Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Category: Flanders
Battlefield Vlog: Ypres – Private WW1 Memorials
In the first of some Battlefield Vlogs filmed at Ypres last year we walk the ground from the Frezenberg Ridge via Railway Wood to Hooge. In this first video we look at some private Great War memorials to missing soldiers who fell on the… Continue Reading “Battlefield Vlog: Ypres – Private WW1 Memorials”
Despatches: Battlefield Pilgrimages
In this latest edition of Despatches we look at the phenomena of Battlefield Pilgrimages which began almost as soon as the Great War ended and continued throughout the 1920s and 30s. What were they? What motivated people to go on a pilgrimage to the… Continue Reading “Despatches: Battlefield Pilgrimages”
Despatches: Cemetery in the Sand Dunes
Despatches goes on the road, and this episode was recorded on location in Flanders. We visit Coxyde Military Cemetery, a British and Commonwealth cemetery from when these troops held the line on the top end of the Western Front in 1917. What do we… Continue Reading “Despatches: Cemetery in the Sand Dunes”
Flanders: The CCS Cemeteries
Bandaghem, Dozinghem and Mendinghem were three made-up names for British Casualty Clearing Stations locations in Flanders, reflecting their use for the wounded: Bandaging Them, Dosing Them Up and Mending Them! What was the story of these important medical facilities and what stories of the… Continue Reading “Flanders: The CCS Cemeteries”
Despatches: WW1 Trench Museums
In this latest episode of Despatches we think about First World War Trench Museums: a battlefield phenomena from the 1920s when thousands of ‘pilgrims’ travelled to the landscape of the Western Front. We look at some of the famous, and less famous Trench Museums… Continue Reading “Despatches: WW1 Trench Museums”
The Pillboxes of Flanders
Concrete bunkers – pillboxes – are an iconic symbol of the Great War, and in this episode we look at the book ‘The Pillboxes of Flanders’ published in the 1930s, examine their history and use, and then visit some of the surviving examples of… Continue Reading “The Pillboxes of Flanders”
Gas! Gas! Gas!
In this episode we look at a weapon that came to symbolise the First World War – Poison Gas. We look at the history behind its use, the ‘Birth of Chemical Warfare’ at Ypres in April 1915 and what measures were made to protect… Continue Reading “Gas! Gas! Gas!”
Ypres Walks: Menin Gate to Ypres Town Cemetery
In this episode recorded in Ypres, we look at the renovations at the Menin Gate Memorial, discuss what Memorials to the Missing mean to us, and then walk to Ypres Town Cemetery following the stories of English Lords, members of the Royal Family, and… Continue Reading “Ypres Walks: Menin Gate to Ypres Town Cemetery”
Forgotten Battlefield: The Reunion
More than twenty years after the BBC made a film about the work of ‘The Diggers’ called ‘Forgotten Battlefield’, in this special edition of the podcast we bring together three of us connected to the film – Aurel Sercu from the Diggers, BBC Producer… Continue Reading “Forgotten Battlefield: The Reunion”
Ypres: The Immortal Salient
In this episode we look at the four years of the Great War in Flanders and the battles around the city of Ypres, in what became known as the ‘Immortal Salient’. What was the Ypres Salient, what was its meaning and what does it… Continue Reading “Ypres: The Immortal Salient”
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