In the article I wrote concerning the grave of Surgeon-Lieutenant Frank Pearce Pocock, DSO, MC and Bar, I mentioned Lieutenant Commander George Nicholson Bradford, VC. He featured briefly in “Arras North” by virtue of the fact that one of his brothers, 2nd Lieutenant James Barker Bradford, MC, happens to be buried in Duisans British Cemetery. […]
Archive | Arras North
The cavalry question at Arras
During the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line our cavalry performed a useful role in operations against the enemy’s rearguard. It successfully outflanked the village of Roisel, even though many of the garrison there were able to slip away. Elsewhere, there were similar small triumphs. At Equancourt, for example, the Fort Garry Horse showed flexibility, […]
“A solitary grave in a grassy valley”
Henry Williamson, best known for his work, “Tarka the Otter”, was a controversial figure. Although his naive leanings towards Hitler and National Socialism turned many away from him, his reputation as an author seems to have endured. Another of Williamson’s works, ” The Wet Flanders Plain”, first published in revised format in 1929, then thankfully re-printed […]
Joining up the dots – linking people and locations
During a recent tour of the Cambrai battlefield I began by taking my group to the memorial to those missing during that fighting. It was a few years since I had last visited the memorial, and quite a few more since I had ventured down the steps into the adjacent cemetery (Louverval Military Cemetery, Doignies). […]
“High Hopes and Disappointments”
Last year, during the winter months, I was involved in the ‘WW100Scotland’ project. I was asked to write a short piece on the Battle of Arras for inclusion in a booklet to commemorate the centenary. The work is just one in a series of booklets covering Scotland’s part in the Great War. For anyone going […]
Roeux – The real star of the show
Roeux was never intended as a front line defensive position, but on the afternoon of the 9th April 1917 it found itself thrust into the limelight, and immediately became the star of the show. For the next five weeks it proved to be a huge thorn in the side of the British. Its buildings, the […]
JB x 2
I can’t claim to be a ‘James Bond’ fan, nor can I claim not to be, it’s just that I’ve somehow never managed to watch a ‘007’ film from beginning to end. However, if you are a bit of a ‘Bond’ aficionado you might want to read on. It’s quite widely documented that Major Valentine […]
The 9th April 1917 – Battalion commanders killed or died of wounds
At the time of writing “Visiting the Fallen” I didn’t comment on the number of battalion commanders killed on the opening day of the Battle of Arras, though the ones buried within the area covered by the books are featured. I knew the number was far fewer than on the opening day of the Battle of the […]
‘Mind the gap’ – Bailleul, Gavrelle and the 4th Division
For anyone interested in the events surrounding the Battle of Arras I would recommend “Prelude to Victory” by Brigadier-General E.L. Spears. Towards the end of the book he writes about the opening days of the battle itself. In one of the paragraphs he writes: “When the 4th Division reached the Green Line it had to […]
Squeezing Lens – Arras North – Various pages
There are numerous references to Hill 70 in ‘Arras North’ as well as the chapter in ‘Arras Memorials’ covering the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge. Although it lies on the Loos battlefield, Hill 70 was also the scene of heavy fighting on the 15th August 1917 and in the days that immediately followed. The reason it merits […]