107 years ago this week the Battle of Neuve Chapelle took place. In this episode, we look at the battle through the eyes of the men who were there, using unpublished accounts.

What was it like to be there? What went wrong? Why did they have casualties from their own artillery? Who were the men that fought the battle?

In this week's episode we tell the stories of 2 young soldiers, including a Northamptonshire man, who fell in the German Spring Offensive in March 1918, and how I guided the family of one of them on an emotional pilgrimage exactly 100 years later.

The podcast also reports on my trip to Ypres and the Somme this week, and an update on travelling to the battlefields.

An hour long special in this episode. I chat to the owner of the Lochnager Crater, Richard Dunning MBE. In 1978, Richard bought the crater from a local farmer. In this podcast, he explains how and why he bought the "hole in the ground" and the incredible stories of the veterans he accompanied to the Somme battlefields.

In this week's podcast we mark the 105th anniversary of the Battle of Arras by looking at the story of the battle through the eyes of the soldiers who were there. We look at 2 men who died on 2 key days during the battle - 9th and 23rd April, and look at what happened using eye witness accounts of the veterans.

This photograph shows Lt Geoffrey Potts who was killed on 23rd April. His story is told in the podcast. 

In this week's podcast we look at the work of Julie and David Thomson who moved to the Somme battefield in 2012 and opened a Bed & Breakfast on the old German front line in La Boisselle.

They explain why they moved to the Somme, what it is like to live and work there, the stories of 3 soldiers who were awarded the Victoria Cross for their efforts in the village. Julie explains her own family connection with one of these VC men.  

In this week's episode, we look at the work of the CWGC's team of gardeners throughout the world. We examine the stories of the some of the gardeners who remained on the Western Front after the Armistice, and include an interview with one of the current gardeners, Diego Blondel.

Mollie Dunkley's is 94 and her father Charlie, who served in the Great War, was wounded 3 times and survived his troop ship being sunk. In this week's episode, we talk to Mollie about her memories of her father and how he coped with the affects of his Great War experience. Mollie also talked about life in a small Northamptonshire village during the 2nd World War. This episode is a social history record as well as a military one.

In this week's podcast we take the microphone to the 1915 Loos battlefield and, along with his Grandson, walk in the footsteps of a soldier who was badly wounded there. What happened to him and how did his descendant feel as he walked the ground? 

We also visit Lochnager Crater on the Somme and talk to the working group, including the owner Richard Dunning, who spent the weekend restoring the Crater.

This week's podcast features the ABF The Soldiers' Charity "Frontline Walk" and we talk to the charity about this incredible event that, for the last 8 years, has raised over £1.4 million for our soldiers, veterans and their families. The walk covers 100k in just 3 days from Lochnager Crater on the Somme to the Menin Gate in Ypres, via Vimy Ridge. Along the way we discover the stories of these infamous battles and the soldiers who fought in them.

In this weeks' podcast we travel once again to the battlefields of the Western Front in the footsteps of 5 men who fought there. We follow in their footsteps as I take 3 family members on an emotional tour to find out what happened to these men.

This week's podcast takes us to a rural farm in deepest Northamptonshire where we investigate the incredible story of over 30,000 enemy POW's who were here during World War 1. Who were they? How did they live? How did they get electricity years before the villagers? How many of them died and why? We talk to the farmer and the author of a book about the camp to discover the answers to these questions.

During the Great War millions of letters were sent to and from soldiers on the front line and went a long way to keeping up the morale on both sides of the Channel. In this episode, we look at some of the emotional and heartbreaking letters that were sent between loved ones, including many "final letters home". These letters go someway to explaining how soldiers felt on the eve of the major battles in the war. 

In this special episode Military Historian Paul Reed takes us on a trip on the Western Front battlefields that saw fighting in both conflicts. 

What happened to the Great War CWGC cemeteries when the Nazis arrived? What happened to WW1 veterans when they returned to fight again in 1940? Where did Hitler serve in WW1? 

We discuss these subjects and much more too.

In this episode we travel to the Ypres battlefields to a place called Pond Farm, a German Headquarters in 1917 and  where Canadian General Arthur Currie was located during the gas attack in 1915. 

We talk to Stijn Butaye, who lives on the farm and has established his own private museum and built a replica British WW1 tank.  Stijn talks to us about his museum and explains what it was like to be at Pond Farm during the Great War.

We also talk to Michael and Susan Wyatt from Melbourne, Australia, as we follow in the footsteps of their relatives who died at Ypres.

In this episode we talk to Rick Smith from the Hawthorn Ridge Crater Association to discover how they have preserved the crater and we also look at what happened at Beaumont Hamel in July and November 1916. How did they tunnel beneath the German lines? What went wrong? Why did they blow the mine 10 minutes before Zero Hour? We discuss these issues and much more.

To mark the 106th anniversary of the first use of tanks, we talk to historian and guide Pete Smith, who lives in Flers, and discuss what happened on 15th September 1916.

Pete tells the incredible story of the Earl of Feversham, Lt Col Charles Duncombe, who bravely led his men into action and gave his life on that fateful day.

The photofraph shows the memorial to the 41st Division in Flers and was taken by Paul Reed, Military Historian. 

The photograph of Duncombe's grave was taken by Carl Dycer. My thanks to both Paul and Carl for permission to use their images.

In this special edition of the podcast, we may tribute to the HM Queen Elizabeth by looking at the role of the Royal Family in the Great War and also of the Queen herself during the 2nd World War when she joined the ATS. We talk about the Queen Mother's brother who fell at Loos, the Christmas box that Princess Mary sent to the troops in 1914 and look into the diaries of the King and Queen during the war years

Who is the woman standing quietly in a muddy field near Langemarck? Who is she thinking about? Why is she here? 

In this podcast, we tell the story of the awful conditions during the Battle of Passchendaele, through the eyes of a soldier who died in the mud.

We also tell the story of an Australian soldier who also died nearby, and of a bracelet that we reunited with its owner at his grave in Arras.

In this episode we look back at the events of November 1918 and examine what happened during that momentous week in history. Why did the fighting continue up to 11am on 11th?

Who were the final casualties and how did they die? How did the soldiers feel about the end of the fighting? Why was it not the end of the war? How did the Germans react? 

We hear from the men and women themselves as they help tell the story.

The photo shows George Price, who was killed at 10.58am on Armistice Day.

In this episode we are guided around Tyne Cot Cemetery by a Belgian guide who lives on the doorstep of the largest CWGC Cemetery in the world. 

He tells us about American, Belgian and German burials, as well as the incredible story of a New Zealander who was killed on Christmas Eve 1917. 

We also look at the story of 2 Australians who were awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions close to the cemetery.

In this episode we look at what happened at Hooge, on the Menin Road, during the 1st Battle of Ypres and in 1915 when the first ever terrifying flamethrower attack took place, through the eyes of the soldiers who were there. 

We also talk to the owner of the Hooge Crater Cafe and Museum, who explains what it is like to live and work on the Ypres battlefield

In this episode we tell the stories of the young Edwardian women who gave up their privileged lives to become VAD's on the Western Front.

Why did they do this? Where did they go and what did they do? And what horrors did they see? We also explore one terrible night in May 1918 when the Germans bombed a Base Hospital at Etaples.

In this episode we look at the the experience of one of our national treasures during the summer of 1916. Arnold Ridley played Private Godfrey in Dad's Army for 9 years and 80 episodes. 

But he was wounded 3 times on the Somme in 1916.Why did he join up? What happened to him on the Somme? How did it affect him for the rest of his life? How did it affect his family? And how Dad's Army changed his life.

In this episode, BBC Northampton's Graham McKechnie tells the story of Edgar Mobbs, the Northampton Saints and England captain who formed his own company that became known as "Mobbs' Own". 

How did he he turn his rugby leadership skills into becoming a fearless commanding officer? What happened to him at 3rd Ypres? Why is he still a hero today? 

In February 1917 the Battle of Boom Ravine was fought on the Somme. We tell the story of this awful single day battle through the eyes of the soldiers who were there.

What did they see? How did the sudden change in the weather prove disastrous? Was the battle plan given away by British deserters? 

And the story of the German man whose life was saved by a Tommy and they became friends after the war. What about the German mother who discovered her son had died by the return of his watch from another Tommy?

In this episode we talk to author Jeremy Gordon-Smith about his relative Ivan Bawtree and we discover the story of his work on the Western Front as a photographer. 

His task was to take photographs of the original wooden grave markers, and he also explains what Ypres was like in 1917 and the gruesome work of finding and exhuming the dead after the Armistice.

In this week's episode we travel to the famous Sunken Lane on the Somme and view the battlefield from the German side of the wide. We  listen to the words of a Lancashire Fusilier who was there on that day and we speak to Terry Berry from the The Hawthorn Crater Association, who gives us a guided tour of the area.

This episode was recorded on a Somme battlefield walk where we tell the stories behind the headstones. We travel to several cemeteries and discover what happened to the men buried there.

We also find some private memorials at Guillemont and look at the story of Charles Dickens' Grandson near Ginchy. We then walk up to Lochnager Crater and discover some of the stories played out there.

In this week's episode we follow the story of an 18 year old German soldier, Edwin Kuhns, who was conscripted in 1917 and kept a diary through the 1917 Battle of Cambrai and the 1918 campaigns.

He graphically explains how he narrowly missed death, the terrible sights he saw and how he felt during the conflict. There is an emotional account of how he met his Father behind the lines. He then sees action again in the 2nd World War before moving to England in 1948. 

We then look at the story of an English lady who became the model for the Mother of Canada memorial at Vimy.

In this week's episode, we travel to Ypres Reservoir Cemetery to discover the stories of the men buried here. 

We find a Victoria Cross recipient, 3 men "shot at dawn", 2 brothers exhumed from far off graves and now buried together, what happened to a group of men who were killed in St Martin's Cathedral, and the story of the victims of a terrible fire in the ramparts.

In this episode we commemorate the anniversary of the gas attack at Ypres in April 1915, through the eyes of the soldiers who were there. 

We hear from the Canadian and British defenders and how they plugged the gap in the line, and also the terrible scenes that the German attackers witnessed as they attacked. 

There is also the tragic story of a entire family of civilians killed by shellfire.

In this episode we tell the story of this successful battle through the eyes of the Australian and German soldiers who fought against each other in April 1918. 

We visit the Sir John Monash Centre and also a school in Villers-Bretonneux that was rebuilt from funds raised by the veterans of Australia. 

In this episode we travel to the Western Front with the relatives of the 2 brothers from Lancashire who died a year apart but in the same circumstances - trying to save wounded comrades in No Man's Land.

How did the family discover their stories? What does it mean to them? Could we find a grave for one of them who is still missing?  And what artefacts did we discover on the battlefields where they died?

In this episode we talk to historian Simon Jones about the "Myths of Messines". 

Were 10,000 Germans really killed by the explosions? Did the Prime Minister hear the explosions in London? Were Irishmen killed by the falling debris? 

All of these mysteries are explained, and much more too.

This link will take you to Simon's tour page:

https://simonjoneshistorian.com/battlefield-tours/

In this episode we tell the stories of several World War 1 soldiers who were not heroes. Such as Frederick Cherry who tried to kill his girlfriend and then died himself on the Somme. And the famous "burning car" murderer Alfred Rouse who was wounded in action in 1915.

We also discuss the incredible story of Digger Pugh and the tale of a man who claimed, wrongly, to have been awarded the Victoria Cross.

In this episode, we travel back to Ypres and discover the very emotional story of the "Brothers in Arms" memorial at Polygon Wood.

We talk to the cafe owner who discovered the body of Jack Hunter who was buried by his brother Jim in 1917 and his grave lost until 2006. 

We also visit the St George's Church in Ypres and talk to the CWGC guides at Tyne Cot, as well as the new "Moments" exhibition at the Menin Gate.

In this episode we travel to Germany and walk around a WW1 Prisoner of War camp in Mainz Citadel and also look at the stories of the soldiers who are buried in Cologne Southern Cemetery, many of whom died in captivity.

We look at the story of Herbert Pollington. Herbert’s story had a tragic, but very brave ending. After the Armistice, Herbert was sent to Cologne with the army of occupation. 

On the 31st January 1919, the troops were skating on the frozen Rhine River when 4 German children fell through the ice. Herbert jumped into the water and successfully rescued them but drowned in the process of saving the last child in the icy water. He was buried with full military honours in Cologne Southern Cemetery.

In this episode we travel to Fromelles to tell the story of this tragic 24 hour battle through the eyes of the soldiers who were there.

We walk the battlefield and visit the Australian Memorial Park on the old German front line and several cemeteries where the casualties are now at rest. 

We also attend the Menin Gate Ceremony in Ypres and talk to students and their teacher who participated in the ceremony.

In this week's episode we visit the key sites around Pozieres and look at the battle for the village through the eyes of the Australian soldiers who were there, including 2 Victoria Cross recipients.

We go to the German pil box called Gibraltar and the site of the Windmill, the highest point on the Somme battlefield.

We also look at the story of composer George Butterworth.

In the 50th episode we talk to historian and author Steve Roberts about how the famous film "The Battle of the Somme" was filmed in 1916. 

Who were the cameramen? What did they see? How did they film the footage in the Sunken Lane? And who were the soldiers in the film?

In the 2nd part of this episode we return to the Somme and the interview with historian Steve Roberts. 

We continue our chat with Steve and reveal how the famous battle was filmed by Geoffrey Malins. We take a closer look at the men featured in the film. 

And we also discuss the "fake footage".

In this episode we look at the story of the opening day of the 100 Day Offensive that saw the Allies put into practice the lessons they had learned in earlier battles. 

We tell the story of 8th August 1918 through the eyes of the soldiers who were there, including the German General Erich Ludendorff.

Walter Tull was one of Britain's first black army officers and was killed in action in March 1918. He was also one of the first black professional footballers, appearing for Tottenham and Northampton Town. 

His incredible story, from orphan to war hero, is told in this podcast by BBC Radio Northampton's Graham McKechnie, who has discovered a connection between Tull and another black sportsman who played for Northampton Saints RFC.

After weeks of horrendous and brutal fighting, what was left of the village of Guillemont fell on 3rd September 1916. 

The terrible story of the Guillemont is told through the eyes of the soldiers from both sides of the wire and we also look at what you can discover when you visit the battlefield. 

In this episode we follow the story of the tanks from their design and manufacture in Lincoln, to the testing fields in Suffolk where a mock battle was held. 

We then go to the Somme and discover, through the eyes of the soldiers on both sides of the wire, what happened on 15th September 1916 when tanks were used for the first time.

Through the eyes of the soldiers who were there we tell the story of how the German fortress finally fell to the 18th Division on 26th September 1916.

This hill top bastion had been attacked several times but discover how the the BEF finally overcame Thiepval.

We focus on the 6th Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment who were in support on that day and achieved their objectives despite the loss of their Commanding Officer, 53 year old George Ripley, who was mortally wounded before the attack began.

In this episode we talk to former England cricketer Jack Russell about his relative Edward Hogg who died in the Great War. 

Jack talks emotionally about how Edward died near Ypres and he describes how a pilgrimage to the location where Edward died inspired Jack to produce a painting that he called "Seconds from Hell".

In this episode we tell the tragic stories of fathers and sons who served in the Great War. We examine the unbreakable bond between father and son and how some of them died together on the battlefields of the Western Front, Gallipoli and Eastern Africa. 

We also look at the extraordinary lengths that some fathers went to to be reunited with their sons after they were killed.

In this episode we walk from the Somme to Ypres with ABF The Soldiers' Charity "Frontline Walk". 

We hear the stories of the fallen as we pass their graves. Listen to an emotional interview with a British Army veteran, who explains how the Charity and this 100K trek have helped him overcome PTSD. 

We discover all sorts of stories along the way and how a piece of classical music found its way onto a soldier's headstone."

In this episode we join the son of a World War soldier as we follow in 2nd Lt Herbert Dudley's footsteps across the Western Front in 1916 and 1918. 

What did we discover on this emotional tour? How did Herbert become a casualty on the Somme without being wounded? 

And what did the tour mean to his 83 year old son as we recreated his father's journey in the Great War?

And there is also news of a campaign to restore a forgotten memorial on the Somme battlefield.

In this episode we look at the story of the fight for Crest Farm and the village of Passchendaele itself in November 1917. We tell the story through the eyes of the soldiers who were there and discuss the story of one of those thousands of Canadians who fell during the battle, Private Graham Adam.

In this week's episode we tell the story of the horror of the Butte de Warlencourt at the end of the Battle of the Somme in October and November 1916.

Through the eyes of the British, South African and German soldiers we look at what happened on and around the Butte during those dreadful few weeks. 

And there is important news from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission too.

In this week's episode we speak to Michael LoCicero, the author of the book called "A Moonlight Massacre". 

Michael tells the story of what happened on 2nd December 1917 when the BEF launched another offensive against German positions on the Passchendaele Ridge. 

A forgotten action, we discover what happened to the British soldiers when they were lit up by the moon and snowfall in this night time attack.

In 1928, the British Legion organised for 11,000 veterans and war widows to visit the battlefields, before marching to the Menin Gate in Ypres. 

90 years later, the Great Pilgrimage 90 saw 1,150 branches, and thousands of members and representatives from the UK and abroad, help The Legion recreate their original pilgrimage. In this podcast, we tell the story of these 2 famous tours.

Christmas 1914 saw the famous truce on the frozen Western Front when soldiers from both sides put down their guns and met in No Man's Land. 

In this podcast we tell the story through the eyes of the men who were there.

What did they see? How did they feel? Find out as we listen to their words and experiences.

In this episode we travel to Greece with Chris Loader, who goes on a pilgrimage to visit the location where his relative, Private Henry Loader 10th Hampshire's, was mortally wounded in September 1918.

We follow in the footsteps of the men who fought in this forgotten campaign and discover what happened in this battlefield on the other side of Europe.

In this episode we look at the story of the German Zeppelin airships that caused so much devastation during the Great War. 

We explain how civilians were targeted for the first time in history and examine the personal stories of some of those casualties.

In this episode we follow in the footsteps of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force at Flers during the Battle of the Somme in September 1916. 

We look at what happened in this successful operation through the eyes of the soldiers who were there. 

We are joined, as we walk the battlefield, by the relatives of 2 Kiwis who died in the battle and get their thoughts on what their sacrifice means to them.

In this episode we discover how 2 soldiers' have been discovered decades after they had been forgotten. 

Fred Smith died 3 years after he was badly wounded and was never commemorated until recently. 

John Butt was thought to be one of the missing but now has an identified grave at Ypres. 

We discover their stories by talking to the historians who uncovered their tragic stories.

In this special mini episode, we remember the famous military historian Martin Middlebrook who died last week. 

We look at how his book inspired so many people and the legacy that he has left behind.

In this episode we talk to New Zealand military historian Chris Pugsley. We discuss the battle of Le Quesnoy.

 In November 1918, the New Zealanders captured the German held fortified town without causing a single civilian casualty by climbing a ladder and forcing the surrender of the enemy garrison. How did they achieve this? 

What is their legacy in the town? We find out, and much more too.

In this bonus episode we talk to World War 2 veteran John Morris who is 101 years old and served in North Africa, Italy and the Balkans. 

With is crystal clear memory he talks about his service as an anti aircraft gunner, fighting with Partisans, escaping after being captured and being called a "D Day Dodger". 

He then talks about how he avoided death several times in his civilian life after the war.

As the names of the missing on the Menin Gate are currently out of sight, in this week's episode we look at some of the stories behind the canvas tarpaulin. 

We discuss the "teddy from the trenches" given to her father by his 10 year old daughter and the grief stricken mother who died on the anniversary of her son's demise. 

And the brothers who died together, on the same day.

In this episode we talk to historian and author Richard Van Emden about the underage “boy soldiers” who enlisted in the Great War.

We discover what motivated them, how they got through the enlistment process and what happened to them when they fought on the Western Front.

In this episode we look at the personal stories of the ANZAC forces that landed at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915. 

We hear from the soldiers themselves as they explain what happened on that fateful day and we examine the story of Lieutenant-Colonel Lancelot Fox Clarke who was killed leading his men into action.

We also talk to historian and broadcaster Graham McKechnie who tells the story of Blair Swannell, a Northampton Saints and British Lion rugby player who also played for Australia before laying down his life, 15 minutes after landing on Anzac Cove.

In this episode we travel to the Somme village of Courcelette that was captured in a single day by the Canadians in September 1916. 

We look at the stories of the soldiers from both sides of the wire and discover the horror of hand to hand fighting. 

We also talk to local historian Poppy Mercier who explains what it is like to live on the battlefield and how it has established a connection between her and the soldiers who fought there.