During the Great War the demand for timber for the front line exceeded at one stage 50,000 tonnes a month.  But where on earth could this amount of timber be sourced and who would be capable of felling that many trees?In WW1 over 35,000 men served in the Canadian Forestry Corps; recruited from the millions of acres of Canadian wilderness, these were physically tough men who thrived on the backbreaking work of lumberjacking. In this episode we look at a little-known aspect of the war, but one which was utterly vital to the wider war effort. Support the podcast:https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallenhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In today's episode, we travel the Ypres salient from Boesinghe to Ypres and visit some of the many cemeteries and memorials that dot this part of the battlefield. We begin at the Ziegler Bunker and one of the finest bunkers left on the Western Front before continuing to a roadside memorial bedecked with the tricolor of Ireland, and hear the sad tale of one of Ireland's finest poets.  Our journey continues taking in demarcation stones and memorials before we had back toward Ypres and pay a visit to Talana Farm cemetery.  We stop at Duhallow ADS cemetery and here the story of a tragic incident for men of the Labour Corps and discover the story of Private Seymour who was shot dawn for desertion. Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefalle 

Our latest podcast begins at the Guards Grave in the Retz Forest near the village of Villers Cotteret on the Aisne battlefield.  It contains the graves of 98 men of the Guards Brigade who fought one of the most remarkable rear-guard actions of the Great War near this spot on the 1st of September 1914.  We meet the eccentric and dangerous-to-know Irish Guards officer Lt Aubrey Herbert.  A loose cannon with a volcanic temper, Herbert was almost blind, but despite this, he proved to be a capable officer.  Opinionated, argumentative, and dangerous to know, Herbert successfully delivered a vital message that allowed reinforcements to be rushed up into the forest to help rescue the beleaguered Guards Division.We also discover the story behind one of the most impressive private memorials anywhere on the Western Front, and the remarkable perseverance of a formidable woman, desperate to find out what happened to her only son.  Support the podcast:https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallenhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblo 

In today's episode, we visit the communal cemetery and extension at Mazengarbe on the Loos battlefield and discover the stories of some of the men who lie buried within.We begin by reminiscing on an encounter in a cemetery on All Souls Day, hear the story of a Scottish VC winner who performed two remarkable acts of heroism on the battlefield at Hill 70, and meet one of the lesser-known poets of the Great War, the idealistic Canadian Bernard Trotter.  We meet a man of the cloth who was awarded a Military Cross for bravery, hear the stories of some of the men who were shot at dawn and lie buried in the cemetery, and discover how the Mayor of Laventie and a parish priest ended up brawling in a British dugout, having tried to take on the Germans single-handed armed only with a bottle of eau de vie and stolen British rifle.Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

In this episode, we travel to Flanders and look at the fighting of June 1916 for Hill 62, or Mount Sorrel as it was known.  Standing on the top of the ridge today overlooking Sanctuary Wood is a Canadian Memorial and this is a battlefield always associated with the soldiers of Canada.We begin at Hooge Crater Cemetery and hear the story of two remarkable VC winners, before we move to Hill 62 and examine the ebb and flow of the fighting in June 1916.  We hear the remarkable story of the Colour of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, hear about the unfortunate fate of the 3rd Canadian Divison commander, and meet Colonel Buller, whose foresight and determination helped prevent a German breakthrough.  We hear about the encounter between a Canadian heavyweight boxer and a German officer and look at the deserved reputation gained by Canada's soldiers during the fighting. Support the podcast:https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallenhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In 1917 French general Robert Nivelle launched an offensive against the Germans on the River Aisne which he was convinced would break the Western Front once and for all.  After nine days of fighting 187,000 French soldiers had been killed, wounded, or missing, and the French Army was in a state of mutiny.In this episode we look at the Nivelle Offensive, why it happened, and what went so wrong for the French Army.  We look at the mutinies and discover a story where fact and fiction are sometimes hard to separate, and hear about a vitriolic soldier's song deemed so inflammatory it was banned in France for over 50 years after the Great War ended. Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

During the course of the Great War, the problem of feeding the vast numbers of men and animals in the military was a constant source of concern for Army command.  The Army contained many men whose background was in agriculture and the decision was made to turn 45000 acres of fertile French land into a central farm to supply food to the front.  Run by the Army Agricultural Companies, the cultivation of land was a remarkable and very successful endeavor.We hear about the dangers of using tractors on former battlefields, an innovative approach to dealing with the vast quantities of food waste from the Etaples basecamp, and hear about the great Goat Riot of Rouen in 1917.Footsteps will be back on the 1st of October. Support the podcast:https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallenhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In this episode, we visit the battlefield of Le Cateau.  In August 1914 Horace Smith-Dorrien's II Corps stood and fought when they had been ordered to retreat.  This disobedience delayed the Germans and has been described by one military historian as being "the battle that saved the BEF".Sir John French later used Smith-Dorrien's insubordination as a tool to dismiss him.  What happened that day? We look at the battle itself and then take a journey around the battlefield to visit some of the cemeteries and memorials commemorating the dead.  Our journey takes in the most famous tree on the battlefield, the grave of arguably the most famous war poet of the Great War, and finishes at the poignant vista of the Suffolk Memorial.Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

Between the 8-13th of May 1915, the Germans attempted to smash their way through the British lines in the Ypres salient launching an attack against the Frezenberg Ridge. The British were subjected to an artillery bombardment of a ferocity never seen before and suffered over 8,000 casualties in defending the ridge.Our journey begins at the Menin Gate where we discover the works of one of the lesser-known poets of the Great War before we look at the ebb and flow of the battle.  We hear stories of remarkable defence and resilience, and personal courage and discover the heavy price paid by the British in beating off the German attacks. Support the podcast:https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallenhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

Standing at Hyde Park Corner in London, the Royal Artillery Memorial has been cited by one art critic as the finest work of sculpture of the 20th Century.  Its creator, Charles Sergeant Jagger, was once described by Auguste Rodin as "The Master".Who was Charles Jagger? In this episode, we look at one of the finest sculptors of the human form to have lived, his work including the RA Memorial and his incredible piece which stands on Platform 1 at Paddington Station commemorating the dead of the Great Western Railway.  Jagger served as an officer in the Worcestershire Regiment and was awarded an MC for his actions at Neuve Eglise during the German offensive in Spring 1918 where he was severely wounded.  We look at the trials and tribulations that surrounded the creation of the Royal Artillery Memorial and look at his work on the magnificent "No Mans Land"Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

Our journey today begins at Berkshire Cemetery Extension near Ploegsteert Wood, home of a stunning memorial to the missing, and two magnificent stone lions guarding the entrance in allegorical perfection.  We hear the story of a short-sighted 2nd Lt whose father pulled strings to get his son a commission and look at the tragic death of a New Zealand chemist who lies buried in the cemetery.But it's the graves in Plots II and III that grab our attention.  The 457 men who lie buried in these two plots came from elsewhere.  Where did they come from? We discover a tale of obstinancy, political machinations, and a tale where the line between legality and morality becomes very blurred indeed. https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallenhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

Welcome to Season 6!My wife went away with the kids and instructed me not to anything rash while she was away. So I got on a ferry and went to the Somme....In this episode, recorded on the Somme battlefields we travel from Fricourt to Mametz via Flatiron Copse and visit some of the cemeteries and memorials on this beautiful part of the Somme battlefield.Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

Welcome to the final episode of Season 5!In today's episode, we look at the 3rd Battle of Ypres, more commonly, but incorrectly, referred to as the Battle of Passchendaele.  A campaign flawed in its inception, and blighted by the weather, when the ridge at Passchendaele was finally captured some ninety-nine days after the offensive began, over 250,000 men had become casualties.We conclude with a visit to Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world, and contemplate why Ypres is such a special place to visit.Footsteps will be back on the 28th of July.Support the podcastLhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

During the course of WW1 over 34 million maps were produced by the Royal Engineers and the Ordnance Survey.  From primitive beginnings, by the end of the war, the British Army was in possession of the finest and most accurate maps of any of the combatant nations.How did this happen and who were these men? We look at the work of the Field Survey Companies commanded by the meticulous Bovril drinking Major E M Jack, who assembled a crack team of surveyors and cartographers to undertake the massive task of surveying the Western Front.  Using skills such as aerial photography, sound ranging, flash spotting and the scientific skills of a Nobel Prize winning physicist, Jack's team produced exceptionally detailed maps.To meet demand the Ordnance Survey launched a new team of map-making experts the OBOS in France, whose output was prodigious.  We hear the story of a gallant RFC officer whose illegal use of a camera revolutionised aerial photographic interpretation, hear the unfortunate fate of the first survey party to be sent out into No Mans Land, and meet Lt. Henry "Crystal Ball" Rowbotham, the so-called Astrologer of Flanders. Support the podcast:https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallenhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In this episode, we look at the weapons of war used by men in the trenches.  The standard rifle of Tommy Atkins was the Short Magazine Lee Enfield,  a highly effective rifle, that was deadly in the hands of a trained marksman.  As casualties rose the declining standards of British musketry were a real concern for senior command.At the business end of the rifle was often found the sword bayonet, 12" of honed steel used in close combat with the enemy -what did soldiers really think about this ancient weapon of war?We conclude by looking at the development of grenades, starting with the famous "Jam Tin" bombs, we look at the cottage industry of trench-based explosives which developed from the start of the war; an endeavour that was generally more hazardous for the deliverer than the recipient.  We hear about the Mills bomb, possibly the most famous grenade in history, meet Monsieur X. Plosif the famous French dressmaker, and discover the perils of carrying cricket balls while wearing a kilt.Support the podcast:https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallenhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In our latest podcast, it's a privilege to be joined by the writer and historian Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris, who wrote the superb book "The Facemaker" about the pioneering WW1 surgeon Dr. Harold Gillies.Gillies was determined to give wounded and disfigured servicemen as normal an appearance as possible and his groundbreaking plastic surgery revolutionized maxillofacial medicine, and developed techniques that are still used to this day.Beautifully written and impeccably researched, The Facemaker is a magnificent book about a remarkable man. You can buy the book through this link: https://amzn.eu/d/gDmYyYrSupport the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

Standing at the side of the main road from Bethune to Armentieres, the Le Touret Memorial commemorates over 13,400 men who died on this part of the battlefield between October 1914 and September 1915.In our latest podcast, we discover the stories of the men who are commemorated here including a Private who wasn't, the distant relative of the founder of Georgian England's most salubrious drinking den, discover a family connection to the Queen Mother's rocking horse, and hear about the Australian Government's very own Saving Private Ryan moment. Support the podcast:https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

In our latest podcast, we visit the hulking mass of Plugstreet Wood and look at the actions of December 1914 around the German strongpoint known as The Birdcage.Formed of trenches captured from the Worcestershire Regiment and three ruined farm buildings, it was a show-stopper for the men of the Rifle Brigade, Somerset LI and Hampshire Regiment who paid a heavy toll in trying to capture it.We begin with a reminiscence of guiding a remarkable man around Plugstreet Wood, consider why some places on the Western Front have such a powerful impact on us, and then look at the fighting for the Birdcage in December 1914.  The episode concludes with a special recording made in the wood itself early one morning in 2019.This episode is dedicated to the memory of Graham Stapleton.Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

In this latest episode of the podcast, we look at bravery on the battlefield through the stories of six remarkable men.Between them, they won 4 Victoria Crosses, 4 Distinguished Service Orders, 8 Military Crosses, 6 Military Medals, 2 Distinguished Conduct Medals, and 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and were mentioned in despatches no less than 17 times. What does bravery on a battlefield mean, and how does one define the "value" of a particular medal?Support the podcast:https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallenhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog

On the 9th May 1915, the British launched an attack on the billiard table flat fields of Artois against the Aubers Ridge.  What was supposed to be a gentle stroll across the Artois countryside,  turned into one of the great military disasters the British suffered during the Great War.As night fell, nearly 11,000 men lay dead or wounded, and the ridge remained firmly in German's hands. The ensuing crisis saw the Government toppled in what became known as the "shell scandal".Support the podcasthttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen