Category Archives: WW1
Promenade de Verdun
One of the first blogs I ever wrote on this site was about how the legacy of the First World War lives on in some of our street names. The ‘usual suspect’ names prove to be the most popular, with … Continue reading
Posted in Remembrance, Verdun, War memorials, WW1
Tagged Promenade de Verdun, Purley, Verdun, William Webb
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The gory details
I am often struck when reading newspaper reports or personal accounts from the war at just how frank they can be, in a way that you just would not see in newspapers these days. These accounts often include the ‘gory … Continue reading
Posted in 1915, CWGC, Gallantry, Research, WW1, Ypres
Tagged 2nd DLI, Durham Light Infantry, Hooge, Michael O'Leary, VC
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‘The position was a helpless one’ – The 2nd Sherwood Foresters at Ennetieres, 20th October 1914
The accounts that officer prisoners of war had to give when they returned from captivity make for fascinating reading. Not only can they flesh out the sometimes sparse and clinical war diary entries, but they can give an insight into … Continue reading
Posted in 1914, CWGC, Remembrance, Research, WW1
Tagged Drury-Lowe, Ennetieres, Notts & Derby, Ploegsteert, Sherwood Foresters
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A Lucky Escape
I am often struck when reading the recollections of soldiers in the First World War how much luck, providence, fate – call it what you will – seems to factor in their accounts. As such the following story caught my … Continue reading
Posted in 1917, CWGC, Remembrance, Research, WW1
Tagged east kent regiment, nine elms, shot at dawn, the buffs, william munday
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A Missing Sergeant – updated
Once again time seems to have flown by since my last post, for a number of reasons. Family life and the day job have taken precedence, and a lot of my free time was spent preparing for my role as … Continue reading
Posted in 1915, Black Watch, CWGC, Research, Somme, WW1
Tagged Authuille, Black Watch, Hammerhead Sap, John Marnock
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He Made the Great Sacrifice for King and Country
So reads the epitaph on the grave of Second Lieutenant Alfred Claude Gant, 2nd Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps, who was killed less than a month before the war ended, aged 21. He lies in Busingy communal cemetery, about 15 … Continue reading
Posted in 1918, CWGC, Remembrance, Research, WW1
Tagged 2/KRRC, 2nd KRRC, AC Gant, Alfred Claude Gant, Gant, KRRC, KRRC Chronicle, Selle, Sneinton
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‘The bayonet was freely used’ – The 3/4th Queen’s at the Battle of Broodseinde 4th October 1917
The 3/4th battalion of The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment) was a territorial battalion that been formed in 1915 and went overseas in June 1917, joining 62nd Brigade, 21st Division, in August. Although the battalion spent some time in the … Continue reading
Posted in 1917, Passchendaele, Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment, Surrey Regiments, WW1
Tagged 3/4th queen's, broodseinde
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