Search results for Western Front.
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 …
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 preserved …
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 opening …
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 who h…
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. Lik…
'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 artef…
'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 the…
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 dev…
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 soldiers …
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 …
'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 scrutinis…
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 Georg…
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 e…
'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 interest…
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.
Thousands of Heroes Have Arisen - Sukwinderr Singh Bassi
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On Wednesday 14th of June we welcome Sukwinder Singh Bassi to our Hornchurch venue to present his talk about the service and sacrifices of Sikh soldiers during the Great War. The talk is based on letters send to and from Sikh soldiers on the Western Front and those convalescing in England. These letters describe their wartime experiences in Europe…
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 collaborato…
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 trenches…
‘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 Me…
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 troops o…
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 -…