Caption: It took 200 men 76 days to drag this field gun up into position at 12,000ft.
About the talk: Tom Isitt will be giving a more lavishly illustrated Great War talk than you've probably ever seen before. From the glaciated mountains of the high Alps to the salt-marshes of the Adriatic sea, the Italian Front was unlike anything else. One end of the Front was 12,000ft above sea level with temperatures of -40°C, the other was at sea level with temperatures getting up to 35°C. In between, a million men were killed and millions more were maimed in battles, in avalanches, and from the cold. Tom's grandfather fought here with the British Expeditionary Force in Italy, a gunner with the 48th Division, and Tom also talk a bit about the British in Italy.
About the speaker: Tom Isitt is a journalist-turned-book-author with a long-standing interest in WW1 and a particular interest in battlefields post-war. In 2019 he published Riding in the Zone Rouge, a book about a long-forgotten 2000km bicycle race across the Western Front battlefields in early 1919, which involved him cycling the length of the Western Front ... twice. It was shortlisted for the Telegraph Sports Book of the Year, and highly acclaimed by the Times Literary Supplement. He has been a professional photographer since 1990, so has a wonderful collection of amazing current and archive photos. His latest project is a book about the Italian Front, entitled 'High Wire'. It involved another huge bike ride through the Dolomites and Italian alps, and is due to be published by Helion in Spring 2025
Where we meet: We meet at the Royal British Legion Club, Queensway, Petts Wood, Orpington, Kent BR5 1DH. Meetings are held on the last Thursday of each month (except August and December). They start at 19:30, with the doors (and the bar) opening at 18:30. No entrance fees but we do welcome donations of £5 or more towards our costs.
How to get there: The club is next to Morrison's supermarket and Petts Wood railway station (trains from Charing Cross, Cannon Street, and Victoria). Parking at the rear of the club is free but you need to enter your car registration into the machine (on the left as you enter the club). Failure to enter your registration can lead to a £50 fine. There's easy free parking in adjacent side streets.
Tom Isitt's first book. 'Riding in the Zone Rouge'