The_Poppy_March_2012.pdf - The Western Front Association

securing it, the Lusitania took her final plunge and water
enclosed them, separating the two.
Page 2 of The New York Times, dated Tuesday, 11th
May 1915 contained an article in tribute to Alfred Vanderbilt,
purported to be by Mrs. Ethel Lines. She later claimed it to be
a reporter’s invention (Ethel left the Lusitania on a starboard
boat whereas Vanderbilt was on the port side):
People will not talk of Mr. Vanderbilt in future as a millionaire
sportsman and a man of pleasure. He will be remembered
as the children’s hero and men and women will salute his
name. When death was nearing him he showed gallantry
which no words of mine can describe. He stood outside
the palm saloon on the starboard side of the Lusitania with
Ronald Denyer by his side. He looked around on the scene
of horror and despair with pitying eyes. ‘Find all the kiddies
you can, boy,’ he said to his valet. The man rushed off
collecting children and as he brought them to Mr. Vanderbilt
the millionaire dashed to the boats with two little ones in
his arms at a time. When he could find no more children he
went to the assistance of the women and placed as many as
he could safely in the boats. In all his work he was gallantly
assisted by Denyer and the two continued their efforts until
the very end. I hope the young men of Britain will act with
the same cool bravery for their country that Mr. Vanderbilt
showed for somebody’s little ones.” n
New Book Release
‘The Germans in Flanders 1914’ by David Bilton, published
by Pen & Sword Military, 176 pages, paperback, fully
illustrated with rare black and white photos, ISBN 978-1-
848844-45-2, RRP £14.99
German Army in Flanders
1917-1918, are currently
being prepared for
publication later
this year in July
The Germans in Flanders 1914, is the latest book from Thames Valley
branch member and historian David Bilton, in the popular ‘Images of
War’ series and follows the presence and campaigns of the Kaiser’s
Army in Flanders during the traumatic period from its arrival in August
1914 through to the end of the year. It covers the battles with the
French, Belgians and British, concentrating primarily on the British and
particularly 1st Ypres. Many of the German divisions involved in this
battle were formed of reservists and, in many cases, untrained student
volunteers. Their high casualty rate gave rise to the inter-war myth of
the ‘Slaughter of Innocents’.
Each phase and aspect of the period is described from the German
point of view in photographs, captions and text from German and
British primary and secondary sources. Using many images that have
never been published before, activities at the front are complemented
by life in the German rear areas and on the home front. Just how much
and December
respectively.
David is a
popular and
prolific writer and
his previous publications are all still
readily available from www.pen-and-sword.co.uk and other outlets:
• Hull Pals: 10th, 11th, 12th & 13th Battalions, East Yorkshire
Regiment
• The Trench: the Full Story of the 1st Hull Pals
• Oppy Wood (Battleground Europe Series)
• The Home Front in the Great War: Aspects of the Conflict
1914-1918
• The German Army on the Western Front 1916-18
• The Germans on the Somme 1914-1918
the war changed the towns and villages also becomes clear. The book
helpfully contains a chronology of events and a section on the German
divisions that fought there.
The final two volumes of The Germans in Flanders in the ‘Images
of War’ series, entitled The German Army in Flanders 1915-1916 and The
• The Germans at Arras 1914-1918 n
17