World War I Articles | The Western Front Association

Articles on every aspect of the First World War written by experts in their field. Some 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.

The Battle of Neuve Chapelle 1915

Despite the disappointments in the opening months of the First World War when the idea that "It w...

From cruiseship to armed merchant cruiser and spy catcher….

The ship that was HMS Viknor was built in 1888 as a passenger liner, the ‘Atrato’, for use on rou...

The Road to Sheik Sa’ad

On the outbreak of war, the 1st Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders were in India but were orde...

The First World War paid off?

[This article was originally published in 'Stand To!' number 104 in September 2015. Members of Th...

The Loss of HM Yacht Iolaire 1st January 1919

Hogmanay 1918 and many families in the Western Isles awaited with great anticipation the imminent...

A Christmas Party then Tragedy : 30 December 1915

The band of the Royal Marines played, a film show ran and then tragedy as a series of explosions...

How to research Canadian Soldiers from the First World War

We are sometimes asked about how to undertake research for servicemen who were killed in the Grea...

The First Phosgene Attack on British Troops : 19 December 1915

The first use of phosgene gas against British troops by the German army took place on 19 December...

A Sobering Aspect of the Christmas Truce : 25 December 1915

Many of the accounts of the Christmas ‘Truce’ in 1914 focus on the exchange of gifts and the supp...

The Raid on Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool : 16 December 1914

Much has been written about the German naval raid on the East Coast on 16 December 1914. A lot of...

From Schoolboy to Battalion Commander: Cecil Crichton-Browne : 13 Decemb...

Captain (Acting Major) Cecil Harold Crichton-Browne was aged just 22 when he died on 13 December...

The King Crater Incident and the Courts Martial : November / December 1916

The Bantam Division is the stuff of legend. Its correct military designation was 35th Division bu...