The Glory Hole at La Boisselle – our new Great War project is launched
Today sees the public launch of our ambitious project at the Glory Hole in the village of La Boisselle at the heart of the Somme battlefields. We have been invited by the landowners to conduct a...
View Article“Breathing Fire” – Le Dragon de la Somme. Exhibition at the Historial,...
Today sees the grand opening of the new exhibition about the Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector at the Historial in Péronne. I have taken a day out from a holiday and have just arrived in Péronne...
View Article6th Seaforth Highlanders at Roclincourt – The Battle of Arras, 9 April 1917
Last month I managed to stop in at the Arras battlefields when on my way down to La Boisselle for more site work. I only had a couple of hours before a lunchtime meeting in Peronne but still managed a...
View ArticleBespoke battlefield tour walking in the footsteps of Corporal JT Davies VC,...
Earlier this month I spent an enjoyable time on the Somme with a client, Roland Parr, who was following in the footsteps of his great uncle, John Thomas Davies VC, 11th South Lancashire Regiment....
View ArticleBespoke battlefield tour following 2nd Seaforth at Arras & the Somme
From 2 – 4 March I was guiding a private battlefield tour. Late last year I had been asked to compile a report on S/8888 Private William Charles Sewell who served in the 2nd Battalion Seaforth...
View ArticleRemembering the Battle of Arras: First Battle of the Scarpe 9-14 April 1917.
Having just returned from three days in Arras where I gave a lecture at the Carrière Wellington about the Battle of Arras (April-May 1917) I am heartened by the increase in interest shown in the spring...
View ArticleForthcoming lecture at Eastbourne Redoubt Fortress & Museum Great War lecture...
On Saturday 18 August I will be the first speaker of the Eastbourne Redoubt Fortress & Museum Great War lecture series. My lecture “Somme Archaeology: The Glory Hole and the work of the La...
View ArticlePreview for Hugh Dennis on ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’
Last January I spent three days filming with Hugh Dennis for Wall to Wall’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ series. I see that the BBC have just added a preview on their website with Hugh explaining his...
View ArticlePrivate William Fry, 53rd Battalion AIF at Fromelles for BBC Wales ‘Coming...
In October I was approached by Yellow Duck Productions to help with an episode of their BBC Wales series ‘Coming Home’. I was to conduct research into the wartime service of William Fry, a miner from...
View ArticleFollowing in the footsteps of the 9th Battalion Rifle Brigade at the Battle...
Earlier this month having spent a few days recceing sites and walks for upcoming trips I spent a day showing a client, Tony Wright, around the Arras battlefields following in the footsteps of his great...
View ArticleWalking in the footsteps – the satisfaction of a bespoke battlefield tour
The internet is a wonderful thing; for anyone interested in a certain battalion or unit it is now possible to hammer a few key words into a search engine and find all sorts of information about their...
View ArticleAudio recordings of tunneller, 256302 Sapper Fred Brown, 251 Tunnelling...
Fred’s annotated map showing mining areas along the British Front. 251TC’s area around Cuinchy is circled. In May 1915 Fred Brown enlisted as a private soldier in the 18th Battalion Royal Fusiliers at...
View ArticleWith the Canadians around the Somme, Vimy and Arras
The maple leaf adorns Canadian graves I recently returned from a fantastic three day trip guiding two Canadian gentlemen, Mark Sadler and Bill Teed around the Somme and Arras. Based in Arras at the...
View ArticleFollowing the 10th Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment around Arras
I recently led a one day trip to the Arras battlefields for three generations of a soldier’s family (nephew, great-nephew and great-great nephew). I had been asked to research the actions of Private...
View ArticleLecture at Dunham Massey Hall – National Trust property
Earlier this autumn I spoke to the staff and volunteers at Dunham Massey Hall, a National Trust property in Cheshire. I had been approached some months before to help with their ambitious First World...
View ArticleDid the media miss the important bit? The online release of First World War...
This week has seen the much awaited launch of the National Archives First World War diaries online from series WO95. For those of us who spend their time at Kew it is a welcome relief to have these...
View ArticlePreview of ‘War of Words – Soldier-Poets of the Somme’ at Bristol’s Watershed...
I spent much of 2013 working as historical consultant for the upcoming BBC Two documentary ‘War of Words – Soldier Poets of the Somme’. A special preview is being shown as part of Bristol 2014 at the...
View ArticleBBC Two documentary ‘War of Words – Soldier Poets of the Somme’
I have recently received the TX card for the upcoming BBC Arts documentary ‘War of Words – Soldier Poets of the Somme’. It will be shown on BBC Two on Saturday 15 November at 9.45pm. The 90 minute...
View ArticleResearching the war service of David Emanuel’s grandfather, John Leslie...
In June I spent a day in Merthyr Tydfil filming with Yellow Duck Productions for their hit BBC Wales genealogy programme, ‘Coming Home’. Having worked with Yellow Duck on a previous series I was asked...
View ArticleWorking with ex-service personnel for ‘The Fresh Air Hut’ at Dunham Massey...
In January I was invited to speak to a group of ex-service personnel who were working with the Military Veterans’ Service. Offering psychological therapy the Military Veterans’ Service provides help to...
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