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Tracing your Great War Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians (Tracing Your Ancestors)
Par Simon Fowler. 2015
Do you have an ancestor who served at Ypres in the First World War, during the four years in which…
the city was in the front line? Perhaps you have thought of visiting the battlefields nearby and the monuments that commemorate them, and want to find out exactly where your ancestor served and what part he played in the four great battles that took place there?So many British soldiers served in Flanders during the long struggle to defend the Ypres Salient and to break out of it that there is a good chance that your ancestor was there at some stage of the war. This practical and informative handbook is an ideal guide to the struggle for the city and the stories of the men who took part in it. It is also a fascinating introduction to researching the Great War as a whole.Simon Fowler outlines the course of the fighting around the city and he introduces the most important historical resources that you can use to explore the history for yourself. The book identifies the key sources for family historians, including at The National Archives and the Imperial War Museum, together with the many resources online that researchers can turn to. There is also advice on the literature, archives, museums and monuments that may help you to gain an insight into your ancestor's story.Peace at Last: A Portrait of Armistice Day, 11 November 1918
Par Guy Cuthbertson. 2018
A vivid, intimate hour-by-hour account of Armistice Day 1918, including photographs: “A pleasure to read . . . full of fascinating tidbits.” —The…
Wall Street JournalThis is the first book to focus on the day the armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany, ending World War I. In this rich portrait of Armistice Day, which ranges from midnight to midnight, Guy Cuthbertson brings together news reports, photos, literature, memoirs, and letters to show how the people on the street, as well as soldiers and prominent figures like D. H. Lawrence and Lloyd George, experienced a strange, singular day of great joy, relief, and optimism—and examines how Britain and the wider world reacted to the news of peace.“[A] brilliant portrayal of Britain on the day that peace broke out; when people could believe there was an end to the war to end all wars. He weaves a wonderful tapestry of the mood and events across the country, drawing on a wide range of local and regional newspapers . . . accessible history at its best . . . outstanding.” —The Evening StandardFirst Americans: U.S. Patriotism in Indian Country after World War I
Par Thomas Grillot. 2018
The little-known story of how army veterans returning to reservation life after World War I transformed Native American identity. …
Drawing from archival sources and oral histories, Thomas Grillot demonstrates how the relationship between Native American tribes and the United States was reinvented in the years following World War I. During that conflict, twelve thousand Native American soldiers served in the U.S. Army. They returned home to their reservations with newfound patriotism, leveraging their veteran cachet for political power and claiming all the benefits of citizenship—even supporting the termination policy that ended the U.S. government&’s recognition of tribal sovereignty.Sniper on the Ypres Salient: An Infantryman’s War In The Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Par Sue Boase, William McCrae. 2022
Just after midnight on 22 April 1916 on the Western Front, a sergeant from the 15th (1st London) Royal Welsh…
Fusiliers came sliding and stumbling along the dark, mud-filled trench towards the four men, huddled together and soaked-through, in the shallow dugout. He was clutching his postbag in which there were four parcels for one of them, William McCrae, whose twentieth birthday fell on this day. A hand-written account by William, my grandfather, was found in my mother’s papers, long after his death. This book describes a year of his time fighting in the First World War, from December 1915 to December 1916. Two months after his birthday, he was marching towards the Somme, where he was to act as a runner during the key Welsh engagement in the Battle of Mametz Wood. Later, he went on to volunteer and train as a sniper. He continued in this role for over a year, becoming a lance corporal in the 38th Divisional Sniping Company while fighting on the Ypres Salient. His words emphasise the key role snipers played in the collecting of intelligence about the enemy, through close observation and careful reporting. His account stops abruptly in mid-sentence, just at the point where he indicates he is about to reveal more to us about ‘a new, interesting part of the line to be manned by us Snipers’. Piecing together clues from his sketches, maps and photos, and this book paints a picture of Williams’ time during the rest of the war. In 1917 he returned to England to train as a temporary officer in the 18th Officer Cadet Battalion at Prior Park, Bath. He came back to the Western Front as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment, where he was seconded to the 1/5 Lancashire Fusiliers until the end of the war. During this time, it is likely that his interest and experience as a sniper continued, with evidence that he may have taught at one of the Sniping Schools set up across France.Laugh or Cry: The British Soldier on the Western Front, 1914–1918
Par Peter Hart, Gary Bain. 2022
Awakened by great shouted oaths below. Peeped over the side of the manger and saw a Belgian lass milking and…
addressing a cow with a comprehensive luridness that left no doubt in my mind that British soldiers had been billeted here before.' - Private Norman Ellison, 1/6th King’s Liverpool Regiment Humor helped the British soldier survive the terrible experiences they faced in the trenches of the Western Front during the Great War. Human beings are complicated, and there is no set pattern as to how they react to the outrageous stresses of war. But humor, often dark and representative of the horrors around them could and often did help. They may have been up to their knees in mud and blood, soaking wet and shot at from all sides, but many were still determined to see the ‘funny side’, rather than surrender to utter misery. Peter Hart and Gary Bain have delved deep into the archives to find examples of the soldier’s wit. The results are at times hilarious but rooted in tragedy. You have to laugh or cry.The Archaeology of the Royal Flying Corps: Trench Art, Souvenirs and Lucky Mascots (Modern Conflict Archaeology)
Par Melanie Winterton. 2022
"Winterton’s book is a good introductory effort on the haptic environment of World War I aviators and their personal artifacts."—The…
Journal of the Air Force Historical FoundationArchaeology provides a fascinating insight into the lives of the aviators of the First World War. Their descriptions of the sensation of flying in the open cockpits of the primitive warplanes of the day, and the artifacts that have survived from these first years of aerial combat, give us a powerful sense of what their wartime service was like and chart the beginning of our modern understanding of aviation. But the subject hasn’t been explored in any depth before, which is why Melanie Winterton’s pioneering book is so timely. Hers is the first study of the trench art, souvenirs and lucky mascots associated with the Royal Flying Corps which, in an original way, tell us so much about the experience of flying on the Western Front a century ago. Extensive quotations from the memoirs of these early airmen are combined with an analysis of the artifacts themselves. They convey something of the fear and anxiety the airmen had to grapple with on a daily basis and bring out the full significance of the poignant souvenirs they left behind. Pieces of crashed aeroplane – wooden propellers, strips of linen, fragments of metal – were recycled and circulated during the war and afterwards became the focus of attention in the domestic home. As Melanie Winterton demonstrates, these items connected the living with the deceased, which is why they are so strongly evocative even today.Poilu: The World War I Notebooks of Corporal Louis Barthas, Barrelmaker, 1914 – 1918
Par Louis Barthas. 2014
&“An exceptionally vivid memoir of a French soldier&’s experience of the First World War.&”—Max Hastings, New York Times bestselling author…
Along with millions of other Frenchmen, Louis Barthas, a thirty-five-year-old barrelmaker from a small wine-growing town, was conscripted to fight the Germans in the opening days of World War I. Corporal Barthas spent the next four years in near-ceaseless combat, wherever the French army fought its fiercest battles: Artois, Flanders, Champagne, Verdun, the Somme, the Argonne. First published in France in 1978, this excellent new translation brings Barthas&’ wartime writings to English-language readers for the first time. His notebooks and letters represent the quintessential memoir of a &“poilu,&” or &“hairy one,&” as the untidy, unshaven French infantryman of the fighting trenches was familiarly known. Upon Barthas&’ return home in 1919, he painstakingly transcribed his day-to-day writings into nineteen notebooks, preserving not only his own story but also the larger story of the unnumbered soldiers who never returned. Recounting bloody battles and endless exhaustion, the deaths of comrades, the infuriating incompetence and tyranny of his own officers, Barthas also describes spontaneous acts of camaraderie between French poilus and their German foes in trenches just a few paces apart. An eloquent witness and keen observer, Barthas takes his readers directly into the heart of the Great War. &“This is clearly one of the most readable and indispensable accounts of the death of the glory of war.&”—The Daily Beast (&“Hot Reads&”)The World Crisis: 1911-1914 (Winston S. Churchill World Crisis Collection #1)
Par Winston S. Churchill. 2013
The causes of the Great War are examined in this first volume of the series that is &“essential reading, as…
fresh and compelling as ever&” (Jon Meacham, bestselling author of Franklin and Winston). An absorbing history of the outbreak of World War I from a true insider&’s point of view, the first volume of Winston S. Churchill&’s five-volume The World Crisis is unsurpassed as both a historical and personal account of the earth-shaking events leading up to WWI. Beginning in 1911, when Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty, this report is based on thousands of his personal letters and memos. Churchill&’s epic series opens with a chilling description of the Agadir Crisis, and provides an in-depth account of naval clashes in the Dardanelles, one of Churchill&’s major military failures. It takes readers from the fierce bloodshed of the Gallipoli campaign to the tide-turning battles of Jutland and Verdun—as well as the United States&’ entry into the combat theatre. Written in powerful prose by a great leader who would also go on to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature, The World Crisis, 1911–1914 provides a perspective you won&’t find anywhere else: a dynamic insider&’s account of events that would shape the outcome of modern history. &“Whether as a statesman or an author, Churchill was a giant; and The World Crisis towers over most other books about the Great War.&” —David Fromkin, author of A Peace to End All PeaceIn the past, while visiting the First World War battlefields, the author often wondered where the various Victoria Cross actions…
took place. He resolved to find out. In 1988, in the midst of his army career, research for this book commenced and over the years numerous sources have been consulted. Victoria Crosses on the Western Front: Battles of the Hindenburg Line - Havrincourt and Epehy is designed for the battlefield visitor as much as the armchair reader. A thorough account of each VC action is set within the wider strategic and tactical context. Detailed sketch maps show the area today, together with the battle-lines and movements of the combatants. It will allow visitors to stand upon the spot, or very close to, where each VC was won. Photographs of the battle sites richly illustrate the accounts. There is also a comprehensive biography for each recipient, covering every aspect of their lives warts and all: parents and siblings, education, civilian employment, military career, wife and children, death and burial/commemoration. A host of other information, much of it published for the first time, reveals some fascinating characters, with numerous links to many famous people and events.The Last Post: Music, Remembrance and the Great War
Par Alwyn W. Turner. 2014
A history of the military bugle call, its use at the end of World War I on Armistice Day, and…
its effect in today’s culture.At eleven o’clock on the morning of the 11th November 1919 the entire British Empire came to a halt to remember the dead of the Great War. During that first two-minute silence all transport stayed still, all work ceased and millions stood motionless in the streets. The only human sound to be heard was the desolate weeping of those overcome by grief. Then the moment was brought to an end by the playing of the Last Post.A century on, that lone bugle call remains the most emotionally charged piece of music in public life. In an increasingly secular society, it is the closest thing we have to a sacred anthem. Yet along with the poppy, the Cenotaph and the tomb of the Unknown Warrior, its power is profoundly modern. It is a response to the trauma of war that could only have evolved in a democratic age.In this moving exploration of the Last Post’s history, Alwyn W. Turner considers the call’s humble origins and shows how its mournful simplicity reached beyond class, beyond religion, beyond patriotism to speak directly to peoples around the world. Along the way he contemplates the relationship between history and remembrance, and seeks out the legacy of the First World War in today’s culture.Gallipoli: The End of the Myth
Par Robin Prior. 2009
The noted historian&’s decisive and devastating history of the WWI Battle of Gallipoli &“sets a new standard for assessing the…
Allied Dardanelles campaign" (Mustafa Aksakal, American Historical Review). The Gallipoli campaign of 1915–16 was an ill-fated Allied attempt to take control of the Dardanelles, secure a sea route to Russia, and create a Balkan alliance against the Central Powers. A failure in all respects, the operation ended in disaster, and the Allied forces suffered some 390,000 casualties. In this conclusive study, military historian Robin Prior assesses the many myths about Gallipoli and provides definitive answers to questions that have lingered about the operation. Prior proceeds step by step through the campaign, dealing with naval, military, and political matters and surveying the operations of all the armies involved: British, Anzac, French, Indian, and Turkish. Relying on primary documents, including war diaries and technical military sources, Prior evaluates the strategy, the commanders, and the performance of soldiers on the ground. His conclusions are powerful and unsettling: the naval campaign was not &“almost&” won, and the land action was not bedeviled by &“minor misfortunes.&” Instead, the badly conceived Gallipoli campaign was doomed from the start. And even had it been successful, the operation would not have shortened the war by a single day. Despite their bravery, the Allied troops who fell at Gallipoli died in vain.A Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2009Women and the First World War (Seminar Studies)
Par Susan R. Grayzel. 2024
In this revised version of a ground-breaking global history of women and the First World War, Susan Grayzel shows the…
multiple ways in which women faced the enormous challenges the war presented, both the losses as well as the opportunities that the war provided. The First World War was a total war requiring the mobilisation of millions of both civilians and combatants. It decisively shaped the modern world. A century after the signing of the last peace treaty to end this conflict, its experiences and legacies for women continue to inspire debate and interest. With new evidence from the tremendous outpouring of scholarship on women in all participant states, including those in occupied territories, Europe and its overseas empires, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the United States over the last twenty years, this edition greatly expands the coverage of the war geographically while continuing to showcase diverse women’s voices. Topical in its approach, it allows for a thorough exploration of the intersectional experiences of women. Including new documents highlighting the ways in which women wrote their wars and that detail the impact of this conflict on women of different statuses and geographies, this book opens the door to further inquiry on the women of the First World War. With documents providing first-hand accounts, a chronology and a glossary, the book is an ideal text for students studying the First World War or the history of women.A Muddy Trench: Hamish Mann, Black Watch, Officer-Poet, 1896–1917
Par Jacquie Buttriss. 2018
The recent discovery of a wooden chest, unopened for 100 years revealed a treasure trove of eloquent trench diaries, letters…
and poetry. The author was Hamish Mann, a young Black Watch subaltern killed in France in 1917 just five days after his 21st birthday.Thanks to Manns outstanding literary gifts and prodigious output, this book re-lives his fateful journey from the declaration of war, his voluntary work at a military hospital, his training and commission and, finally, his service with 8th Black Watch on the Somme.The daily hardship and trauma he experienced at the Front were shared with countless thousands of his comrades. But Hamishs extraordinary gift was his ability to record the traumatic events and the range of his emotions, writing often in his dug-out by the light of a guttering candle.A century on, thanks to the Familys discovery and Jacquie Buttrisss sensitive commentary, Hamishs tragically short life can be celebrated and his literary legacy given the recognition it so richly deserves.London: The British Capital Under Attack Since 1867
Par Ian Jones. 2016
When it comes to being bombed, London is unique. Although it cannot claim to be the most bombed capital city…
in terms of the weight of explosive detonated it has endured the most varied and unrelenting attack since the discovery of explosives. From the first Irish Republican bomb in 1867, London and its population have been under almost constant assault. Terrorism features in virtually every decade from the 1860s to the present and has caused much damage, particularly during the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, by far the greatest destruction was from the air. The Zeppelin and Gotha bomber raids in the First World War being but a foretaste of what would happen in the Second. Then the capital was devastated, firstly by the Luftwaffes aeroplanes and then Hitlers vengeance weapons, the V-1s and V-2s. After the Second World War the bombers returned, in the form of the IRA and then the home-grown terrorists of 2005. Written by a former Explosives Officer who worked for the Counter Terrorism Command of the Metropolitan Police, this is the most comprehensive and record of Britains capital under attack that has ever been compiled.To Keep the British Isles Afloat: FDR's Men in Churchill's London, 1941
Par Thomas Parrish. 2009
“Thomas Parrish’s account of Anglo-American relations in 1941 is a carefully researched and deftly written slice of history showing FDR’s…
hidden hand at work. It is a lesson on the virtues of diplomacy.” — Ted Morgan, author of CHURCHILLParrish’s book brings Hopkins and Harriman vividly to life--each was indeed a character, and the author’s perception of FDR’s thinking is exceptionally sensitive. For historians most useful. For the rest of us a very good read, a page turner for me. — Curtis Roosevelt, author of TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN: Growing Up in the Shadow of my Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor“A vivid portrait of crucial maneuverings in the most crucial yet little-noted of years, Thomas Parrish’s new book…offers a fresh look at how Churchill’s Britain survived while Roosevelt’s America moved ever so slowly toward forming what became the Grand Alliance.” — Jon Meacham, author of FRANKLIN AND WINSTON“In an engaging, and authoritative voice, Thomas Parrish vividly depicts Harry Hopkins and Averell Harriman, and delineates their crucial role in saving Great Britain and, thus, America during the early part of World War II. This book shines a new light on Franklin Roosevelt and his partnership with Winston Churchill” — Will Swift, author of THE KENNEDYS AMIDST THE GATHERING STORM“Plays a valuable role in highlighting an often overlooked period of the Second World War, after the Battle of Britain but before Pearl Harbor, when President Roosevelt struggled to find and implement a policy of all possible material aid and support short of American military involvement and war. — Alan Packwood, Director, The Churchill Archives Centre“Parrish is a skilled writer, adept at conveying an authentic sense of the prevailing atmosphere...1941 is the compelling story here, now illuminated by this account of the successful efforts of two pathfinding American statesmen to help bring the liberal democracies together.” — Fraser Harbutt, Department of History, Emory University, author of The Iron CurtainParrish, the author of several books about World War II, uses Clare Booth to back into his thesis that a sleepy, isolationist America needed to be roused, and that Roosevelt relied on two remarkable men – Hopkins and Harriman – to help sound the alarm and secure aid for Britain. — New York Times Book Review“Larry Berman in his book—insightful, overdue, an authentic ‘Shock and Awe’ story—deftly humanizes the contradictions in An’s life” — -Bernard…
Kalb“Berman has done an excellent job… There’s plenty here for both supporters and critics of the Vietnam War to ponder.” — Dan Southerland, former correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor in Saigon“Berman has unraveled the mystery of his strange double life in an engrossing narrative.” — Stanley Karnow, author of Vietnam: A History and winner of the 1991 Pulitzer Prize in historyPraise for NO PEACE NO HONOR “A marvelous piece of work.” — Daniel EllsbergPraise for NO PEACE NO HONOR “Carefully researched, authoritative, and highly readable.” — Stanley Karnow, author of Vietnam: A HistoryPraise for LYNDON JOHNSON’S WAR “A masterful job.” — Marvin KalbPraise for LYNDON JOHNSON’S WAR “Highly readable, full of telling quoted from newly opened sources.” — Walter LafeberPraise for LYNDON JOHNSON’S WAR “Berman has delivered the coup de grace.” — Townsend Hoopes“A remarkable blend of biography, history, and personal experience... Highly recommended.” ---A.O. Edmonds — Library JournalThe Myth of the Great War: A New Military History Of World War 1
Par John Mosier. 2001
“Students of military history love to argue, and John Mosier gives them much to argue about. From armaments and tactics…
to strategy and politics, he challenges conventional wisdom and forces a rethinking of the war that inaugurated the modern era.” — H.W. Brands, author of The First American and TR: The Last Romantic“Ther is much in this book I really admire, not least its brilliant recasting of the traditional military narrative.” — Niall Ferguson, author of The Pity of War“A compelling and novel reassessment of World War I military history.”— — Kirkus Reviews“Packed with evidence, much of it ingeniously obtained and argued.” — Washington PostOne Day the Soldiers Came: Voices of Children in War
Par Charles London. 2007
“A profound and deeply moving journey into the minds of children who live with war.” — Ishmael Beah, #1 New…
York Times bestselling author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier“Charles London brings an uncomfortable truth to life. This book is often difficult reading, but attention must be paid.” — Ambassador Richard Holbrooke“The stories told by these children...are essential to our humanity...” — --Ben Fountain, author of BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH CHE GUEVARA“An unblinking account of a peculiar human reality...a wise and captivating story.” — Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Eat, Pray, Love“Shining a light on the horrors inflicted on those most vulnerable is noble work.” — New York Post, "Required Reading" reveiw“Eye-opening ...Searing and heartbreaking” — Kirkus Reviews“[London’s] passionate personal engagement will get readers thinking about elemental issues...” — Booklist“It is London’s sincerity, discernment, feelings, and penchant for analysis that are always on display...Children as well as adults should read this book.” — Baltimore TimesThe Magical Stranger: A Son's Journey into His Father's Life
Par Stephen Rodrick. 2013
On November 28, 1979, squadron commander and Navy pilot Peter Rodrick died when his plane crashed in the Indian Ocean.…
He was just thirty-six and had been the commanding officer of his squadron for 127 days. Eight thousand miles away on Whidbey Island, near Seattle, he left behind a grief-stricken wife, two daughters, and a thirteenyear-old son who would grow up to be a writer—one who was drawn, perhaps inevitably, to write about his father, his family, and the devastating consequences of military service.In The Magical Stranger, Stephen Rodrick explores the life and death of the man who indelibly shaped his life, even as he remained a mystery: brilliant but unknowable, sacred but absent—an apparition gone 200 days of the year for much of his young son's life—a born leader who gave his son little direction. Through adolescence and into adulthood, Rodrick struggled to grasp fully the reality of his father's death and its permanence. Peter's picture and memory haunted the family home, but his name was rarely mentioned.To better understand his father and his own experience growing up without him, Rodrick turned to today's members of his father's former squadron, spending nearly two years with VAQ-135, the "World-Famous Black Ravens." His travels take him around the world, from Okinawa and Hawaii to Bahrain and the Persian Gulf—but always back to Whidbey Island, the setting of his family's own story. As he learns more about his father, he also uncovers the layers of these sailors' lives: their brides and girlfriends, friendships, dreams, disappointments—and the consequences of their choices on those they leave behind.A penetrating, thoughtful blend of memoir and reportage, The Magical Stranger is a moving reflection on the meaning of service and the power of a father's legacy.Airway to the East, 1918–1920: And the Collapse of No.1 Aerial Route RAF
Par Clive Semple. 2011
The origins of what became officially known as No 1 Aerial Route lay in the newly formed Royal Air Forces…
desire to move several squadrons of the then recently designed first heavy bomber to enter service the Handley Page O/400, to the war in the Middle-East. The aircraft had served on the Western Front with some success, although not in the long-range capacity. During the spring of 1918, the Wing Commander of No 5 Wing, Billy Borton, requested that one of the HP O/400 aircraft be flown to Egypt. This was approved by Major General Sir Frederick Sykes. Before the flight could proceed a great deal of planning was required since the aircrafts maximum range was only 600 miles. Several refueling and maintenance bases along the route were required. When planned in 1918 the route was from Paris Lyons, Istres, Pisa, Rome, Barletta, Taranto, Athens, Crete, Mersa Matru and finally Cairo. Each landing station would require fuel, spares, and communications and back-up personnel. On July 50.00 1918 a new HPO/400 set off from Manston in Kent with Borton and his pilot Major McLaren plus two crew. After a comparatively trouble-free flight the bomber arrived in Aboukir, Alexandria on the evening of 7 August. As a result, the RAF decided to use this route to fly several squadrons of the Handley Page bombers shortly after the war had ended. The Arab leaders had found out that the Allies promise that the captured Turkish lands would be returned to them was a duplicitous lie and that France and Great Britain would take control of the area. This quite naturally lead to massive unrest and rioting throughout the middle-eastern lands. The bombers were needed to quell the rioting and sabotage that had broken out. Thus, on 3 May 1919 58 Squadron set of from France on No 1 Aerial Route. It was a premature departure since many of the refueling airfields along the route were not prepared for there incoming customers. Chaos ensued by 1 November Three Squadrons had been dispatched. Of the 51 bombers sent only 26 had arrived, ten were stuck en-route and 15 had been written-off as broken or lost at sea and 11 aircrew had perished.This is the story of the development of the route. It would eventually form the first stage of the Imperial Air Route to Australia.