The above group photo is of the staff - The Western Front Association

As the Germans retreated they
destroyed the railways but after a long
march (over 400 miles) the Allies were
victorious and the Germans surrendered
on July 9
very now and again.
th 1915.
This very interesting talk again illustrated
the point that there is much to be learnt
from escaping the confines of the
Western Front e
(Andrew Brooks)
Haig: February 2012 (26 attended)
Peter Hart vigorously
defended Haig’s
generalship,
saying that Lloyd George,
Winston Churchill and Basil Liddell-Hart
were
responsible for wrecking his
reputation after his death. Haig is
misunderstood and most working
historians have a different view of Haig to
that held by most of the general public,
who think that First World War generals
were stupid, insensitive brutes.
Haig believed that he should
concentrate on the fighting on the
Western Front. However he was
hampered by an insufficiently trained
Kitchener’ s Army and by not having
complete control, as at Arras in 1917
when he was under Nivelle.
The many criticisms of Haig include
that he was inarticulate, obsessed with
religion, ignorant of modern warfare and
a believer in attrition. Peter dealt with all
the criticisms providing evidence in
support and stated that 1918 was the
year which proved Haig’s ability.
Haig made mistakes but he knew what
he was doing and held his nerve. At the
end of the war he spent the rest of his life
working for the British Legion and made it
rank free.
Peter concluded that Haig was a great
man, a great Commander-in-Chief and
that he stands alone at the forefront of
British generalship.
30
As with any talk on Haig, a lively
question and answer session followed.
(Gaynor Greenwood)
Army Chaplaincy, a Historical View:
March 2012 (28 attended)
An Army chaplain himself for some 25
years, Rev John Bolton OBE
concentrated on the history of chaplaincy
during
the First World War.
His description of the Chaplains’ role in
the first two years of the war painted a
picture of well-intentioned volunteers who
often found themselves well outside the
comfort zones of their parish experience.
Given no clear job specification when
sent overseas, they were initially
prevented from moving with the troops to
the front line (where the pastoral need
was greatest); some either disobeyed
such orders or struggled to find a fulfilling
use of their skills. Inter-denominational
politics also caused strained relationships
between faiths.
Receiving little or no support from the
agnostic Lord Kitchener, the situation for