Why go on a World War One tour? The question was at the forefront of my mind as I boarded the ferry from Dover to Calais. My trip had started at Victoria coach station in London, but seeing the English Channel made the reality of what I was about to do really sink in. A century ago, my Great-Grandfathers had …
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As the centenary of the outbreak of World War I approaches, we will be encouraged to remember the fallen of a conflict that tore the world apart. Official commemorations, exhibitions, books and television series will echo the sequence of events a century ago. The bravery and heroism of soldiers who endured the trenches will be foremost in the public consciousness, …
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The Great War Handbook: A Guide for Family Historians & Students of the Conflict By Geoff Bridger Pen & Sword In 2014 a four-year commemoration will begin to mark the centenary of a conflict which changed the world forever, leaving more than 16 million dead. In many ways, World War I needs little introduction. It is familiar to us not …
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With the centenary of World War l approaching, historian and journalist TONY BOULLEMIER reviews a book that gets to the bottom of its causes. First published in 1991, DREADNOUGHT – Britain, Germany and the coming of the Great War, by Robert K. Massie is well worth revisiting. Being American, he can view it from a neutral angle. Indeed, he looks …
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The Quintinshill Conspiracy: The Shocking True Story Behind Britain’s Worst Rail Disaster By Jack Anthony Richards and Adrian Searle Pen and Sword Books (Oct 2013) On 22nd May 1915, the greatest railway tragedy this country has ever seen occurred at a remote signal box just outside Gretna Green. Perhaps the greater tragedy, as Jack Richards’ and Adrian Searle’s fascinating “The …
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