The Old Front Line

In this special episode, Paul Reed discusses the Ypres League 's mission to preserve the history of the Ypres Salient and the significance of Demarcation Stones that mark the furthest advance of German forces during the First World War in 1918. Roger Stewart and Dr Dominiek Dendooven share insights into the history, design, and restoration efforts of these stones, emphasizing the importance o...

In this episode, we explore the role of British Army Chaplains during the First World War, examining who they were, what duties they performed at the front, and how effective they were in the brutal conditions of the Great War. We also ask whether chaplains are commemorated on their own permanent memorial today. We then tackle a persistent myth of the First World War: w ere German machine-gunners...

Is the First World War slowly fading from public memory, or has our relationship with the Great War simply changed? In this episode, Are We Forgetting The First World War? , we explore how interest in WW1 has grown, shifted, and adapted over the last forty years, and what the future may hold. We begin in the 1980s , with the formation and growth of the Western Front Association , a turning point t...

In this episode of The Old Front Line , we explore how individual lives and institutions reveal the human realities of the First World War. We begin by asking why only three officers were Shot at Dawn during the war, and what this striking disparity tells us about military justice, discipline, and class within the British Army. We then turn to the work of the Australian Wounded and Missing Enquiry...

We return to the subject of Forgotten Memoirs of the First World War and discuss T he Years of Remembrance by Harold Maybury which was published in 1924. Maybury served in the ranks of the 2/4th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment in the 57th (2nd West Lancs) Division , on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918. We ask what the book tells us about the experience of the Great War and what value memoirs...

In this episode, we delve into a lesser-known but essential aspect of First World War life: the use and organisation of latrines on the battlefield . Where did soldiers actually go to the toilet, how were these facilities constructed, and did men really need permission to use them? We then explore the history of the Military Police in WW1 , from the Military Foot Police and Military Mounted Police...

In this episode we discuss the importance of oral history and what it tells us about the experience of conflict and the culture of the British military in the Great War, and we contrast two interviews I did with veterans in the 1980s: Jack Aston who served with 12th Squadron Royal Flying Corps and Aubrey Rose who was with the Queen's Westminster Rifles at Ypres and the Somme.  The image for t...

In this episode, we unpack the meaning and origins of the term Downland , and explore how this distinctive landscape helps us better understand the geography and terrain of the First World War . We take a closer look at the Lewis Machine Gun , examining how it worked, how a Lewis Gun section operated in battle, and its role on the Western Front. We also consider the influence of the Franco-Prussia...

In this special edition, we’re joined by Jon Gedling , Director of Estates for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission , to discuss the challenges and responsibilities involved in caring for First World War cemeteries in Belgium and France . We explore the history behind making these cemeteries permanent after the Great War, how maintenance practices have evolved, and the background to the so-calle...

In this 40th Questions and Answers episode, we explore some of the lesser-known battlefields of the Western Front , uncovering places where traces of the First World War fighting can still be seen today. We examine what really happened to trenches after they were captured in battle, discuss whether WW1 historians face a new challenge from Artificial Intelligence , and debate the nature of First Wo...

We travel to the area Behind the Lines of West of Arras, visiting cemeteries where Casualty Clearing Stations were moved back to in 1918, discuss a small village where WW1 meets WW2, discover some original Great War graffiti on a farm building wall and visit on the of the most important Arras cemeteries covering all four years of the fighting and seeing the grave of Canada's most decorated or...

In this episode we ask what is the current size of the 'Zone Rouge' and are there plans to clear it? We then look at the use of morphine to treat pain and was this misused? We then look at when Steel Helmets were first issued to British and Canadian troops, and end by asking what WW1 slang words are still in use today? The Old Front Line on YouTube: Old Front Line Channel . The OFL episo...

In a special episode we are joined by Professor Peter Doyle who delivered this talk on Loos at a Podcast Supporters Evening for the 110th Anniversary of the battle last month. Peter's new edition of is book is found here: Loos 1915 . 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 . Got a question about thi...

In this latest QnA episode, we tackle a fresh set of listener questions about the First World War, ranging from battlefield geography to the realities of supply and discipline at the front. We start with how hills and features were numbered along the front line—was there really only one “Hill 80”? Then we turn to the huge challenge of logistics , exploring how both sides managed to feed, arm, and...

We return to the memories of WW1 veteran Malcolm Vyvyan MC , who served with 96th Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery on the Western Front from 1916, and then latterly the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force. We follow him from the Somme to Arras, until he leaves his Battery for flying training in 1918. The previous episode covering Malcolm's memoirs: A Siege Battery Gunner . Sign up fo...

In this WW1 Q&A episode , we explore the lives and social backgrounds of British Army officers , ask whether First World War veterans hated their German enemies , and share the remarkable stories of soldiers who were discharged but re-enlisted to fight again. We also look at how people living on the Western Front battlefields today connect with the war, and whether interest in the Great War is...

What was the “Forgotten Front” of Northern France? In this episode, we explore the stretch of battlefield from Armentières on the Belgian border through La Bassée to the ground near Loos, scene of the Big Push of September 1915 : fought 110 years ago this weekend. We uncover the history, walk the landscape, and share the stories of the men who fought and fell on this often-overlooked part of the W...

In our first QnA Episode for Season 9 we look at what happened to the German forces when the guns went silent on 11th November 1918, discuss the use of poison gas and it's legacy on the battlefields today, examine if British and German dead were buried in the same trenches on the battlefield, and ask what happened to the horses used by the British Army when the war came to an end? Sign up for...

In our first episode of Season 9, we walk the northern part of the Somme battlefield from Foncquevillers out to the ground before Gommecourt, and examine the attack here by the 46th (North Midland) Division on 1st July 1916. We examine the Court of Enquiry, the roles of the commanders Major-General Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley and Lieutenant General Sir Sir Thomas D’Oyly Snow, and hear the...

In our third and final Bonus Episode that brings Season 8 to a close, we have a live recording from the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, recorded while out leading a battlefield tour a few weeks ago. We reflect on the subjects we have covered on the podcast, on what the Menin Gate means to us, and how the whole subject of the Great War continues to develop.  Sign up for the free podcast newsletter he...

In this second Bonus Episode to end Season 8 of the podcast we look at the subject of Great War veterans and in particular Malcolm Vyvyan who served as a Siege Battery officer in the Royal Garrison Artillery on the Somme, Arras and Flanders, and was awarded the Military Cross in 1917.  Sign up for the free podcast newsletter here: Old Front Line Bulletin . Got a question about this episode or any...

In the first of three Bonus Episodes of the podcast to end Season 8, we travel to Fricourt on the Somme and examine the journey to unveil a memorial to the 17th (Northern) Division in the church there in July 1938, just over a year before the outbreak of a Second World War. Who made that pilgrimage to Picardy, and what does it tell us about the experience of the Great War?  The image used for this...

In the final episode of our Air War series we travel across the landscape of the First World War and discover what we can find that connects us to the story of the Royal Flying Corps and RAF in WW1, from memorials to cemeteries and sites of former aerodromes.  Along the way we examine the stories of some of the Aces from James McCudden VC to Manfred Von Richthofen - The Red Baron - to Bob Little f...

In this special and extended QnA Episode we look at Parachutes in the Air Services in WW1, the Ground Crew who kept the planes in the air, what are the best RFC/RAF memoirs of WW1, how the filming of the Red Baron's funeral was received, and how men applied for transfers to the Air Services and what was the selection process for Pilots and Observers. Sign up for the free podcast newsletter he...

In the second of our special interviews for the War in the Air series, we are joined by historian and broadcaster Josh Levine to discuss the war in the air in WW1, based on his best-selling book On A Wing and A Prayer. Josh's book 'On A Wing and A Prayer' is now published in paperback at Fighter Heroes of WW1 ( Harper Collins 2011) Sign up for the free podcast newsletter here: Old F...