! ! CHELTENHAM & GLOUCESTER BRANCH of THE WESTERN FRONT ASSOCIATION Number 92 June 2014 Welcome I have just learnt that the Ministry of Defence is planning to close the Royal Artillery Musuem, resulting in, it seems, all medals being given to the Of>icers’ Mess and the books and records going onto open shelves in the local library. Interesting pieces of ordnance are to be put into storage in a warehouse and everything else to be got rid of. Personally I am horri>ied by this and think that it sounds like an absolute disaster. If you're interested in voicing your concerns you can sign an online e-‐petition that has been set up on the HM Government website: http:// epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/64840. Please also pass on this information to anyone that you think may be interested. The Royal Star & Garter Homes is organising a sponsored Battle>ields Trek in September to commemorate the Centenary and we have some information sheets available tonight. The Everyman Theatre is staging an adaptation of Harvey’s unpublished novel Will Harvey’s War and Bob Brunsdon is kindly arranging a trip to see the play on Thursday 31 July. The tickets are £12. If you would like to come along please contact Bob as soon as possible -‐ [email protected]. Also, there is a pre-‐show talk on Friday 1 August by one of our members, Roger Deeks who is Chair of the F W Harvey Society. The talk is free but must be booked through the box of>ice. The Woodland Trust is offering WFA branches the chance to apply to receive a free pack of saplings to create living memorials to remember the heroes that played a role in our community, from soldiers >ighting at the Somme to women at work. If you know of a suitable site please let me know. This offer is part of a four year project which will create four iconic woods in each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to mark the Centenary. For more information on the project visit www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/ donate/centenary-woods/ Peter Future meetings 8 July 2014 12 August 2014 The Tunnelling Companies in the Great War Dr Ritchie Wood PRINCE MICHAEL HALL at 7:30pm Finland in the Great War Stephen Lewis TBC at 7:30pm The British, from the crudest of starts, developed 25 Tunnelling Companies suf>iciently well manned and equipped to more than neutralise the German challenge. The different techniques and technology of military mining and the working conditions in the different ground conditions, as opposed to civil mining, is considered. In 1914, Finland, a Grand-‐Duchy of the Russian Empire, found itself in a dif>icult position. Finnish men served in the Imperial Russian Army, but the Finns were planning for independence. In a secret agreement, Finns enlisted into a German regiment to get training and experience and, when the time came, help Finland gain independence for the >irst time. The miners’ other work included the creation of dugouts and subways, the destruction of bridges and crossroads during the German 1918 advance, help in constructing bridges and roads d u r i n g t h e B r i t i s h 1 9 1 8 a dva n c e a n d particularly heroic work in defusing land mines, delayed-‐action mines and booby traps during this time. There was a price to pay and tribute will be made to the inevitable casualties. This is a story of bizarre twists: the world's only of>icial medal for draft dodging; a short but very bloody civil war; Bolshevik Finnish troops forming a British regiment; the settlement of wanted Finnish Bolshevik war criminals in Canada; the adoption of the swastika as the national military emblem; the birth of a modern nation, that despite its small population would go on to defeat two massive Soviet invasions. Albert Henry Hale, Private 722581 1/24th Battalion The London Regiment Albert Henry Hale was born in 1875 near Ruardean in the Forest of Dean. He was the son of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale. Isaac Hale was a stationary engine driver in one of the local collieries but was later landlord of the Malt Shovel Inn in the village for many years. the >ield the next day. He was subsequently renumbered as Private 722581. He would have been with his battalion during the Battle of Flers Courcelette in September 1916. HHe was killed in action during the Third Battle of Ypres on 26 August 1917, aged 42 years, and was buried at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood, Ypres. He was Isaac and Elizabeth’s last surviving son. Albert Henry did not follow his father into the coal mines or the licensed trade but spent all his adult life in the drapery trade in London, working his way up from assistant to >loor walker. At the age of 40 years and 6 months he attested on 11 December 1915, as Private 5711 in the 3/24th Battalion The London Regiment, and was initially placed on the Army Reserve. His service record shows that he was transferred, on 2 June 1916, to 1/24th Battalion and sailed from Southampton on 2 August 1916 with a draft of reinforcements, joining his unit in HHis platoon commander wrote to his mother expressing his condolences and the admiration and respect of his comrades for the manner in which he had carried out his duties, particularly in view of his comparatively advanced age. He is also remembered on the war memorial in St John the Baptist Church, Ruardean. Eric Nicholls July events The WFA President’s Conference is on Saturday 5 July from 10am to 5pm (doors open at 9.15am) at the Tally Ho Conference Centre, Birmingham B5 7RN. The theme is A World at War 1914-18. 1914: The BEF and the German Imperial Armies. There are >ive key speakers: Dr Robert Foley -‐ The German armies face the BEF in 1914 Dr Peter Lieb -‐ The Eastern Front 1914 Dr Spencer Jones -‐ Command Amidst Chaos: leadership in the BEF Professor Gary Shef>ield -‐ Douglas Haig as Corps Commander in 1914 Professor Stephen Badsey -‐ Remembrance and False Memory: what everyone knows about the war Contact details The Western Front Association P O Box 1918 Stockport SK4 4WN 0161 443 1918 [email protected] www.westernfrontassociation.com The conference fee is £30. This includes buffet lunch and tea or coffee on arrival, and during morning and afternoon breaks. There is an optional three-‐course post-‐conference dinner at £26. Further details and an application form can be found on the WFA website (see below) or contact the WFA Of>ice on 0161 443 1918. The route of the Tour de France will include a stage at Ypres to mark the Centenary. The Grand Depart is from Leeds on Saturday 5 July. Stage >ive of the route -‐ on 9 July, from Ypres to Arenberg Port du Hainaut -‐ will commemorate the Centenary. Stage six -‐ from Arras to Reims -‐ will also follow much of the Western Front, while the battle>ields of Verdun and Douaumont are included in stage seven. Cheltenham & Gloucester Branch President Professor Peter Simkins MBE FRHistS Branch Chairman Peter Gill 2 Queensholme, Pittville Circus Road, Cheltenham GL52 2QE 01242 587 776 • [email protected] Branch Treasurer & Newsletter Editor Hilary Jennings 4 St Stephen’s Road, Cheltenham GL51 3AA 01242 243 927 • [email protected] Branch Website www.cgwfa.org.uk “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.”
© Copyright 2024 ExpyDoc
