Archive | Arras North

Between the publication of ‘Arras South’ and the final edit of ‘Arras Memorials’ I had a little time to re-read an old favourite of mine: “War Letters to a Wife” by Lieutenant-Colonel Rowland Fielding, which I refer to on page 140 of ‘Arras South’ in connection with Croisilles Railway Cemetery. So frequent are the letters that they really amount to a diary […]

On the 2nd November this year I received a short e-mail from the CWGC informing me that the ‘MM’ had finally been added to the headstone of Lance-Corporal George Frederick BAKER, 1st South African Regiment. Readers may remember that BAKER had been involved in the dramatic rescue of an officer under murderous fire and had been awarded the […]

I always said that “Visiting the Fallen” was likely to be an on-going project, even extending beyond the publication of all three books. New material will always emerge and the website will come in very useful to cover it. There is also the hope that all three books will, at some stage, be reprinted, in which case additional information will be […]

The village of Roeux proved to be an exceedingly difficult nut to crack. On the opening day of the Battle of Arras the 4th Division had been unable to extend the gains made by the 9th (Scottish) Division, at least not to any significant degree. By the end of the 9th April our new line fell short of the road linking Roeux and […]

Brief mention is made in “Arras North” of the Duchess of Sutherland and her important commitment to hospital work during the Great War, for which she duly received the Belgian Royal Red Cross, the British Red Cross Medal and the French Croix de Guerre. On the outbreak of war she immediately organized a field ambulance, taking it to […]

Reference is made in each of the three books to the sinking of the HMHS “Llandovery Castle” off the coast of Ireland on the 27th June 1918. The majority of those on board the hospital ship perished and only twenty-four survived. Among those who died was the sister of Major Harry Frank SARE, 87th Battalion, Canadian […]

In an interview, referring to her books, “Wolf Hall” and “Bring up the Bodies”, Hilary Mantel pointed out that we have the enormous benefit of hindsight when considering the main historical figures in her work, whereas, at the time when the events in her books were unfolding, her characters didn’t. Although her protagonists were real people, she could only make them credible by stepping […]

Thanks to Martin Middlebrook, many of us will be familiar with the story of Serjeant John William Streets who was killed in action on the 1st July 1916 near Serre serving with the Sheffield ‘Pals’, the 12th York & Lancaster Regiment. ‘Will’ Streets was a very bright lad who had to forego a place at his local grammar school […]

Throughout “Visiting the Fallen” there are many references to men buried or commemorated in and around Arras who have connections to people who are perhaps better known to us. One of them happens to be Captain Charles John Beech MASEFIELD MC. He was wounded in a raid near the outskirts of Lens on 1st July 1917 while serving with the 1/5th […]

I did say that I would be happy to acknowledge any corrections here on my website. A few days after my copies of “Arras North” arrived from the publisher, I had to refer to Zouave Valley Cemetery. I knew which chapter it was in (Chapter 4), but I went instead to the cemetery index at the back of the book; Zouave Valley […]