Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Category: Somme
Somme: Contalmaison to Bazentin
For the final episode of Season 5 we are back on the Somme. At Contalmaison we discover the story of how the history of Great War football weaves through that village, how a pioneering eye surgeon from Liverpool came to be killed there, and… Continue Reading “Somme: Contalmaison to Bazentin”
First Day Of The Somme
On the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, we take a virtual walk along all eighteen miles of the Somme front from Gommecourt to Montauban, connecting to the landscape and discovering the stories of those who fought and fell on 1st July 1916:… Continue Reading “First Day Of The Somme”
Somme Walks: Hawthorn Ridge to the Sunken Lane
In another episode recorded on the battlefields, we walk the crest of the Hawthorn Ridge near Beaumont-Hamel on the Somme, visiting Hawthorn No 1 Cemetery, across to the Hawthorn Mine Crater, and down to the famous Sunken Lane and Beaumont-Hamel British Cemetery. The Hawthorn… Continue Reading “Somme Walks: Hawthorn Ridge to the Sunken Lane”
Changing Landscapes: Canal du Nord
A massive engineering project has been announced for Northern France which will create a new ‘super canal’ linking in with the existing Canal du Nord, the scene of heavy fighting during the Great War, especially in 1917/18. In this episode we will look at… Continue Reading “Changing Landscapes: Canal du Nord”
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:
Battlefields Vlog: Hawthorn Ridge 1916
In the first of our Old Front Line Battlefield Vlogs, we walk the Somme at Beaumont-Hamel and visit Hawthorn Ridge No 1 Cemetery and the story of Eric Heaton. More on Eric Heaton here: Somme 1916 Blog – Eric Heaton BATTLEFIELD MAP: RECOMMENDED READING:… Continue Reading “Battlefields Vlog: Hawthorn Ridge 1916”
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”
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”
Winter on the Somme
We look at three winters on the Somme front: from 1914 to 1916. We discuss Christmas Truces involving the French and Germans, and later when the British arrive, discuss the terrible sub-zero conditions of 1916, and look at the problem of Trench Foot, particularly… Continue Reading “Winter on the Somme”
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