The Battle of Verdun 100 years on.

France and its military have something of poor reputation amongst many.  Centuries of rivalry with Britain where it increasingly came off second best, its requirement to be rescued in WW1 and quick capitulation in WW2 coupled with  decisions to stay out of recent major wars mean that we all forget that there were many events… Continue reading The Battle of Verdun 100 years on.

WW1: A nation remembers, a family grieves.

With the war memorial services of the last week, I thought that I would share just one or two of several family photos related to WW1. Though I already knew of many of their stories, I did quite a bit of research into those family members that fought and more often than not, died in… Continue reading WW1: A nation remembers, a family grieves.

The Lamps are going out all over Europe

It is now 100 years since this famous phrase was first uttered by Sir Edward Grey to describe the ominous feeling that Europe and perhaps the world was about to slip into a war more bloody than most could ever imagine. His remarks were made on the evening of the 3rd August whilst looking out… Continue reading The Lamps are going out all over Europe