World War I Articles | The Western Front Association

Articles on every aspect of the First World War written by experts in their field. Some are were first published in Stand To! or Bulletin, others have been researched and written for the web. If you would like to contribute an article please get in touch.

Ivor Gurney: Composer, Poet, Soldier

Ivor Gurney was born at 3 Queen Street, Gloucester, in 1890, as the second of four surviving chil...

Capt James Donaldson Boswall: Boer War to Great War

James Donaldson Boswall was born in Madras, India in November 1870, the only son of Major-General...

‘Two years in the making. Ten minutes in the destroying’ – A Sheffield s...

John Harris’s 1961 book, ‘Covenant with Death’, is a well-known ‘fictionary’ account of the Sheff...

Howitzers, wounds and a pension

“The war of 1914-18 was an artillery war: artillery was the battle winner, artillery was what cau...

General Sir Henry Wilson and the Disaster at Vimy - The German attack on...

If anyone who has an interest in the Great War is asked name an event associated with Vimy Ridge,...

One Man’s Lifelong Link to Vimy - Donald Wood's Story

In July 1936, the impressive Canadian National Vimy Memorial was unveiled by King Edward VIII in...

Remembering Grandad’s war : Sergeant James Fleming

For many people interested in the First World War, initial enthusiasm can often be traced back to...

Riding through the ruins of war on the Circuit des Champs de Bataille

In April 1919, barely six months after hostilities had ceased, the toughest bicycle race in histo...

The Original Long Distance Bombers of the First World War

Most of us are familiar with the RAF bombing campaigns of the Second World War, but few are aware...

The Arras and Loos Trenches at Blackpool

One of the lesser-known legacies of the First World War is the impact it had on charity – it is e...

Betty Stevenson – ‘the Happy Warrior’

Within days of the war being declared the YMCA established recreation centres in the United Kingd...

From ceremonial duties to First Ypres and beyond: The 1st Life Guards an...

This is a brief account of one cavalry regiment's war which reached its nadir in unlikely circums...