Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Category: Podcast Episode
Gallipoli Cemeteries
In this episode, we travel away from the Western Front to Gallipoli. Here there are thirty-one British and Commonwealth cemeteries on the Gallipoli Penninsula, and we visit some on the beaches and others in more isolated locations, along with the stories of the men… Continue Reading “Gallipoli Cemeteries”
Ypres: Across the Messines Ridge
In this episode we walk from the village of Wytschaete (‘Whitesheet’ to the soldiers), along part of the Messines Ridge, scene of fighting in 1917, and visit three small battlefield cemeteries, reflecting on how we connect with these comrade’s burial grounds of the Great… Continue Reading “Ypres: Across the Messines Ridge”
WW1 at Home: Mells, Somerset
With the Great War battlefields still seeming far away, this week we travel to a picturesque church in Somerset to look at memorials to men bound together by family, sacrifice and duty, and in the churchyard discover the grave of one of the major… Continue Reading “WW1 at Home: Mells, Somerset”
A Space Has Been Reserved
After the Great War, more than half a million casualties had marked graves. A decision was made to mark them permanently with headstones and allow the families of the fallen a chance to add their own inscription; more than a century later what do… Continue Reading “A Space Has Been Reserved”
Sussex to the Somme
In this episode, we follow the story of the Southdowns Battalions of the Royal Sussex, “Lowther’s Lambs”; often seen as the nearest Sussex had to Pals Battalions. We look at their story from their formation in September 1914 to their virtual destruction at Richebourg… Continue Reading “Sussex to the Somme”
Somme 105: Flers-Courcelette
Continuing with our look at the 105th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, we examine the fighting on 15th September 1916, the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, when tanks were used for the first time in history. After an overview of the fighting that day,… Continue Reading “Somme 105: Flers-Courcelette”
Shot At Dawn
More than 300 British and Commonwealth soldiers were executed ‘for the sake of example’ during the First World War, for crimes from desertion to striking a superior officer. In this episode, we look at the background to military discipline, the process of Field General… Continue Reading “Shot At Dawn”
Walking The Somme: The Devonshire Cemetery
After the fighting at Mametz on 1st July 1916, the Devonshire Regiment buried their dead in an old disused trench among the trees of Mansel Copse. Here the ‘Devonshires Held This Trench, The Devonshires Hold It Still’. In this episode, we walk the ground… Continue Reading “Walking The Somme: The Devonshire Cemetery”
Mons: A Bridge At Nimy
In the final episode of Season 2, we look back at this season’s podcasts and ahead to the future of The Old Front Line, and then travel to Belgium, to examine some of the opening shots of the war at the village of Nimy,… Continue Reading “Mons: A Bridge At Nimy”
Behind The Lines: The Crimson Coast
The ‘Crimson Coast’ extended along the Northern French coast where the British Base Hospitals were located during the Great War. Here men shattered by wounds were treated, in the massive Base Depots new soldiers were prepared for the front line and women worked in… Continue Reading “Behind The Lines: The Crimson Coast”
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