Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Category: Podcast Episode
Somme Walks: Bois Français
Recorded on the battlefields, in this episode we walk the ground where poets Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers at Bois Français near Fricourt and end at the Devonshire Cemetery near Mametz. FURTHER READING: BATTLEFIELD MAP: PODCAST EXTRAS:
Trench Chat: Black Poppies with Stephen Bourne
In this latest Trench Chat, we are joined by Stephen Bourne, author of Black Poppies. His important book, now in its third edition with a children’s version, tells the often-neglected contribution of Black soldiers in the British and Commonwealth forces in the Great War.… Continue Reading “Trench Chat: Black Poppies with Stephen Bourne”
Springboks at Delville Wood
In the summer of 1916 men of the South African Brigade marched into Delville Wood. After six days of fighting, less than a third of them returned from among the shattered trees of “Devil’s Wood”. Who were the Springboks of the South African Brigade… Continue Reading “Springboks at Delville Wood”
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”
Verdun: The Trench of Bayonets
In December 1920 a large concrete shelter financed by an American millionaire marked the spot where French soldiers had fallen in one of the many small actions around Verdun in 1916. The story of the Trench of Bayonets was born, but what is the… Continue Reading “Verdun: The Trench of Bayonets”
The Hindenburg Line
In this episode we ask: what was The Hindenburg Line? A system of German defences built in Northern and Eastern France, it was the largest single engineering project of the Great War on the Western Front. Some of the key battles of 1917/18 were… Continue Reading “The Hindenburg Line”
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”
Trench Chat: Reclaiming The Salient with Roger Steward
In this Trench Chat, we are joined by Roger Steward who works as a Battlefield Guide in Flanders, and is the author of an excellent book on Langemarck German Cemetery and a new one ‘Reclaiming the Salient’ about the battlefields around Ypres in the… Continue Reading “Trench Chat: Reclaiming The Salient with Roger Steward”
Birds on the Western Front
In this episode, we look at the birds which flew above and lived across the battlefields of the Western Front during the First World War, and what they meant to the men who served in the trenches of France and Flanders. We also look… Continue Reading “Birds on the Western Front”
WW1 Battlefield Pilgrimages: Trench Chat with Professor Mark Connelly
In a Trench Chat special we are joined by Professor Mark Connelly of the University of Kent to discuss the post-war Pilgrimages to the Great War Battlefields, and his new work on the postcards, ephemera and guidebooks that came out of this period. Professor… Continue Reading “WW1 Battlefield Pilgrimages: Trench Chat with Professor Mark Connelly”
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