Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Category: Despatches
Gallipoli: The First D-Day?
On the 80th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings in 1944, we look at how events at Gallipoli in 1915 link the two great conflicts, from Churchill to landing craft to a battalion of the British Army. What lessons were learned from one war to… Continue Reading “Gallipoli: The First D-Day?”
Despatches: Somme – Redan Ridge
We travel to the familiar landscape of Picardy and visit one part of the ‘Forgotten Somme’ – the battlefields on the Redan Ridge. Here we see look at the fighting on 1st July 1916 and at the end of the battle in November 1916,… Continue Reading “Despatches: Somme – Redan Ridge”
Despatches: A Weekend in Ypres
We’ve just had the first ever Old Front Line Podcast Supporter’s meet-up on the battlefields of Flanders near the Belgian city of Ypres. What was the weekend all about, what plans have we got for more of these, and in the episode we share… Continue Reading “Despatches: A Weekend in Ypres”
Despatches: By Train to Ypres
Railways were an essential part of the Great War, and the line which ran from Northern France to Poperinghe and Ypres became the route in and out of the battlefield for millions of men during the conflict. What can we learn of the history… Continue Reading “Despatches: By Train to Ypres”
Despatches: Fort de Loncin 1914
In August 1914 a force of more than 55,000 German soldiers descended on the Belgian city of Liege. Protected by a belt of steel and concrete forts, at Fort de Loncin the garrison of 550 men came under murderous German artillery fire resulting in… Continue Reading “Despatches: Fort de Loncin 1914”
Despatches: Somme Trench Map
In this latest episode of Despatches, we examine an original Trench Map from the Battle of the Somme in 1916, showing the battlefield around the village of Courcelette where the Canadians fought. What are Trench Maps, and what do they tell us about the… Continue Reading “Despatches: Somme Trench Map”
Despatches: War Damage Postcards
In this episode we look at so-called ‘War Damage Postcards’ published during the conflict and which depicts the smashed villages, towns and cities, and indeed landscapes of the Western Front. We ask what these postcards tell us about the conflict and the battlefields of… Continue Reading “Despatches: War Damage Postcards”
Despatches: Wings Over Flanders
In this latest Despatches we discuss the passing of author Martin Middlebrook, and look back to another Great War icon, perhaps lesser known, John Giles. John founded the Western Front Association in 1980, wrote a series of books on the Western Front, and in… Continue Reading “Despatches: Wings Over Flanders”
The Dead Man’s Penny
While the Great War was still on the British Government decided to produce a Next of Kin Memorial Plaque for all those who had died while on service in the conflict, which read ‘He Died For Freedom and Honour’. Often called a “Dead Man’s… Continue Reading “The Dead Man’s Penny”
Despatches: Tales of Tyne Cot
In our first podcast of 2024 we return to Flanders to look at some of the history behind the original burials at Tyne Cot Cemetery near Ypres, the largest British and Commonwealth cemetery from either World War. Was there really once an Advanced Dressing… Continue Reading “Despatches: Tales of Tyne Cot”
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