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Walk the battlefields of the First World War with Military Historian, Paul Reed. In these podcasts, Paul brings together over 40 years of studying the Great War, from the stories of veterans he interviewed, to when he spent more than a decade living on the Old Front Line in the heart of the Somme battlefields.
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In our first QnA Episode for Season 9 we look at what happened to the German forces when the guns went silent on 11th November 1918, discuss the use of poison gas and it's legacy on the battlefields today, examine if British and German dead were buried in the same trenches on the battlefield, and ask what happened to the horses used by the British Army when the war came to an end? Sign up for the free podcast newsletter here: Old Front Line Bulletin. You can order Old Front Line Merch via The...
In our first episode of Season 9, we walk the northern part of the Somme battlefield from Foncquevillers out to the ground before Gommecourt, and examine the attack here by the 46th (North Midland) Division on 1st July 1916. We examine the Court of Enquiry, the roles of the commanders Major-General Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley and Lieutenant General Sir Sir Thomas D’Oyly Snow, and hear the voices of the ordinary soldiers who fought and fell at Gommecourt on the First Day of the Battle ...
In our third and final Bonus Episode that brings Season 8 to a close, we have a live recording from the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, recorded while out leading a battlefield tour a few weeks ago. We reflect on the subjects we have covered on the podcast, on what the Menin Gate means to us, and how the whole subject of the Great War continues to develop. Sign up for the free podcast newsletter here: Old Front Line Bulletin. Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your ques...
In this second Bonus Episode to end Season 8 of the podcast we look at the subject of Great War veterans and in particular Malcolm Vyvyan who served as a Siege Battery officer in the Royal Garrison Artillery on the Somme, Arras and Flanders, and was awarded the Military Cross in 1917. Sign up for the free podcast newsletter here: Old Front Line Bulletin. Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Discord Server or email the podcast. Send ...
In the first of three Bonus Episodes of the podcast to end Season 8, we travel to Fricourt on the Somme and examine the journey to unveil a memorial to the 17th (Northern) Division in the church there in July 1938, just over a year before the outbreak of a Second World War. Who made that pilgrimage to Picardy, and what does it tell us about the experience of the Great War? The image used for this episode shows men of the 17th (Northern) Division on the steps of a captured German dugout ...
1In the final episode of our Air War series we travel across the landscape of the First World War and discover what we can find that connects us to the story of the Royal Flying Corps and RAF in WW1, from memorials to cemeteries and sites of former aerodromes. Along the way we examine the stories of some of the Aces from James McCudden VC to Manfred Von Richthofen - The Red Baron - to Bob Little from Australia and Major Lanoe Hawker VC, before seeing the battlefields where Albert Ball VC...
In this special and extended QnA Episode we look at Parachutes in the Air Services in WW1, the Ground Crew who kept the planes in the air, what are the best RFC/RAF memoirs of WW1, how the filming of the Red Baron's funeral was received, and how men applied for transfers to the Air Services and what was the selection process for Pilots and Observers. Sign up for the free podcast newsletter here: Old Front Line Bulletin. Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into ...
In the second of our special interviews for the War in the Air series, we are joined by historian and broadcaster Josh Levine to discuss the war in the air in WW1, based on his best-selling book On A Wing and A Prayer. Josh's book 'On A Wing and A Prayer' is now published in paperback at Fighter Heroes of WW1 ( Harper Collins 2011) Sign up for the free podcast newsletter here: Old Front Line Bulletin. Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line ...
For our 250th episode of the podcast, and as part of our continuing Air War series, we are joined by aviation historian and author Andy Saunders to look at the life, and death, of Edward 'Mick' Mannock VC DSO & Two Bars, MC & Bar and the search for his potential burial place on the Western Front. Is the grave of an Unknown Aviator at Laventie British Cemetery Mick Mannock's final resting place? Andy's book: Mannock: The Life and Death of Major Edward Mannock VC, DSO, MC, RAF by Frank,...
For the start of our War in the Air Month, we begin with a look at the real story of the 'Twenty Minuters', the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force in the First World War. We look at its history from formation in 1912, its role in the opening months of the conflict, and how the war on the Western Front changed military aviation forever. A good overview of the Air War from the Imperial War Museum: What impact did the First World War have on aircraft and aerial warfare? Photographs of some o...
For our latest questions submitted by podcast listeners, we examine what my first visit to the battlefields of the Great War with my school meant to me, ask what the Wiltshire Regiment did in the First World War, what sources in English can we look at to understand the German side of WW1 and what did British veterans think of their German foe? Brigadier E.A. James book - British Regiments 1914-1918. Main image: Group portrait of officers of the 1st Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment, after t...
Our latest questions from podcast listeners discuss what role German steel helmets, Stahlhelm, had on the First Day of the Somme, how did Great War veterans feel about WW2, how were women who fell pregnant from British soldiers treated during the conflict, and when we visit British and Commonwealth cemeteries are we walking over the graves of those buried there? For more information on the Battlefield Tours I do: Leger Battlefields. Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your q...
As the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme approaches, we walk part of the battlefield across the iconic Mash Valley, visit Ovillers Military Cemetery and walk through Ovillers village to the far end of the valley facing the Pozières Ridge. Alf Razzell discusses the burial of the dead at Ovillers: A Game of Ghosts. Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Discord Server or email the podcast. Send us a text Support the show
Our latest questions from listeners range from could Britain have stood back from conflict in 1914 and not been part of the Great War, how accurate was the final dugout scene in the film 1917, what duties did Royal Field Artillery Drivers have on the battlefields of WW1 and what was the story of the Canadian soldiers who rioted in Britain in 1919 while awaiting demobilisation? The Old Front Line Youtube Channel: Old Front Line on YouTube. Recommended novel on 1914: Robert Harris - Precipice (...
In a Trench Chat special we speak to the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre Commemorations team - otherwise known as 'The MOD War Detectives' - who work to recover and identify the dead on the former battlefields of the Great War. Thanks to the Ministry of Defence for their help in making this possible, and special thanks to Rosie Barron, Nichola Nash and Alexia Clark who all appear in this episode. The images used are Crown Copyright. Discover more about the Joint Casualty and Com...
Our listeners have a few intriguing questions: Is there still live ordnance in the moat at the Ypres Ramparts? What exactly was the role of Inland Waterways Transport during the First World War? How would the French portrayal of the Last Hundred Days differ from the traditional British narrative? And finally, if you could take any piece of modern military technology back to the Great War, what would it be, and why? You can watch the Old Front Line Youtube Channel here and remember to Li...
In this episode we travel to the Arras Memorial to the Missing, where we explore the powerful story of over 35,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave. In this episode, we uncover the personal histories of men from the British Army, Royal Naval Division, and Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force, whose names are etched into the stone. We then walk through the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, visiting notable graves—including those of soldiers Shot at Dawn. Discover the human sto...
In this episode we discuss the improvised gas masks used by British and Commonwealth soldiers in 1915, the advancement in medical treatment during the Great War, whether soldiers were told in advance about the explosion of mines on the battlefield and the use of soldiers packs in WW1. Our episode on Gas Warfare in WW1 is available here: Gas! Gas! Gas! JD Hutt's YouTube Channel: The History Underground. Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line...
In this episode we start a look at some of the Forgotten Memoirs of the First World War, starting with Percy Croney's 'Soldiers Luck' published in the mid-1960s. Croney was a 1914 volunteer who served with the Essex Regiment and Scottish Rifles at Gallipoli and on the Western Front, being wounded several times and taken prisoner in March 1918. We ask what the value of memoirs like this are to our understanding of the Great War. Percy Croney - Soldier's Luck on Open Library Got a questio...
In this episode of podcast listeners questions we ask: what Great War items would you take to a Desert Island, how was cause of death accurately reported or not by the military authorities, how did men on the front line get news of other fronts and their own, and were truces to bury the dead common on the Western Front? Book Recommendation: Frederick Manning Her Privates We/Middle Parts of Fortune. Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Dis...
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Interesting info on the ID Discs Paul, am I right the Green was meant to stay with the body and the Red was meant to be collected? Question is, what about their paybook, wasn't it meant to be carried at all times? That had their details including the Will form on the back page and was meant to be collected on Death? Why not take that and leave the ID tag. An ancestors Pay Book Will is in the Scottish archives, it's blood stained and can't be viewed. Thing is, he's one of the Missing.
Brigadier Crozier's "The Men I Killed" is currently 99p on Kindle.
Best tool for a beginner researching family members is Chris Baker's iconic The Long Long Trail.
Great question and answer session. I did Verdun and the Ardenne, and Bastogne areas on a motorcycle tour with the wife, I did myself. Stayed in Verdun then rode out onto sites for two days. Just used ipad and Google, and what knowledge I'd got from books and films I'd seen. We had a great time and got to places you couldn't in a car.
Paul really enjoyed Redan Ridge. Informative as to be expected, you pick us up and take us there as always. Well done. Brilliant. Thanks Paul.
Really good idea Paul. And some great questions. 👍
Jump listened to Beyond The Somme. Everything Paul said is correct. It is good to go to the Ypres Saliant and the Somme front. But you need to go on other fronts. I did a motorcycle tour years ago with my wife. We covered Verdun and the Ardenne. We also did Bastogne, that tour was amazing saw so much, learnt so much. The best thing about this podcast Paul, was that you mentally took me back. Really enjoyed it. Brilliant
Really interesting poddy Paul. I must go to the last one you mentioned plus the trench of death. I've done many but not these 2. Thanks again Paul.
Very good poddy. So much information as usual. Thanks Mr R
Really interesting poddy this one. And like you say not many people visit this end of the line. Which is someways is sad. However great pod cast Sir.
Still enjoying these, thank you.
really, really interesting, thank you.
Excellent series of podcasts, incredibly interesting and packed with moving stories.