Great War News

News, gossip, rumour, on the subject of the Great War.  Latest news first.

21st March, 2007
The site welcomes its two-millionth visitor..

10th December, 2006
Mr. Moses Hardy, believed to have been the second-oldest man in the world and America's last black Great War veteran, died on Thursday, December 7th.  He would have been 114 on January 6th.

7th December, 2006
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has announced that the Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, will be closed in January 2007 for ten weeks to allow the Commission to carry out essential maintenance to the memorial’s twenty-one flat roofs. The Visitor Centre will remain open.

14th November, 2006

An appalling theft of a War memorial.  In the early hours of this morning, thieves used an angle-grinder to remove the bronze figure from the Bedworth (Warwickshire) South African War Memorial. The figure is 5 feet (1.5 m) in height and depicts an infantryman wearing a British Army uniform worn in the Boer War between 1899 and 1902. Just days before the theft, the memorial was the focal point of remembrance ceremonies attended by some 5,000 people. The figure was presumably stolen for the value of the bronze of which it is made. Police are investigating and studying television images from security cameras. Scrap metal dealers have been asked to inform police should they be offered  an unusually large quantity of bronze.

10th November, 2006
It is reported that Maurice Noël Floquet (born December 25, 1894) died last night.  M. Floquet was France's oldest surviving veteran of the Great War. He was also, at the age of 111, believed to be France's longest-lived soldier ever. Moreover, he was France's oldest living man and France's oldest verified man ever.

M. Floquet joined the army in 1914 and was wounded several times.  His death leaves four remaining French veterans still living.

8th November, 2006
Last night, the British Parliament passed an amendment to the Armed Forces Bill which will grant pardons to the 306 soldiers executed for desertion and related offences.  The pardons do not cancel the mens' convictions or sentences. The government says the intention is intended to remove the dishonour of execution.  The new law does not apply to those executed for murder.

15th August, 2006
The family of Pte. Harry Farr, from Kensington, west London, who was executed for cowardice in 1916, have today announced that he is to be pardoned. Pte Farr's granddaughter said lawyers had told them of the decision. They had been appealing against a High Court decision not to grand a posthumous conditional pardon.

His family had always argued that the soldier, of the 1st Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment, was suffering from shell shock at the time.

The Ministry of Defence refused to confirm the news, but said an announcement on the matter would be made on Wednesday morning.

23rd August, 2004
Australian WW1 veteran Marcel Caux (it is believed he may have fought under the name of Harold Katte) died in a Sydney nursing home aged 105 on Saturday 21 August 2004. He kept his WW1 involvement a secret for years, up until 1998, when he was awarded the Legion of Honour. ( It was reported in the papers that he had asked the Australian governerment to place an embargo on his war records, and also that he had destroyed all his WW1 photographs and documents).

Mr. Caux joined the AIF aged 16 in 1915 telling the Army he was 18.  He was wounded three times. His death leaves only four known surviving Great War ex-servicemen in Australia.  Thanks to Pete Mcgraw for sending details.

23rd June, 2004
Sad news from Bruce Robb.  WW1 digger Ted Smout died today, aged 106. His passing leaves only five surviving Australian Great War veterans.

13th June, 2004
I'm grateful to Bruce Cane for letting me know that the "History of the Canadian Expeditionary Force" by Col. G.W.L. Nicolson is available in digitized form.

21st May, 2004
I'm grateful to Elizabeth Pidgeon for informing me that Charles Bean’s "Official History of Australia in the war of 1914–1918" has now been digitised and is available on the Australian War Memorial website.  This monumental work is almost universally referred to whenever Australia's contribution to the war is considered and it's good to have it immediately available via the Internet.

20th May, 2004
The Royal British Legion Somme Branch is holding a formal, black-tie Somme Ball on the evening of 30th June, 2004 at the Hotel Mercure, Arras. Non-members are invited to attend and one of the attendance options is by coach, leaving the UK on 30th July and taking in the ball and all the important 1st July ceremonies the next day before returning to the UK in the evening. A ticket to the ball only costs £27.50.  A ticket to the ball and B&B accommodation at the hotel for one night is £49.00 per person.  The coach package including coach travel, two lunches, the Somme Ball and accommodation is £80.00 per person for Legion Members and £85.00 per person for non-members. Further information is available from chairman@rblsomme.org

3rd April, 2004
I have heard that Mr. Arthur Halestrap died in his sleep last night, aged 106.  Mr. Halestrap was very highly respected within the Great War Community, as a veteran, of course, but also a a charming man and a riveting speaker, who will be sadly missed.

30th January, 2004

Today I heard of the death of former Lance Corporal James Lovell MM, who died at his home in Bristol two weeks before his 105th birthday. He was believed to be Britain's last surviving holder of a Great War gallantry medal.  He served with the 8th Berkshires, and won his MM in the German Spring Offensive in the Somme in 1918. Mr Lovell, a retired blacksmith, was awarded his MM for protecting a lieutenant from enemy fire by flanking him as he travelled along battlefield lines at the Somme to his base.   He signed up in 1915, lying about his age, to enter the 8th Royal Berkshire Regiment and join his two older brothers. I am grateful to Owen Pearce, of Cardiff, for sending me these details.

10th January, 2004
Today I learned from Dwight Pruitt that Albert Pugh, the last known combat-wounded US veteran of the Great War, died last Wednesday, 7th January.  Mr. Pugh, who often told visitors the key to a long life is "keep breathing,"  died just 10 days short of his 109th birthday.  He joined the Army in 1917 and fought in France with the 77th Infantry Division. In 1918, he was wounded during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, one of the war's bloodiest battles.

7th January, 2004
I'm grateful to Terry Carter for pointing out  a "Birmingham Evening Mail" report announcing the death of Mr. Jasper Hankinson, today. Mr Hankinson, at 107, was the second oldest known survivor of the Great War and the only surviving member of the London Scottish to have taken part in the war.  He served on the Western Front, Greece and Palestine, where, in 1917, he was present at the British Army's last-ever cavalry charge.

27th December, 2003
It has been reported that the eminent Great War historian John Terraine died this morning.  John Terraine was a leading figure in developing the resurgence of interest in the Great War over the past few decades. His was an important voice.

1st September, 2003

Today I received news of a new Western Front Memorial to be unveiled on December 13th, 2003.  The Memorial, a bronze plaque, will be fixed to the wall of a cottage in the hamlet of St Yvon, near Ypres. The cottage is the post-war replacement for the building which originally stood there, and it was in that original building that Bruce Bairnsfather, a young officer serving in the 1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, drew the first cartoons in a series which would make him famous as the creator of the immortal "Old Bill" character. "Old Bill," with his walrus moustache and droll, resigned sense of humour, became an icon of the war, and was used as a morale-booster by the French, American and Italian forces as well as by the British. Even after the war, when many people wanted to think about other things, "Old Bill" lived on.

There were plays, films, books and lecture-tours by Bairnsfather to keep his memory alive. But apart from this place in people's folk-memory of the war, there is no Western Front memorial either to "Old Bill" or to his creator.  This omission will be remedied later this year thanks to the efforts of Tonie and Valmai Holt of "Major and Mrs. Holt's Battlefield Guide" fame. They have enlisted the support of various people and authorities and the plaque will be unveiled according to the following timetable:

From 31st October, 2003
Exhibitions of  items from the the Holts's extensive Bairnsfather collection at the "In Flanders Fields" museum, Ypres and in the archives of the Historical Society at the Town Hall, Warneton.

13th December 2003
10.30 - Rededication of the "Khaki Chums" Christmas Truce Cross.
11.00 - Unveiling of the plaque on the cottage st St Yvon including short addresses by T and V Holt and a representative of Warneton Town Council. Also in attendance will be the  Last Post buglers who play each month at the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing, plus the Regimental Mascot and other representatives of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (the descendants of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Association. There will also be a blessing by the Rev. Ray Jones of St. George's Memorial Church, and the laying of wreaths.
18.00 - Lecture by T and V Holt on Bairnsfather in the Cloth Halls.
20.00 - Special "Last Post" at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing. 

During the weekend, Bairnsfather's film, "Carry on Sergeant!" will be shown in Ypres.

20th July, 2003
Today, Britain's oldest surviving First World War veteran, Jack Davies, died at the age of 108.  Mr. Davis served in 6th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. He died peacefully at a nursing home in Stoke Hammond, Buckinghamshire.

23rd June, 2003
I have learned from Bruce Cane that the National Archives of Canada has just, within the past few days, posted digitized copies of war diaries on their web site. The postings include the war diaries themselves and their appendices, which often are more important than the diary because they can contain detailed operational reports. It appears as though, for now, digital images are available only for the units that fought with the Canadian Corps (as opposed to C.E.F. units that fought or operated outside of the Corps or were disbanded in Britain).

This is a tremendous resource for anyone trying to trace the movements, history, and happenings of Canadian units that took the field. Click here to go to the unit diaries search page.

8th June, 2003
Today, "Hellfire Corner" received its 1,000,000th visitor.  Thanks go to all authors, supporters and visitors who have helped make this achievement possible.

22nd April, 2003
The following pictures show Chief of Staff of  Task Force Tarawa, Colonel Smoot, inspecting the neglected British Cemetery at Kut, to assess the needs for repair. This is one of 16 cemeteries and memorials remaining in Iraq from the Great War. I am most grateful to Patrick Mooney (whose brother sent  him the pictures) for permission to place them here.

The cemetery suffered considerable damage and the location of an Iraqi HQ immediately adjacent to the site was primarily responsible, though it appears that NO graves were disturbed other than broken stones, etc. Task Force Tarawa, comprising 2nd and 8th Marine Regiments, is undertaking the clean up, and restoration of Kut CWGC Cemetery as an immediate act of homage for their own casualties. When volunteers were requested for extra duty to clean up and square away the cemetery, they were flooded with names and had to set up a rotating duty roster for the brigade.

9th March, 2003
More news on the subject of veterans. Thanks to Terry Denham I learn that today's "Sunday Times" carries a report that
a final reunion of British WW1 survivors is to be held at the Public Record Office on April 8th. Fifteen survivors aged between 102 and 108 are due to attend. The report says that there are only 37 survivors remaining. The plan includes the making of a film to be used in schools.  The report also mentions some of the men who will be attending: Albert Marshall (105) Last cavalryman who saw horseback action (Essex Yeomanry & 19th Hussars at Loos); Conrad Leonard (102) Last officer and Jack Davis (108) Britain's oldest man. The report also says that seven veterans have died so far this year.

6th March, 2003
The last Canadian infantry soldier to survive the First World War battle of Vimy Ridge has died. Charles Reaper of Winnipeg died Saturday, 28th February. He was 103. Three other survivors of Vimy Ridge are still alive, but they were not with the infantry.  Mr.Reaper, who was born in Scotland, enlisted as a teenager. I am grateful yet again to Ann Tallis for sending this information.

24th February, 2003
More news on the subject of Music related to the Great War:

28 May at St. John's Chapel, Belper, (Info: 01773 822 116) - "Peace Concerts Passendale" - Coope Boyes & Simpson will be talking about and singing some of the songs they have written for the Flemish arts organisation Peace Concerts Passendale. See www.coopeboyesandsimpson.co.uk for more information on Peace Concerts Passendale and the work they have commissioned from the trio.

8 June at St Margarets Parish Church, Ditchling, Sussex 6.30 pm - (Tickets & Info: 01273 844744) - "In Flanders Fields" Coope Boyes & Simpson's words and music performance forms part of a season on the poet and writer, David Jones who lived in Ditchling and whose work was greatly influenced by his experiences in the First War.

17th February, 2003
Late last week, newspapers in New Zealand announced the death of Mr. Bright Ernest Williams, in the eastern coastal city of Hastings.  Mr. Williams, who died one week short of his 106th birthday, was believed to be be the last living survivor of the more than 100,000 New Zealand troops who fought in the war.

13th February, 2003
From Ann Tallis again, I learn that Dr. Arthur Bennet Manson has died, just short of his 104th birthday. He was one of Canada's remaining Great War veterans. Now just eleven are believed to be still alive. He was in the 2nd Brigade, Canadian Garrison Artillery and "never pulled a trigger." But he played golf and drove a car until he was 92, and had a leg amputated at 102. He also served in WW2 in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

7th February, 2003
Ann Tallis has let me know of the death of  former Lance Corporal Iden Herbert Baldwin, age 105, a veteran of Vimy Ridge,  who died last Friday, 31st January. The death of Mr. Baldwin reduces to 12 the number of  Surviving Great War veterans veterans known to be living in Canada.

2nd February, 2003
Today, in  a posting to an Internet Discussion Forum, Aurel Sercu of "The Diggers" (the group of amateur archaeologists working in the Ypres area) announced that he has been carrying out research on 6322 Pte. John Condon, Royal Irish Regiment.  According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Pte. Condon is buried in Poelkapelle British Cemetery and was the youngest known British soldier to be killed in battle during the war.  His gravestone  (Plot LVI, Row F, Grave 8) gives his age as 14 years.

Mr Sercu says that the main conclusions of his research indicate that:

1. The soldier buried in the grave marked by John Condon's gravestone is not John Condon.
2. It is possible to identify the soldier who is buried in the grave "with almost absolute certainty."
3. The place where John Condon is buried - if he was - can be considered as unknown.
4. There are very serious reasons to believe that John Condon, when he fell, was not 14, but (almost) 18.

Mr. Sercu gives no further details and says that he has decided to make public this partial announcement of his findings because he suspects that someone else who knew about his research was about to give details via the Internet.

8th January, 2003
Today I learned that Henry John Lawrence Botterell, perhaps the last remaining First World War fighter pilot, has died at the age of 106. Mr. Botterell died last Friday, January 3rd., at a nursing home in Toronto.

As a 20-year-old bank clerk, Henry Botterell joined the Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) in 1916. When he died, the Department of Veterans' Affairs believed he was the last surviving pilot in the world to have seen action in the Great War.

Mr. Botterell hardly had a graceful takeoff as a pilot, crashing at Dunkirk on his second flight when his engine failed in September 1917.  After six months in hospital, he was discharged and sent back to Canada. He re-enlisted and joined the 208th Squadron of the RNAS, where he served from May 11 to Nov. 27, 1918. He never flew again after he returned to Canada.  He brought home a fence post that was caught in the wing of a Sopwith Camel he flew on a low-level sortie. The souvenir now rests at the National War Museum in Ottawa.

15th November, 2002
Hedley Malloch informs us that, according to the November edition of  "The News" - France's English Language newspaper - The French Ministry of Defence has ruled that the planned factory to destroy gas shells from the Great War will be at Mailly le Camp in the Aube, about 30 miles north of Troyes, in Champagne-Ardennes. The commune is already the site of a big military establishment.. The project has been on hold since the EC stopped the French Government from blowing up the shells in the Baie de Seine in 1994.

As a result of the delay there is now an accumulated stock of 250 tonnes. Each year sees another 25 tons gathered from the old battlefields. Three companies are competing to provide the necessary machinery. They propose three different methods - crushing, burning them in a furnace or dissolving them in nitric acid. In all three cases the destructive process will be handled entirely by machine. The plant is intended to be operational by 2007 and will be required for 30 years.

The Mayor of Mailly le Camp expressed surprise that the project was planned well away from the area where the shells were being found, bearing in mind that the biggest danger was transport. He has been informed that transport is to take place in special armoured lorries capable of withstanding an explosion. The choice of the site is judged to be politically shrewd one: just about everyone in the commune depends on the Army for a living.

11th November, 2002
Christmas Truce" Concerts, 2002.
This year, there will be further performances of this excellent concert, featuring Coope, Boyes and Simpson, Ray Hearne, Janet Russell and the Roses and Thorns Choir. Details are as follows:

Friday 15 November, 7.30pm, Holy Trinity Church, Boar Lane, Leeds
Tickets and information 0113 274 1967

Saturday 16 November, 7.30pm, Memorial Hall, Dent, Cumbria
Tickets and information 015396 21166

Sunday 17 November, 4pm, The Platform, Old Station Building, Morecambe
Tickets and information 01524 582803

For my review of the original performance and the accompanying CD, see the "Bookshelf" pages.

30th October, 2002
This year there will be a service of Remembrance at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing on November 11th.  After many years of attending the Memorial on November 11th and finding many British visitors but no "British" service of Remembrance, three friends (Derek Heaney, Douglas Meney and Colin Schofield) have organised a service for this year in the hope that it will become an annual event.  They say, "This is for those who attend each year expecting something and finding nothing."

18th October, 2002
Today I learned of a forthcoming exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' - A major exhibition, the largest of its kind ever mounted, will illustrate the life & work of 12 First World War poets. Owen, Sassoon, Graves, Thomas, Sorley, Ledwidge, Rosenberg, Grenfell, Brooke, Gurney, Blunden & David Jones.
31 October 2002 to 27 April 2003 at The Imperial War Museum. Admission £5.00. Thanks to Bradley Omanson (Poetry of the First World War website) for this information.

6th October, 2002
I'm grateful to Rob Black for the news that the remains of a soldier have been discovered at Pozieres, Somme, France, on 28th September. Partial remains were found, together with some items of equipment and personal effects including the soldier's rifle and pencil. It appears that there has been some damage to the site due to mechanical diggers, but the remains which were found were enough to identify the soldier as British and he will be re-buried in a Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in due course. Rob has also heard that the remains of a German soldier were found just a few metres away last month, and these remains are now in the care of the German war graves authority.

4th October, 2002
At the Menin Gate in Ypres this evening, I learned from Jacky Platteeuw that arrangements have been made for the funerals of two British soldiers whose remains were found recently.  Both soldiers are unidentified and both will be buried on 17th October.  The first, found by The Diggers at Boesinghe, will be buried in Cement House Cemetery at 14:00 and the second will be buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery at 14:45.  This soldier was found close to the cemetery, by a local farmer.

21st September, 2002
Joan Littlewood, one of the most innovative directors in British theatre, died in her sleep last night at the age of 87. Her theatre company, Theatre Workshop, achieved many notable successes, the most famous of which was "Oh! What a Lovely War" in 1963.  For many people of my generation, this was an important introduction to the history of the Great War.  As the philosopher Bertrand Russell said, "It brought war to within our grasp, which is immensely difficult."

18th September, 2002
Greg Lewis of South Wales has let me know of the death of Hubert Williams, aged 106.  Mr. Williams died in Cardiff on the 13th. As well as being Britain's oldest man, Mr. Williams was also the last known member of the Royal Flying Corps. He originally enlisted in the Glamorgan Regiment in November, 1915, just after his 20th birthday and went on to serve on the Western Front and in Salonika with the Gloucestershire Regiment. He served in the Second World War with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Of the Great War he once said, "World War 1 was very severe.  You had to give yourself to the war and didn't believe you'd ever come back again."

30th July, 2002
Thanks to Ann Tallis for bringing to my attention newspaper reports stating that French Transport Minister Gilles de Robien has announced the proposal to construct an airport on the Somme battlefields will be scrapped. The airport, had it been constructed, would have obliterated villages and military cemeteries in the area.  The announcement was made at the weekend, but mooted by M. De Robien before the recent French general elections. M. De Robien is reported to be preparing to start the whole process from scratch, beginning with a consideration of France's future airport needs.

21st June, 2002
This year's Passchendaele Peace Concert - "Seeds of Peace" - will take place in Tyne Cot Cemetery, Passchendaele, on 24th August, 2002. This will be the 10th Anniversary Concert.  For those wishing to attend there is no need to book as admission is free, and the the concert will feature the voices of June Tabor (UK); Coope Boyes & Simpson (UK); Bram Vermeulen (Hol); Willem Vermandere (Bel); Patrick Riguelle (Bel); Koen De Cauter (Bel)and Thomas Friz (Ger).  These artists will be united by the music of Une Anche Passe (Fra) and The Peace Concerts String Quartet (Bel) The Concert's Musical Director is Laurent Audemard (Fra).

21st June 2002
Brian Buck, Secretary of the Norwich and Waveney Branch of the Western Front Association, tells me that the four East Anglia branches of the Western Front Association will be organising this year's National Seminar on September 7th, at the University of East Anglia. The speakers will be; Prof. Peter Simkins, Simon Moody, Jonathan Walker and Taff Gillingham and the Khaki Chums.  Taff and the Chums will be familiar to "Hellfire Corner" visitors through their excellent "Christmas Truce" articles. For further information and booking details visit:

http://212.67.202.71/~johnwhal/wfamemb/seminar.htm

20th June, 2002
Thanks to Sidney Allinson, I learned that two soldiers who died in the First World War were finally laid to rest today after their bodies were discovered during an archaeological dig.

The remains of Pt Archibald McMillan, 27, and Cpl William Gunn, 37, who died 85 years ago on the first day of the Battle of Arras, were interred with full military honours at the Point du Jour military cemetery in northern France.

Both men were members of the 15th battalion of The Royal Scots, and were identified by dog tags after their skeletons were found in a shell hole by a French archaeologist looking for Roman remains.

Cpl Gunn's family, originally from Edinburgh, could not be traced, but three generations of Pt McMillan's family - his son, granddaughter and great-grandson - attended the service. His 87-year-old son, also Archibald - who was two at the time of the battle on April 9, Easter Monday, 1917 - sat on a bench during the ceremony before laying a wreath. Helen Weir, his daughter, and her 11-year-old son Jamie, stood beside him.

Mr McMillan said: "It was a great occasion. I can't remember my father and I never knew a lot about him, but it was a relief to be able to lay him to rest."

The two coffins, draped in the Union flag, were carried by soldiers based at Dreghorn Barracks, Edinburgh, and Brig. Roy Ratazzi, the military attache from the British Embassy in Paris, laid flowers.

Villagers and local officials from the nearby village of Athies, 80 miles north of Paris, also attended. Many of the 750 white headstones in the cemetery are unmarked.

The remains of another three soldiers, who were found during the dig but whose identities could not be established, will be buried in a separate ceremony.

15th June, 2002
According to today's newspapers here in the UK, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed  that John Kipling, the son of the British author Rudyard Kipling, is buried in St. Mary's Advanced Dressing Station Cemetery at Haisnes, France. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission originally assigned this identification to what had previously been an "unknown" burial, in 1992. However there were doubts about the validity of the identification, mostly from the authors Tonie and Valmai Holt, who discuss the matter in their book "My boy Jack?"

The Ministry of Defence spokesman quoted in "The Times" newspaper today admitted that there were some anomalies but said, "As far as it is possible to tell, the person buried in that grave is Lieutenant Kipling."

John Kipling was killed, aged 18, during the Battle of Loos in 1915, and his father spent much of the remainder of his life searching for his son's grave.

21st March, 2002
Latest news on the controversial plans to extend the A19 Motorway across the Pilckem Ridge battlefield near Ypres. The Flemish Minister of the Interior has decided that some inquiries and research must be done to consider protecting the whole site of Pilckem Ridge. This job will be undertaken by the Institute for the Archaeological Patrimony concerning archaeology, and a team of international military historians concerning the history. Afterwards,  having considered the reports of both teams, the Minister will decide as to whether or not it is necessary to protect the area.  Thanks to Jacky Platteeuw for this news.

17th March, 2002
Charlotte Cardoen-Descamps, of Varlet Farm, Poelkapelle, tells me that today there were TV news reports about 500 Great War shells which have been discovered in France at Bogny-sur-Meuse, a village about 20 km from the border with Belgium.  The shells were discovered last September during work to expand an industrial zone, and today's news item concerned arrangements for their removal. The shells are filled with Mustard Gas and they appear to have been placed as a stockpile for future use, as they have no fuses fitted, which means they can't explode, although they are still considered very dangerous. Having cleared a 400-metre safety zone, experts loaded the shells on to trucks and took them away to Metz, where the French Army has a facility which is able to deal with them.

25th February, 2002
BBC2 PROGRAMME 'THE FORGOTTEN BATTLEFIELD'
For the last 18 months the BBC and "The Diggers" have been busy preparing a documentary about the site of Boezinge near Ypres. The result of that work can be seen in a special  'Meet the Ancestors'  programme called "The Forgotten Battlefield" on Wednesday 6th of  March at 09.00 pm (10.00 CET) on BBC2.

22nd February, 2002
Passendale Peace Concerts - 10th Anniversary
Anyone familiar with the Passendale Peace Concerts might like to know  that on 24th August, 2002, Peace Concerts Passendale / Vredesconcerten Passendale will be holding a Tenth Anniversary Concert at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Passendale, Flanders, Belgium. To mark their tenth anniversary, Peace Concerts Passendale will be presenting an outdoor performance featuring many of the musicians who have been associated with Peace Concerts over the years, including June Tabor, Willem Vermandere, Coope Boyes & Simpson, Une Anche Passe, Koen De Cauter and Patrick Riguel. Performance starts 4pm .Entry Free.  Information may be obtained from :

www.zonnebeke.be

Zonnebeke Cuture and Tourism Service / Dienst Cultuur en Toerisme,
Ieperstraat 5,
Zonnebeke

Tel 00 32 (0)51 77 04 41
Fax 00 32(0)51 78 07 50
e-mail: cultuur.zonnebeke@belgacom.net

12th December, 2001
From Ann Tallis in Canada I learned today that the Canadian Government says that although it is sorry that 23 Canadians who volunteered to fight in the First World War were executed for cowardice or desertion, it won't grant them pardons. Minister of Veterans Affairs Ronald Duhamel told the House of  Commons on Tuesday that 23 soldiers in the Canadian Expeditionary Force were "lawfully executed."  He added that the Government wanted to recognize them as young men who had volunteered to take their place among the nearly  650,000 Canadians who fought in the war, and that their names would be added to the First World War Book of Remembrance.

23rd October, 2001
Rather unusual news came in today!
Two railway locomotives which were lost with the ship carrying them to the Western Front, have been discovered 150 feet down on the bed of the Atlantic Ocean. The 100-year-old locomotives, built in Leeds, are the only two remaining examples of their type. There are plans to raise them and eventually to put them on display in a museum. The locomotives were sunk while being shipped to France in 1917. "Grenville" and "Torridge" were working on the Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway when they were requisitioned by the Government in 1916.  "Gotterdammerung," the ship carrying them, was torpedoed at the entrance to the Bristol Channel and its wreck was found off the coast of North Cornwall.

17th October, 2001
Once again Jacky Platteeuw sends details of a forthcoming military funeral in the Ypres area. Jacky has learned that Private Harry Wilkinson, Lancashire Fusiliers, found at the end of 1999 near Warneton, is to be reburied on the 31st October 2001 at Prowse Point Military Cemetery Warneton at 11a.m. 

14th October, 2001
It is reported today that the remains of a British soldier have been found near Arras, by the same team which found the remains of 24 soldiers in a trench-grave in June.

In the case of this body there is strong evidence of identification present in the form of a non-standard metal identity disc, partly corroded, but still clear enough to suggest that the soldier is Corporal William Gunn of the Royal Scots. He was born in Edinburgh and died on April 9th, 1917, the first day of the Battle of Arras. Preliminary observation suggests that Cpl. Gunn was killed by a shell, as the left arm is broken and two shell-fragments were found inside the skeleton. The remains have now being examined by forensic anthropologist Dr. Margaret Cox and, if the Commonwealth War Graves Commission accepts the evidence of identity, they will begin the process of locating relatives so that a proper funeral can be arranged.

27th September, 2001
It was announced today that the North American Pipe Bands Association has invited all pipers in the world to honour the victims of the 11th September attacks.  Answering this invitation, a short, unofficial Service of Remembrance is scheduled for 11th October, 2001 at 11.00 a.m. at the American Memorial at Vierstraat.  The memorial is sitiuated on the road from Ieper (Ypres) to Kemmel. Everyone is invited to join this moment of Remembrance.

25th September, 2001
From Jacky Platteeuw in Ypres comes news of two more burial ceremonies about to take place in war cemeteries in the Ypres Salient.

On Thursday 27th  of September 9 French soldiers of the Great War will be reburied at St. Charles de Potyze Cemetery. The ceremony starts at 2.00 pm.

On Tuesday 2nd  of October several British fallen of the Great War will be reburied at Cement House Cemetery. The ceremony is scheduled to start around 11.30 am.

"Christmas Truce"  Concerts - Autumn, 2001
A couple of years ago my wife and I went to Belgium a few days after Christmas to attend a concert at Dixmuide, near Ypres.  The concert - a words and music presentation - was a collaboration between the British a capella singers Coope, Boyes and Simpson and the Flemish choir "Wak Maar Proper" based in Dixmuide, on the subject of the Christmas Truce of 1914. We found the performances stunning and I revieved the resulting CD in my "bookshelf" section.  British visitors to Hellfire Corner might like to know that there will be some performances of the concert here in the UK this autumn, some with the original Flemish choir and some with local choirs. There are also performances of Coope, Boyes and Simpson's "In Flanders Fields". Here are the details:

2 November - Coope Boyes & Simpson and Wak Maar Proper - The Christmas Truce, Farnham Maltings - Tickets and Information 01483 828 452 8pm start £8.50 concessions £5.00

3 November - Coope Boyes & Simpson and Wak Maar Proper - The Christmas Truce, Christ Church, 164 New London Road, Chelmsford - In aid of Amnesty International - £7.50 - Tickets & Information 01245 353 558

8 November - Coope Boyes & Simpson and Roses and Thorns Choir -  The Christmas Truce, as part of Raise Your Banners Festival of Political Song, Hallam University Main Hall, Sheffield - 12 - 1:30pm - Further Information www.ryb.org.co.uk

9 November - Coope Boyes & Simpson, 'In Flanders Fields', Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Altwood Road, Maidenhead, SL6 4PF - Box Office 01628 788997

10 November - Coope Boyes & Simpson and Roses and Thorns Choir -  The Christmas Truce, St Andrews Church, Keighley - Tickets & Info 01535 656 877

11 November - Coope Boyes & Simpson, 'In Flanders Fields', Nealies Pavilion, Milford, Derbys - Tickets & Info 01332 840660, rosietimms@hotmail.com

15 November - Coope Boyes & Simpson and Roses and Thorns Choir - The Christmas Truce, St Peter's Burnley - Tickets & Info 01535 656 877

6th September, 2001
Today at the Perth (China Wall) British Cemetery at Zillebeke, near Ieper, the mortal remains of two British soldiers of the Great War were reburied. They were found during the construction of the Southern Ring Road around Ieper. No full identification has been possible although one soldier was recognised as being from the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the other was partially identified as a Non-Commissioned Officer from a Cavalry Regiment. After a short ceremony the remains were  reburied amongst their comrades. Thanks to Jacky Platteeuw of Ieper for the details and for the pictures below.

6th September, 2001
On the English coast near Southport today, a British bomb-disposal unit blew up over 100 live First World War naval shells which had been found by contractors excavating an old munitions store at Burscough in Lancashire. The largest of the shells was a 16-inch (40.5 cm).

30th August, 2001
Today I learned that the wreck of the British submarine  E16 has been discovered in the North Sea. The remains were found 18 miles off the German coast near Heligoland Island.  The boat, with a crew of 31, is believed to have sunk after hitting a mine on August 22nd, 1916.

The wreck was found by divers making a documentary about wrecks for German television and they have promised to keep its exact location secret to protect it from souvenir-hunters.

25th August, 2001
Another Red Letter Day for Hellfire Corner - this afternoon the site received its 500,000th visitor.

Also today, Raymond Abescat, believed to be the world's oldest Great War veteran, died in France at the age of 109. The former Infantryman, who would have celebrated his 110th birthday on September 20th, died in hospital at Rueil-Malmaison, outside Paris.

He joined the French army in November, 1912 and spend 7 years with an Infantry Regiment. In 1916 he was seriously wounded near Verdun. The number of France's surviving Great War veterans has dropped from about 1,500 to 250 in the last three years, according to the government.

17th July, 2001
Today I learned that the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the body which deals with complaints about material broadcast in the UK, has published its judgement on a complaint brought by "The Diggers" - the licensed battlefield Archaeology group working near Ypres - that the group was unfairly treated in the TV programme "Battlefield Scavengers", broadcast by ITV (LWT) on 12 November 2000.

It its judgement, the Commission gives the opinion that "The Diggers" were unfairly treated by the programme-makers. The judgement says that it was unfair to refer to the group as "scavengers" and that the programme-makers used "colourful but inappropriate exaggeration" in describing the work of "The Diggers." The Commission also found that the programme-makers made implications which were not supported by the evidence.

I have not made any comment on the TV programme in the past because I haven't seen it. I have, however, seen the text of the judgement, which is available online at www.bsc.org.uk/pdfs/fairadj/sercu.htm Further comments will no doubt appear at "The Diggers" site at www.diggers.be

18th June, 2001
Thanks go to John Belcher for alerting me to the fact that BBC Teletext has reported the discovery of the remains of 24 British First World War soldiers on a building site in France. Archaeologists found the skeletons on the 740-acre site of a new BMW car factory between the towns of Saint-Laurent-Blangy and Athies. The remains have been turned over to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for identification. Early reports say that at least some of the soldiers are believed to have been from 10th Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment and that one is believed to be from the Royal Naval Division.

21st May, 2001
Thanks to Mike Johnson of the "Khaki Chums" I have learned of their next project, which is a sponsored march of the Somme area. Heartened by the support they received from the public during and after their "Christmas Truce" stay in the trenches by Ploegsteert at Christmas, 1999, the "Chums  are moving south to the Somme for their next major fundraising event. There could be as many as 30 "Chums" on the march, all portraying members of kilted regiments this time, so if you are in the area between 29th June and 2nd July, and see a column of highlanders swinging along the dusty roads of Picardy, you'll know who they are and can say "hello" to them and perhaps make a contribution to their charity fund, which will aid the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association, St. Dunstan's and the Friends of War Memorials - all excellent causes.

Because the "Chums" will be on the march, it's difficult to say where they will be at any given time, but they will parade at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing for the 11 a.m. service on 1st July.

29th April, 2001
One of the bodies found at the Red Dragon Crater Area in March 2000 (Pte. Clarke, 2nd Bn. The Royal Welch Fusiliers) is to be buried at the Gorre British & Indian  Military Cemetery on Saturday, 26th May, 2001 at 1600. On the same day at Delville Wood a ceremony will be held at 11.00 to commemorate the two Royal Welch Fusiliers VC winners, Cpl.Davies VC and Pte. Hill VC.  Thanks to Dave Davies for supplying this information.

23rd April, 2001
From Jacky Platteeuw in Ypres I learn that the roadworks for the laying of the so-called 'Zuiderring' have started. This section of the Ypres ring-road, south and southeast of the city, will connect the Lille Gate and the roundabout of the 'Kruiskalsijde', better known with by its English name during the Great War: 'Hellfire Corner'.

 It is clear that these roadworks will pass through part of an historically important site. "The Diggers" who have been working at Boesinge with the approval of the local authorities have now been given permission to oversee the Battlefield Archaeology aspects of the Zuiderring project. Finds made during the excavations will be described on "The Diggers" website in due course (There is a link from my "Links" section.)

13th April, 2001
This afternoon the French Government decided to evacuate some 12,500 people living near Vimy because of fears about the safety of artillery and gas shells stored in the open nearby.

About 700 policemen and firefighters went from door to door throughout the two-mile exclusion zone around the stockpile. The main cause for concern is the large number of chemical shells, after a recent survey of the site showed that some of the crates of shells were splitting open. Some 173 tons of bombs, shells and other explosives are stacked at the Vimy depot and there is thought to be a large amount of still-active mustard gas shells in the stockpile.  Mustard gas causes internal bleeding, blindness and slowly destroys victims' lungs.The emergency operation angered many residents, who said they were being rushed out of their homes because authorities had ignored the dangers in the past.``I was told at a quarter to three that I was meant to leave my house at two o'clock,'' one resident said. ``The government has just realized Vimy isn't on the moon and that the dump is dangerous.''Authorities said residents unable to make their own arrangements would be housed in school halls or holiday camps.A first division soccer match between Lens and Troyes on Saturday in the nearby city of Lens was also postponed.``The authorities thought it was too risky to have 40,000 people in the stadium,'' an official at Lens soccer club

Security forces were guarding the zone as specialists in protective clothing started to check the chemical weapons. Local hospitals were put on alert in case of disaster.The Interior Ministry said selected chemical weapons would be moved to another depot by convoy late on Saturday after they had been refrigerated and rendered inert.``This is a serious operation,'' said Interior Minister Daniel Vaillant, who went up to the area to see the situation for himself. ``We cannot exclude further evacuations if the risk level calls for it,'' he told reporters.Unexploded shells dating from World War One are still regularly dug up in the region and brought to Vimy for safe-keeping. The dump held 670 tons of munitions until 1997, when the government decided the site should be closed.Two bomb disposal experts were killed in Vimy in 1998 after one of the shells exploded. My thanks go to my friend David Restione, from the United States, for sending me full details.

20th March, 2001
Due to the threat of Foor-and-Mouth infection, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has decided to close some Cemeteries and Memorials in Belgium until further notice. In general, the closed cemeteries are ones which are approached via farm tracks or which are very close to farms considered at risk. The largest site to be closed is Hill 60. For a full listing of closed cemeteries see the CWGC web-site at www.cwgc.org/  There are also two cemeteries in the UK on the closure list.

14th March, 2001
This afternoon local radio radio in the Ypres area announced that an ammunition store has been found in Poperinge. A while ago a farmer came across some shells which he reported to the Belgian bomb disposal unit based at Houthulst. When they called to collect these shells 0n March 13th  they noticed that there were more shells still in the field. So today they returned  today in order to collect the rest. So far they have unearthed over 500 British WW I shells - believed to be 3-inch Stokes Mortar rounds. It appears there was an ammunition store on that field and according to old people in the neighbourhood it is not unlikely that more of such stores are going to be discovered there. Although this field is situated miles behind the front line, it is clear that it was used to store ammunition during the Great War. This ammunition could then easily be transported up the lines when needed. Thanks to Jackie Platteeuw and Charlotte Catdoen-Descamps for supplying this information.

1st March, 2001
After a relatively quiet New Year period, news reached me today that the Imperial War Museum in London is preparing a new online exhibition, "Gallipoli: The Drama of the Dardanelles."  The exhibition is the product of a Joint Australian War Memorial/Imperial War Museum Battlefield Study Tour of Gallipoli in September 2000 and is probably the most detailed examination of the Gallipoli Campaign to appear on the World Wide Web so far. It includes contributions from some of the world's leading experts on the campaign including Ashley Ekins (AWM) and Nigel Steel & Peter Hart (IWM). There are also contributions from (amongst others) John Lee (the biographer of Sir Ian Hamilton) and Professor Peter Simkins (formerly Senior Historian at the IWM), as well as current staff from the two institutions. It combines video, sound, photographs and documents - using them to illustrate and examine many of the key aspects of the campaign.

The site is due to be launched on Friday 2 March and will then be available at:  www.iwm.org.uk/online/gallipoli/index.htm

20th November, 2000
The legacy of the Great War has made itself felt in Niewpoort, Belgium, where subsidence affecting several houses has been attributed to the deterioration of tunnels dug under the town. Preliminary investigations suggest that the extent of the tunnelling in the area was far greater than had previously been thought.

26th October, 2000
Jacky Platteeuw of Ypres informs me that today 12 unknown soldiers have been reburied at Cement House Cemetery Langemark Belgium. Amongst them 2 officers, 1 unknown and 1 from the Yorks & Lancashire Regiment, and 10 soldiers some unknown from The Rifle Brigade, Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Fusiliers and Lancashire Fusiliers. About 150 people attended the ceremony conducted by the Reverend Raymond Jones of St. Georges Memorial Church in Ypres. After a few prayers and accompanied by the sound of the Last Post the soldiers were laid to rest in their graves.

26th October, 2000
Workmen laying gas pipes in a street in Arras, Northern France, have discovered a flight of steps going under the ground. At the bottom of the steps they found a  tunnel in the chalk leading to a British Field Hospital which has remained undisturbed since it was abandoned in 1917. The hospital, big enough to cater for 800 casualties, was abandoned after only three days use when a shell caved in part of the roof. The original signs are still on the walls, along with graffiti scribbled on the walls by soldiers. No doubt there will be a great deal of news about this find in the next few months.

11th October, 2000
News reached me today that the New Zealand Government has passed an Act which pardons all the New Zealand soldiers executed by firing squad during the Great War. I believe the legislation originated in a Bill presented by Mark Peck MP which was given Royal Assent on 14th September.

10th October, 2000
Today's newspapers and television news bulletins reported that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission gardeners who feel threatened by a recalculation of their allowances are considering legal action.

6th October, 2000
The day before yesterday, Wednesday, 4th October, a collector of Great War artillery shells was killed when a live shell exploded as he was trying to unscrew its fuse at his home in Esen, near Dixmuide. The resulting fire caused further explosions as it reached the large numbers of live shells stored at the collector's home.

20th September, 2000
Via a message from Taff Gillingham (Khaki Chums) I learned today of a special ceremony due to  take place on Friday, 29th September, at 11.00am in Ipswich Old Cemetery, Suffolk, when a headstone will be unveiled on the grave of  Sam Harvey VC (Ist Battalion York & Lancs Regiment.) Sam Harvey was awarded the VC for carrying bombs across No-Man's Land near Loos for 14 hours, before being shot in the head, on 29th September, 1915.  He survived this wound and died in Ipswich, aged 79, in 1960. There was never any headstone or memorial placed on his grave but now, and thanks to the Suffolk Branch of the Western Front Association, this will be put right on the 85th anniversary of his act of valour. All welcome.

15th September, 2000
News has reached me that there will be another "unidentified" burial later this month. The burial will take place at Cement House Cemetery, in the old Ypres Salient, on 23rd September at 2.00 p.m. Although the soldier to be buried is unidentified by name, it has been possible to identify him as a member of the Durham Light Infantry.

5th September, 2000
Today I noticed that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web-site at www.cwgc.org has two statements concerning the news referred to in the item below this one. One statement gives an assurance about the continuance of high standards of care for graves, cemeteries and memorials, while the other paints a different picture of the "cuts" issue.  It says that "recalculation" of allowances will apply to all employees, not just to gardeners, that some employees will receive increases in their allowances and that the amounts quoted in the British media were extreme examples.  The statement adds that only the cost-of-living part of the allowance will be affected, and not the parts allowed for accommodation or schooling for children in the UK.

31st August, 2000
The news broke yesterday that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is planning to "recalculate" the overseas allowance paid to its British gardeners working overseas. The allowance is paid on top of their basic salary, and is intended to cover costs such as accommodation and the cost of keeping their children at school in the UK. The decision affects 77 gardeners, mainly working in Northern France and Belgium, who work in cemeteries themselves and also help train local workers.

One of the men affected by the proposals, a worker in cemeteries near Ypres, is reported as saying that, as he has three children to support, the £450.00 per month pay cut he is facing would force him out of a job and back to England.

The Transport and General Workers Union plans to appeal to government ministers if the Committee doesn't change its mind.

7th August, 2000
There is a suggestion that the remains of a British soldier, possibly a Lancashire Fusilier, have been found near the Sunken Lane at Beaumont Hamel, Somme, France. This is one of the most tragic spots on the whole of the "First day of the Somme" battlefields, where men of the Lancashire Fusiliers waited to attack on 1st July, 1916.

30th July, 2000
Today the new memorial to the Liverpool Scottish was inaugurated near Railway Wood, Ypres, Belgium.

28th June, 2000
Advance notice for 1st July, 2000, when, at 12.a.m. the "Friends of War Memorials" organisation will be holding their annual Act of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, in London's Whitehall. The event was very well supported last year with VIPs and a 103 year old veteran in attendance. The Khaki Chums - well known to readers of these pages - provided a Guard of Honour - Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine on the Cenotaph (all in Great War uniform), plus a large contingent of soldiers of the Empire too.

Besides the wreath-laying, there is the opportunity for children (and adults) to lay a carpet of laurel leaves on the Cenotaph in memory of all the lives lost. For the many people who cannot travel across to France for the 1st, this is an ideal focus for remembrance. Everyone is made more than welcome.

20th June, 2000
Further developments in the story of  Pte. George Nugent (Tyneside Scottish)  who was found 80 years after his death on the Somme in 1916. John Brandon writes on his part in the discovery and John Sheen writes on how he assisted in the identification.

10th April, 2000
Today I read in the newspaper that the New Zealand Government has decided to grant pardons to the five New Zealand soldiers executed for desertion or insubordination during the Great War.  The reason for the decision, according to the report, is that in all cases there is evidence that the victims were suffering from what later came to be known as shell-shock - something which was not taken into account at the times of their trials.

23rd March, 2000
The classic Western Front "accident waiting to happen" happened today, when a shell taken from the battlefields by a collector detonated as he was trying to remove the nose-cap. This happened in the village of Langemark, near Ypres. Fortunately, the explosive in the shell flashed and burned, rather than exploding, but the results were still serious and the 73 year-old collector suffered punctured lungs caused by the fragments. He was taken to hospital and is expected to survive. The warning is clear - never touch any unexploded material found on the battlefield.

15th March, 2000
From Luc Deprez in Belgium:
The remains of two German soldiers were found this morning. They died during the final advance of 1918. The remains were found just south of the Menin Road/Beselare-Wervik crossroads (in German : the ill-famous "Deimlingsecke"), during road-works (enlarging the ditch towards the hamlet of Kruiseke (Kruiseecke)).One was a compete skeleton, and the other just the skull but it's possible that the second skeleton was damaged or scattered by the bulldozer.

It seems that both had been buried (no 'missing in action' cases), as for the one with the complete body, only parts of his boots and his 1916 model steel helmet. were found. No weapons or leather equipment were found.

 As the Kruiseecke cross roads were continuously visited by high ranking officers during the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917 (who did not allow isolated field graves or unburied corpses) and as there were three well-kept German cemeteries very close-by, it was concluded that both were killed in the October battles of 1918. No 'dog-tags' (or "Erkennungsmarken") were found, but a bottle containing a paper. The bottle had been broken by the road workers and the paper was wet and completely rotten, so there is littlepossibility that these soldiers ever may be identified. 

13th March, 2000
From Paul Reed, in France:
The bodies of three British soldiers from the Great War have been found at Givenchy, close to the former location of Red Dragon Crater. The discovery was made during the weekend of 10th March. One body had an identity disk which named him as a Private of the 2nd Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers who fell on 22nd June 1916. On this day the 2nd Bn lost 52 men killed in action and it is well chronicled in Frank Richards' 'Old Soldiers Never Die'.

10th March, 2000
From Kathryn Lyons I learn that plans are well under way for the re-burial of the Canadian Unknown Soldier whose body will be brought to Canada from France and buried with full military honours at the Canadian National War memorial in Ottawa The ceremony will take place on Sunday, 28th May.

March 6th, 2000
News reached me today, courtesy of Ian Riley, that the Liverpool Scottish Museum Trust plans to create a new memorial in the Ypres area near Hooge, the site of the Battalion's first action in the war, in June, 1915. The memorial will feature the ornate key-stone from the doorway of the Battalion's old headquarters in Fraser Street. The dedication ceremony will take place on Saturday, 29th July. For more details, see the Trust's web-site at www.liverpoolscottish.org.uk/

March 5th, 2000
Today, Hellfire Corner received its 250,000th visitor.

March 1st, 2000
I hear that there have been reports of Belgian TV announcing that there are plans to create a "Dugout Museum" somewhere near Zonnebeke (Ypres). I'm grateful to Luc Deprez for this information.

February 22nd, 2000
There have been several reports of the discovery of soldiers' remains over the last few weeks.
It is reported that builders working on a house in Pozieres (Somme) have found the remains of an Australian soldier - possibly an officer.

There are also reports that the remains of a Canadian soldier were found near Courcelette (Somme) over the Christmas/New Year holiday period.

It also appears that Pte. Nugent (see entry for December 9th, 1999, below) will be buried with full military honours on 1st July, 2000 (the anniversary of his death) either in Ovillers British Cemetery or in Gordon Dump Cemetery.

January 6th, 2000
Reports from the BBC suggest that the remains of a British soldier discovered earlier this week near Warneton,  Begium, close to the French border, have already been identified.  According to the report, the soldier's identification disc was still with the remains and gave the name H. Wilkinson.  It was also possible to identify the Lancashire Fusiliers as the man's regiment and the Regimental Museum has concluded that the soldier must be Private Harry Wilkinson, who was killed on 10th November, 1914, aged 29.  Efforts are now being made to trace his relatives so that they can be invited to his funeral.

December 12th, 1999
Spare a thought this Christmas for the "Khaki Chums," a groups of historians who will be spending Christmas in a trench near Ploegsteert, site of one of the Christmas Truces of 1914. They will spend five days there, living as authentically as possible, using (and wearing) only what was available to the troops who manned the trenches in the same area 85 years ago this Christmas. For a further article on this event, follow this link.

December 12th, 1999
According to reports received today, the "In Flanders Fields" museum, Ypres, has been named as the European Museum of the Year.

December 9th, 1999
According to information received from Phil Curme, author of the "Swavesey Chronicles" web-site, a decision has been made concerning the remains of a soldier found near the Lochnagar mine-crater near La Boisselle (Somme). After a period of uncertainty, the Ministry of Defence is satisfied that the body found at the Crater is that of Pte George Nugent of the 22nd Northumberland Fusiliers (3rd Tyneside Scottish) and efforts are being made to trace the family. Details of the re-burial are not yet finalised, but the Commonwealth War Graves Commission says it is likely to be in the first three months of 2000, either in Ovillers or Gordon Dump Cemetery.

June, 1999
It has just been announced that the remains of a soldier, excavated in October, 1998 from the southern fringe of the Lochnagar Crater at La Boisselle on the Somme have been identified. The remains were recovered by the CWGC Commissioner from Thiepval, who was assisted in the exhumation by Dominique Zanardi of Le Tommy Cafe in Pozieres.

Pat Mooney of the US tells me that the body was lying on its left side (facing the crater, head toward No Mans Land), with his rifle under him, bayonet fixed and forward, with wire cutters attached. The soldier had several water bottles on his person and was lying with his head about 12 inches below the surface and his feet at ground level. (His Ammunition  Boots are what led to his discovery, as two visitors thought the sole cleats were shell fragments.) Along with the remains of his P14 leather gear were found sundry personal effects and a lone "Tyneside 3 Scottish" brass shoulder title.

He has been identified as 1036 Pte. George Nugent of the 3rd. Tyneside Scottish. He was identified by a razor case with his name on it. Pte. Nugent was indeed listed as Missing after his battalion attacked near the crater on 1st July, 1916. His rifle, which was lying beneath him, had a wire-cutter attached, indicating that he was probably in the leading wave of the attack on 1st July.

No details on his re-interment have surfaced, but I will pass on any additional information which I receive.

March 18th, 1999
A newly formed 'Comite du Memorial de Ploegsteert' is planning a ceremony on June 6th to inaugurate the playing of Last Post on the first Friday of every month at the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing sited at the Berks Cemetery Extension, Hyde Park Corner, Ploegsteert. (This is also the site of the Rosenberg plot that was moved from its original site near the Château Rosenberg in the 1930s, when the then owner of the Château refused to sell the land containing the wartime cemetery to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.)

February 5th, 1999
According to a Canadian newspaper report sent to me by Ann Tallis, the Canadian  Government is working with the Royal Canadian Legion, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and various veterans' associations to bring about the recognition of Canada's own "Unknown Soldier."  The plan is to disinter the remains of an unknown Canadian from one of the cemeteries near Vimy Ridge and bring them to Canada for reburial at the National War Memorial in Otttawa in June, 2000.

January 8th, 1999
A RED LETTER DAY for Hellfire Corner Great War Web Pages.  At about 10 35 p.m. the site received its 100,000th visitor.

November 20th, 1998
After years of careful research, Philippe Gorczynski, of Cambrai, has found what he has been looking for - a British Mark IV tank buried somewhere near Flesquieres. The tank was originally abandoned in a shell-hole in 1917 and the Germans subsequently buried it and used it as a dugout.  This history was known, but the precise site of the tank remained a mystery.  After years of searching, poring over maps, interviewing local people and digging at over 20 sites, Philippe has found his tank. Inside were British and German items. The tank (which was called "Devil") is to be removed from the ground, cleaned and put on display as a permanent memorial. There is a further article about the tank, by Paul Reed, elsewhere on this site.

October 19th, 1998
At Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England, on 5 November, following the dedication of a garden of Remembrance at the Parish Church, there will be a reading  (inside the church) of the 1223 names of the men commemorated on the memorial outside. This will take place from 11.15 a.m.until about 2.00 pm, and anyone who would like to come and read, or just listen will be very welcome. They're only asking people to read 10 names  each- not the whole lot! - and there will be complimentary hot drinks.) Rachel Mason, Local Studies Keeper for the Stockton Museum Service, can be contacted via email (Aremseegee@aol.com) or by phone on 01642 393904.

September 25th, 1998
Today's UK "Daily Mail "newspaper carried an interesting article concerning Dominique Zanardi, the owner of "le Tommy" cafe/museum at Pozieres, Somme. M. Zanardi has found what he believes might be one of the footballs bought by Capt. Wilfred Nevill and given to his companies of the East Surrey Regiment on 1st July, 1916. Capt. Nevill offered a prize to the first company to kick its football into the German front-line trenches. There were four footballs, one for each company, and Capt. Nevill  took one of them and "kicked off" the battle of the Somme as he left his trench at 7.30 a.m.  He was killed shortly afterwards. If M. Zanardi's football is genuine (something which may be impossible to prove one way or the other) it will be the third known surviving one.

September 13th, 1998
News reached me today, care of Stuart Nichols in Paris, that a new memorial to the memory of the Barnsley Pals is to be dedicated. Until now, the only memorial to the Barnsley Pals was the small plaque fixed to a tree in the Sheffield Memorial Park just outside the village of Serre, on the Somme. The new memorial, erected among the remains of shell-holes and trenches on the site of their jumping-off point on 1st July, 1916, will be dedicated on 12th October, 1998.

August 11th, 1998
One of the Army's leading bomb and explosives experts had died today during an operation to remove explosive charges from tunnels under Vimy Ridge. Lt. Col. Mike Watkins, aged 51, was killed when earth fell on top of him during a surface survey aimed at locating tunnel entrances. Earlier this year, Lt. Col Watkins defused a massive three-ton Durand mine in one of the tunnels. It is believed that several charges remain within other as-yet undiscovered tunnels which honeycomb the ridge.

July 25th, 1998
There are reports that at some time in the past week the remains of 10 soldiers were found at Wytschaete near Messines. They include British, German and French soldiers. One or two French soldiers were at first thought to be German but were from a Moroccan or Algerian regiment. Some have been identified. (Peter van den Heuvel - Holland.)

July 24th, 1998
The British government today announced the decision not to pardon the soldiers executed for various breaches of military law during the Great War. One of the reasons given is that, 80 years on, it would be impossible to distinguish between those who were guilty of those crimes, and those who were the victims of miscarriages of justice. The government asked that those executed be considered "victims" of the war and asked that local authorities and other organisations should consider adding the names of those executed, to war memorials and rolls of honour.

July 20th, 1998
News reached me today, via my friends Marco Hoveling and Peter van den Heuvel, from Holland, that on10th July, 1998, the remains of Pte. J. McArthur 101009, 31st Battalion Canadian Infantry were found near Courcelette. Pte. McArthur was killed on 26th September, 1916. The details of his re-burial are not yet known.

July 12th, 1998
One of the most unusual Great War memorials was unveiled this weekend at the small village of le Catelet, near Amiens, Somme. The memorial is to the memory of four British soldiers who were executed as spies by the Germans in 1917.Sergeant Robert Digby and Privates Thomas Donohoe, David Martin and William Thorpe were among a number of British troops who found themselves stranded behind enemy lines in occupied France following the confusion after the Battle of le Cateau in 1914. They lived on their wits until they reached le Catelet, where they were sheltered by the villagers. Knowing that there were British "evaders" in the area, the Germans delivered an untimatum - they could give themselves up or, if captured, be treated as spies and executed. On May 16th, 1917, the three privates were captured hiding in a barn. Sgt Digby escaped but gave himself up a few days later, believing that he would be not be executed. The three privates were executed by firing squad against the walls of the ruined 16th-century castle in the village on May 27, 1916. Sergeant Digby was shot three days later.

July 9th, 1998
British television and Belgian newspapers reported today that HM Queen Elizabeth II will visit Ypres during the afternoon of November 11th this year.  She will also be visiting Paris on the same day.

June 25th, 1998
The official programme of events for the Australian Western Front Commemorations from 3rd - 6th July has now been announced. For those readers who have been visiting to check details of the funeral of Pte. Russell Bosisto, there has been a further change. The funeral will take place on Sunday, 5th July at 9.00 a.m.

June 14th, 1998
While checking details of the planned funeral for Pte. Russell Bosisto (see the news article dated April 20th, below) I learn that the date of the funeral has been changed from Saturday, 4th July to Sunday, 5th July.

June 3rd, 1998
A leading Dutch newspaper carried a story today headlined "Poison Gas threatens Dutch Coast." The story referred to the 35,000 tons of explosive dumped in the sea by the Belgian authorities after the war, 3 miles off the Belgian coast at Knokke-Heist. The dumped shells included 12,000 tons of Mustard-Gas shells. The fear now is that after almost 80 years under the sea, these shells will soon begin to leak.  The Belgian government is to begin taking samples of the sea-water every three years. There is some uncertainty about what the result of a mustard-gas leak into the sea might be. I'm grateful to my Dutch friend, Peter van den Heuvel for letting me know about this article.

June 1st, 1998
My friend Patrick Surgeon in Ypres has heard that the "Last Post" ceremony at the Menin Gate will be a special ceremony on November 11th this year - the 80th anniversary of the Armistice. The full details are not available yet, but Patrick is doing his best to find out more, and will send more information as it becomes available.

May 14th, 1998
To the delight of many people, the British Goverment has decided that the scheme whereby war widows receive assistance to visit their husbands' graves will not end this year, as previously announced, but will continue to 2001.

May 6th, 1998
Ted Smith, co-author of "Salient Points" (reviewed in the Hellfire Corner Bookshelf section) tells me that the body of a soldier of the Border Regiment was found earlier this year at Pont Rouge, just south-east of Ploegsteert Wood. He had obviously been buried by his colleagues - his hands were crossed over his chest and his head was wrapped in his 'bivvy'. He was also wearing his webbing, which would suggest he wasn't a prisoner who had died of wounds, Pont Rouge being in enemy hands for most of the war. There was some vicious fighting in that area in late '14 so he most probably fell at that time. His remains are currently at rest in Prowse Point Military Cemetery north of Ploegsteert Wood, identified with a temporary War Graves Commission marker.

April 20th, 1998
the Australian soldier whose remains were found near the site of Pozieres windmill in January was Pte Russell George Bosisto of "A" Company, 27th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force. Pte. Bosisto will be buried in the British Military Cemetery at Courcelette on Sunday, 5th July. (Not Saturday, 4th as I was originally informed.) Precise time not know at the moment, but sometime in the afternoon.

April 15th, 1998
Today, on a day which saw very bad weather in Northern France, Private Frank Harold King, Private George Hamilton Anderson and an unknown soldier, all from the Royal Fusiliers, were buried with full military honours in the British Military Cemetery at Monchy-le-Preux, near Arras, in the presence of their relatives, HRH the Duke of Kent (President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) standard bearers from the Royal Fusiliers Old Comrades' Association and the Royal British Legion and a large number of visitors who had attended the cemetery to pay their respects. I was present at the cemetery and an article describing the ceremony will appear on this site in due course. (Article added 13.5.98)

March 14th, 1998
Two new Australian Memorials will be dedicated on 4th and 5th July. One memorial is at Hamel and the other at Fromelles. This will bring the total of new Australian Memorials on the Western Front to three, following the dedication of the new memorial at Mouquet Farm last October.

March 12th, 1998
Friends in Australia tell me that newspapers carry reports of the discovery of the remains of an Australian Soldier near the site of Pozieres Windmill, Somme.

March 7th, 1998
The British Government has announced that this year will be the last in which funds will be made available to assist war widows visit the graves of their husbands.

January 15th, 1998
Two of the remaining Royal Fusiliers found at Arras have been identified. They are Ptes. Anderson and King. The bodies will be buried in the British Military Cemetery at Monchy-le-Preux on Wednesday, April 15th.  The ceremony will begin at 11.30 a.m. There are rumours that a member of the British Royal Family will attend.  If this rumour is true, then it probably refers to HRH the Duke of Kent, who is the President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. I will definitely be there however, and an article will appear on this site in due course.

January 5th, 1998
The bodies of 24 Royal Fusiliers found during an archaeological dig near Arras were buried in a quiet ceremony in December. All 24 were unidentified. Three bodies have been kept in the mortuary in the hope that they can be identified. The remains of one soldier indicate that he was exceptionally tall.

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