Doors open at 09:00 for a 09:45 start. Ends about 16:30. Speakers '"We have all been blind" - Erich von Fa…

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  • Remembrance Ceremony at Lochnagar Crater

    Remembrance Ceremony at Lochnagar Crater

    01 Jul 2023 07:00

    Commemorating the opening of The Battle of the Somme. Lochnagar Crater Start 7.28am Details from the Lochnagar Crater…

    Event Details
  • 'Photographic Exhibition and Book Launch Event' with Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy

    'Photographic Exhibition and Book Launch Event' with Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy

    10 Nov 2023 19:00

    Please Note: The time of this event has yet to be confirmed. Author and photographer, diplomat and former banker, Attil…

    Event Details
  • Ypres Poppy Parade and Remembrance Ceremony

    Ypres Poppy Parade and Remembrance Ceremony

    11 Nov 2023 10:20

    Menin Gate Parade Starts at 10.20am Remembrance at 11.00amDetails from the Ypres Visitor Centre

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Hugh Ching was born on 25 January 1887 in Brixton, London.  He was the only son of Richard Ching (a grocer’s assistant) of 180, Eswyn Road, Tooting and his wife Annie.  He was educated at Stockwell School In 1891, age 4, Hugh was at home with his family, older sisters Mabel (8) and Florence (6) and Aunt Elizabeth Ching (31) on Aytown Road, Brixton  In…

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26 March 1915: Pte Hugh Ching (Alias Hugh William Power)
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 articl…

READ MORE
The Latest WWI Podcast

The Latest WWI Podcast

The Western Front Association's podcasts are an eclectic mix of themed interviews with experts in their particular fields which shine a light into areas of the first world war which are sometimes over…

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World War I Book Reviews

World War I Book Reviews

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 you w…

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