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SPECIAL OFFER: 'Two Sides of the Same Wrong Penny: Gallipoli and the Western Front: A comparison' edited by Michael LoCicero with contributions from Gary Sheffield, Stephen Chambers and others.
Announcing the launch of the Western Front Association / Helion publication:
Two Sides of the Same Wrong Penny: Gallipoli and the Western Front, A Comparison
The year 1915 saw the BEF severely challenged on the Western Front. Recovering from the loss of the majority of experienced regulars in 1914, a largely new army had to come to terms with t...
A Sergeant Major’s War. From Hill 60 to the Somme
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Ernest Shephard. Edited by Bruce Rossor Published by The Crowood Press ISBN 1 85223 200 5 PB 157 pages £10 to £20 When Ernest Shephard was killed on 11th January 1917, at the “Chalk Pit” so ended this professional soldier’s life and diary. From the moment Ernest a loyal member of the Dorsetshire Regiment entered the war, he wrote his diary. He w...
Brothers In War by Michael Walsh
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ISBN: 978 0 09 190884 3 SB426pp £7.99 Published by Elbury Press. Edited by Michael WalshThis book follows the lives of the eight Beechey brothers, sons of a Lincolnshire vicar and his wife. The boys were part of a family of 14 children. The book is based around letters sent to their widowed mother by the boys, the letters having been preserve...
The Opening and Closing Shots Tour
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The Tayside Branch organised a coach tour to the Western Front in June 2019. Two years after the Branch’s last tour, Tayside WFA returned to the Western Front in June this year. The broad theme, and the title of our tour was “The Opening and Closing Shots” – we were going to selectively concentrate on the two phases of open warfare in the openin...
Two Sides of the Same Bad Penny? Gallipoli and the Western Front, a Comparison
Editor Michael LoCicero Helion, £26.96, hb, 266pp, 22 ills, 4 maps, notes, refs and index. ISBN: 978–191–109–668–9 The sub–title – Gallipoli and the Western Front, A Comparison – suggests a comparative study of various aspects of these two quite different theatres of war. Given that the Gallipoli campaign was relatively short and that fighting o...
The Gallipoli Effect on the Western Front: Clive Harris
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The Gallipoli Campaign can only realistically be described as a complete military defeat. From its conception, planning and execution through to eventual successful evacuation, a study of the campaign turns up error after error at the Operational level. Yet, as the last boats slipped their moorings, marking the end of Gallipoli, many of those wh...
The Indian Army on the Western Front: India’s Expeditionary Force to France and Belgium in the First World War
Cambridge University Press, £60.00, 335pp., bibliog, index. ISBN: 9–781–107–027–466 To subvert a review about a new book with lengthy opinions on a fifteen–year–old work on the same topic is almost certainly poor reviewer’s protocol. However, since the shelf of new books about the Indian Army is virtually bare I will ignore polite convention. L...
'Military Mining And The La Boiselle Project' with Colin Winn
Join us for a fascinating talk on Military Mining and the La Boiselle Project by Colin Winn Colin Winn is a retired weapons engineer specialising in the underground conflict. He is a founder member of the Hawthorn Ridge Crater Association and is interested in the work of the 252 Tunnelling Company in the sector. Colin will bring relevant arte...
'The Knutsford Lads Who Never Came Home!' a talk by Tony Davies
Join us for an interesting talk by Tony Davies about the lads from the village of Knutsford in Cheshire who never came home in the First World War. Based on his research into the men commemorated on the Knutsford War Memorial, and his book 'The Knutsford Lads Who Never Came Home', this well illustrated talk will give us a detailed insight into t...
Battle Tactics of the Western Front: The British Army's Art of the Attack 1916-1918 by Paddy Griffith
286pp. Yale University Press 1994. ISBN 0-300-05910-8 This is an important book. In it, Paddy Griffith lays to rest a whole series of myths about the tactical performance of the BEF in the second half of the war. He turns received wisdom on its head by arguing that in almost every respect, the British army was far ahead of the Germans. In the d...
ONLINE Zoom Meeting - Bullets, Bombs & Poison Gas: Supplying the troops on the Western Front 1914-18 by Dr Dave Rogers
ONLINE Zoom Meeting - Bullets, Bombs & Poison Gas: Supplying the troops on the Western Front 1914-18 by Dr Dave Rogers Soldiers in the trenches were issued with four bullets a day unless they were either snipers or manned a machine gun. This does not seem like a lot of bullets. However, four bullets a day is 28 per week and a million soldier...
Everything Bar the Shouting - BEF Logistics & Engineering on the Western Front with Rob Thompson
This is a Zoom Meeting; for details on how to join in contact londoneastwfa@gmail.com
On the Western Front. Soldiers' stories from France and Flanders by John Laffin
Anthology of Anecdotes from France and Flanders 1914-1918 277pp casebound. £11.95. (1986 price) Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd., Brunswick Road, Gloucester. [This review first appeared in Stand To! N0.16 Spring 1986] John Laffin has clearly been collecting unconsidered anecdotes of the war on the Western Front for a very long time to be able to co...
'God in the Front Line by Dr Martin Purdy'
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God in the Front Line by Dr Martin Purdy. A look at the historic debate/argument about the role of Army Chaplains in the Great War, and the popular claim (think Robert Graves etc.) that Roman Catholic clergy were more often seen in the front line than their Anglican counterparts. This talk addresses the main themes head-on, and scrutinise...
Cancelled - We are sorry to announce that our Branch Meeting for 11 February has been cancelled, the talk by Dr Stephen Roberts will be arranged in 2023
Unfortunately the talk by Dr. Stephen Roberts about the the 55th (West Lancashire) Division in 1918 has been cancelled and will be rearranged for 2023
Using the Red Cross Records as a Resource For Researching British Prisoners of War/George Henry Archer - The Story Behind a Postcard
Unfortunately Roger Penny will not be able to give his talk on the Battle of the Marne from the French perspective as previously advertised. Instead John Beech will be giving a talk on Prisoners of the First World War - Using The International Committee of the Red Cross Records as a Resource Chris Preston will be giving a short talk on George...
Michael O’Brien - 'There were no neutrals in the Trenches'
In this talk Michael O'Brien will give an account of those American citizens who died fighting in the British Army during the Somme Campaign from July to November 1916. Members and non-members of The Western Front Association are equally welcome. Any new visitors are guaranteed a friendly atmosphere and a warm welcome from a group of like-minded...
'Effin' and Blindin' on the Western Front' by Prof Mark Connelly
About the talk: Mark returns to Petts Wood with a lively, amusing and informative study of swearing and blasphemy in the BEF, exploring in all its glory the richness and humour of Tommy's everyday Profanosaurus, 1914-1918. About the speaker: Mark Connelly is Professor of Modern British History at the University of Kent. His main research intere...
Neuve Chapelle - a presentation by Ross Beadle
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The branch welcomes Ross's return to discuss the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. Full of interest, Ross's talks are always entertaining but educating.
For the King, the country, the Queen’s and Kennington The story of the 24th (County of London) Battalion.
For the King, the country, the Queen’s and Kennington
The story of the 24th (County of London) Battalion, the London Regiment, (The Queen’s), a south London battalion with some Essex connections.
The story of a South London territorial battalion, the 24th (County of London), the London Regiment, (The Queen's) in the Great War including their VC...
Laugh or Cry: The British Soldier on the Western Front 1914-1918
Laugh or Cry: The British Soldier on the Western Front 1914-1918 Lively and supremely well informed, Peter Hart is a military historian specialising in the Great War. He was the Oral Historian at the Imperial War Museum from 1981 until his retirement and is the author of many Great War books. Here he is teamed up with his irrepressible collabora...
Members' evening.
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Tonight we will be having a number of short presentation from our branch members, details of the talks will be available on our Facebook page in the week before the event.
ONLINE: ‘The whole picture is realistic of battle : official war photography and public perceptions of the war' with Mark Connelly
The presentation with Prof Mark Connelly will be live and online. It will explore the work of the key photographers on the Western Front, the different attitudes of the imperial governments and the effects on the viewing public. Further, it will show that the old cliché that the home front did not understand the actual conditions in the trench...
‘From Picks to Rifles’ with Alan Grint
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Alan Grint will tell the tale of local miners who joined the Royal Navy Voluntary Reserve. The majority found themselves posted to serve as Infantry, and service at Antwerp, Gallipoli and on the Western Front followed. We suggest a voluntary donation of £3 per person. Come and join us – we welcome guests and first-time attendees as well as WFA M...
Branch Event: 'Jig-a-jig Tommy'
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Bruce Cherry is an author, tour guide and former university lecturer with a PhD in military history. Amongst other titles is his book ’They Didn't Want to Die Virgins; a study of Sex and Morale on the Western Front'. Bruce’s talk includes the British Army’s attitude toward sex, the soldier’s moral code, army morale, and the sexual lives of troop...
A Great War Christmas
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Talk – ‘The Christmas Truce – It’s Place in the Public Imagination’ -Stuart Macfarlan.A look at why the Christmas truce of 1914 and its famous football match still loomslarge, via film and literature, in the public imagination 108 years after it happened. An interlude with festive nibbles and musical accompaniment- songs inspired by theGreat War...
Albert French Commemoration
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This year MK WFA and The Friends of the MK Rose are organizing the commemoration for Albert French, the sixteen-year-old lad from Wolverton who lied about his age to join up and was killed in action a week short of his seventeenth birthday. Readings from his letters home, music, British Legion standard bearers, wreath laying, and a bugler sou...
Ep.305 – Women doctors on the Eastern and Western Fronts – Dr Ann Robertson
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Former medical consultant, historian and author, Dr Ann Robertson, talks about her research into female doctors’ service and the First World War.
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Roads, Rails, Uniforms and Suits with Roy Larkin
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We welcome Roy who will be telling the story of the reorganising of the Western Front supply line, revealing inter service rivalry and friction with the powers in London
The Story of the Unknown Warrior of Westminster Abbey by Gerry White
The tomb of the Unknown Warrior, which is located at the west end of the Nave of Westminster Abbey in London, symbolizes the courage and sacrifice made by members of the British armed forces who fell during the Great War. Ever since the Unknown Warrior was interred in the abbey at a State Funeral on 11 November 1920, his tomb has become a place...
An Irish Family in War and Revolution by Denis Kirby
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The decade between 1913 and 1923 was a time of war and revolution for the people of Ireland. It was also a time of divided loyalties. While over 200,000 Irish men served in the British armed forces during the Great War, thousands of others would join revolutionary groups like the Irish Volunteers to fight for an independent Irish Republic. This...
Laugh or Cry - The British Soldier on the Western Front - Peter Hart
Laugh or Cry The British Soldier on the Western Front
Peter Hart the former sound archivist of the Imperial War Museum and author of several books makes a welcome return to Somerset .
Humor helped the British Tommy survive the terrible experiences they faced in the trenches of the Western Front.
Peter will present examples of the soldiers wit...
A talk by Charles Fair on ‘The Changing character of the London Territorial Force 1914-1918
Charles Fair will focus on the case of the 19th (County of London) Battalion (St Pancras), The London Regiment. This was essentially a working class battalion but Charles will show how the nature of the battalion changed through casualties and reinforcements throughout their service on the Western Front. Charles was a regular attender in the ea...
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 foc...
The First Air War - Grant Cullen
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* Note this talk replaces the previously published talk. Grant Cullen from the Chesterfield Branch of the Western Front Association will be revisiting the branch to talk about 'The First Air War'. Grant's talk will look at various aspects of the first air war and he has advised me that the talk will include photographs which are not generally i...
'Management of Wounds Sustained by British Forces on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Tom Scotland'
This meeting is going to be the first talk given via Zoom with the speaker at home in Scotland while the members attend as usual. The timing and format will be the same just the speaker appearing virtually.
Tom will talk tonight about the great changes which occurred to improve the management of soldiers wounded on the Western Front
Tom Scotland...
Tanks and Storm Troopers : British and German Solutions to the Deadlock on the Western Front by A D Harvey
(This article first appeared in the June 2020 edition of Stand To! Number 118 pp.10-14.) By 1916 both sides were seeking a solution to the stalemate which had developed on the Western Front as a result of the almost insuperable advantage enjoyed by garrisons in carefully constructed defences over enemy troops attacking across prepared fire zones...
‘Observation Balloons on the Western Front – an "over view" ' by Vernon Creek
About this talk: Many groups of combatants could claim to be the unsung heroes of the Great War. But the men flying observation balloons must have a particularly strong claim. Operating at 1200-1800 meters above the front lines, the crew had nothing between their feet and the ground but a centimetre or two of wicker basket. The crews (or 'balloo...
'48th (South Midlands) Division in Western France & Italy' - A talk by Derek Plews
Derek's talk takes us to the Western Front and then Italy in the footsteps of the 48th (South Midlands) Division. This is Derek's first visit to the Branch. Our main photograph is of members of the 48th Division at Asiago
Three Days In The Great War - Dr Derek Clayton
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Derek may be familiar to people as the author of 'From Pontefract to Picardy', which looked at the 9th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in the Great War.However, 'Three Days in the Great War' is based on his MA Dissertation and examines the performance of the 49th Division in set-piece attacks on 3 September 1916 at Thiepval, 9 Octo...
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry On The Somme 1916 - Stephen Barker
Stephen will be returning to give his talk on 'The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry on the Somme 1916' which highlights four significant battles of the campaign in which five Ox and Bucks LI battalions fought. The talk explains the political and military context, yet includes too a significant number of personal stories, anecdotes...
The Military Career of General Peyton C. March, United States Army, by Will Bryant
Peyton C March was a career US Army artillery officer who served in the Philippines, Mexico and in France during the Great War. After organising the artillery training regime for the US Army in France, and personally seeing the first brigade through the course, in 1918 he was selected by U.S. Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker to assume the offic...
The French Army 1914-1916 by Will Bryant
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As many in Britain and Ireland view the Great War through the prism of the campaigns waged by British and Imperial forces, some may not be aware of the crucial part played by the French Army. In this presentation, Will Bryant looks at the structure, leadership and equipment of the French Army in 1914, 1915, and 1916. He also examines some of the...