For the last three years or so, I have been post occasional extracts from my WW1 concise history book Lest We Forget, published by Endeavour Press of London. July 31st marks the centennial of yet another of the landmark actions of the First World War, namely the dreadful Third Battle of Passchendaele. Passchendaele is another… Continue reading They Called It Passchendaele
Tag: Lest We Forget
Remembering My Great Grandad Ernest Heard Who Died 100 Years Ago Today in Amarah, Iraq.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of one of the biggest moments in 20th century history, if not for many people, at least for myself and perhaps a few others. For on this day, January 25th 1917, my Great Grandad Ernest Heard died in Iraq during WW1. Like many others in that particular campaign, he didn’t… Continue reading Remembering My Great Grandad Ernest Heard Who Died 100 Years Ago Today in Amarah, Iraq.
The Last Post
It is one of the most evocative and moving pieces of music and as with every year, The Last Post will be played all over the world on Remembrance Day but its origins had nothing to do with mourning. The Last Post was first published in the 1790s, just one of the two dozen or… Continue reading The Last Post
The Battle of The Somme 100 Years On
Friday July 1st 2016 marks the centerniary of the commencement of The Battle Of The Somme. It is fair to say that July 1st 1916 might possibly the most horrific day in British history and most likely in the top two or three anywhere given the dreadful events of the day. The Battle of The… Continue reading The Battle of The Somme 100 Years On
The Battle of Jutland
Today marks the centenary anniversary of the single most important naval battle of WW1 and as I have been doing for the last few years, I thought I would write a dedicated post taken from extracts of my WW1 history book, Lest We Forget, published by Endeavour Press of London. For centuries, the Royal Navy… Continue reading The Battle of Jutland
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.
My First Ever Booksigning!
Last Thursday was a big day in the life of me, I had my first ever book signing. It took place from 10am-4pm at Reason Coffee Shop and Bookstore in Watford High Street which is just 5 miles from where I live. The shop does a lot of work for good causes and has a… Continue reading My First Ever Booksigning!
Shot at dawn – Remembering those who bravely died as cowards
November 11th is Armistice Day and I thought I would write about an aspect of WW1 which is often forgotten, the sad stories of those who were shot by their own side. Over 300 Commonwealth soldiers were shot at dawn, a euphamism for being executed by their own side with 291 of them being British, 25… Continue reading Shot at dawn – Remembering those who bravely died as cowards
The tragic story of Sidney Ashcroft & the Guernsey Eight
As we approach Armistice Day, I thought I would write on another history related item, this time from WW2. Not many people know that part of the British Isles was conquered and occupied by Nazi Germany. The Channel Islands, in the English Channel lie around 90 miles south of the British mainland and the small… Continue reading The tragic story of Sidney Ashcroft & the Guernsey Eight
The incredible true tale of Job Maseko – The man who sunk a ship whilst a prisoner.
As today is Remembrance Sunday, I thought I would share a short account of someone who is rarely spoken of outside his homeland but whom I have been a fan of for many years. For most people when they are taken prisoner, their war is pretty much at the end, which is often a good… Continue reading The incredible true tale of Job Maseko – The man who sunk a ship whilst a prisoner.