Tales from the Battlefields

In this episode we follow the Army Benevolent “Frontline Walk” from the Somme to Ypres. Over 50 people walked 100K from the Lochnager Crater to the Menin Gate, via Vimy Ridge, to raise funds for this charity. Along the way, we discover stories of the men who served on the Western Front. We hear about the Heyworth brothers who are remembered at Arras, and discover an incredible coincidence that occurred when I visited the Thiepval Memorial. We talk to a fundraiser whose Great Uncle fought on the Somme and walk around a massive German cemetery. We also hear from several walkers and discover what the walk has meant to them.

In this episode we travel to Ypres and visit some of the mine craters on the Messines Ridge. What did we discover? We find out through my eyes and the eyes of the soldiers who were there in June 1917. We then visit Talbot House in Poperinge and discover news about a new research project that is being undertaken to discover the stories of the boys who visited the house. We listen to some of their stories and discover what happened to them on the battlefield. We also discover the original copies of the “Wipers Times” in the House archives, and listen to part of the stage play that was performed in Ypres on the eve of the Centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele.

In this episode we discover the tragic stories of 2 soldiers, one from London and one from Australia, who both died from the effects of German trench mortar fire. But not during a famous battle. These were incidents that happened during a quiet period in the trenches. What happened to them? Lance Corporal Thomas Stevenson from New South Wales had been wounded and buried by shellfire at Fromelles but survived, only to die near Messines a year later. And Alf Stevenson from London died of gas poisoning on the Somme. But how?

In this week’s episode we travel to the Passchendaele battlefield and discover previously untold stories about 2 boys from the opposite ends of the world, who were killed in action in this infamous battle. Neil Newsum was a bespectacled student from Lincoln, who gave up his university education to become an Officer in the Lincolnshire Regiment. What happened to him during a successful action in September 1917? What did his men say about him after his death? Could we find a possible grave for him?And we read a poem at the grave of Rifleman Herbert Harris, from Canterbury in New Zealand, written by his family after his death. Who was he and how did they remember him?

In this episode we travel to Twickenham, the home of English Rugby, to meet up with the families of 2 England Rugby internationals who died together, on the same day, 9th August 1916 at Guillemont on the Somme battlefield. The families had been introduced to each other by the author, Toby Goodman, of a book about the 2 men. We discover how their journey, and friendship, took them from the rugby fields to the battlefields, and we hear eye witness accounts of their final hours. We also hear from England World Cup Winner Lewis Moody, who told Toby about Jack and Noel’s story, and he talks about the strong connection between rugby and the Great War. He also discusses a portrait hanging at Twickenham called “Forever England”, showing the faces of 6 England players who died in the war.

In this episode we discover what happened to the veterans after the guns had stopped firing. We find out that their suffering continued for decades, and, in some cases, caused their death years later. We hear the words of Joseph Pickard of the Northumberland Fusiliers. He was left for dead on the battlefield and he describes what happened when he went home without his nose, and how some children laughed at him. How did he react? Did he regret enlisting? We find out how some men turned to crime to feed themselves, and an Officer who left a legacy in his will to a soldier who had helped him when he was wounded at Ypres, and another Officer who gave a Christmas hamper to the Great War’s first wounded man. Who was he? And much more too...

In this episode we mark the 110th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme by following the successful advance by 6th Northamptonshire’s on that infamous day. How did they achieve their objectives on such a disastrous day for the British Army? We tell their story through the eyes of the soldiers who were there. Men like their popular Commanding Officer George Ripley – what did he give each of his boys as a present before the battle? And Richard Jerrams. Richard and his mate Joe walked 25 miles, and slept overnight in a ditch, to enlist with the battalion. What happened to them? We also hear about Private Fred Roberts, who used found himself face to face with Germans in a dugout…what happened then.

In this episode we talk to historian and author Neil Barber about the 6th Airborne Division. We discuss the men that landed on D Day and how Neil got to know them and discover their incredible stories of bravery. We hear about Wally Parr, the Para who used a German gun to shoot at the enemy, and the Frenchman who wasn’t bothered about the battle going on outside his home and went back to bed! We also listen to an emotional “last letter home” from Stan Eckert, read by 17 year old Charlie. Stan and his brother were both killed in action are buried together in Ranville Cemetery. We remember them, and many others.

In this episode we travel to La Boisselle and follow the fortunes of the Tyneside Scottish volunteers on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916. Who were these men? What happened to them as they went “over the top” at 7.30am on this disastrous day? Who was the 16 year old “Boy Soldier”? And what happened to their Commanding Officers in No Man’s Land? This episode was recorded on the battlefield, as we walk through the village and discuss their brave actions with Newcastle City historian Martin Talbot.

In this episode we travel to the Somme battlefield of 1st July 1916 and follow in the footsteps of the 36th Ulster Division on that day. We learn, through the eyes of the soldiers who were there, what happened as they charged into the Schwaben Redoubt. We discover what the veteran’s thoughts were when they returned in 1930 and what happened when war returned to the area in 1940. What became of the caretaker of the Ulster Tower? And we walk across No Man’s Land and discover 2 battlefield cemeteries. What did we find along the way?

In this episode we travel to the 1917 Arras battlefield following in the footsteps of Sgt Fred Height, 9th Royal Fusiliers. Fred was killed on the first day of the battle and has no known grave. We follow his journey from his home in Northamptonshire to France, and walk the battlefield where his battalion advanced. We discover a possible grave for Fred in a nearby cemetery. We also talk to 15 year old Harry, who reads a poem he wrote after visiting the mine craters on the Somme battlefield.

In this episode we travel to the Somme battlefield of 1916 and 1918, and beyond, following in the footsteps of 5 soldiers. I tell their stories during a battlefield tour with their families. We learn how two of them were captured during the German Spring Offensive. One survived and one didn’t return home. We discover how a Northumberland Fusilier was killed and his grave lost. But did we find his final resting place? And the Ambulance Driver whose job it was to transport casualties to the medical units. But why did he end up on a charge? We also visit the Loos battlefield to discover a soldier killed on the first day of the battle. We also have another “battlefield coincidence.

In this episode we travel to St Pol and discover a memorial to the Unknown Warrior and the tragic story of 3 soldiers buried together who were “Shot at Dawn”. What is their story? We then walk the September 1916 Somme battlefield from Bazentin to Martinpuich and discover the “iron harvest” along the way and find out why so many Germans surrendered. Within a cemetery on the battlefield, we find 3 Newfoundland soldiers who were killed at Beaumont Hamel on 1st July 1916. But why are they buried so far away from where they fell?