Caption: View from the German lines across No Man's Land
About the talk: The traumatic story of Devonshire’s attack on Mansell Copse on 1st July 1916 seems to exemplify the tragedy and failure of that day. It also includes the curious tale of Capt. Duncan Martin of A Company 9th Devons who before the battle made a 3D plasticine model to highlight the threat from German machine gun strongpoints, or as Martin Middlebrook in The First Day on the Somme called him, 'the man who predicted where he would be killed'. As so often, the truth has been lost in myth and also been embellished by battlefield guides. 20th Brigade, of which the Devons were part, reached their objectives for the day. And despite the mystery about his death and who he actually was, Capt. Duncan Martin definitely did not predict where he would die ...
Caption: Ross Beadle
About the speaker: Ross Beadle is an experienced WFA speaker who has been in consistent demand from branches for over ten years. As his list of lectures indicates he covers a wide range of subjects on the First World War, although there is a specialism in how battles or offensives were planned…and how they eventually turned out! All talks are lively and engaging with nothing read from lecture notes. He graduated from Hull in History and has an MA in First World War Studies from Birmingham. His lecture on Schlieffen is one of the most popular on the WFA YouTube channel. He also hates writing blurbs about himself.
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. We do not charge entrance fees but 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