Search results for Passchendaele.
20 August 1897 : Cpl / Flt. Cdt John Arthur Wilson MM
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As a boy, after Sunday lunch, I recall sitting on my grandfather's knee and he would start off with the line ‘have I told you about the time ...' and he'd then add, ‘.... we were gassed' or '.... we took a German prisoner' or '..... I was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps'. Perhaps this started my interest in history. In his 96th year Jack r…
12 October 1917 : Pte Arthur Amos Hardisty
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Arthur was an apprentice printer and then a stationer in Barnoldswick. His mother died in 1891. in 1896 he married Olive Nuttall. Their son Percy was born in September 1897. Olive died in in August 1900 and Arthur's father died in 1901. In 1906 Arthur emigrated to New Zealand. In 1911 he was living at Palmerston, Manawatu-Wanganui. On 31 Janua…
24 October 1918 : Pte John S Lamberton
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Parents John and Jessie Lamberton. John was a cabinet maker in the employ of Messrs W Mackenzie & Co prior to the war. In January 1917, he was conscripted into the Army Service Corps, where he served under the number T/291090. John was sent to France in the summer of 1917 but soon transferred to the 11th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers…
26 October 1917 : Pte George Towler
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The son of John (farmer) and Rose (née Thwaite) their fourth child of seven. Age 20 at the 1911 Census George was working in Lancaster as a grocer's apprentice. He then emigrated to Canada. At the time of his enlistment he was working as a grocer's clerk in Alberta. He undertook his medical in June 1916, in Vernon, British Columbia and enl…
Battle: Passchendaele 1917: Evidence of War’s Reality.
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Battle: Passchendaele 1917: Evidence of War’s Reality. 144 pages. (Travelling Light Ltd, 62 West Hill, London SW18. Pbk., £7.95). Here the photographic image is the chief concern and 90 have been selected from the 200,000 WW1 negatives preserved at the IWM. Though some will be familiar to students of the war I suspect that quite a number are previ…
037: Spring 1993
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050: September 1997
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Lancashire North Despatch Issue 19: May 2017
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Lancashire North Branch Issue 19: May 2017 Despatch The RAMC at Messines during the 1917 Offensive by Lancashire born artist Gilbert Rogers is the basis for May 2017's frontispiece and Gilbert’s story is on the back page. Also read inside about the German naval raid on a North Sea convoy in October 1917; the death of Lieutenant Punchard of the 1/…
Passchendaele and the Flanders U-Boats
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There can be no doubt that the Flanders U-boats, the thirty seven small UB and UC vessels based at Bruges and going to and from sea via Ostende and Zeebrugge were important factors in the strategic judgement that led to the Third Battle of Ypres. The fears of the Admiralty that the contribution these boats were making to the overall unrestricted su…
051: January 1998
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Passchendaele - The Untold Story
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Book review by Gary Sheffield. With the publication in 1992 of Command on the Western Front, Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson immediately took their place among the foremost authorities on the British Army of the Great War. Their cool analysis, based on impressive labours in the archives, was far removed from the crude 'lions led by donkeys' stereoty…
1917 The Passchendaele Year: The Diary of Achiel van Walleghem
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Reviewed by Stephen Broomfield. In 1913, Achiel van Walleghem was appointed curate to the village of Dickebusch. After the flight of the priest in 1914 he became responsible for the souls of the residents of the village. In 1916, he was forced to move to Reninghelst, but still visited Dickebusch regularly and to care for those still living there (…
Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Carter DSO and Bar, MC and Bar
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This article is the story of a man from a working class background who joined the British Army as a private soldier in 1899, and served in the ranks for seventeen years, before being commissioned in the field during the Great War. He proved to be an outstanding officer, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; his military élan was recognised by t…
'Passchendaele' The 1992 Presidential Address delivered by the Honorary President John Terraine
(This article first appears in Stand To! 37 Spring 1993 pp6 - 10 This year, 8 November was Remembrance Day—remembrance of the two World Wars, this century's two great catastrophes. For the first quarter-century of my life, Remembrance Day was always 11 November, the anniversary of Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, marking the end of the First Worl…
The Annual General Meeting Address delivered by Mr John Terraine at the AGM on 31 January 1987
[This article first appeared in Stand To ! 20 Summer 1987] pp 7 - 8 First let me say a word of reassurance: it's only a few weeks ago that a number of you will have received a longish burst from me at the National Army Museum on Founder's Day. Don't worry - this time I shan't keep you long. I only want to say two things, really, about ourse…
Britain in the First World War : Lecture given by John Terraine in 1988
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(Lecture given by John Terraine in 1988) The 1914-1918 War was, for Britain, a traumatic experience - hence the emotional reactions to it which continue this day. It was, I am certain, far more traumatic for Britain than for Europeans, and far, far more so than it was for America. It was also far more traumatic for Britain than the Second World Wa…
14 December 1917: Pte James Ormerod Tattersall
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His father was a coal miner. James was a weaver. After enlisting into the West Riding Territorials in Barnoldswick, James was sent to France in September 1916 and served on the Somme and in Belgium before being wounded in July 1917, whilst serving as part of a Lewis Gun team. Sent back to the UK in October 1917 for recuperation, he married …
109 : June/July 2017 Special Edition
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10 August 1918 : 916855 Corporal Harry Cecil Ellis
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Born 6 September 1891 in Westbury on Trym, Gloucestershire, their fifth child, the son of George and Zenobia Ellis of Parnell Road, Clevedon, Somerset. At the April 1911 Census, the 18 year old Harry, now a grocer, lived at the imposing 18 Hill Road, Clevedon with 9 others, most of whom, including the Head of the House were drapers and milliners.…
24 September 1917 : Petty Officer (Acting) Tommy Egdell, DCM
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One of ten children, of Robert (a labourer) and Thomasina (née Blyth) five boys and five girls born between 1875 and 1901 of New Row, Alnwick, Northumberland. Tommy married Alice Allan (July 1900). At the 1901 Census he was an engine driver in a stone quarry. Before the war they lived in at 277, Maypole Street, Ashington where Tommy was a m…
16 January : '"An elegy of mud, blood and darkness" : Australian war writing and the third battle of Ypres’ with Matt Haultain-Gall
‘The year 1917 had been one of disaster for our arms in all save the Messines attack’ wrote the Australian ex-serviceman G.D. Mitchell in Backs to the Wall. Few of his comrades would have disagreed. The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) lost far more men in the battles for Bullecourt (France), Messines and Passchendaele than at their 1915 baptism o…
30 January : ‘Reconstructing Flanders' fields after the Great War’ with Dries Claeys
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Although the war damage in Belgium was nowhere near the scale of the French 'regions dévastées', the Belgian countryside as well had to be restored. This was particularly the case in Ypres and its surrounding areas. Passchendaele, Messines, Langemarck were only few of the villages that were completely wiped off the map. Refugees and policymakers …
Articles on Tanks in Stand To 1 to 116 (1981 to 2019)
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There are no fewer than 25 articles on tanks featured in Stand To! A popular subject, it has been covered in many different ways, including by 'The Camera Returns' on three occasions and more than one on 'War Art'. All of these articles can be readily found by Western Front Association Members through their Member Login with access to the Stand To…
Iron Clad. The Service of 202081 Pte Frank Reece Beresford, H Bn Tank Corps by Charles Reece Beresford
[This article first appeared in Stand To! No.40 Spring 1994 (pp13-14) The entire archive of Stand To! (up to the last 12 months) is available online for Western Front Association members to browse and download]. Pte Frank Beresford Having been turned down by the Royal Navy on account of 'defective colour vision'. Frank Beresford volunteered fo…
Ep. 18 – Passchendaele – Dr Nick Lloyd
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Dr Nick Lloyd, from King’s College London, discusses the Battle of Third Ypres and his new book Passchendaele, A New History (published by Viking Penguin).
Placing the Battle of Messines Ridge in context by Peter Simkins
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This is the Foreword to Ian Passingham's Pillars of Fire. The Battle of Messines Ridge June 1917 by Peter Simkins For the British Dominion divisions serving on the Western Front under Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, 1917 was a year of transition and mixed fortunes. In the collective folk-memory of Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand the st…
The Royal Naval Division at Passchendaele 1917
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The Royal Naval Division at Passchendaele 1917 The following account is a short extract from the 7 part memoirs of Leading Seaman Thomas MacMillan of the Benbow Battalion, Royal Naval Division His full story can be found in the new 'R.N.D. Journals section' of the members-only pages of The WFA website. Produced by Len Sellers between 1997 and 2003…
The Name Beneath the Stone by Robert Newcome
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Universe Press, 2019, £10.99, pb. Ills. 350pp. ISBN: 9781912690558 In November, 1920, the body of an unknown soldier was plucked from the battlefields of the First World War and buried amidst great solemnity in Westminster Abbey – a powerful symbol of those who lost their life in the catastrophic conflict. The importance of this body’s identity …
Two brothers, but in different armies
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It is not unusual to find brothers who were killed in the Great War. It is, however, unusual to find brothers who fought in different national contingents. One example of this is the case of Homer Emmett Smith who died on 10 November 1917 whilst serving in the 20th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force. His brother Leon also served and was killed…
In Flanders Fields by Leon Wolff
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In the history of the Great War, are there two names more freighted with the encumbrance of ‘mud, blood and futility’ than Ypres and Passchendaele? Yet, when reading Leon Wolff’s In Flanders Fields, notably the latter chapters which focus on what became known as the Battle of Passchendaele, it is difficult not to give way to such sentiments. Wolff…
ONLINE: 'Arthur and Adeline - a true story of WW1 bravery and romance' by Dennis Claridge
Caption: Arthur Cima MM and Adeline Guidotti This online talk: goes live at 19:30 for a 19:45 start, ending at about 20:45. Participating is quick and easy. The only equipment you need is a computer, or a tablet, or a smart phone. Simply email wfa.nwkent@gmail.com for your link. We'll also automatically add you to the mailing list to keep you up…
From the Dardanelles to Dunkirk by Peter Hodgkinson and Andrew Rice
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From the Dardanelles to Dunkirk Peter Hodgkinson and Andrew Rice Printed by Amazon, 2022. 299 pp. 19 photos, 8 maps. Bibliography. ISBN 9798405428369. This is an ambitious book which tells the story of six officers, all of the Rice family and spans 65 years (1887-1952) including two World Wars. It sets out to place each officer in the contex…
'Book Launch Event, Photographic Exhibition and Lecture' with Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy
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On Friday 10th November 2023, author, photographer and economist, Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy will launch and be signing his next book: In the Centennial Footsteps of the Great War - Sarajevo to Versailles (Volume Two) . The event will be held in St Augustine's Church, Passchendaele at 8pm following the Commemoration Ceremony at Crest Farm Memorial an…
Passchendaele Remembrance Ceremony and Torchlight Procession
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On the 10th November 1917, the village of Passchendaele was taken by troops of the Canadian Corps and this marked the culmination of the Third Battle of Ypres. The terrible fighting and treacherous conditions over the best part of almost three and a half months had taken it’s toll on both sides. The estimated casualties have been given to be over h…
The 24th Infantry Brigade At Passchendaele - Martyn Watkinson
Martyn made his first visit to the branch in 2023 to give his talk on the painting 'Gassed' and has kindly agreed to return to give another talk on a subject of particular interest to him. This time, his talk will look at the 24th Infantry Brigade and it's involvement in the initial stages of the Third Battle of Ypres, and will in particular focus …