east_kent_winter_ 2012.pdf - The Western Front Association

Between the Lines
Issue 47 Winter 2012
Cameron plans 3-day tribute to mark centenary of WW1
David Cameron announced in August 2012 that there will be a 'people's
commemoration' of the key dates on August 4, 2014, July 1, 2016 and November 11,
2018. Gallipoli and Passchendaele will also be remebered. The salute is being
overseen by the Prime Minister who wants the tribute to focus on 'remembrance,
youth and education.' Instead of another memorial, scholarships will be handed out
as a lasting legacy to the 'Great War' which claimed 16 million lives.
The Imperial War Museum is spending £35 million on a refit of its WWI galleries. It
will play a leading part in orchestrating the many local projects throughout the
country which will be at the heart of the commemorations. Tory MP Andrew
Murrison, who is Mr Cameron's special representative for the commemorations,
said: 'The beauty of what is emerging in Britain is that it is rising up from the grass
roots.‘
Speaking at the IWM in London in October David Cameron promised a truly national
commemoration to mark the centenary of the First World War. He said there would
be events to mark 100 years since the outbreak of war in 2014, Armistice Day in
2018, and the dates of major battles in between. There will also be a £5 million
educational programme for school pupils, including trips to the battlefields, and
support for an overhaul of the Imperial War Museum. He wants it to be a
commemoration that captures our national spirit in every corner of the country, from
our schools and workplaces, to our town halls and local communities. A
commemoration that, like the Diamond Jubilee celebrations this year, says
something about who we are as a people. Remembrance must be the hallmark of our
commemorations. The Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting work by young people to
conserve, explore and share local heritage of the First World War. Some £50 million
was being spent on the commemorations in total, Mr Cameron said.
An advisory board including historians Prof Michael Burleigh, a specialist in Nazism,
and Brigadier Prof Hew Strachan, a specialist in the military history of the war, will
advise on the tone of the events. The WWI novelists Sebastian Faulks and Pat
Barker will also be on the committee, along with leading defence figures from each
party, Lord King, Lord Robertson and Menzies Campbell.
IWM London will be closed from 2 January to July 2013

Military History Masters Degree at Birmingham University
For years I’ve seen the same faces, many have become firm friends and tour companions, at our
branch meetings. I have only been forced by circumstance to miss a handful of branch activities over
the last decade and it is rare to leave our Canterbury base without feeling I have acquired some new
knowledge or perspective from our speakers. But isn’t that the reason why we come in the first
place
Our members often travel to branches and seminars further afield and find the satisfaction gained far
outweighs the effort in getting there. The aim is to enhance our enjoyment of our subject of interest,
so I would strongly advise you not to dismiss the wonderful opportunity afforded by Birmingham
University just because it is far to the north of Watford. You can revel in Great War study and
research alongside like-minded people – many of whom are well past the first flush of youth and
plenty are WFA members of many years’ standing.
The British First World War Studies MA is unique in its focus on the Great War. It provides an
opportunity to study in depth this most compelling and controversial conflict. It focuses on the
challenges posed by the war to the British state, the British Army and British society and on the
evolving ways in which these challenges were met – or not met. All the benefits of the latest
research are at hand and the lecturers are hugely enjoyable to listen to. Guest speakers read like a list
of Who’s Who in the military history world and the sizeable required reading list is, because
students would not be there without an interest in all things Great War, manageable without being a
chore.
John Bourne came to speak at our branch while he was still Professor at the Birmingham Centre for
First World War Studies, describing his revisionist work on Great War generals and scotching the
old myths about ‘lions led by donkeys’. I had a chat with him then but never got round to doing
anything about it until I finished full-time employment.
By that time Gary Sheffield had taken John Bourne’s place and the military history MA courses had
expanded into Second World War and Strategic Air Power options but I applied for my first
preference and was accepted. I am now into my second year and contemplating topics for my
dissertation. I am looking forward with enjoyable anticipation to the work and must also say that the
essays along the way have not been onerous tasks but have been instrumental in getting the most out
of the course.
Have I learnt a lot Have I changed my mind about many of the things I thought I understood Has it
been worthwhile (even though I am not looking for a career change!) The answer is yes to
everything. Has it been difficult Not from a practical point of view. I can leave home just after 5am,
be at the university for a full day of enjoyable lectures and presentations and be home again by 9pm.
It is a long day, but it’s not every day – only about once a month. Also, you would expect to put in
up to 15 hours a day on a battlefield tour and that is for several consecutive days at a time, so think
of it in the same light as an overdose of enjoyable learning.
Yes, it is challenging. Frankly it would not be worth pursuing if it wasn’t. Entry requirements are a
good Honours degree in History or an equivalent discipline. Other professional qualifications
comparable to degree standard would also be considered, e.g. an Honours degree or higher degree in
a subject other than History, or professional qualifications of degree standard such as law,
accountancy, management, or published work in a relevant field. Every submission is considered on
its own merits.

The important thing there is the statement that every submission is considered on its own merits. Do
not rule yourself out on academic grounds. Years of interest in the subject will have paid good
returns. My own degree was not in history and the single weekly history lesson we received 40 years
or so ago as ‘liberal studies’ was delivered by a retired lecturer who was a friend of T E Lawrence (I
kid you not). My lecturers were certainly long retired if not long dead, but academic references can
be obtained with a few calls and Gary Sheffield set me an essay to ‘gauge my potential’ and voila!
Subject matter is more analysis than narrative (I haven’t been asked once if I know the name and
serial number of the gallant pigeon at Fort Vaux or who was the lowest ranking allied pilot killed in
action, they are not too interested in the way you tell a story) but it never becomes boring. Subject
modules are described as:
• Research Skills: Methodology and Sources (brushing up on essay writing)
• Brass Hats and Frock Coats: British Strategy in the Great War (politicians v the
generals)
• Operational Development in the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front
1914-1918
• Training, Tactics and Technology in the British Expeditionary Force on the Western
Front 1914-1918 (these two modules are the really interesting parts)
• Bullets and Billets: The British Experience of the First World War (I’ve yet to
cover this)
• Research Skills: Dissertation Preparation (15’000 words to write and all the associated
research)
I must just say here that my eyes have been opened to the sterling work of our libraries. My local
little library at Westgate has obtained books from all around the country, including H M Prisons, and
saved me hundreds of pounds. I have had to buy some books, that is unavoidable. But if anyone is
interested in going further into this I am happy to make my books available as well as offer any more
advice and assistance.
Anyone interested in applying for 2013 courses can obtain the relevant information from the
University website: www.birmingham.ac.uk/students/courses/postgraduate/index.aspx
Peter McCourt
New Gallery displays Buffs artefacts at the Beaney Institute in Canterbury
Originating in Tudor times, The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) is one of the oldest in the British army, named
after the creamy-brown colour of much of its original uniform. The regiment's collections used to be housed in
Canterbury and are now in the care of the National Army Museum, which has loaned some items back to the
Beaney. Now on display in the new Explorers and Collectors gallery are a range of items, including:
• The Latham Centrepiece of the 3rd (East Kent) Regiment of Foot commemorating Lt Matthew
Latham's bravery at the Battle of Albuhera, Spain, in 1811, during the Peninsular War with Napoleon.
• A wooden dragon
• An emergency ration pack from the Boer War in Africa, 1899 – 1902

GHQ Heritage Centre
The Expeditionary Trust is working closely with the town of Montreuil-sur-Mer and its Museum
Rodiere, the IWM, the WFA and regimental museums to develop the GHQ Heritage Centre
based around five casemates in the town’s citadel. A conference and seminar facility will offer
lectures and workshops under the direction of Prof Gary Sheffield, the Trust’s historical
consultant. The brutal necessities of war forced the development of technologically advance
supply and communication chains delivering food, fuel, ammunition and equipment to the front
line on a daily basis. New and untried techniques like multi-channel telephone switching worked
hand-in-hand with established methods like carrier pigeons. The final outcome of the war
depended as much on this huge “back office” operation as it did on the courage and weaponry
of the troops it supported.
One staff officer at GHQ wrote:- The little walled town of Montreuil was the focus of a spider’s
web of wires, at one end of which were the soldiers in their trenches, at the other the workers
of the world at their benches.
For more information see their website at www.expeditionarytrust.org
Bowes Lyon re-burial
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has changed the commemoration for Captain Fergus Bowes-
Lyon, an uncle of Her Majesty the Queen, who died in France during the Battle of Loos in September 1915.
Until now he has been commemorated on the Loos Memorial as he had no known grave.
After visiting Quarry Cemetery, Vermelles in November 2011 his grandson produced contemporary evidence
for the CWGC that his grandfather had been buried in the quarry, and that a grave marker with his name on it
was still in place at the end of the war. The CWGC’s registration documents were found to record his burial in
the cemetery in 1920, but were superseded by the final grave registration forms, dating from 1925, which do
not include Captain Bowes-Lyon’s name.
The CWGC has agreed that the evidence for Captain Bowes-Lyon being buried in the cemetery is sufficient to
allow the erection of a named headstone within the cemetery inscribed ‘Buried near this spot’. Most
headstones in Quarry Cemetery are of this type as the cemetery remained in the front line after 1915 and
suffered extensive shell damage so it is no longer possible to ascertain the precise location of individual
remains.
Plaque tribute to folk dance expert born in Margate
A WW1 hero was honoured in September when a Blue Plaque was unveiled at the Ascott-under-Wychwood
hall that bears his name. Reginald Tiddy’s research into the traditional dance of mumming, from his days as
an Oxford University Fellow and lecturer, is still being used to this day. While in Oxford, he started a branch
of the English Folk Dance and Song Society and performed in a side known as the Dancing Dons. He was very
much involved in local community life and built a hall in 1912 at his own expense for the community to enjoy.
He was active on the behalf of the working classes and the agricultural labourers, trying to improve their
conditions.
In 1914, Reginald Tiddy, who was born in Margate, volunteered for military service. Resisting suggestions he
should transfer to the safety of the Intelligence Corps, he was promoted to Lieutenant with the 2nd/4th
battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1915. He was posted to the Somme in May
1916 and, while searching for wounded men in August was hit by a stray shell and killed aged 36. He is buried
in the Laventie Military Cemetery in La Gorgue, near Armentieres.

Restoration of Indian Memorial in Woking
The Muslim Burial Ground in Horsell Common, Woking, was built in 1917 for Indian Army soldiers who
died at the Indian Army Hospital at Brighton Pavilion. Woking was chosen as Britain's only purpose-built
mosque at the time was there. The Grade II listed site has fallen into disrepair since 1968, when the bodies
were removed to the Military Cemetery in Brookwood due to vandalism. The registered war memorial, which
features ornate brick walls and a domed archway, is to be restored thanks to a successful bid for funding by
Horsell Common Preservation Society (HCPS). English Heritage will fund up to 80 per cent of the cost of
repairs, with Woking Borough Council contributing the balance. Work to restore the structure, designed by T
Herbert Winney, should be completed by 2014.
Centenary of WWI highlighted at World Travel Market
The Belgian region of Flanders promoted the 100th anniversary of the Great War at the World Travel Market
2012 with the aim of attracting up to 2 million tourists in 4 years. It is hoped that the 100th anniversary of the
Great War will bring 2 million tourists to the Flanders Fields region during the 4-year anniversary period 2014-
18, considerably more than the 350,000 tourists who currently visit the area each year.The In Flanders
Fields Museum in Ypres has undergone a major refurbishment and now features touch screens, video
projections, soundscapes and an interactive Poppy Bracelet. Visitors are invited to reflect on the personal
stories of individuals, and to consider how WW1 affected the lives of people of many different nationalities
who were involved in it, especially the people of Flanders and the City of Ypres. The Research Centre
contains over 5,000 books on WWI, as well as trench maps, photographs, newspapers, periodicals and
original documents. The Bell Tower, closed in recent years, offers visitors once more a view of the Ypres
Salient battlefields. But beware as there are 231 steps to climb to the top. See www.inflandersfields.be
Statue planned of Isaac Rosenberg, WW1 poet and artist
The son of poor Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, Rosenberg grew up in London’s East End. Although he left
school at 14, he continued his studies at night at Birkbeck, and later won a place at the Slade. Rosenberg
served as a Private in the King’s Own Royal Lancashire Regiment and was just 27 when he was killed at
dawn, near Arras, in April 1918, after returning from a night patrol. His poems from the trenches vividly
convey the fragility of life. In "Dead Man's Dump", he wrote of "A man's brains splattered on/A stretcherbearer's
face".Until now Rosenberg’s only memorial has been a military gravestone in Bailleul Road East
Cemetery, St Laurent-Blagny, in the Pas de Calais. A campaign led by the actor Sir Antony Sher, also of
Lithuanian Jewish descent is now raising money for a statue by Etienne Millner, to stand in Torrington
Square, by Birkbeck College in Bloomsbury, not far from the other great learning centre in Rosenberg's life,
the Slade School of Fine Art. Rosenberg will be depicted in his great-coat, wearing an Austrian hat he
particularly liked.
Rosenberg's nephew and co-literary executor, Bernard Wynick, said the memorial would be as much for his
mother, Annie, Rosenberg's younger sister, who was the driving force to obtain recognition of her brother’s
work. She used to type his poems which he sent back from the trenches. After Rosenberg's death she gave
his papers to the Imperial War Museum.

Gallipoli Tortoise - As Mr Marris boarded a homeward-bound troop ship with fellow Tommies
lucky to survive the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in 1915 he brought back with him his pet tortoise
Blake. Mr Marris died years ago but amazingly his tortoise is still alive and fit in Norfolk and still
mating, despite his advancing years and having cataracts! His current owner would like him returned
to live out his life on the Gallipoli Peninsula. As the 100th anniversary approaches, Turkish officials
want to take the tortoise, seen as a symbol of peace, back to Turkey and are in talks with the British
Embassy.
Brothers killed in WWI inspire Hawkhurst artwork
An artwork inspired by brothers killed in WWI was completed in August. The sculptures in Hawkhurst include
personal artefacts and family heirlooms donated by villagers. Artist Vivian Pedley created the work near a war
memorial on the Tongswood estate honouring Charles and Norman Gunther and 12 other men. A Memorial
to a Memorial features 14 pairs of World War I soldiers' boots that appear to walk away from the memorial. In
between each pair stands a cross carved from a 100-year-old oak. The original stone memorial to the
Gunther brothers, and to the estate workers who died in the Great War, was erected by their father, Oxo
founder Charles Gunther, in a woodland glade on the Tongswood estate where they lived. It is now within the
grounds of Saint Ronan's School. Norman served as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal East Kent Yeomanry.
He died in northern France in 1917 aged 19 and won the military cross for bravery and is commemorated on
the Arras memorial. His brother Charles served as a Lieutenant in the 2 nd Life Guards. He died a year later,
aged 28, and is buried in the Chapelle British Cemetery in Holnon.
The Sleepwalkers: How Europe went to
war in 1914
By Christopher Clark, Allen Lane 2012
Nikola Pasic, the Serbian Prime Minister,
failed to warn Vienna about the conspiracy to
murder the archduke because he wanted a war
that dragged in Russia, to further Serbia’s
New books for Christmas
Pan-Slav ambitions. He also claims that when
President Poincare of France visited St
Petersburg in July 1914 the French and
Russians already knew that the Austrians
planned an ultimatum to Belgrade which they
afterwards denied. Clark also implicates Lord
Grey, who was determined to support Russia
and France although British public opinion
was against this until early August 1914. Max
Hastings in reviewing this book declares an
interest because he is himself writing a book
covering some of this ground. He says that
Clark was right to conclude that the outbreak
of war was a tragedy rather than a crime, for
which responsibility must be shared. It was
not a great European accident but the result of
colossal miscalculations by all the powers.

Paul Mansard – worth the search
Branch members attended an event hosted by Christ Church University at their Hall Place building
at Harbledown in November 2010 called ‘Landscapes of the Great War 1914-1918: Destruction &
Memory’. Among the artists whose work was shown was Paul Mansard. The man remains a mystery
as evidence for his life is found entirely in his pictures. Jeremy Kemp first came across Mansard
when he purchased “two grubby prints” at a Normandy street market. Further aquatint prints were
found on the website of David Cohen Fine Art and Jeremy’s quest for Paul Mansard began seriously,
a journey which took him, via the Internet, all over the world.
Fifty six coloured prints, taken from etched metal plates, are shown in this book, dating from 1912
to 1918. Peaceful scenes of Flemish countryside contrast sharply with dramatic images of Ypres
under bombardment. By recording scenes which were deemed significant at the time Mansard’s
images provide a rare insight into how people involved perceived the conflict. A short introduction
by the compiler places the artist in context. During scanning for the book, the prints, which had
aged through time, were photographically restored by removing the colours in the paper. This
revealed Mansard’s extraordinary skill in creating a source of light and luminance which was
masked by the discolouration of the paper. HB
Jeremy Kemp, In Search of Paul Mansard: A Collection of Prints 1912-1918’ Parkers Digital Press
(E.C. Parker & Co. Ltd), Canterbury, 2012. £25, plus £5 postage
WWI memorial replaced in Milton Regis
The original war memorial near Sittingbourne was destroyed by the Great Storm in 1987. Fund raising efforts
for a new Portland stone memorial were boosted earlier this year when a mystery donor sent a cheque for
half of the £35’000 replacement costs. A special dedication ceremony took place in October. The original
copper plate has not been replaced. Instead the names will be engraved on black Welsh slate.
The War Memorials Trust, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the IWM have formed an action group to
work together to save WW1 monuments. The Sunday Telegraph is also running a campaign. If you
know of a war memorial in need of repair please e-mail them at warmemorial@telegraph.co.uk or
write to:- Lest We Forget Campaign, The Sunday Telegraph, 111 Buckingham Palace Road,
London SW1 0DT
STOP PRESS
November's branch book sale raised the grand sum of £135 to be donated to the
War Memorials Trust. The Branch has also donated £200 to the Royal British
Legion's Poppy Appeal.

Thanet does us proud
Thanet Male Voice Choir sang at the evening ceremony at the Menin Gate on Saturday 8th September. John
Websper reported that such was their performance that the protocol of "no applause" was broken at the end
of the service when they were roundly applauded by the crowd watching.
Labour MP suspended from Commons after blaming ministers for deaths of British
troops in Afghanistan
Paul Flynn, MP for Newport West, was suspended by Speaker John Bercow in September when he
accused defence ministers of lying over military policy in Afghanistan and said the public wanted
British troops brought home. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond was responding to reports that
Nato was scaling back operations with Afghan forces after a spate of attacks by rogue Afghan
soldiers and policemen. Mr Flynn directly accused ministers of culpability in the rising death toll of
British troops adding ‘Isn't this very similar to the end of WWI, when it was said that politicians lied
and soldiers died and the reality was, as it is now, that our brave soldier lions are being led by
ministerial donkeys.’
98 years on – remembering the 7th Cruiser Squadron
On September 22 1914, three armoured cruisers, HMS Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy, were sunk in the North
Sea by a solitary German submarine U9 commanded by Otto Weddigen.
Several years ago Dutch WW1 enthusiast and former publisher Henk van der Linden came across the graves
of some sailors from the HMS Cressy buried near the Hook of Holland in the small town of s-Gravenzande.
That chance find prompted him to write a book – the first account of the tragedy to be published in the
Netherlands, now translated into English – Live Bait Squadron: Three Mass Graves Off the Dutch Coast, 22
September 1914 (£19.95 ISBN 978-9461532602). Henk has devoted the past few years to honouring the men
of the three cruisers, culminating on 22 September this year in the launch of the English translation of his
book at a special event in Chatham.
Descendents of a Dutch fishing boat captain who helped to rescue some of the survivors attended, bringing
with them a silver cup presented by King George V. Also there was the descendant of a 15-year-old cadet
who survived two of the sinkings, but not the third, and a great grandson of a survivor who has dived the
wrecks.
The wrecks lie in international waters but not far from the Dutch coast. In 2011 newspapers reported that
they were being targeted by salvage vessels keen to extract valuable metals. Their action received much
criticism, both in the Netherlands and the UK. However, it was disclosed that the British Government had sold
the wrecks for salvage in the 1950s and that therefore their status as war graves was questionable.

This issue is still unresolved, but there has been a widespread campaign to prevent further desecration. The
event in Chatham was attended by the Dutch ambassador Mr Pim Waldeck, by naval historian Professor Eric
Groves and by Chatham Dockyard historian Peter Dawson. A Dutch film company is making a film about the
history of the sinking and about Henk’s quest to trace descendants of the crews. It is hoped that this will, in
time, be shown on television in the UK.
Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy were pre-dreadnought ships whose design and construction dated from 1898 -
1902. They made up the 7th Cruiser Squadron, stationed at the Nore under Rear-Admiral Henry Campbell. At
dawn on September 22, the three elderly cruisers were deployed in regular order, steaming at a dangerously
low speed of under 10 knots, in an area sandwiched between the Dutch coast and a German minefield,
without escort and almost on the enemy's doorstep. Although the Captains had been advised to adopt antisubmarine
manoeuvres, the true threat from submarines was not fully recognised at the time.
The other principal in the drama, the German submarine U9 was also not a modern craft. Her surface
propulsion was by Korting diesel engines; underwater propulsion was by electric motors whose batteries
needed constant recharging. For armament she had 4 torpedo tubes of 17.7 inches, 2 at the bow, and 2 at
the stern, and one 2-inch deck gun. The bow tubes had reloads, giving the U9 a total of 6 torpedoes.
Under the command of Leutnant Otto Weddingen, the U9 sailed from Kiel on September 20, her destination
was the Flanders Bight, where she was to try to prevent landings by British troops on the Belgian coast
during the Battle of the Marne. On the voyage south, her gyro compass proved to be faulty and, unable to
navigate precisely, Weddigen found himself off the Dutch coast, some 50 miles from his destination, on the
night of September 21.
At dawn on September 22 Leutnant Weddigen surfaced the U9 in order to recharge her batteries. Visibility
was good and Weddigen soon saw the masts of the three cruisers to the south of him. The U-boat's heavy-oil
engines were making a lot of smoke, so Weddigen dived immediately without completing the recharging of
the batteries. Once submerged Weddigen could see the cruisers were without a destroyer screen and were
approaching at a steady course of about 9 knots in a line abreast, 2 miles apart.
At 0620 hours Weddingen fired a single bow torpedo at the Aboukir from a range of 500 yards on her
starboard side. The torpedo hit and she began to sink. The Aboukir's Captain thought he had struck a mine,
and signalled to the Cressy and Hogue to close in, but to keep ahead of him. The Captains of the two other
cruisers complied with the Aboukir's signal and stopped their ships to pick up survivors.
U9 had dived deep after firing her first torpedo to reload the torpedo tube and now returned to periscope
depth. The U-boat Commander saw the Aboukir was going down, and the other two ships standing by. At
0655 he fired both bow torpedoes at the stationary Hogue, from a range of only 300 yards. Both torpedoes
hit and the U9 was so close to her target that she had to manoeuvre to avoid a collision.
The Hogue was doomed, and one of her Officers recalled " Within three minutes of the first torpedo hitting,
the list had increased to about 40 degrees, and realising that her end was very near all hands began tearing
off their clothes and crawling down the high side or jumped overboard to leeward. To add to the confusion
the stokehold crowd suddenly poured on deck, their blackened faces dripping sweat and tense with
apprehension. It was now a case of everyman for himself, and tearing off my boots and clothing and then
fastening to my wrist by its chain my gold watch, which I greatly prized, I walked down the sloping deck into
the water and struck out for dear life ".
Undeterred by any British counterattack, Weddigen recklessly surfaced to ascertain whether the Cressy was
stationary or still moving. He found her stopped, with her boats away picking up survivors from her two sister
ships.The U-boat's batteries were almost exhausted by now, but she still had the two stern torpedoes and a
single reload left for a bow torpedo. The U9 submerged and manoeuvred for a stern shot but her periscope
was spotted by the Cressy just before she fired. Cressy's captain ordered full speed ahead, but one of the
torpedoes hit and stopped her. The U9 turned again and with a bow shot sank the Cressy. The U-boat then
disengaged and surfaced north of the action to recharge her batteries.
In the distance the victims were struggling for their survival, seen by one of their numbers as " two thousand
swimming or drowning men all herded together, hardly with elbow room. Strong swimmers were dragged
under in the frenzied clutches of weak swimmers or men who could not swim at all. Their cries were fullthroated
at first, but they gradually subsided into a low wailing chant ". The total complement for the three
ships was about 2,200 men. Of these, 62 Officers and 1,397 men were lost, many of them were reservists or
cadets. A number of Ramsgate men were among the lost.

After the event at Chatham, Henk van der Linden visited the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth and presented a copy of his
book to Commander Jason Phillips, OBE RN, the Commander BRNC. The book is now held in the College Library.
Henk has started a group for those interested in the story, and for the relatives of the casualties. He is
aiming to produce a quarterly email bulletin to keep everyone up to date with developments and also plans
for the centenary commemorations in 2014. His email address is H.van.der.linden@tip.nl for anyone keen to
join the group or to contact him. HB
WWI remains found in an Italian glacier - 200 pieces of ammunition from WWI frozen in time
for nearly a century were discovered this summer after a glacier melted in the mountains of northern
Italy. The bodies of two WWI soldiers believed to have been members of an artillery unit in the
Austro-Hungarian army were also found at an altitude of 9,850 feet on the Presena glacier, in the
Trentino-Alto Adige region. Their remains were flown by helicopter to a hospital in Vicenza, where
they will undergo laboratory analysis for identification. They will then be buried in a war cemetery.
Experts said that with glaciers melting as a result of climate change, more WWI relics and remains
will emerge, testimony to a campaign which cost the lives of a million men, and which Ernest
Hemingway called “the most colossal, murderous, mismanaged butchery” of the war.
Campaign to save WWI training trenches in Scotland
A campaign to save trenches at Dreghorn Woods in Colinton is being led by historian Lynne Gladstone Millar,
whose father William Ewart Gladstone Millar, was trained there before he was sent to the Somme.
Colinton is a suburb about 6km south of Edinburgh. Between 1909 and 1915, the War Office constructed
Redford Barracks to the east of the village. The men of the 16th Battalion The Royal Scots would have trained
here and dug these trenches in 1915-16 before going to France. Many lost their lives at the Battle of the
Somme. As part of the UK government's defence spending review, UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox
announced in July 2011, that Redford and Dreghorn Barracks will become surplus to requirements and are
earmarked for disposal. Just up the road is Craiglockhart, site of the military hospital where the WWI poet
Siegfried Sassoon and others recovered from shell shock and battle fatigue. Representatives from Historic
Scotland, the Ministry of Defence and the city council met in September to discuss how the trenches could be
preserved. Local historians called for the trenches to be viewed in the same way as sites of significance in
other countries and feel it is important to preserve anything that is connected to WW1 at a time when we are
trying to get more youngsters interested in the First World War. Clearing the trenches of scrubland would
cost around £10,000.
Sad footnote : Member John Henderson kindly gave me a book of WWI newspapers at the October
meeting, I looked at marriages listed in The Times in early August 1914. Captain Hugh Ince Webb Bowen
who was married on 2 nd August came from Haverfordwest and served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He died
on 23 rd May 1915 aged 37 and is buried in the Lancashire Landing Cemetery in Turkey.

Thankful villages: The places where everyone came back from the war
The mass slaughter of 1914-18 robbed the UK of a million lives, leaving no part of the country untouched but
there were somwe villages where all those who served returned home. Unlike the overwhelming majority of
British settlements, Upper Slaughter in the Cotswolds has no war memorial. Instead in the village hall are two
wooden plaques which celebrate the men, and one woman, from the village who served in both world wars
who all returned home. It is that rarest of British locations, a "thankful village" - the term coined in the 1930s
by the writer Arthur Mee to describe the communities which suffered no military fatalities in WWI. No
Scottish community appears to have been left unscathed, and no thankful villages have been identified in
Ireland, all of which was still part of the UK during WWI.
For every village like Upper Slaughter, or Knowlton in Kent, there was another like Wadhurst in East Sussex,
with a population of just over 3,500 people, which lost 149 men in WWI. Indeed, according to the WWI
historian Dan Snow, it was often small communities in which the psychological burden of the carnage was
most painfully felt.
Largely to blame for this, WWI historian Dan Snow believes, was the system of Pals Battalions made up of
friends, work colleagues and relatives who had been promised they could fight alongside each other when they
enlisted. These battalions were a useful recruiting tool for War Secretary Lord Kitchener, who believed that
mobilising large numbers of enthusiastic recruits quickly was the best method of winning the war. The reality
of trench warfare, however, meant that small communities could face disproportionate levels of bloodshed
within a matter of hours. The "pals" system was phased out in 1917, but not before it left an indelible mark on
the British consciousness.
Even those in the thankful villages did not escape the hardships and disruption imposed by total war. By 1918,
rationing was in force and everywhere on the home front would take many years to recover. Many of the
fortunate veterans who made it home were permanently damaged by their experiences, whether physically or
mentally. Just 14 villages were lucky enough to escape losses in WWII as well as WWI.
IWM going digital
BBC Studios and Post Production’s Digital Media Services team has been chosen to digitise and
future-proof a substantial proportion of IWM’s (Imperial War Museums’) collection of over 250
hours of WWI film footage. The project will be completed by the end of 2013. The age of the films
and their historic prominence mean the black and white 35mm reels have to be handled with extreme
care. BBC Studios and Post Production’s Digital Media Services team are cleaning and preparing the
film before scanning it to DPX files. By digitising its content, IWM will make its collection
available worldwide via its Collections Search facility and provide the highest quality digital copies.
Information Request
John Stone from Whitstable recently visited Thiepval Visitor's Centre and noticed that they are
currently showing a short film entitled 'Aftermath and Memory' which covers the reconstruction
programme on the Somme and the architects involved in the design of memorials, both in
France and the UK. He was interested to note that the Whitstable civic memorial was included
and wondered whether WFA had any input on this film Can anyone help
Battle Story: Loos 1915 by Peter Doyle Hardback, The History Press, 2012
The Battle of Loos saw a change in Allied strategy which until then had been a series of small-scale
assaults that achieved little or no ground gained. At Loos Kitchener's Army was deployed in strength
for the first time and aimed to take ground over a 20-mile front. As the fog of war descended the first
day's gains were lost and in the end the 'Big Push' saw little achieved with Allied losses of about
50,000 men. The text explores the unfolding action of the battle and puts the reader on the frontline.

A Day in the Life of a Trench!
Unfortunately our advertised speaker for September, Martin Brown with ‘Digging up Plugstreet’, was
indisposed for the branch meeting, leaving Linda the not unusual task of finding a suitable replacement
at short notice. Fortunately she pulled out a plum with popular speaker Andy Robertshaw, historian,
author and broadcaster, well-known for his many appearances on television. You might even have
noticed him leading our boys over the top in the climactic battle scene at the end of War Horse, for
which he was the historical advisor; trying hard to keep the ever imaginative Mr Spielberg on the
straight and narrow. Andy is a familiar face to members, having visited us several times on branch
evenings plus frequent meetings with him at trips to other venues.
His latest presentation is based upon a project to re-create a day in the life of British soldiers in
trenches at Ypres in January 1917. It was the first time he had given this particular talk, the book he
has written about the project having just been published. Andy wanted to create a living history
environment which would reflect the real experience of soldiers, although as he stressed, without the
overriding fear of imminent death. However, the actual experience would highlight the daily
challenges faced by soldiers going about their everyday, exhausting duties.
Other than when a major action was underway, trench life was usually very tedious and hard
physical work. Officers had to ensure that there was if possible a balance between the need for work
against the enemy, on building and repairing trench defences and for rest and sleep. This could only
be done by a good system with a definite system of rotas and a work timetable. Obviously, in times
of battle or extended alerts, such a routine would be broken, but such times were a small proportion
of the time in the trenches. The main enemies were the weather and boredom. The loss of
concentration - leaving oneself exposed to sniper fire, for example - could prove deadly.
The first practical task was to choose a suitable example and the trench model was what one might
have found at Railway Wood, manned by 1/5 King’s Liverpool Regiment on 1 January 1917. A time
of no major military engagements for them – battalion diaries record just two casualties – one man
fallen down a well and another evacuated after cutting himself on some tin in the revetments. Then

the major part of the project was to create a faithful full-scale replica in a suitable site on Andy’s
property in Surrey.
The archaeology has shown that actual trenches don’t look anything like the manuals, so this was an
ideal opportunity to devise a ‘real-life’ experience, with stores of Andy’s collected and donated
artefacts suitably employed in and around the two fire bays, latrine and communication trenches and
assorted ‘bits and pieces’ dug into the Surrey landscape.Volunteers were gathered to man the
trenches, in authentic dress and conditions, and their activities were governed by the trench routine
ordered in the instruction manual of the 41 st Division. ‘Stand To’ as it got dark and again for a raid,
standing sentry, preparing food and other nightly jobs as well as making time for a little sleep.
‘Stand To’ next morning before dawn, more jobs, preparing lunch.
There were no frontlines, no artillery or ‘over the top’, no sniping to worry about, no gas – just
routine. However, everybody had an immense learning experience dealing with the latrines and the
food for example under such conditions. It was only a small taster of the cold, wet and testing
conditions which provided the background to wartime trench life suffered by soldiers for days at a
time as well as their facing the constant possibility of injury or death. The volunteers adapted rapidly
as dictated by the conditions. Andy pointed out the wartime instructions to officers not to let men use
wood from trench revetments for fires – this was one of the first things his volunteers started to do
and highlighted the training needed by platoon commanders in the necessities of trench life checking
weapons, feet, sentries, supplies of food, ammunition and equipment.
Throughout the talk we were treated to photographs of the soldiers’ equipment ‘from the bottom up’
as faithfully reproduced by the volunteers, and the photographs of the volunteers throughout their
short experience in the trench looked extremely authentic. The effects of cold, tiredness and dirt
showed remarkably quickly in their attitudes. Certainly the soldiers of 1914-18 had probably led
harsher lives than their modern counterparts and were of sterner stuff. Yet the daily grind of trench
life they suffered and how it played a major role in everyday wartime existence is effectively
reproduced in Andy’s latest research.PM
The full details of Andy Robertshaw’s project are in his book :-
24 Hour Trench – A Day in the Life of a Frontline Tommy. The History Press. ISBN:
9780752476674
He was also featured in Mailonline on November 1 st 2012 with lots of photographs.
In October First World War enthusiast Howard Williamson, a retired headmaster from
Harwich, came to talk to us about some of the interesting artefacts in his collection.
Howard’s fascination with the First World War began when he sat in church as a child looking at a big brass
plaque to someone killed in action at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, and wondered where the Somme
was and what the battle had been like. Howard’s interest in guns is down to a friend of his father’s, Howard
Freeland Holder, a Boer War veteran who served with 56 Field Ambulance during WW1 and won a Military
Medal at Passchendaele. He had his own gun range at home where Howard and his dad would often go to
shoot and Howard also bagged rabbits and pheasants for food. Intrigued by a feature article in a Sunday
Times colour supplement Howard went on his first trip to the battlefields of France in 1966. He collected
souvenirs such as helmets and bayonets that were still lying about in fields and woods. He came back with a
very heavy rucksack and has been collecting ever since.
Howard was diagnosed with diabetes and took early retirement. He built a two-storey extension to his house
but his WWI collection continues to grow. There are bayonets on the staircase wall, glass-framed medals and

pictures in the living room, and there are books everywhere. Howard’s long-suffering wife Anne knows that
wherever he goes he is on the lookout for more items, and she often notices that the collection of bayonets on
the wall seems to have grown overnight. Howard showed members a German helmet and a British helmet
acquired on his first trip to France. Other items included a memorial sword for Rudyard Kipling’s son John,
an Australian bayonet with hooked quillon, and a WWI service revolver used by G C Heseltine at Gallipoli.
Howard spent eight years researching and writing a 600 page tome The Great War Medal Collectors’
Companion with colour illustrations. The book covers many aspects relating to the medals – including
practical information on buying, storing and cleaning, and a chronology of all the battles of the Great War.
There are the campaign medals such as the Stars, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and Mercantile
Marine Medal, and the Memorial Plaques. There are also the gallantry medals such as The Victoria Cross, the
Distinguished Service Order, the Military Cross and the Distinguished Conduct Medal. There will be a second
volume of The Great War Medal Collectors’ Companion at some stage. It will include more detail, such as
information about the 8,000 or so abbreviations found on First World War medals.
The Great War Medal Collectors’ Companion costs £60 from the author via email:
howard@williamson2844.fsnet.co.uk
Howard’s ongoing project is to produce a Roll of Honour of the 115,000 recipients of the Military
Medal and publish it in book form by 2014. In 1996 Howard and fellow enthusiast Chris Bate
learned that the wartime index cards kept at the MoD were to be destroyed. National Archives staff
had only copied the fronts of these cards so it was vital that these records were saved as most of the
citations had been burnt to a cinder when enemy action destroyed a warehouse in the City of London
during the Blitz. Chris and Howard took home 40 boxes of cards. Approximately 9,000 cards had
citations or other data on the back. Not all medal-holders are recorded on the cards, but they all
appear in the London Gazette. Chris has a complete set of London Gazettes for the period, so he’s
working through Howard’s list to verify awards, add missing names and make corrections. LP
In November the Branch welcomed back John Derry who spoke very eloquently for over an hour about Field
Marshal Sir Douglas (later Earl) Haig. Haig commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from 1915 to the
end of the War. He was commander during the Battle of the Somme, the Third Battle of Ypres, and the
Hundred Days Offensive, which led to the armistice in 1918.
Haig’s part in WW1 was controversial at the time and still divides historians today. Haig’s most extreme critics
accuse him of being an incompetent butcher, responsible for sending thousands of men to unnecessary
deaths. More recently historians have taken a more lenient view of Haig’s strategy in WW1 and portray him as
one of the great British commanders. When “Reconsidering Haig” John argued that Winston Churchill was more
generous in his attitude to Haig than Lloyd George, who was vitriolic in his condemnation. In his book World
Crisis written during Haig's lifetime, Churchill called him a surgeon acting dispassionately for the long-term
good of the patient, no matter how messy the short-term means. He conceded later that Douglas Haig was a
man in the classic mode and doubted whether any other commander would have had the fortitude, courage
and integrity to secure a British victory. Churchill also suggested that Haig and his staff failed to make the
most imaginative use of the military technologies available during the war. Most historians including Brian
Bond accept now that under Haig the British army on the Western Front pushed the available military
technology to its limits, especially in 1918. Lloyd George in his War Memoirs described Haig as "intellectually
and temperamentally unequal to his task" and criticised Haig for lacking the personal magnetism of a great
commander, and for his intrigues against his predecessor Sir John French. Liddell Hart, military historian,
accused Haig of being a man of supreme egoism and utter lack of scruple.
Critics of Haig suggest that, largely owing to Haig’s stance and that of Sir William Robertson, Chief of the
Imperial General Staff 1915–1918, the British concentrated their efforts on the Western Front and failed to take

full advantage of opportunities in other theatres. Sir James Edmonds and John Terraine disagreed. Terriaine
published a biography of Haig in 1963 and felt that Haig pursued the only possible strategy, that of attrition
which eventually wore down the German army. Australian historian Les Carlyon argued that while Haig was
slow to adapt to the correct use of artillery, which contributed to operational failures and heavy losses, he was
fully supportive of commanders such as Herbert Plumer, Arthur Currie and John Monash. Canadian historian
Tim Travers blames the management of early campaigns on the ethos of the pre-war officer corps which
meant the army was poorly positioned to adapt quickly.
Haig was an experienced and truly professional soldier from a disciplined Presbyterian background born in
Edinburgh as the eleventh child of John Haig, head of the successful whisky distillery. He was an inarticulate
speaker but cogent on paper. After officer training at Sandhurst he was commissioned into the 7th (Queen's
Own) Hussars in 1885 and promoted to lieutenant shortly afterwards. He became a squadron commander in
India in 1892.
Colonel John French and Haig thought British cavalry should still be trained to charge with sword and lance.
Haig helped French write the cavalry drillbook in 1896. They were to work together for the next twenty five
years. A new edition of the manual “Cavalry Training” reflecting Haig's views was published in 1907, and
cavalry training still continued with sword and lance.
In October 1906 Haig was appointed Director of Military Training on the General Staff at the War Office. The
militia, yeomanry and volunteers were reorganised into the new Territorial Army. Haig’s skills were employed
setting up an Expeditionary Force of 120,000 men in 1907. Haig then became Director of Staff Duties and
published the “Field Service Regulations” used when expanding the BEF in WW1. He was also involved in setting
up the Imperial General Staff.
Haig had had a long and distinguished career in India, the Sudan and South Africa. When war broke out in
August 1914, Haig helped organise the BEF, commanded by Field Marshal Sir John French. Haig like Kitchener
predicted that the war would last for months if not years and that an army of a million men, trained by officers
and NCOs withdrawn from the BEF, would be needed. The French army command favoured offensive action
and were impatient for Britain to commit more soldiers on the Western Front. John French and Haig were under
orders to collaborate with the French. By 1915 French’s limitations had become apparent and Haig was
accused of undermining him.
Haig’s appointment as Commander-in-Chief BEF was announced on 10 December 1915, and Robertson
became Chief of the Imperial General Staff in London, reporting directly to the Cabinet rather than to the War
Secretary. Both men hoped that this would lead to a more professional management of the war. Haig thought
that a decisive victory was possible in 1916, and wanted to regain control of the Belgian coast to bring the
naval bases at Bruges, Zeebrugge and Ostend into Allied hands. Kitchener sided with Robertson in telling the
Cabinet that the Somme offensive should go ahead to relieve pressure on the French Army at Verdun.
On 1 January 1917, Haig was made a field marshal but Lloyd George infuriated Haig by placing Britain's forces
under the command of new French C-in-C Robert Nivelle.. Haig’s first objective in the 3 rd Battle of Ypres at
Passchendaele was to commit a large part of the German Army in Belgian Flanders. The second objective was
to liberate the North Sea coast of Belgium from which German U-Boats were operating. Passchendaele resulted
in huge casualties for very little territorial gain. Lloyd George was unhappy about Haig's strategic operations
but it was not until the end of 1917 that he began to assert his authority over the generals and dismissed First
Sea Lord Admiral Jellicoe.
In January 1918 Haig predicted that the war would end within a year and that a German offensive would be a
“gambler’s throw” as Germany had only a million men as reserves. He also predicted correctly that the balance

would shift in favour of the Allies in August. Germany launched "Michael" in March 1918 with a force larger
than the entire BEF by the release of troops from the Eastern Front. British troops fought hard but the offensive
almost destroyed Gough's Fifth Army. Lloyd George ordered Haig to sack Gough in April. Haig offered to
resign. Lloyd George wanted to accept Haig’s resignation but other ministers thought there was no obvious
successor at such a crucial stage in the fighting. Haig’s position was further weakened when Lord Milner
replaced Haig’s ally Lord Derby as Secretary of State for War. In July and August the Germans were defeated at
the Second Battle of the Marne, and at Amiens followed by mass surrenders of German troops.
In 1919 Haig served as C-in-C Home Forces insisting that the Army be kept in reserve, not used for policing.
His military career ended in January 1920 and Haig devoted the rest of his life to the welfare of ex-servicemen.
He was instrumental in setting up the Haig Fund and the Haig Homes to ensure they were properly housed.
Haig died in January 1928 and was given a state funeral. After a service at Westminster Abbey, the body lay in
state for three days at St Giles Cathedral. Haig was buried at Dryburgh Abbey in the Scottish borders, his grave
marked by a standard CWGC gravestone. He did not write any memoirs but his diaries have been published
and edited by Prof Gary Sheffield. LP
Major General Sir Fabian Arthur Goulstone Ware KCVO, KBE, CB, CMG
The founder of the Imperial War Graves Commission, now called the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission attempted to join the British Army in August 1914 but was rejected because he was too
old. Instead he obtained command of a mobile ambulance unit provided by the British Red Cross. He
noticed that there was no official mechanism for marking and recording the graves of those killed so
he set up an organisation to do this, and in 1915 both he and his organisation were transferred from
the Red Cross to the Army. By May 1916 the new Graves Registration Commission had over 50,000
graves registered. With the help of Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1917, Ware submitted a
memorandum on the fate of the graves after the war to the Imperial War Conference. On 21 May
1917, the Imperial War Graves Commission was created by a Royal Charter, with the Prince of
Wales as its President and Ware as its Vice-Chairman until his retirement in 1948.
John Websper took this photo in Gloucester Cathedral
In 1937 Ware published an account of the work of the commission called The Immortal Heritage. In
1939 he was appointed Director of Graves Registration and Enquiries at the War Office, whilst
continuing in his role as Vice-Chairman of the Commission. Sir Fabian is buried in Amberley Holy
Trinity Churchyard in Gloucestershire. His grave has a CWGC-style headstone and is maintained by
the commission. There are memorial tablets in the Warrior's Chapel at Westminster Abbey and in
Gloucester Cathedral.

Folkestone at the heart of the national commemorations in 2014
In July 2012 Step Short Folkestone unveiled plans to create a Memorial Arch at the top of the Road of Remembrance
which will provide a focus for remembering Folkestone’s status as a key gateway to the Western Front. The arch will
be surrounded by benches where school groups etc. can sit while the significance of the site is explained. They also
plan to open a visitor centre in the old deckchair store near the Leas Cliff Lift.
Folkestone will be one of three centres for commemoration on August 4th 2014. The other locations will be
Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey, and the St Symphorien cemetery near Mons on the Western Front, where the
first and last soldiers to be killed are buried.
Dr Andrew Murrison MP, the Prime Minister's special representative for the First World War centenary, praised the
Step Short project in Folkestone as an example of how the Government wants to work with local communities across
the country to mark the centenary of the war.
Approximately ten-million servicemen passed through Folkestone during the war, making it the major channel port
for embarkation to and from the Western Front. For many of these men, the march down the Road of Remembrance
to the harbour was their last journey on home soil. Step Short will be marking the centenary by retracing the
footsteps down the Road of Remembrance in the annual memorial march and are also organising an exhibition with
the National Army Museum for summer of 2014, which will give some insight into life in Folkestone and on the
home front during the war.
A photo of our branch wreath being laid by
Hazel at the Port of Dover’s annual
Remembrance Service in November. This
service is where the British Torch of
Remembrance leaves for Belgium on its way
to the National Memorial to the Unknown
Soldier in Brussels. The torch from Britain is
lit at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in
Westminster Abbey, and carried, via Dover,
to Ostend, and thence to Brussels. The King
relights the Eternal Flame at 11am on 11th
November each year.

In Continuing & Grateful Memory,
The Ploegsteert Sector
Paul Foster’s new book is illustrated with contemporary photographs, illustrations and maps that
provide a history of the sector from 1914 to 1918. A detailed tour of the area is easy to follow with its
accompanying map taking readers from Ploegsteert Memorial to important points of interest and to the
following cemeteries:
Ploegsteert Wood Military Cemetery
Prowse Point Military Cemetery
Rifle House Cemetery
Strand Military Cemetery, Ploegsteert Wood
Toronto Avenue Cemetery
Underhill Farm Cemetery, Ploegsteert
Berks Cemetery Extension
Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery
Lancashire Cottage Cemetery
London Rifle Brigade Cemetery
Mud Corner Cemetery
Ploegsteert Churchyard
An appreciation by Shaun Caveney
I first visited Ploegsteert Wood and the immediate area some 30 years ago when one rarely saw other
battlefield tourists. Despite returning nearly every year I have discovered so much more to visit since
reading Paul Foster’s well-researched book ‘In Continuing & Grateful Memory, The Ploegsteert Sector’.
Paul’s well-written and illustrated tour is easy to follow, and allows you to take as much time to suit
you. Paul has written 850 cameo stories on soldiers who were killed between October 1914 and October
1918 and are commemorated on The Ploegsteert Memorial or in twelve of the cemeteries that dot the
landscape around Ploegsteert. He provides a fascinating insight on the life behind many names that we
look at on Memorial Panels or inscribed on the gravestones. Paul provides considerable personal
information on the men prior to them joining the army, then takes us through their military service until
their death. Many have an accompanying photograph.
Paul’s easy style of writing means it is difficult to put the book down and I particularly enjoy the many
quotations from officers and men written during the war that are included in the text. When standing in
front of a grave and reading Paul’s descriptive text about the soldier you feel that you knew the man, he
certainly is no longer an anonymous name. Included are three VC winners, four shot at dawn, two
fifteen year olds, fourteen sixteen year olds, sportsmen and brothers commemorated/buried together.
Whilst walking through Ploegsteert Wood I appreciated the chapter Paul wrote on the 1914 Christmas
Truce. Many men killed in 1918 died during the German Spring Offensive so General Erich Ludendorff’s
narrative brought a new prospective to the subject.
The book costs £25.00, incl p and p, and can be purchased at www.remembering1418.com or send a
cheque payable to ‘W P Foster’ at IC&GM, 15 Cress Way, Faversham, Kent ME13 7NH.
Until 31 st December 2012 Paul is offering his new book for only £19.99. If you visit the website and
buy the three-volume set ‘In Continuing & Grateful Memory, The Menin Gate’ you will receive
‘Ploegsteert Sector’ free of charge.

What did Switzerland do in the Great War, Daddy
There is now a website to explore and discuss the part played by Switzerland as a neutral country in
WWI. . See www.switzerland1914-1918.net/
Books on WW1 often mention that by the end of 1914, "there was a line of trenches stretching from the
North Sea to the Swiss frontier" but Switzerland’s part in WWI is not considered. In fact, despite being
neutral Switzerland could not escape the effects of the First World War. Swiss people may not have died
in the heavy fighting taking place not far over the border, but the Swiss Army was mobilized to guard
the frontier. The International Committee of the Red Cross collated information about prisoners of war,
and inspected PoW camps in belligerent countries. Prisoners of war were also interned in Switzerland.
An orginal Flanders Poppy!
A poppy has been found pressed between the pages of a First World War Bible. Les Forryan, from
Wigston in Leicestershire, picked the flower serving with the ASC in France and Belgium.
The original Flanders poppy between the pages of the First World War soldier's Bible.
When he died in 1970 his nephew Duncan Lucas inherited the pocket bible, but only discovered the
poppy when he went to package it up to send to a nephew in Australia. Now he has donated the cherished
book, complete with plants, to the United Reformed Church in Wigston, where it will go on display.
Les was one of six brothers, and was a farmer before he volunteered to serve when he was in his early
20s. He served in France, Belgium and Ireland, before returning home in 1918, and continuing to farm in
Wigston. Mr Lucas heard many of his uncle’s stories from the war while he worked with him, milking
cows and delivering milk. His uncle told him the poppies grew so quickly on the battlefield because shells
disturbed the soil, exposing the seeds lost below.
HMS Caroline set to become a floating tourist attraction - The 3,750-ton light cruiser HMS Caroline is the
last surviving ship of the two-day Battle of Jutland in 1916 and is a significant example of early 20 th C engineering
and shipbuilding. The C-class cruiser is currently moored in Belfast’s Alexandra Dock and will be restored in time to
celebrate her centenary in 2014. The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN), will assume responsibility for
the restoration and preservation of the ship and was most recently used as a training ship.
© WFA East Kent Branch December 2012

Western Front Association’s East Kent Branch
Meetings are held on first Tuesday of the month at the
Drill Hall, TA Centre, Sturry Road, Canterbury
Gates open 7pm for a 7.30pm start
Future Speakers
8 January AGM followed by ‘Demobilisation’
Charles Messenger
5 February ‘From Cantigny to Sedan: America’s fighting
performance May to November 1918’
Dr Andrew Thomson
5 March ‘Let us die manfully for our brethren:
`Propaganda, Memory and Identity and the
Battle of the Falkland Islands, December 1914
Professor Mark Connelly
Committee
Hazel Basford Tel 07768 872371 hazel@basford.com
Linda Swift Tel 01227 276583 lindaswift2@sky.com
Peter Gausden Tel 01843 825374 peter.gausden374@btinternet.com
Richard Young Tel 01227 769580 rchrdyng1@aol.com
Edward Holman Tel 01227 789311
Michael Dadson Tel 01227 450544
Editor:- Laura Probert Tel 01843 599229 lauraprobert@btinternet.com
Articles , reports and other information on museums etc. for the branc
newsletter always welcome. Full colour version of this issue can now
be seen on WFA website under “Branches”.
Deadline for next Issue is:- 20th March 2013