The Old Front Line

In this week's episode, we step beyond the British sector of the Western Front to one of the most iconic French battlefields of the Great War - Verdun. Here we walk the ground between the 'lost' village of Fleury and visit the huge cemetery and ossuary at Douaumont. Our object is a commemorative memorial stone produced to help soldiers wounded in battles like Verdun.  Sign up for th...

In this week's episode we travel to another 'Forgotten Battlefield' of the Great War and walk the area around Loos, on the site where the 'Lone Tree' was located in 1915.  Walking from Le Rutoire Farm, near the village of Vermelles, to the Lone Tree in the very heart of the 1915 Loos Battlefields. We visit battlefield cemeteries and discuss the story of Rudyard Kipling&apo...

In this episode we walk the Somme battlefields between Trônes Wood and the village of Guillemont. We follow the story of Noel Chavasse VC & Bar, the son of a Royal Academy artist, Raymond Asquith whose father was Prime Minister, and discover how the stories of men from either side of No Man's Land collided in a sunken lane. Our WW1 object is a small Old Comrades badge; what does it tell u...

In this episode we start in the village of Wulverghem and walk via Ration Farm, and some battlefield cemeteries, up onto the Messines Ridge. This weeks WW1 object is a collection of 'Fragments From France' magazines and we discuss the work of cartoonist Bruce Bairnsfather, famous for the 'Old Bill' cartoons. Sign up for the free podcast newsletter here: Old Front Line Bulletin...

In this episode we walk the battlefields of the Somme between the villages of Hebuterne and Gommecourt where men of the 56th (London) Division fought on 1st July 1916. We look at the stories of two veterans who were in two separate dugouts here on that day: Malcolm Vyvyan MC, a Gunner officer, and Harry Coates MSM, a Sergeant in the London Scottish. The WW1 object this week is an Imperial Service...

In this episode we move to Gallipoli, a battlefield in Turkey where British and Commonwealth soldiers landed on 25th April 1915. Here we visit Lancashire Landing Cemetery, walk down to W Beach and look at the story of the 'six VCs before breakfast'. Our object this week is a WW1 photo album with private images taken at Gallipoli in 1915. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

This week we take our first walk across one of the 'Forgotten Battlefields' of the Great War, the Boar's Head close to the village of Richebourg in Northern France. Here we discover the story of the Southdown's Battalions, or Lowther's Lambs, and uncover what a terrible sacrifice Sussex made here on 30th June 1916. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

In this episode we walk the battlefields of the Somme, taking a journey from Auchonvillers up onto the Hawthorn Ridge near Beaumont-Hamel, where the fighting raged on 1st July 1916, the First Day of the Somme. We learn about a young officer, Eric Heaton, and visit a small battlefield cemetery where comrades lay side by side: Hawthorn Ridge No 1. Sign up for the free podcast newsletter here: Old Fr...

In this episode, published on the 103rd Anniversary of the Battle of Arras, we talk about some of the history of the battle and remember two veterans who were there in 1917: George Butler of the Machine Gun Corps and Malcolm Vyvyan MC of the Royal Garrison Artillery. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

In this episode we look at Battlefield Archaeology carried out by the Diggers near Ypres in 2001-2002, examine an original piece of recovered archaeology and visit the Advanced Dressing Station bunkers at Essex Farm, on the battlefields close to Ypres in Flanders.  Sign up for the free podcast newsletter here: Old Front Line Bulletin . You can order Old Front Line Merch via The Old Front Line Shop...

In this first Episode of the Old Front Line, Military Historian Paul Reed takes you on a walk across the Somme battlefields at Pozières, the scene of heavy fighting in 1916. We visit the cemetery and memorial, and travel through the village to 'Mucky Farm'. We also introduce a regular feature looking at WW1 objects, talking about a Great War officer's whistle.  Sign up for the free...