Archive | June, 2015

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 […]

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, […]