Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Category: Somme
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”
Five Little-Known WW1 Memorials
In this episode we explore five little-known memorials along the Western Front battlefields in France and Flanders, looking at how different nations commemorated the battles of the Great War, and what they chose to remember. BATTLEFIELD MAP: RECOMMENDED READING: PODCAST EXTRAS:
How I Wrote my WW1 Battlefield Walking Books
This weekend marks History Writers Day, a new venture from Simon at History Book Chat on Twitter. As part of my contribution to the event, in this episode I talk about how I came to write my trilogy of WW1 Battlefield Walking Guides covering… Continue Reading “How I Wrote my WW1 Battlefield Walking Books”
Henry Williamson’s Books
Following the purchase of a Great War book owned by author and veteran Henry Williamson, we explore something of Williamson’s life, the Writing Hut where he crafted his work and look at what the book was, and how it connects is to the battlefields… Continue Reading “Henry Williamson’s Books”
Return to the Silent Cities
Following a battlefield tour looking at the early work of the Imperial War Graves Commission and the establishment of the permanent cemeteries across Belgium and France, we examine some keys sites connected to the Soldier’s Cemeteries of the Great War, what Rudyard Kipling called… Continue Reading “Return to the Silent Cities”
Where WW1 Meets WW2
In this episode we look at how the criss-cross paths of two Great Wars collide on the old battlefields of the First World War. What happened to the approach to war, how were the battlefields affected in the fighting of 1940 and the Occupation,… Continue Reading “Where WW1 Meets WW2”
