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 […]
Archive | Behind the Stories
“A famous cousin” – Arras North – Page 104
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 […]
“Z is for Zivy Crater and Zouave Valley” – Arras North – Pages 178 – 185
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 […]
“Wake up, we’ve a busy day ahead” – With the South Africans on 9th April 1917
Good memoirs are always worth seeking out. “A Subaltern’s Odyssey – A Memoir of the Great War 1915-1917″ is one that I would highly recommend, particularly with regard to the opening day of the Battle of Arras in 1917. Its author, R.B. (Richard Barrett) Talbot Kelly, served as a Forward Observation Officer with the 52nd Brigade, […]
“A place where everyone is happy” – Arras North – Page 244
Although the entry in the CWGC register for Lieutenant Francis Herbert THORNDIKE, 11th Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, contains no additional information, I had a very strong feeling right from the start that there was more to discover about him. It was what I now refer to as ‘my Sybil Thorndike moment’. As I left Duisans British Cemetery I couldn’t help wondering whether he […]
Native Americans in the Canadian Expeditionary Force
Throughout the three books a number of references are made to men of the Canadian Expeditionary Force who were of Native American origin. The first reference is in ‘Arras North’ and relates to Private Thomas GODCHERE, MM, a sniper who served with the 102nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry. He is buried in Givenchy Road Canadian Cemetery, Neuville-Saint-Vaast. […]
“We, the undersigned” – An unusual petition – Arras North – Page 12
There were times during the final hundred days of the war when strong opposition to the Allied advance was to be expected. The Hindenburg Line and the Canal du Nord provided the Germans with good defensive opportunities and it was always likely they would take advantage of these. On other occasions the level of enemy resistance was variable and often remained an unknown factor until the point of […]
“Death on a Dublin street” – Arras North – Page 193
One of the men buried at Aix-Noulette Communal Cemetery Extension is Lieutenant Michael Aloysius HIGGINS, 2nd Leinster Regiment, who was killed in action near Vimy Ridge on the 31st March 1917. He was one of sixteen children born to Dr. Thomas Higgins and Ann Sullivan. His brother, Kevin Christopher O’Higgins, is referred to in the […]
“Who or what was the South African Irish Horse?” – Arras North – Page 30
That was a question that came up during the editing of ‘Arras North’. It was also one that had been nagging me for some time. The entry in the CWGC register for Private James Chalmers EDMOND, 2nd South African Regiment, refers to his previous service with the ‘South African Irish Horse’ during the German South-West […]
“A sea of troubles for Major Burns” – Arras North – Page 297
In February 2011, I spent several days visiting a number of cemeteries near Arras as part of my research. Although the weather was cold and dry with a heavy frost on the ground, conditions were actually quite good for visiting the battlefields. At Écoivres Military Cemetery I came across a row of men from the […]