Next month will mark a year since I last set foot on the battlefields of the Western Front, a place I had visited pretty much monthly in the years preceding COVID 19. To say I miss it is an understatement. I recently read a quote from an Aboriginal Elder of Uluru, Bob Randall who said: ... Continue Reading →
The run up to Armistice Day is truly the season of duff military history, so on that theme, I thought I'd share some of my top equine myths of the First World War... 1. 'The British Army requisitioned all the horses in the country' There seems to be a belief that in 1914 the British... Continue Reading →
I am not religious, and by this, I mean that I do not believe in a God, or that any kind of one divine power has an influence over our lives. I believe that God is a construct of man; that Theology is a very human attempt to grapple with the complexities of life, to... Continue Reading →
As the First World War ended, so too did the British Army's requirement for the hundreds of thousands of horses and mules that served within its ranks. With no war, the war horse in his many roles, was made redundant. After the Armistice, the challenge of what to do with these now obsolete animals on... Continue Reading →
Women from all walks of life made a contribution to the First World War, even the daughter of the man who would later become Prime Minister of New Zealand. Beatrice Enid Bell was born in Wellington in 1888, to the distinguished parents Sir Francis Bell and Lady Caroline Bell. She is believed to have been... Continue Reading →
As part of the British Empire, the role of Australian troops in the First World War has been well explored. The ANZAC legend is primarily focused on the contribution of men, yet Australian women also served in many ways. Over 2,000 women served with the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) in Australia, Greece and India... Continue Reading →
In a world of easy connectivity, I think it is fair to say we all take for-granted our ability to be instantly connected through our mobile phones. I’ll always remember how simple it was to FaceTime my Mum and show her the view of the Somme from the top of the Thiepval memorial - I... Continue Reading →
When we think of Russian women during the Great War, the first thing that perhaps comes to mind are the all female combat units. In particular, the 1st Women’s Battalion of Death and its founder Maria Bochkareva, who was the first Russian woman to command a military unit. Maria’s story, though fascinating, has been well... Continue Reading →
L'ange Français - Nicole Girard-Mangin Today, our doctors and nurses have been indispensable, not just in the United Kingdom, but all over the world. They have kept those in need alive and ensured those who suffered were (and are) well looked after. The same sentiment can be attributed over a century ago. Nicole Girard-Mangin is... Continue Reading →
The horse looms large in our popular memory of the Great War. This is perhaps based more on myth than fact; drawing upon romantic symbolism of the horse that goes back long before 1914, and a raft of more general Great War mythology, but the horse's part in the story is represented nonetheless. Yet whilst... Continue Reading →
