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Aubers Ridge 9 May 1915: The Unpleasant Truth

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For it appears ridiculous to call it so, the 'battle' of Aubers Ridge fits perfectly the stereotypical vision of the British in the Great War: men cut down in their thousands for little or no gain, with only the bravery of the men offering any kind of distraction from the scale of the disaster. Although largely fought by units of the old pre-war r…

The Somme Film - Some Notes Gun Fire

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[This article first appeared in the Yorkshire Branch journal ‘Gun Fire’ Book 1 1985 pp9 - 15. The entire series of 59 editions published between 1985 and 2004 has been digitised by The Western Front Association and is available to members via their Member Login. A list of all articles across the 59 editions is available by clicking on the icon be…

The Road to Sheik Sa’ad

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On the outbreak of war, the 1st Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders were in India but were ordered to move to France, in the Dehra Dun Brigade, Meerut Division of the Indian Corps, under the command of Lieutenant General Sir James Willcocks. Above: Sir James Willcocks and his personal staff in the garden at his headquarters at Merville, France…

Sergeant Alexander Edwards VC : 24 March 1918

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Alexander Edwards was born in Lossiemouth on 4 November 1885, the son of Alexander and Jessie Edwards. A cooper, he enlisted in the 6 Seaforth Highlanders in September 1914, going to France with the Battalion on 1 May 1915. Above (top image) Sgt Alexander Edwards, and immediately above: Alexander and his brothers The battalion was in action …

The Labyrinth and the 6th Seaforth Highlanders

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The Labyrinth was a maze of trenches at the southern end of the Vimy Ridge, north east of the villages of Anzin and Maroeuil. On the right the ground sloped down to the ruined village of Roclincourt. Above: The Labyrinth (Ashdown Forest Research Group) Above and below: Stereoscope images of the Labyrinth The area had been the scene of fie…

Sir John Edward Fowler – the Last Repatriation from The Western Front in 1915?

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By April 1915 the exhumation of bodies from the Western Front and their repatriation was banned. Historian Richard van Emden identifies the last ‘official’ case of repatriation of a fallen British soldier to be that of Lieutenant William Gladstone, the grandson of former Prime Minister William Gladstone. This took place in April 1915, nine da…

Capt James Donaldson Boswall: Boer War to Great War

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James Donaldson Boswall was born in Madras, India in November 1870, the only son of Major-General Roper Boswall and his wife, Eleanor. By 1881, the family was living in Scotland, at Ingleston House, Wardie, Midlothian, with James attending Edinburgh Academy from 1881 until 1884. He later attended Fettes Academy and the University of Edinburgh, from…

Mutiny in North Russia 7 July 1919

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In the early morning of 7 July 1919, four British Officers were killed by men in their battalion – one further officer subsequently died of his wounds a few days later. All were serving in Dyer’s Battalion of the Slavo-British Legion in the North Russian Expeditionary Force and are now buried in Archangel Allied Cemetery. Above: Archangel Allie…