the royal british legion celebrated - daruma sushi royal british legion celebrated its ninetieth ......

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The Royal British Legion celebrated its ninetieth anniversary thisyear, as featured in issue 1 of Warfare magazine, and its members will soon be out andabout with their stalls for the 2011 Poppy Appeal. The Nottinghamshire branch of theRBL are hosting a Remembrance Day Service with the Nottinghamshire Freemasons on 6November, see the Events pages for more details. Contact us via our Facebook page(www.facebook.com/warfaremagazine) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/warfaremagazine)and let us know how you will be marking Armistice Day this year, including anyphotographs or updates from your local Remembrance Day Service.

With the significance of the Poppy Appeal and Remembrance in mind, this issuefeatures a new edition to the literature covering the First World War, Blood and Iron:Letters from the Western Front. Blood and Iron introduces the letters of Hugh MontaguButterworth, which have been largely forgotten for over ninety years, and describe hisexperience of war, and the battle which rendered him one of the millions of lost soldiersof the Great War, in poignant detail. The letters are reproduced here telling the story ofHugh’s final days in the trenches in 1915.

This is followed by a fascinating interview with Jon Cooksey, who rediscovered HughButterworth’s letters, originally written to his colleagues and pupils at WanganuiCollegiate School, New Zealand, where he taught before the War. Cooksey describes howhe first heard of the letters through Hugh’s half-brother, and how he researched thefamily’s background, his life before the War and his experiences on the Western Front inorder to present the letters in the appropriate context. Turn to page 35 for the chance towin a signed copy of Blood and Iron.

In order to mark its 945th anniversary, the story of the Battle of Hastings – 14 October1066 – launches Warfare’s new Nation in Conflict series, looking at the many battles whichhave been fought on British soil over the centuries. The author Peter Marren describes thebattle’s depiction on the Bayeux Tapestry, and the infamous events late in the afternoonon the day of the battle which led to the death of King Harold.

Also included within this bumper issue is a review of the desperate defence of thehamlet of Hougoumont, which was the key to Wellington’s victory over Napoleon atWaterloo. Julian Paget and Derek Saunders describe Hougoumont’s role during theBattle of Waterloo in June 1815.

Earlier in the summer, an MOD-sponsored blog about the life of an RAF airman ontour in Afghanistan made headlines due to its popularity, having notched up over 80,000hits. Sergeant Alex Ford, who ended his tour this month, has kept us up to date on histime in Afghanistan with regular tweets, Flickr updates and blog entries. In a Warfareinterview, he explains how and why he started blogging, and why he believes it is soimportant for those serving overseas to do so.

Another Twitter regular is Steve from the organisation Thank You Soldier – this issue’sspotlighted charity – working hard to promote morale in the men and women currentlyserving overseas. Read on to find out how you can take a moment to get involved andmake a difference via the TYS website.

As always, we also have included lots of news, reviews and new product informationfor you, don’t forget to look for live links!

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Issue 3

CONTACT USEditorial Rebecca LawtherTel: 01226 [email protected]

AdvertisingCarolyn MillsTel: 01226 [email protected]

Marketing/EnquiriesKatie EatonTel: 01226 [email protected]

Designed byPaul WilkinsonTel: 01226 [email protected]

Published byWharncliffe Publishing LtdThe Drill Hall, Eastgate, BarnsleySouth Yorkshire S70 2EUwww.wharncliffepublishing.co.uk

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© Wharncliffe Publishing 2011All rights reserved. This material must not bereproduced without the publisher’s consent.

W A R FA R E M A G A Z I N E

Rebecca Lawther

Courtesy of Nottinghamshire Freemasons

W A R FA R E M A G A Z I N E 5

Contents6 News

8 Blood and IronThe long-forgotten First World War letters of volunteer soldier Hugh Montagu Butterworth.

16 Author Spotlight on...JJoonn CCooookksseeyyJon Cooksey, editor of Blood and Iron, describes howhe came across Hugh Butterworth’s forgotten letters.

20 The Battle of WaterlooThe dramatic defence of Hougoumont and the role itplayed in defeating Napoleon.

29 The Hand of HistoryMichael Leventhal presents an anthology of historical quotes, commentaries and illustrations.

33 RAF Airman’s Front Line BlogRAF airman Alex Ford discusses technology and what life is really like on active Service.

35 Competitions and OffersFree magazine offer and signed books to be won.

36 A Nation in Conflict: 1066Peter Marren reviews the latter stages of the Battle of Hastings, 945 years on.

40 Product Reviews

50 Thank You SoldierA closer look at the work of Thank You Soldier.

52 Events Around the UK

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W A R FA R E M A G A Z I N E6

The realCharlotte GrayNEW ZEALAND-BORN NancyWake, known as 'The White Mouse'during the Second World War, wasthe inspiration for the film CharlotteGray. She saved hundreds of Alliedlives, was wanted by the Gestapoand became one of the SOE's mostdecorated agents having beenawarded the George Medal; theCroix de Guerre with palm (twice);the Croix de Guerre with star; theMédaille de la Résistance; and theUS Medal of Freedom with bronzepalm. She was made a Companionof the Order of Australia in 2004.She died on 7 August 2011.

After the war Nancy returned toAustralia with her second husbandhaving been made a widow in thewar. After being widowed for asecond time, she returned toEngland. In her latter years, Nancycould be found in the bar of theStafford Hotel in St James' Place offPiccadilly – a wartime forces club.She moved to a forces retirementhome in 2003 where she remaineduntil her death, aged 98. Her asheswere to be scattered at Montluconin central France, where she foughtin a heroic 1944 attack on the localGestapo headquarters.

News

GROUP CAPTAIN BILLY Drake DSODFC, one of the leading Allied 'Aces'of the Second World War, passedaway on 28 August, aged 93.

Drake – a direct descendant of SirFrancis Drake – joined the RAF inJuly 1936, No 1 Squadron, and flewHurricanes during the SecondWorld War. He retired from the RAFin July 1963.

The RAF held Billy Drake in highesteem as one of its most successful,enthusiastic and inspirational fighterpilots.

Further reading

Second WorldWar Ace

Death of an SOE agent: ‘The White Mouse’

Women Wartime Spies by Ann Kramer, £19.99,ISBN: 9781844680580

Death of Billy Drake

Hurricane and Spitfire Pilots at War by TerenceKelly, £12.99, ISBN: 9781844150649

Further reading

IN APRIL 2012, Lieutenant Commander Sarah West, 39, will takecharge of HMS Portland, a 5,000-ton Type 23 frigate that isprepared for ‘total warfare’, becoming the first woman tocommand a front-line warship in the Royal Navy’s 500 yearhistory. This is a remarkable achievement, particularly becausewomen have only been allowed to go to sea with the Navysince 1990 and since then have taken charge only of small'non-fighting' ships. Lieutenant Commander West will be incharge of a crew of around 180, made up of approximately10 per cent Wrens. The Portland is the first front-line vessel tohave a woman in charge since the Senior Service was foundedduring the reign of Henry VIII, 500 years ago.

Safeguarding the Nation – The Story of the Modern Royal Navy(Seaforth Publishing) by John Roberts, £30.00, ISBN: 9781848320437

Further reading

A first for the Royal Navy


HISTORIAN ANDREW BAINES willlead on the conservation, restorationand interpretation of the world’sgreatest surviving warship in hisnew role as curator for HMS Victory,having been appointed by theNational Museum of the Royal Navy(NMRN).

Andrew, who has worked onboard HMS Warrior for the past 12years, appeared on BBC NationalTreasures Live, alongside Dan Snow,after managing the restoration ofWarrior’s sick berth and will now bethe principal advisor on mattersrelating to the history, structure,general appearance and public

presentation of HMS Victory.Andrew said, of his new role:

'Victory is undoubtedly one of theworld’s most famous and importantships, and so to have the opportunityto take a lead in telling her story, anddeveloping new aspects to thatnarrative, is a great privilege.'

For more information on HMSVictory, visit www.hms-victory.com.

Further reading

RED ARROW PILOT TRUSTDr Emma Egging has set up a trust in memory of herhusband, Flight Lieutenant Jon 'Eggman' Egging, 33,who was killed on Saturday, 20 August, when hisHawk T1 aircraft – Red 4 – crashed nearBournemouth.

Flight Lieutenant Egging joined the Royal Air Forceaerobatics team in autumn 2010 and was chosen tofly in the Red 4 slot, on the right hand outside thefamous Diamond Nine formation; a demandingposition for a first year pilot and testament to his skills.

The Jon Egging Trust will give disadvantaged youngpeople the opportunity to achieve their potentialthrough gaining access to a variety of inspirationalactivities and experiencing the thrill of flight.

For more information on the trust and to findout how to make a donation please visit thewebsite: http://www.joneggingtrust.org.uk

AUTHOR KILLED IN PLANE CRASHWarfare would like to pay tribute to Ian Daglish,who tragically died on 31 July after the plane hewas flying crashed in Eccles, Salford. The 59-year-old suffered extensive burns after the single-enginePiper PA38 Tomahawk aircraft came down betweentwo semi-detached homes shortly after take offfrom City Airport, Manchester and burst intoflames. He died two days later in hospital.Ian was a military historian, wargamer and modelmaker, and the author of the Over the Battlefieldseries of books looking at Normandy and theOperations Epsom, Goodwood and Bluecoat. Hewas the father of two teenage daughters, Hazeland Fiona, and a devoted husband to his wife of 26years, Joy. Mrs Daglish said of her late husband:‘This is a shocking and sudden end to Ian's life andhe will be sadly missed by his family, friends andthe local community’.http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Ian-Daglish/a/230/

NEWS IN BRIEF

One of the world’smost famous shipsHMS Victory appoints new curator

HMS Victory, First-Rate 1765 (Seaforth Publishing)by Iain Ballantyne and Jonathan Eastland, £14.99,ISBN: 9781848320949

THE END OF REPATRIATIONSTHROUGH WOOTTON BASSETTSome 345 servicemen and women have beenrepatriated through RAF Lyneham and the smallWiltshire market town of Wootton Bassett sinceceremonies first began there in April 2007, whenresidents lining the streets became tradition. As the baseat Lyneham prepares for its closure, the responsibility forrepatriations has returned to RAF Brize Norton inOxfordshire. A special final Sunset Service was held on31 August, attended by around 2,000 people, duringwhich the town's union jack flag was lowered, beforebeing taken to RAF Brize Norton. Wootton Bassett isshortly to become Royal Wootton Bassett – the firsttown in more than 100 years to be given the 'Royal'title, in recognition of its efforts to honour the war dead.

Documentary on Wootton Bassett and the repats www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1a_eMXsTPg

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‘I’m not particularly afraid of death, but Idislike the thought of dying because Ienjoy life so much, and I want to enjoy itsuch a lot more. This dug-out life gives oneplenty of time to think, I tell you, and thedanger is, one gets down to a minor keyand stays there... Anyway I feel that I’ve

expiated every crime I’ve evercommitted. I fancy that when we

warriors fetch up at the FinalEnquiry they’ll say,“Where

did you perform?”Weshall reply.“Ypres

salient.”They’ll answer,“Pass, friend”,

and we shallstroll along to the

sound of trumpetsand sackbuts.’

LETTER FROM THE FRONT NEAR

BELLEWAARDE,YPRES, 16 JULY 1915

9

Second Lieutenant Hugh MontaguButterworth of the 9th Battalion,the Rifle Brigade, did not survivethe Great War. He was killed inaction, as he had foretold on theeve of battle, on 25 September 1915,

during one of the three bloody diversions to theBattle of Loos, which opened the same morning30 miles to the south. The letters of HughMontagu Butterworth, a first cousin of thecomposer George Butterworth who lost his lifeon the Somme in 1916, give us a telling insightinto the thoughts and reactions of a highlyeducated, sensitive and perceptive individualconfronted by the horrors of modern warfare.Butterworth was killed on the Bellewaarde Ridgenear Ypres during one of a disastrousdiversionary attack launched to distract Germanattention from the Battle of Loos, and his last

letter was written on the eve of the action in whichhe died.

The British at Hooge were fighting for theirlives to hold on to a key position – militarily vitalground – which dominated the Ypres Salient.

Into the SalientBy the end of May 1915, 9/RB had been well andtruly welcomed into the Theatre of War by bothGeneral Sir Herbert Plumer, the recently anointedcommander of the British Second Army in theYpres Salient, and Lieutenant General Sir CharlesFergusson, commanding the British II Corps inwhose area of operations 9/RB would first seeaction. Hugh had thus marched throughGodewaersvelde under the gaze of GeneralPlumer on 30 May and the following day had

BLOODAND IRONBy Jon CookseyExtracted from Blood and Iron and reproduced by permission of Pen & Sword Books Ltd.


stood to attention in Zevencoten to listen toLieutenant General Fergusson’s address beforemarching off at 7.00 pm that evening with anenlarged platoon of fifty men armed with rifles,picks and shovels to begin his war ratherunglamorously, digging ‘entrenchments’ in thevicinity of ‘Belgian Battery Corner’, a fewkilometres southwest of Ypres.

By the time Hugh wrote that he was ‘in thetrenches and having a thoroughly satisfactorytime... we are all being instructed in trenchfighting’ on 10 June, his D Company had been inthe front-line trench system for a day as guests ofthe 1/6 Battalion, the North StaffordshireRegiment of the 46th (North Midland) Division;one platoon attached to each of the fourcompanies of the North Staffs in the trenches justnorth of the Franco–Belgian border opposite theGerman-held town of Messines.

The ground over which the coming Britishoffensive was to be fought was already soakedwith the blood of British, Irish, Canadian andGerman soldiers who had lost their lives inseveral bitter struggles for control of the relativelylow but nonetheless militarily significant heightsof the Bellewaarde Ridge and adjacent Hoogesectors. The ferocity of these encounters,instigated by both German and Briton in equalmeasure, was testimony to the tactical importanceof this particular plot which, at that time, was atthe very apex of the Ypres Salient.

When the time came for Hugh’s battalion to

SECOND ARMY PANORAMA 85 looking north to northwest from a position inthe British front line opposite Bellewaarde Farm on 10 September 1915, just overtwo weeks before the battle. The pale sandbags which mark the breastworks ofthe German trenches running from the redoubt at the easterly end of RailwayWood (out of shot extreme left) and along the line of the sunken road on theother side of no-man’s-land can be seen clearly. No-man’s-land is an unkemptpatch of long coarse grass, weeds, old trenches and the stunted stumps ofbushes along old hedge lines. Hugh disappeared somewhere in this area.

SECOND ARMY PANORAMA 88 looking northeast from the British lines justinside Railway Wood on 11 September 1915. The striking feature of this imageis the knot of sandbags centre left which make up the German redoubt at Point04. The Germans called this the Sandsackburg – the ‘sandbag castle’. Aninfantry marker banner is clearly visible above the German parapet on the left.The front lines here are relatively close and the British line is protected by coilsof French concertina wire, barbed and stakes. The German parapet runs fromthe redoubt and away from the camera to the east and is built up withsandbags, earth and timber in places.


move forward in support of the coming attack, theopposing lines on the Bellewaarde Ridge hadebbed to and fro several times. On 25 May, thevery day that Hugh had penned his first letterfrom that ‘ripping farm’ at ‘the back of the front’,the final scene of the final act of the Second Battleof Ypres had been played out in what later becameknown as the Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge – 24/25May 1915. Just over two weeks earlier, however, ina previous scene of the Bellewaarde saga, theCanadians of Princess Patricia’s Canadian LightInfantry had stood firm on the Bellewaarde Ridgedirectly in the path of the German juggernaut thathad steamrollered its way south-west down theslope from Frezenberg after that village’s earliercapture. The hammer blow had fallen on the 550-strong ‘Pats’ at 4.00 am on 8 May 1915 and theyhad fought for their lives; beating off a series ofGerman attacks under an almost incessant rain ofhigh explosive until finally relieved at 11.30 pm.Their losses had been staggering – over 350 men –but they had stood their ground and had helpedsave the Bellewaarde position.

Fierce but bloody localised struggles on 2 and

3 June succeeded in heaving the British fromHooge Château and dumping them into theChâteau’s stables some 50 yards distant to finallysecure the sector. This left the British garrison inthe Château stables dangerously exposed as therest of the British line swept back across theMenin Road in a deep southerly arc to skirt thenorthern edge of Zouave Wood only to emergeback on the Menin Road roughly at the junctionwith Cambridge Road before snaking northtowards the line of the railway. Now the Germanscould get to work and concentrate on building,deepening and strengthening their new front-linesystem, which tied in a portion of Railway Woodon the forward slopes of the Bellewaarde Ridge,with Y Wood and the entire Hooge Châteauposition. Just behind they made good use of whatwas left of the walls, finger-like chimney breastsand splintered roofing of the battered but highlyprized Bellewaarde Farm which, due to itscommanding position on the summit of theBellewaarde Ridge, became a fortified position intheir second line; its ruins and cellars concealingmany loopholes and at least one machine-gun


post, angled to sweep the ground dropping awayto the south and southwest. Everywhere in thissector the German line dominated the Britishposition; puffing out its chest on the crest of theridge to correspond with the backwards kink ofthe British line. From Bellewaarde Farm and theirforemost fire trenches, German observers hadunrivalled and sweeping vistas out over theBritish lines to the west – towards what remainedof the once majestic spires and towers of Ypres –and to the south, dominating the British lines ofcommunication along both the Menin Road andthe line of the railway to their junction at HellfireCorner. Scanning further south, the Germanscould see down to Sanctuary and Zouave Woodstowards Zillebeke and beyond these their eyescould rest on the mound of desolation that wasHill 60.

It was a key position and the Britishdetermined to straighten the line and recapturethe Bellewaarde Ridge on 16 June 1915 in a ‘minoroperation’, which was also planned to divertGerman minds from another – and in the view ofthe Commander-in-Chief, Sir John French – moreimportant attack at Givenchy to be launched onthe same day some 30 miles to the south. Thebulk of the task was handed to the battalions of 9and 7 Brigades of the 3rd Division with 9/RB andother inexperienced units of the 14th Divisiondrafted in to act as the V Corps reserve.

Although the British had, it seemed, alwaysbeen plagued by a chronic shortage of shells ofevery type, the bombardment that began at 2.50am on 16 June and lasted for just under an hour

and a half, proved sufficient in duration, powerand intensity to shatter the German trenches,scatter their wire and unnerve the front-linetroops.

Just 20 minutes after the opening of thatbombardment, Hugh was sitting and whiling

away the time writing a letter in a ‘very narrowpacked trench’, somewhere near the railwayembankment just east of the ramparts adjacent tothe Lille Gate of Ypres. He had been there sincemidnight. After having set out at 10.00 pm on thenight of 15 June, the battalion was to moveforward only on the orders of the CorpsCommander to either exploit an opportunity if theassault went well or help avert a disaster if theGermans turned defence into attack. Under aterrific bombardment Hugh observed that shellswere ‘fairly hurtling through the ether’ and hewas convinced that he was about to take part in‘one of the biggest battles in History. With luckthe sun ought to be up in half an hour – at aboutwhich hour my watch ends. But what a life!’

The move forward in the dark had been‘cheerless’ only ending ‘by a double along arailway-track from sleeper to sleeper... have youever seen a Company armed to the teeth and

TWO VIEWS OF the ruins of Bellewaarde Farm in autumn 1915; the lower image is taken from the German trenches. It is clear from thesephotographs how the Germans were able to conceal their machine guns in the ruins. Unaffected by the British preparatory bombardment theseweapons cut the right column of 9/RB and the left column of 5/OBLI to pieces.

Hugh was sitting and whilingaway the time writing a letter in a‘very narrow packed trench’


shovel doubling along a very much “JackJohnsoned” railway line with splendid shell-holesall over the place? A delightful experience.’ Notso for the men who, after arriving, had been set to‘digging latrines and making improvements’whilst their CO awaited further orders. Hugh wasstill there, still scribbling under the canopy of theBritish barrage at 6.15 am:

A terrific bombardment has been going on for thelast three hours... I expect the main attack willdevelop (good word that) in an hour or so. I shallprobably not be in the limelight until a good deallater... Well, au revoir. This is June 16th, and weought to get something done by WaterlooCentenary. Perhaps we are about to make history –perhaps not.

On this occasion Hugh’s battalion would not berequired to ‘make history’, but by 6.15 am severalbattalions of the 3rd Division – including RoyalFusiliers, Royal Scots Fusiliers andNorthumberland Fusiliers, the Lincolns, theLiverpool Scottish – including Noel Chavasse,later VC and Bar, whose brother Christopher hadbeen beaten into second place in the OxfordFreshmen’s 100 yard by Hugh in 1904 – and theHonourable Artillery Company, had certainlycontributed much to the annals of their respectiveregimental histories.

The attack had gone in at dawn two hoursearlier; the first wave overrunning the Germanfront line that ran along the eastern edge of thelong arm which made up the shape of the letter‘Y’ of Y Wood with ease. They were followedquickly by the second wave but, flushed withexcitement, the inexperienced and eager troops of7 Brigade behind, intended only to move ifrequired, could not contain themselves anddashed across no-man’s-land into the smoke andfire towards the captured trenches and simplykept going, on up the slope towards the secondand third German lines. Total chaos ensued. Menran into their own barrage, officers were killed orwounded, units became mixed and no one knewwho or where anyone was or was supposed to be.The Germans capitalised on this lack of commandand control and mounted several determinedcounter attacks, particularly to the south, as theirartillery pounded their old positions now held bythe British. Just before 10.00 am, 9/RB along withthe rest of 42 Brigade, received orders to move upto assembly trenches behind Witte Poort Farm butthey were seen as they made their way forwardand 9/RB was subjected to a heavy counterbombardment as Villiers-Stuart ordered hiscompanies to dump their packs and advance intwo lines either side of the railway embankmentwith him directing operations from the track-bedabove. Hugh never got to ‘make history’, forabout 1,000 yards east of the ramparts Villiers-Stuart received orders to halt. The assemblytrenches up ahead were by now so crowded withmany men of mixed units and streams of

wounded and stragglers beginning to come downcommunication trenches in the direction of Ypresthat the leading battalions just could not get on,causing chronic delays and tailbacks. Furtherefforts by the British to push on and regain thesecond and third German lines in the afternoonwere bloodily repulsed.

By 3.30 pm, although the two leadingbattalions of 42 Brigade had slogged as far as thefiring line under fire, 9/RB was told it was nolonger required as there was simply no moreroom in the trenches. Caught out in the open at3.15 pm along the line of the railway under aterrific rain of German high explosive, the menof 9/RB could do little but find what scant coverthey could for the best part of 31⁄2 hours andhope for the best. A further 1,000 yards ahead,up at the sharp end, the attackers weregradually being forced back, pocket bydiminishing pocket, to the old German frontline. The attack was eventually called off ataround 6.00 pm that evening with whatremained of the assault units digging and wiringfuriously under a vengeful Germanbombardment to reverse their stretch of ‘new’front line and throw up some protection justbeyond the easterly edge of Y Wood. The attackhad succeeded in ironing out part of the kink inthe line as had been intended and had pushedthe very apex of the horseshoe that was theSalient even further out to the east but the costhad been enormous. Some battalions – theLiverpool Scottish for example – had practically

GERMAN COMMUNICATION TRENCH called the Roschmann Weg just behind theGerman third line on the Bellewaarde Ridge. The men 9/RB fought in trenchessuch as this. Courtesy Ralph Whitehead


ceased to exist and in all, more than 3,500 men ofthe 3rd Division had become casualties.

Even as Corps reserve and not being heavilyengaged in the fighting, the battalions of 42Brigade had nevertheless suffered; 9 officers and194 other ranks became casualties with 9/RBcontributing two dead and seventeen wounded tothat total. But the ultimate prize of securing theentire Bellewaarde position – includingBellewaarde Farm, Railway Wood and all – hadslipped away; the Germans had managed to holdthe ridge and they controlled it still when Hughand 9/RB finally received orders, at 7.45 pm, towithdraw, first to the line of the ramparts and thento march all the way back to huts south ofVlamertinghe, many men losing their preciouspacks in the appalling confusion of the withdrawal.They arrived, ‘dead beat’, more than 24 hours aftersetting out; the men having had no food for almostthe entire period. Their divisional commander,Major General Victor Couper, later wrote; ‘the

conduct of the men, all raw troops under their firstexperience of shell fire, was very satisfactory’.

The comments were most encouraging giventhat 9/RB had not then served in the front line inits own right but the time was fast approachingwhen Major General Couper’s 14th Divisionwould shoulder the burden that had hitherto beenborne by the 3rd Division. Very soon nowCouper’s command would assume responsibilityfor the Bellewaarde Ridge and Hooge sectors,stretching from beyond Railway Wood down toHooge itself and extending further still, across theMenin Road to Zouave Wood, as more and moreBritish divisions landed in France to take up moreand more of the Allied line in order to meet thedemands of the French.

After the fighting of 16 June, Major GeneralHaldane, commanding the 3rd Division, set out totour the newly captured ground on theBellewaarde Ridge. With him was his young aide-de-camp, William ‘Billy’ de la Touche Congreve –later to win the VC and to be killed at Longuevalon the Somme in 1916 – who wrote vivid

BRITISH DUGOUTS BY the Menin Gate, 1915.

THE RUINS OFVlamertinghe.

THE HEAVILY-SHELLED Ypres.


descriptions of the shattered woods and trenchesin the immediate aftermath of battle in his diary.Making their way east from Ypres, out along therailway and then on towards Y Wood, Congreve

and Haldane then turned north and headed forthe crest of the ridge:

Eventually we worked our way to Railway Wood.Here the mess was very bad. Also the Germanswere very close, only about 15 yards. A burialparty of some sixty men arrived and got to work,so I hope that when the 14th Division takes over,things won’t be quite so bad, for it’s a shame to putnew troops into so bad a place as that.

Hugh went ‘up the line’ with 9/RB to man thebattered trenches in that ‘bad place’ of the YWood sector for the first time on the evening of19 June, just three days after the attack. Leavingcamp at 7.00 pm, the battalion was met at theMenin Gate by guides of the 1st Battalion, theGordon Highlanders at 9.45 pm. Passing justyards from the very spot where his name wouldlater be inscribed for eternity along with thenames of so many others who marched with himthat night, Hugh was struck by the sheermagnitude of the devastation he had justwitnessed: ‘marched through Ypres, the mostimpressive sight I’ve ever seen, the whole placeis absolutely gone. Every house is smashed tobits, absolutely a wonderful sight and veryawesome.’

Within two hours they had completed therelief, accompanied by a welcoming deluge ofgas shells from the German guns and Hugh,

mixing ‘profanity and jest in equal measure’ tojolly along his ‘panicky’ charges, had got hisplatoon into their positions. Alas, the hope of BillyCongreve that the burial parties had done theirjobs well had come to nought. At 3.15 am on 20June, after being knocked ‘clean over’ by a shelland having had a sand bag whipped off theparapet just a whisker above his head two hoursearlier, Hugh found a quiet moment or two towrite: ‘The chief objection to this trench is the factthat it is more or less littered with dead, and ifyou dig you in – variably hit some corpse... It’s agruesome business but perhaps we get used to it’.On his rounds a little later, he negotiated one ofthe traverses only to come face to face with, ‘adead Englishman lying exactly as he fell with hissword fixed in front of him on the firing platform’.

As he went on he came across another‘terrifying’ scene: ‘two German soldiers kneelingand actually aiming towards me. Of course theywere both dead and it was horrible because as Ibrushed past them they fell to bits.’ Taking amessage for Villiers-Stuart, one of his runners,Norman Wood, had also come across two menkneeling in a trench. This time, however, they hadbeen British. As they hadn’t moved when Woodhad asked if he could pass by he had tried to pushpast them and as he touched them they had‘collapsed into pieces’. Wood had been very upset,so much so that he had knelt down immediately,said his prayers and had then gone on to deliverhis message.

So ended the first night in the front-linetrenches at the furthest extent of the Ypres Salient;manning the line on ground that had just been thescene of terrific fighting and, as Villiers-Stuart putit, ‘shot at from the front, from the flanks andsometimes from the rear as well’. A more vilelocation could not have been chosen for the firsttour of duty proper for a New Army battalion andyet the CO was pleased with the way his menperformed on that first day: ‘For a new lot themen had done very well.’

THE CASEMATES BELOW the Ramparts at Ypres; used as dugouts, stores and anADs. Photographed in 1919.

‘The chief objection to thistrench is the fact that it is moreor less littered with dead, and ifyou dig you in - variably hitsome corpse...’

To order click here

RRP £19.99ISBN: 9781848842977Paperback 238 pages

BLOOD & IRONLetters From The Western FrontJon Cooksey

Until now Hugh Butterworth was just oneof the millions of lost soldiers of the GreatWar, and the extraordinary letters he senthome from the Western Front have beenlargely forgotten. But, after more thanninety years of obscurity, these letters,which describe his experience of war inpoignant detail, have been rediscovered,and they are published here in full.For this full edition of his letters JonCooksey has edited and illustrated thetext and provided an introduction.


Author Spotlight

How did Blood and Ironcome about?

IN SEPTEMBER 2007 I led a military genealogy tourto the battlefields of the Western Front and one of myparty was a gentleman called Hugh MontaguButterworth. He wanted to visit the site where hishalf-brother – also called Hugh Montagu Butterworth– had been killed in action on 25 September 1915. Myapproach on these tours is to allow the descendants ofthe men we are following to tell the rest of the group alittle about their relatives as people, and to read anyletters or diary extracts if they have them near the spoton which they fought or are buried. On this occasionHugh read out what was his half-brother’s final letter,written on the eve of the battle near Ypres in which hewas killed, just yards from where his brotherdisappeared. It was a terrifically moving moment andthe silence which followed the reading as we stood inthat sun-drenched Belgian pasture was heavy and,yes, filled with tears. It was a while before we wereable to move on. At that moment I realised thepoignancy and power of what I had heard and askedif there was more. When I learned that a book ofletters had been published for family and friends in1916 I knew that they deserved a wider audience morethan ninety years after they first saw the light of day.Now at last here they are. I hope readers will feel thesame.

How did HRH The Earl ofWessex get involved?

DURING RESEARCH FOR the book I learned that HisRoyal Highness had taught at the same school asHugh Butterworth – Wanganui Collegiate School inNew Zealand – and had, in fact, been attached to thesame boarding house – Selwyn House – during a gapyear in 1982. Hugh Butterworth was much loved atWanganui; the cricket pavilion erected in his memoryin 1917 is still in use and he is still remembered withgreat affection by the school community. I reasonedthat His Royal Highness must have been aware of him.In addition The Rifle Brigade, in which Hugh served,was amalgamated in 1958 with the Oxfordshire andBuckinghamshire Light Infantry and the King’s RoyalRifle Corps to form the Green Jackets Brigade. Theylater became the Royal Green Jackets in 1966 and in2007 the 1st Battalion changed again into the 2ndBattalion The Rifles, at which point The Queenappointed His Royal Highness their Royal Colonel.The connection may seem tenuous at first, but, as HisRoyal Highness notes ‘in the British regimental systemthe lineage is clear and the sense of family palpable’. Itwas on the basis of those very strong and clearconnections that His Royal Highness graciously agreedto write an extremely moving Foreword.

How does this book differfrom other war memoirs?

ALTHOUGH THERE HAVE been many well-writtenand documented first-hand accounts of the First WorldWar, I believe that Hugh’s letters stand out in terms ofjust how moving and intensely personal they are.They are a beautifully written record by an articulateand observant man who never pretended to beanything other than what he actually was – a civilianschool teacher in uniform fighting for a cause hebelieved in. His friends summed up his style –‘unadorned and colloquial’ – much better than I evercould but it is when reading those flashes ofsometimes unvarnished honesty that Hugh’s uniquecontribution to the literature can be seen clearly. Toadmit, in a letter home, that he had ‘seen fear in thefaces of almost all a company and I have felt my owninside go wrong’ that he knew exactly what fear ‘feltlike at 2 o’clock in the morning’ and that in thetrenches he had ‘heard the voice of the Tempter saying“Now Butterworth, old son, that’s the spot for you; ifyou’re rushed you will be near the exit door and ableto fall back”’, is a strikingly frank and candidadmission for a British public school and Oxbridgeeducated officer from an upper middle-classbackground in mid -1915, as is his denunciation of the‘hypocrites’ at home and the ‘blatant tosh in theEnglish papers’. As a record of the intensity andtempo of the fighting in a tactically vital position forboth sides – the Bellewaarde Ridge and Hooge –during one of the most violent periods of fighting inthe Ypres Salient which also witnessed the use of gasand liquid fire for the first time, it is quite remarkable.

Was the research forthis book problematic?

AS THE WRITING of the historical and contextualintroduction to Hugh’s letters was more like the researchfor a biography, rather than a purely military project, Isuppose the major obstacles were associated with areasof Hugh’s life which concerned his or his father’ssporting achievements, both of which were at a veryhigh level. Little did I realise that it would take me wellbeyond my usual bounds of grubbing around in variousmilitary records and archives. I have done a good deal ofthat of course, but the work has taken me into realmsthat have been unfamiliar territory. I have found myselfstraying into areas of family and institutional history,into cricket and tennis archives; to Lord’s, the MCC andthe All England Club at Wimbledon and to consultingsporting experts to keep me on the right track.Thankfully, I played an enormous amount of sport whenI was younger – and fitter – and am still a huge sportsfan, so the research was not a chore, but friends such asGraham McKechnie, cricket expert, sports journalist

Jon Cooksey – Blood and Iron: Letters From The Western Front

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for the BBC and sometime off-spinner in his ownright, have been a tremendous source of adviceand support. Researching the life of a man whospent some of that life half a world away wasanother obstacle and without the terrific enthusiasmand desire to help of Richard Bourne from the otherside of the world in Wanganui, the story of Hugh’stime as a schoolmaster in New Zealand would havebeen sketchy at best. My thanks also to DonalRaethel, archivist with Archives New Zealand inWellington, who, with a friendly ‘Kia ora’, managedto get Hugh’s probate documents – never beforeseen – to me in double-quick time.

How important was itto present the lettersin context?

HUGH WROTE HIS letters to friends andcolleagues in real time and even though hesometimes had to disguise the names of locationshe passed through, his friends were intelligentand would have known very well – by matchingthe newspaper reports with the date of his lettersand their contents – which actions he had beeninvolved in and on which sectors. Modernreaders do not have that immediacy and so it wasvital to place the letters in their correctchronological context regarding the events whichwere taking place in what was, for Hugh, a quitelimited sector of the Ypres Salient in Belgium.

That said, the terrific intensity of fighting inthat small sector during the spring, throughoutthe summer and into late autumn of 1915 wassuch that it matched any period of the war, andthis at a time when both the British and theGermans were learning some very bloody lessonsas they tried to gain control of the commandingheights around the village of Hooge and on theBellewaarde Ridge. It was also vital to me to puthis final battle in context. The Second Action atBellewaarde on 25 September 1915 was one ofthree diversionary attacks planned to divertGerman attention and reserves away from theBritish Army’s larger attack at Loos the same day.These three diversions – given only seven lines inthe British Official History – are largely forgottenby military historians today but the effort andblood expended for not one inch of groundgained was enormous. The four divisionsengaged suffered losses amounting to 291 officersand 7,935 other ranks killed, wounded, missingor taken prisoner that day; a scale of loss whichrepresented more than half again the total of thefirst day casualties in the main battle at Loositself. For its part Hugh’s battalion had only 150men and 3 unwounded officers left out of the 15

officers and 1,150 men who had gone into battle atdawn that day, and of course Hugh Butterworthwas never seen again. I wanted to examine thisneglected area and the most northerly of thediversions in almost forensic detail and to come tosome conclusion as to whether Hugh and the restof those killed died in vain. To do this I had also tolook at the battle from the German side and so thehelp of friends like Ralph Whitehead in the USand Sebastian Laudan in Germany was invaluable.Readers will be able to make their ownjudgements of course.

What was it likevisiting the area Hughfought in?

I HAD VISITED the Bellewaarde Ridge manytimes in the past but to listen to his brother talk ofhim and to give voice to Hugh’s own words – nearthe spot where some ninety-two years earlier hehad last been seen alive leading his men into action– had an powerful impact on me. Later, as I visitedthe area again during the research period andlistened to and was guided by the voices of thosewhose words and official reports I had uncoveredduring the process, I really felt a sense of walkingwhat the late, great Richard Holmes dubbed the‘haunted acres’. I had handled the notes, diagramsand sketches made by the men of both sides whohad fought and died on this small patch of Belgianpasture and came to feel that I had somehowabsorbed a little of their personalities which tookme closer to the men involved.

If you head out of Ypres and take the MeninRoad, turn left just after you pass Birr Cross Roadscemetery on your right. This was Cambridge Roadon trench maps. Drive until you reach the woodup on the ridge and turn right at the brown signfor Liverpool Scottish Stone. Park the car near thetrack a few hundred metres ahead and walk to theRE Memorial – the White Cross of Sacrifice isclearly visible. This was almost on the British frontline on 25 September 1915 and the field to thenorth of the memorial – just beyond the circularpool – is where the 9th Rifle Brigade wasdestroyed and where Hugh disappeared for ever.Stand and contemplate the words of Hugh’s finalletter at this peaceful spot and try to imagine thesights, the smells and the sound and fury of thatSeptember dawn over ninety-five years ago. Alittle further along the track one can find theLiverpool Scottish Stone remembering their part inthe attack on 16 June 1915 and in the woodsaround Bellewaarde Farm are the remains of manymine craters, as this area was undermined by bothsides. It is an interesting walk along the paths

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which edge the woods towards Hooge where thefirst ‘Liquid fire’ attack was made by the Germans.A very intriguing party of the Ypres Salient.

Are you working onany new projects?

IN ADDITION TO work on another book on theFalklands War and projects on developing cycling/walking tours of the Western Front I am busyworking on radio documentaries with the BBC.

Is the Western Frontyour primary interest?

I HAVE CERTAINLY been interested in the war onthe Western Front for a long time. The proof lies ina battered, orange exercise book in an essay called‘A Journey Through Time’ written in 1968 in aprimary school in the old West Riding of Yorkshire.

In it I wrote that one day I found a timemachine and, stepping inside, I found a specialdisc with dates which I began to rotate. ‘I turned itround to 1916’ I wrote, ‘the war years. The placethe Somme, the worst battle in the war’. I go on toreveal that I landed in the British trenches: ‘theplace was desolate and trees were bear (sic) allyou could hear was the boom of guns and themachine gun rattle’. Surprised by a ‘corporal’ whochides me for not being in uniform, I am handed auniform and a rifle. ‘Here’ says the corporal, ‘thisis your best friend it helps you to survive’. I finishthe story abruptly at this point with a no-nonsense– ‘end’. I wrote that when I was about ten yearsold and what with the spelling, punctuation andgrammatical errors some might say my writinghasn’t improved all that much in over forty years!So I was, even then, fascinated by the war on theWestern Front but I am interested in – and willread about – all aspects of military history.

My main research focuses have, however, beenon the Western Front, the campaign in France andFlanders in 1940 and the Falklands War. I havebeen very fortunate to have met, interviewed andexchanged views with many Falklands veteransand have walked all the Falklands battlefieldsextensively on several occasions. For me there isstill a real sense of being on the edge of the knownworld in the Falklands – it always strikes mewhen I am there that I am standing on some‘frontier’ – where nature is still largely untamedand the people warm-hearted, friendly andpassionate about being British in a way that someliving in Britain itself seem to have forgotten. TheFalklands War fascinates me for the complexity ofits interrelationships between the land, sea and aircampaigns and for the sheer determination,discipline and professionalism of the British

military in prosecuting it at a distance of 8,000miles from home with the support of the FalklandIslanders. On a personal level I remember itvividly as a young man. It was a significant aspectof my formative years. It was fought by manymen whom I now know personally and respecthugely and who are now the same age as me.

Any advice for buddingmilitary authors?

1. THE ONLY REALLY stupid question is the oneyou don’t ask. 2. Listen to and learn from everybody. 3. Start writing now!

When I went to pitch my proposal for my firstbook on the Barnsley Pals in 1986 to the ManagingDirector and Chief Executive of the publishingcompany at the time all I had was one word –‘Pals’ – written on the top of a single sheet of A4lined paper. They never knew and must have beensufficiently impressed with my ‘pitch’ that theyagreed to work with me on the project and sharesome material the company had already gatheredon the subject. I had written nothing longer thanmy dissertation at college a few years earlier but Iwas fired with the idea of telling the story of thepart played by my home town’s battalions in oneof the greatest battles ever fought by the BritishArmy. I had done some reading about the Battle ofthe Somme and time and again I heard of these‘Pals battalions’ – in particular the Accrington Pals– and it was only later that I realised that Barnsleyhad had two battalions involved, yet they werehardly ever mentioned. I wanted to put that rightand so I started to ask questions and went aboutgetting the answers.

I had much the same drive to produce mysecond book on the Battle of Calais in May 1940.The final stand of the 1st Rifle Brigade, 2nd King’sRoyal Rifle Corps, the Queen Victoria’s Rifles, 3rdRoyal Tank Regiment and various artillery unitsduring the Battle of Calais was then woefullyunderreported and yet Calais – due to it being thepre-eminent cross-channel terminal in Europe – isthe most visited battlefield in the world – fact! It isjust that thousands of those who pass withinyards of it do not know of the site’s crucial roleduring the Flanders Campaign of 1940 and thedays leading to the BEF’s evacuation fromDunkirk. Again I asked questions – Who? Why?What? When? Where? – and set out to find theanswers. I know I didn’t then, and am certain Iwill not in the future, find the answers to all myquestions but I hope I have been – and willcontinue to be – able to cement a few bricks intothe wall of our collective knowledge.

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he New Year of 1815 saw Europeenjoying a long-awaited period ofpeace after a quarter of a century offighting against Napoleon Bonaparte.There was general relief that he was

safely out of the way at last, exiled to theMediterranean island of Elba, and it was hopedthat he would trouble the world no more. Then,on 1 March 1815, Napoleon escaped and landedin France at Golfe Juan near Cannes. ‘The devil isunchained,’ wrote the British Commissioner onElba, Sir Neil Campbell.

The Allies (England, Prussia, Russia andAustria) refused to recognize him again as Headof State, whereupon he set about raising a newGrande Armée of 500,000 men to achieverecognition by force of arms.

In response, the four Allies agreed to provide150,000 troops each, with a view to crushingNapoleon once and for all. This force could not,however, be raised before July, and the only effectivetroops available in the meantime were a very mixedinternational army of 83,000 under the Duke ofWellington and 125,000 Prussians under the gallant,73-year-old Marshal Blücher. By June they weredeployed along the Belgian frontier with France, andWellington set up his headquarters in Brussels.

15 June 1815Napoleon’s plan was bold and simple. He intendedto separate Wellington’s and Blücher’s armies bythrusting at a point between them. He would thenattack the Prussians and drive them eastwards,away from the British. That done, he would turn on

Wellington, defeat him and advance on Brussels.To achieve this, he divided his army into two.

He sent Marshal Ney with 20,000 men to seize thevital crossroads at Quatre Bras and so open up theroad to Brussels. He himself led the main body of78,000 against Blücher’s 84,000 at Ligny.

He particularly wanted to defeat Wellington,because the Duke was the only Allied commanderwhom he had not yet faced and beaten.

He was confident that he could achieve victoryby launching a massive attack straight down themain road, having first demoralized the enemywith one of his famous artillery bombardments. .

With a frontal assault in mind, Napoleonconcentrated his 72,000 men on a front of about twomiles on the ridge either side of La Belle Alliance.He put D’Erlon’s Corps of 16,000 to the east of themain road and Reille’s 15,000 to the west. Behindthem were some 15,000 cavalry, ready to exploit theexpected breakthrough. In reserve was Lobau’sCorps, and under his own hand at Rossomme hekept his faithful, invincible Imperial Guard.

‘We have ninety chances in our favour,’ hedeclared, ‘and not ten against.’

A Miserable Night(17 – 18 June)There was much unusual activity aroundHougoumont throughout Saturday, 17 June. Staffofficers galloped back and forth, particularly alongthe ridge of Mont St Jean, and several of themcame and had a quick look at the Château. Waggonsloaded with stores and equipment trundled alongthe roads and tracks, while groups of soldiers, some

Waterloo 1815

THE BATTLE OFWATERLOOBy Julian Paget & Derek SaundersExtracted from Hougoumont – Waterloo and reproduced by permission of Pen & Sword Books Ltd.

During the Battle of Waterloo, three farms played an important part in thefinal outcome; however one of them – Hougoumont, at the right flank ofWellington’s battle line – was crucial and the holding of it againstrepeated French attacks contributed to Napoleon’s defeat. No respite forthe Light Companies of the three British Guards Regiments who foughtall day.‘No troops but the British could have held Hougoumont, and onlythe best of them at that,’ said Wellington.

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mounted, some on foot, kept marching in from thesouth, where there was the sound of gunfire.

Throughout the afternoon the 4,000 men ofMajor General Cooke’s 1st Division marched intotheir positions on the ridge at Mont St Jean. Onthe left was 1st Guards Brigade, commanded byMajor General Peregrine Maitland, and consistingof 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the First Guards (nowthe Grenadier Guards). On their right was 2ndGuards Brigade, commanded by Major GeneralSir John Byng, and consisting of 2nd BattalionColdstream Guards and 2nd Battalion ThirdGuards (now the Scots Guards).

At about 7pm, just as everyone was settlingdown, came the decidedly unwelcome order thatthe four light companies of both 1st and 2ndGuards Brigades were to move forwardimmediately and occupy the Château, farm andorchard of Hougoumont in the hollow some 500yards in front of their position midway betweenthe Allied and French lines. Those of 1st GuardsBrigade were to occupy the orchard, while thoseof 2nd Guards Brigade were to hold the buildingsand garden of Hougoumont itself.

The two light companies from 1st GuardsBrigade (from 2nd and 3rd Battalions, FirstGuards) occupied the front edge of the orchard.They were under the command of LieutenantColonel Lord Saltoun who was only 30 years old,but had already seen considerable service inWalcheren and the Peninsular War.

The farm and Château were occupied by thelight company of 2nd Battalion ColdstreamGuards, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel HenryWyndham. The garden and the ground around thefarm, including the lane to the west of the GreatBarn, were held by the light company of 2ndBattalion Third Guards, under Lieutenant ColonelCharles Dashwood.

All the troops in and around Hougoumont,except those in the orchard, were under thecommand of Lieutenant Colonel James Macdonell(there are variations of spelling) of the ColdstreamGuards. He, like Saltoun, was renowned for hisbravery, having won a gold medal for distinguishedconduct at Maida in 1806, and he would certainlydistinguish himself again at Waterloo. The lightcompanies managed to occupy their positionswithout opposition from the French, but they wereonly just in time. Napoleon had also appreciatedthe importance of occupying Hougoumont, and,almost as soon as the Guards had moved into thebuildings, some French cavalry appeared, hoping toseize the farm, but they were just too late and weresent packing with a few volleys.

Soon after dark an enemy foot patrolapproached from the direction of the wood, butwas also driven off. Colonel Macdonnell decided,however, that some extra protection was requiredand sent a picquet from the Third Guards forwardinto the wood. Reports differ as to whether it wasright forward ‘on the south edge’ (which wouldhave been extremely close to the French

Wellington’s PlanWELLINGTON COULD NOT be sure what the French would do,and he was also well aware that he himself had little option but tofight a defensive battle. He was outnumbered and out-gunned,and, above all, he was up against Napoleon. He knew that the onlypossible course was to hang on until Blücher and his Prussiansarrived (40,000 men under Bülow and 30,000 men under Ziethen).Then, and only then, might he be able to take the initiative.

He was satisfied with the defensive position he had chosen a yearearlier. It blocked the direct route to Brussels, and he had a good reverseslope where he could keep his men out of sight and also protect themfrom the worst of the inevitable French artillery bombardment. His mainconcern was to safeguard his right flank against the two possible movesthat he expected Napoleon might make.

Looking at his main position, Wellington picked out threegroups of buildings, all slightly forward of the ridge, which heconsidered it was vital to hold and to deny to the enemy. On theleft was the farm of Papelotte. In the centre was the farm of LaHaye Sainte, a key bastion covering the main road to Brussels. Tosupport them he placed two companies (about 160 men) of the95th (Rifles) in and around the adjacent sandpit, with a thirdcompany just behind them.

On his vulnerable right flank was the Château de Hougoumont,which was the responsibility of Cooke’s 1st Division. Byng’s 2ndGuards Brigade was on the ridge immediately north ofHougoumont, and the Duke also ordered the four light companiesof 1st and 2nd Guards Brigades (some 400 men) to move forwardand occupy the farm and the ground round it. In addition hebrought from Colville’s 4th Division at Hal Mitchell’s Brigade whichhe placed north-west of Hougoumont astride the Nivelles road.Finally, he positioned a squadron of the 15th Hussars on the sameroad, west of the farm, where they could support Mitchell’s Brigade.

The Earl of Uxbridge, who had been nominated as Wellington’sSecond-in-Command, is said to have asked him what was thematerial point of his plan, so that he (Uxbridge) would know whatto do should any accident befall the Duke. The reply he receivedwas, ‘Keep Hougoumont’.


positions), or whether it was on the north edge ofthe wood, quite close to the farm, which seemsmore likely. It was commanded by CaptainGeorge Evelyn and Ensign George Standen.

The remainder of the garrison in the farmbuildings may well have thought that they wouldbe able to enjoy a comfortable night under cover,but they were soon disillusioned, for they wereimmediately put to work improving the defencesin every way possible. Loop-holes were made inthe walls and firesteps constructed; all theentrances were closed and, if possible, barricaded.

The North, or Great Gate was deliberately leftopen, so that reinforcements, ammunition andsupplies could reach the farm from the mainposition behind.

Work on improving the defences went on

throughout the night and there was little sleep foranyone. There was, however, no further fighting,although the enemy could be heard a mere 300yards away in the valley beyond the wood.

Dawn, when it came at last, was a welcomesight to both sides, even though it was still raining.The 68,000 Allied troops along the Mont St Jeanridge awoke, cold, wet and hungry, and lookedacross the waterlogged valley at the 72,000 equallysodden and miserable French on the other side.

Ten miles to the east, at Wavre, 30,000 Prussianswere just setting out to march to Wellington’s support,as Marshal Blücher had promised they would.

The stage was set.

Up to 11 am, 18 June 1815Just before dawn on Sunday, 18 June, the troops inand around Hougoumont all ‘stood to’, ready forthe French attack that might come at any moment.The rain was falling continuously, and it was amiserable, muddy awakening.

Lord Saltoun was in the orchard with his twolight companies when a staff officer appeared, atthe head of a battalion of Nassau infantry, about600 strong; these were the 1st Battalion of the 2nd

Waterloo 1815

Loop-holes were made in thewalls and firesteps constructed; allthe entrances were closed and, ifpossible, barricaded...


Nassau Brigade in Papelotte, commanded byMajor Büssen; also with him were a company of300 Hanoverian Jäger sharp-shooters from CountKielmansegge’s 1st Hanoverian Brigade, andabout 100 picked Luneberg infantry from CountKielmansegge’s Jäger Corps. He told Saltoun thathe was to hand over responsibility for the defenceof the orchard to this new force and was then torejoin 1st Guards Brigade. Saltoun duly handedover and was half-way back to his originalposition on the ridge when he met the Duke ofWellington, accompanied by his MilitarySecretary, Lieutenant Colonel Lord FitzroySomerset of the First Guards.

The Duke called out, ‘Hallo. Who are you?Where are you going?’

Saltoun halted and, ordering his men to liedown and rest, he then explained the orders hehad received. The Duke seemed surprised andreplied, ‘Well, I was not aware of such an order.However, don’t join the brigade yet. Remain quietwhere you are until further orders from me.’

Wellington then made his way towardsHougoumont. He was dressed in a bluecivilian coat, white buckskins, Hessian boots,a white cravat and a blue cloak, (which hefrequently put on when there wereshowers). The civilian coat led somecontemporary accounts to describe himincorrectly as wearing civilian dress. Hiscocked hat, worn ‘fore and aft’ (Napoleonwore his ‘four-square’) carried no plume, buthad four cockades – to represent England, Spain,Portugal and the Netherlands. It was an unobtrusiveuniform, and it may in fact have contributed to hissurvival that day, particularly just after his meetingwith Saltoun.

Following his usual practice of seeing everythingfor himself and making quite sure that his ordershad been carried out, Wellington made his waydown the slope to the orchard, and then across it tothe wood. It was a rash thing to do, with the Frenchso close, and it so happened that, as he halted onthe track leading towards La Belle Alliance, aFrench tirailleur (skirmisher) was hidden in theundergrowth a mere ten yards from him.

Fortunately the man did not recognize what an

important target he had within range at thatmoment and did not even fire. He thus missed hischance of altering history and earning his ownplace in the history books.

It is not certain on which of his visits toHougoumont that Wellington ordered theNassauers and Hanoverians into the wood, but itseems probable that it was on this occasion, inorder to forestall the French in seizing it.Whatever the precise time, the Nassauers,Lunebergers and Hanoverians moved forwardearly that morning into the wood, which theyoccupied without opposition.

At the same time Wellington ordered part of thelight company of the Third Guards to be movedfrom the garden of Hougoumont (which was nowprotected by the troops in the wood) and take up anew position round the track junction at the south-west corner of the farm. This divided the defencesat Hougoumont into three sectors. The first wasthe orchard, held by the light companies of theFirst Guards under Saltoun. Then came the gardenand the buildings, which were held by theColdstream light company, while the Third Guardscompany was responsible for the lane to the westof the farm. Colonel Macdonell remained incommand of the two latter sectors.

Meanwhile, work continued non-stop on thefortification of the buildings, and more loop-holeswere made in the garden walls. This was to be animportant factor later in the holding of the position.

Before the BattleWhile the soldiers, both Allied and French, coulddo little but wait for orders, the two commandershad much to think about, and each was planning

possible moves in the bloody conflict that theyknew must soon take place.

Fortunately for the Allies, Napoleonsaw no particular reason to hurry, and hebreakfasted at Le Caillou around 8am.‘Tonight we will sleep in Brussels,’ hedeclared, and ordered ‘a well-doneshoulder of lamb’ for supper thatevening.

At about 9 in the morning hesummoned a conference at Le Caillou to

issue his orders for the battle. Rathersurprisingly he decided that he would not launch

his main attack until 1pm, so as to give time for theground to dry out, which would make his artillerymore effective. It was a major error, for it gave thePrussians that much more time to reach Wellington.

In order to keep the enemy occupied in themeantime he ordered Reille’s Corps to attackHougoumont. He anticipated no difficulty overthis operation, which he regarded as ‘just adiversion’; he hoped it would also makeWellington move troops from his centre toreinforce his right flank, and so weaken his centrebefore the main French assault.

Reille in turn gave the task of carrying out this

Firing a Brown Bess Musket


‘diversion’ to Napoleon’s brother, Prince Jerome,with his 6th Division of 6,000 men supported byGeneral Piré’s 2nd Cavalry Division. ‘It is simplya question,’ he told Jerome, ‘of keeping in thehollow behind the wood in support of a strongline of skirmishers in front.’ In fact it turned out tobe a very different story.

At around this time the rain eased at long lastand 140,000 men tried to dry themselves out in theankle-deep mud and the sodden, trampled crops. Acrackle of musket fire came from both sides of thevalley as soldiers fired their weapons to clear themof mud and damp. The Commissariat winced at thewaste of ammunition, but it was the simplest wayof ensuring that a musket was in working order,and a man’s life might depend on just that.

Although the two sides were within sight ofeach other, no shots had yet been fired in anger,and the two armies each went about their ownbusiness, preparing for the confrontation thatcould not now be far off.

At 10am those Allied soldiers in sight of the Frenchwatched in wonder as Napoleon on his white mareDésirée reviewed his Grand Armée in front of LaBelle Alliance. It was a magnificent sight that stirredthe emotions of the French and raised their spirits stillhigher. Cheers and shouts of ‘Vive L’Empereur’ reachedacross the valley, but they did not worry thephlegmatic British troops, who were more concernednow to get the battle over and done with.

Wellington, on the other hand, looked on everyminute of delay as a welcome bonus, in that itgave more time for the Prussians to appear. Seeingthat Napoleon was evidently not about to attackfor a while yet, he made his way once again downto Hougoumont to make absolutely sure thateverything there was being done as he required.

It was shortly before 11am when he rode downto the Château, accompanied this time by hisPrussian Liaison Officer, General Müffling. They

met Macdonell, and Wellingtonwarned him that he mustexpect to be attacked beforelong. He again stressed thevital importance of holdingHougoumont and gave ordersthat the garrison must ‘defendthe post to the last extremity’.

Müffling, who liked todiscuss tactics with the Duke,questioned whether the placereally could be held, seeing howexposed it was and how fewmen, a mere 1,500 or so, hadbeen allocated to its defence.

‘Ah,’ replied the Duke, ‘butyou do not know Macdonell.’

The French assault beganand soon developed into a full-scale attack, with Bauduin’sBrigade advancing through thewood from the south. Theywere supported by the light

cavalry of Piré’s 2nd Cavalry Division, whoattacked to the west of the Nivelles road.

Fierce fighting went on for about half an hour, inthe course of which Bauduin was killed. But theNassauers and Hanoverians were driven steadilyback out of the wood and were forced to take upnew positions along the south edge of the orchard,where the First Guards had been during the night.

Wellington had meantime brought up MajorBull’s Battery of six 5 1/2 inch howitzers, and theycame into action on his direct orders. They openedfire on the wood, over the heads of the Allied troops,and this was so effective that Wellington commentedin his Despatches on ‘this service which, consideringthe proximity of the Allied troops in the Coppice,was of a very delicate nature, executed withadmirable skill and attended with the desired effect.’The French officer leading these troops stated laterthat the first salvo killed seventeen men.

Nevertheless, by about midday the French hadreached the north edge of the wood and foundthemselves within sight of Hougoumont. Sibornedescribes the scene:

In the full confidence that this important post wasnow within their grasp, they rushed forward at thepas de charge to force an entrance. A deadly firebursting forth from the loopholes and platforms alongthe garden wall, which was parallel to and aboutthirty yards distance from the hedge, laid prostratethe leading files. Those who came up in rapidsuccession were staggered by the sudden andunexpected appearance of this little fortress!

Every shot from the Guards behind the loopholedwalls found a target among the French, who couldin return only fire at a virtually invisible enemy.Some French soldiers tried to break down the solidSouth Gate with the butts of their muskets, butwere soon shot down; others tried to climb overthe garden wall, but were promptly bayoneted.

Waterloo 1815


The attack made no progress at all, but to theeast the Nassauers and Hanoverians, havingwithdrawn from the wood, were steadily drivenback across the orchard to the Hollow Way.

At about the time of the first French attack, thelight companies of the First Guards under Saltounhad been ordered to move back from the spotwhere Wellington had told them to stay. They hadjust joined their battalions for a welcome rest,when a shout went up: ‘The Nassauers are drivenout of the orchard. Light companies to the front.’

They immediately formed up and moved forwarddown the hill. They once more met the Duke, whosent them on their way with the words: ‘In with you,my lads, and let me see no more of you.’

When they reached the Hollow Way theycharged the French and drove them back acrossthe orchard and on into the wood. They then re-occupied the defences that they had heldpreviously along the south edge of the orchard,but they found to their disgust that ‘all thepreparations they had made for defence [hadbeen] completely destroyed, and during theaction they had to trust to sheer hard fighting,often hand to hand, to maintain their ground.’

For the moment the situation at Hougoumontwas stabilized. The French had lost some 1,500men in their first attack and the Allied garrisonwas still holding out.

Wellington now withdrew the weary Nassaubattalion and brought forward Du Plat’s Brigadeto strengthen the reserve on the ridge behindHougoumont.

The Second French AttackPrince Jerome might well have ‘called it a day’ atthis point, on the basis that he had fully carriedout the Emperor’s orders to create a diversion at

Hougoumont. Indeed, both Marshal Reille and hisown Chief of Staff, advised him that he had doneenough and should not commit more troops to theoperation.

But Jerome was determined to prove himselfand was not pleased that he had failed to takeHougoumont. In his defence it should be recordedthat, in a conversation several years later, hemaintained that Napoleon said to him about anhour after the battle began, ‘If Grouchy does notcome up or if you do not carry Hougoumont, thebattle is decidedly lost – so go – go and carryHougoumont – coûte que coûte.’ If true, this notonly explains but also justifies his actions.

He therefore set about mounting another attack,this time primarily from the west rather than thesouth. Soye’s Brigade replaced the weakenedbrigade of the late Bauduin, with orders to attackonce more from the wood. Jerome meanwhilewould attack the west side of the farm, whilePiré’s light cavalry were to swing round and comein on Hougoumont from the north.

The time was now around midday and thesituation was that the orchard was firmly held bythe two light companies of the First Guards andthe Hanoverians under Saltoun, while thebuildings and garden of Hougoumont wereequally firmly held by the light companies of theColdstream and Third Guards under Macdonell.

The light company of the Third Guards, underLieutenant Colonel Charles Dashwood, was atthis time positioned outside the farm on thesouth-west corner of the buildings. Thisdetachment, numbering less than 100 men, nowtook the full force of the second French attack, andwas steadily driven back down the lane along thewest side of the farm towards the North Gate.

Closing the GatesSome French soldiers of the Light Regimentrushed forward and made a determined effort tobreak in through the half-open gate. At their headwas a giant of a man called Lieutenant Legros,appropriately known as L’Enfonceur, or theSmasher. Seizing an axe from one of the pioneers,he swung it against the panels of the gate andforced his way into the farmyard.

A number of Frenchmen, (some accounts say asmany as 100 but it was probably nearer 30 or 40),surged forward behind him, and it must haveseemed to them for a moment that the capture ofHougoumont was in sight. Desperate close-quarterfighting developed on all sides, with French andBritish struggling hand-to-hand in the farmyard.

Some of the enemy reached as far as the Château,but they all came under intense fire from theChâteau windows, as well as from the buildings onall sides. One group pursued a Hanoverian officercalled Lieutenant Wilder as far as the farmer’shouse, and as he grasped the handle of a door toopen it a French sapeur cut off his hand with an axe.

But the French were heavily out-numbered and

Sergeant Fraser andColonel CubièresTHE LEADING ENEMY infantry were the 1st Light Regiment ofBauduin’s Brigade, and in the fierce hand-to-hand fighting thatdeveloped, Sergeant Ralph Fraser of the Third Guards, a PeninsularWar veteran, found himself engaged in personal combat with theCommanding Officer of the 1st Light Regiment, Colonel Cubières.

The Colonel slashed at him with his sword, but Sergeant Fraserdefended himself with his halberd, and then used it to pull theColonel off his horse. Leaving him lying on the ground, SergeantFraser leapt onto the horse and galloped triumphantly back to theNorth Gate. There he joined his comrades who were by nowwithdrawing back to the small orchard.

Colonel Cubières was wounded, but he survived, and laterbecame a general and Governor of Ancona, in Italy. In 1832 he metColonel Alexander Woodford of the Coldstream Guards, who wasalso at Hougoumont and they naturally started talking about thebattle. According to Woodford, Cubières declared that when he laywounded ‘the Guards forebore to fire on him, and he owed us muchfor many good years since’.


had little chance. Before long every one of themwas killed or wounded except for one unarmeddrummer-boy, who was spared. L’Enfonceurhimself died near the Château, his axe stillgrasped in his hand.

But even as the fighting was taking placeinside Hougoumont, more French were trying toforce their way in through the gate. LieutenantColonel Macdonell was by the Garden Gatewhen he became aware of the danger, and atonce realized that it was vital that the Great Gatebe closed. There were three Coldstream Guardsofficers nearby, Lieutenant Colonel HenryWyndham, Ensign James Hervey and EnsignHenry Gooch, and shouting for them to join him,he rushed towards the gate.

As the four of them reached the area of thedraw-well, they were joined by two moreColdstreamers, Corporal James Graham (whowas promoted to Sergeant after the battle) andhis brother Corporal Joseph Graham; four menfrom the Third Guards, Sergeant Ralph Fraser,Sergeant Bruce McGregor, Sergeant Joseph Astonand Private Joseph Lester also joined in. [Thereare various spellings of these names.]

Thrusting their way forward, the group of tendrove back any enemy in their way and fought theirway to the gate. Colonel Macdonell, who was alarge, strong man, put his shoulder to it, togetherwith Corporal James Graham, who was also ofheavy build. Others joined in, either adding theirweight to the gates or thrusting back the Frenchmenwho were still trying to force their way in.

Very slowly the two heavy panels werepushed together, and held in position until theycould be barricaded. There was a rush to collectany timbers or other pieces of debris that couldbe used to reinforce the gate, and finally the

massive crossbar was dropped into position.The gates at Hougoumont were closed, but it

had been a ‘near-run thing’.The struggle was not yet over, however. Even

while the gate was being secured, some of theenemy tried to scale the walls, and one FrenchGrenadier, standing on the shoulders of a comrade,leaned over the top and took aim at ColonelWyndham. Fortunately Wyndham saw him out ofthe corner of his eye; he hurriedly handed a musketto Corporal Graham beside him, who fired at thesame second as the Frenchman and it was the latterwho fell back, shot in the brain.

So the Great Gate was closed, and was neveragain forced by the enemy. Nor indeed did anyenemy penetrate into Hougoumont for the rest ofthe day, and it is not hard to see why Wellingtonlater declared that ‘The success of the Battle ofWaterloo turned on the closing of the gates [atHougoumont]’ (12.30pm to 3pm).

Waterloo 1815

To order click here

RRP £9.95ISBN: 9780850527162Paperback, illustrations

Hougoumont – WaterlooJulian Paget, Derek Saunders

The desperate defence of the hamlet ofHougoumont by the Guards was the keyto Wellington's victory over Napoleon atWaterloo. It was 'a battle within a battle'and Wellington himself later declaredthat the outcome 'rested upon the closingof the gates at Hougoumont'. To call thisa close run affair was indeed somethingof an understatement. This book brings tolife the events of 18 June 1815 to both thebattlefield visitor and reader at home.

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RRP £13.99ISBN: 9781848326231Hardback 232 pagesFrontline Bookses

THE HAND OF HISTORYAn anthology of historyquotes and commentaries

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The long list of contributors to thisfund-raising book includes: AsaBriggs, Charlotte Gray, Dan Snowand Ian Kershaw.

All royalties for this book are beingdonated to the Parkinsons UKcharity (www.parkinsons.org.uk).

33

BackgroundMy name is Alex Ford and I am 41 years old, born and grew upin Uttoxeter, Staffordshire – a sleepy country town where verylittle happens. It's basically famous for horse racing, being closeto Alton Towers and is nearby where JCBs are built. My fatherwas in the RAF, as was my brother (who retired from the servicea few years ago)... being in the RAF was pretty much all I everwanted to do. As I said, I am from sleepy Uttoxeter – it was eitherstay in town and build JCBs or leave and join the RAF.

What made you decide to set up the blog, andwhat was the motivation to describe life in theRAF.

I STARTED USING Twitter under my own name a couple ofyears ago, and it became more and more focused on my workrole as time went on. People just seemed to be interested inwhat I was saying about work, and about what I had done. Astime went on it became clear that I needed a separate Twitteraccount simply for talking about my life in the RAF. At thesame time the MoD announced its new 'online engagementstrategy' where people were encouraged to talk about being inthe military... so I did! Back then I didn't think that the RAF was

particularly good at shouting about itself. Often RAF personnelare involved in something and the media report it as the Army –that hurts a bit – so I wanted the world to know just what theRAF and its people do get up to. I don't blame the media. Whenthey see someone in combats helping someone out of a snowdrift, or fighting a fire, or helping people when there are floods,they just assume that it's the Army. This isn't always the case. Iam terribly proud of being in the RAF and about what we havedone and continue to do and I want to tell the world all about it!

At first I just tweeted, but I found that I also needed a formatwhere I could expand on what I was doing and what was goingon. It was a chance to talk about my experiences in a job thathad been very kind to me and then when I eventually got thecall to go to Afghan it became the ideal platform to tell thatstory. The two compliment each other. One can talk about theday-to-day things that someone in the RAF (and indeed themilitary) does, and allows people to see that we often do thesame sorts of things as they do in their normal lives – take thekids to nursery, have an argument with an Excel spreadsheet inthe office, go to the football – whilst the other allows me to tellthe stories of experiences and events in detail to allow peopleto see what is behind all that.

I sometimes may give away a bit too much about what I doand what makes me tick, but I think it's vitally important to betotally honest. Sometimes I get down and miserable,sometimes I am happy. If you want people to be interested inwhat you do you have to give them enough to capture theirinterest and show that you are a real person.

The blog gives readers a much better ideainto daily life in Afghanistan than newsreports. Was this your goal and how

important do you think it is for people at home to geta more realistic impression?THE NEWS REPORTS seem to concentrate only on one thing:the bad side of being out here. The number of servicemeninjured and the number sent home to be repatriated throughWootton Bassett. That is not the whole story. There are 10,000people out here in one way or another involved in this conflict.People at home need to know that this war is more than justpeople coming home dead and injured. It's about how people

W A R FA R E M A G A Z I N E

Sergeant Alex Ford's blog – an unofficial account of an RAF Airmanand blogger deployed to Afghanistan in a Joint Service Organisation –notched up over 80,000 hits between March and August this year. Theblog brings to life the reality of war with a blend of wit, honesty andgritty realism. Warfare talks to the blog's author and his motivation toshare his experiences online. http://rafairman.wordpress.com/

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carry on living and working in often very harsh conditions.People at home want to know how their troops are living, whatthey do on a day to day basis, how they occupy their time. Thenews media often doesn't have the time to tell the good stories– so someone else has to.

The link between the general population and the military isas far away as it ever has been, simply because the number inthe forces is so small now. In previous generations, almosteveryone would have had a family member in the ArmedForces who would tell them what life was like. Now the reverseis true. There are people who have no concept about what lifein the Services is like, but still want to know. So I think it'smassively important to tell them – after all they pay us, so theyhave a right to know.

I imagine your role as an intermediary is anunusual one. Are you basically an airmansurrounded by soldiers? How do you find that?

THIS IS DEFINITELY a posting outside the normal for an RAFtechie who used to fix Radars on Tornado jets. I am the onlymember of the RAF permanently assigned to this Check Pointand this Company of soldiers. The odd one or two others comethrough doing specific jobs, but they only visit. My role is toassist the local population to recover after many years of warand to help improve the governance of the country bystabilising the area. This is a job that is done by members of allthree services – the Army, the Navy and the RAF. It can befrustrating at times, but I have enjoyed being out here. As forliving with the Army and being surrounded by them, they havebeen very, very good to me. They have welcomed me into theirCompany and made me feel at home and part of them. There isa fair bit of banter at times – and you have to give as much asyou get. The other thing about my time here is that it has mademe realize just how brilliant the British Army's troops are. Tosee just how hard they work is humbling. I had respect for thembefore I came here, but now... I look on them in awe.

I was surprised that you had to do patrolsgiven your liaison role. Is this something youasked to be involved with?

THE FIRST TIME you go out of the wire is a scary time. You arescared of lots of things – mostly because you don't really knowwhat it is like. Before we came out here we were told about thethreats and the hazards and so you think it is going to be likethat everywhere. Some places aren't so bad, as I found out onmy very first time out. Lots of kids about means it's going to befairly safe. You still need to be on your toes, but you can cool itjust a little bit.

My role out here means that I have to get out and beamongst the people. You simply have to go on patrols with theguys. It is part and parcel of the MSST job. You need to seewhat people have been doing and how far the projects we helpmanage have moved on. Obviously you don't go on everypatrol. The lads don't need to be worrying about me if they aregoing on a strike op somewhere, but if they are simply doing apatrol to reassure the local population in the Area ofOperations (AO) then there is no reason why I shouldn't be outthere meeting the locals too. Kind of the point aboutvolunteering to come out here though was to actually go out onthe ground and get out of the wire. This didn't exactly impressmy girlfriend – who is in the Army – and as a medic who wasbased at Selly Oak knew what could happen to me out there.

But I felt I had to do something to be able to hold my head onceI leave the forces.

Two things strike me about what you havewritten – humour and hardship (your delight atgetting a cold coke puts things into perspective

for me). Do you use one to cope with the other?Of course. To get through some of this out here you have tolaugh at it. When you fall into an irrigation ditch – and getsoaking for the duration of the next four hour patrol – that'sfunny. No matter which way you look at it. It's a fact. And ithelps get you through the day. You have to laugh at thingsotherwise a tour here would be a very, very long time. Whenyou are pooing into a bag and you need to laugh at something...

You mentioned the MoD supported the blog –in what way?

WELL, THE SUPPORT has been in helping me to get mymessage out there. They have advertised my blog posts on theMoD website and on their Facebook pages, bringing me morereaders than I would have normally. Being an MoD sponsoredblogger is important to me and it allows me to keep on writing.

How has your experience changed you? And howimportant is it that people at home understand thereaction of Afghans to ISAF forces?

AN EXPERIENCE ISN'T something you have – it's something youuse. I'd like to think that with all the things I've seen and donewill be locked away until I need them. A lot of the things I haveseen are inspirational and so when I need inspiration, needstrength or just need some guidance on a decision I need tomake, I'll be able to call on these experiences to help me. Ihope that everything I have done and seen will make me a

better person.People at home also

have an image that allAfghans are Taliban.This isn't true. Themajority of them are justnormal people who wantto get on with their lives.I'd just like to let thepeople back at homeknow that.

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RAF airman on You Tube:www.youtube.com/user/RAFairmanRAF airman on Flickr:www.flickr.com/photos/rafairman/

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With local children out on patrol.

A Springer crash. Finding humour in hardship makes a tour inAfghanistan much more bearable. Alex Ford


We have 3 signed copies of Jon Cooksey’sBlood & Iron to give away (RRP £19.99)Hugh Butterworth was just one of the millions of lost soldiers of the GreatWar, the extraordinary letters he sent home from the Western Front longforgotten. After more than ninety years of obscurity, these letters, have beenrediscovered. A moving, intensely personal and beautifully written record.Butterworth was in civilian life a dedicated and much-loved schoolmasterand a gifted cricketer, who served with distinction as an officer in the RifleBrigade. His letters give us a telling insight into the thoughts and reactionsof a highly educated, sensitive and perceptive individual confronted by thehorrors of modern warfare. He was killed on the Bellewaarde ridge nearYpres on 25 September 1915, and his last letter was written on the eve ofthe action in which he died.

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Partly through the medium of theBayeux Tapestry, but alsobecause of the way the sourcesare written, the first phase of theBattle of Hastings is presented asa series of tableaux: the exchange

of missiles, the charge of the Norman horse, theretreat of the Bretons, William’s intervention, andthe encirclement of the fyrd on their hillock. All ofthis might have taken place in the space of an hour,perhaps two hours, bringing the time to latemorning. Yet the Battle of Hastings went on untildusk, at about six in the evening. What happenedin the long hours between the elimination of thehillock group and the collapse of the English army?

The defeat of the EnglishThe afternoon seems to have passed in a series ofassaults on the weakening English position. The

Normans ‘attacked with the greatest vigour’,writes William of Poitiers. The English army,though shorn of its wings, still inspired fear andwas very difficult to break through and surround.The Norman attacks burst against the English rock.In a series of loaded statements, Poitiers goes on:

‘The English weakened, and, as if they admittedtheir wrongdoing by defeat itself, they nowundertook their punishment. The Normans shotarrows, wounded and transfixed men. The dead, asthey tumbled to the ground, showed more sign ofmotion than the living. Even the lightly woundedcould not escape, but perished under the dense heapof their companions. So fortune concurred inWilliam’s triumph by hastening it’.

A similar passage in the Carmen alludes to theterrible vengeance meted out to the English forfighting in a lost cause:

‘O Ruler of Heaven, thou who art tender and pitiful

The story of 1066 is the epic of three men: King Harold and his two greatenemies: William, Duke of Normandy and his namesake, Harald Hardrada,Harald the Ruthless, King of Norway. Edward the Confessor died without issueand all three men claimed the throne – Harold with the support of the Englishnobility, and William and Harald by virtue of promises made to them by formerkings. There is an interesting even-handedness about the battles of 1066: theEnglish, Normans and Vikings each won a battle. Perhaps the Normans won therace because they did not have to fight a second battle. King Harold and HaraldHardrada, both did, and both of them lost it.

THE BATTLE OFHASTINGSBy Peter MarrenExtracted from 1066: The Battles of York, Stamford Bridge and Hastings and reproduced by permission ofPen & Sword Books Ltd.


towards us and by divine will rulest all things, whatdestruction the surviving band of English suffered!Then pity died and cruelty triumphed, life perished,savage death raged, and the sword ran wild! WhereMars holds sway, no man shows mercy.’

There is a sense of growing desperation andviolence in the last scenes of the Tapestry.Housecarls, who seem immortal at the start of thebattle, are now shown being struck down by theswords and lances of the Norman cavalry. Itscarcely needs the legend ‘and those who havefallen who were with Harold’. The archers in thelower panel have been busy, and the shields of theEnglish bristle with arrows. How the archersmanaged to replenish their quivers at this stage isnot clear. Perhaps, having pushed back the

English line, they wereable to scavenge spentarrows from thebattlefield. Or perhaps freshsupplies of arrows had arrivedfrom the ships. We can imagine a short buteffective storm of arrows falling on the crushedranks of the English, followed by the shock of thecavalry assault. Bit by bit, the English were worndown, and the Normans started to penetrate theirlines, at last gaining a foothold on the ridge.

It was perhaps now, as the late afternoonsunlight slanted across the piles of bodies, thatKing Harold was killed, with or without an arrowin the eye. In the Carmen, Harold, in his lastmoments, performs prodigies of valour, hewing

King HaroldHAROLD WAS THE last Anglo-Saxon king ofEngland. He reigned for less than a year, from hiscoronation on 6 January 1066 until his death on thefield at Hastings. Although the chronicler John ofWorcester claims that Harold ‘immediately began toabolish unjust laws and to make good ones’, mostof his unquiet reign was in fact spent preparing forwar and conducting war by land and sea. Thepoignant single word ‘PAX’ on the silver pennies ofKing Harold was only an aspiration. Harold is ofcourse remembered now mainly as the loser of theBattle of Hastings. Until then, however, he had beennotably successful in war, having overcome theWelsh in two lightning campaigns, and defeatedthe last great Viking invasion in a single battle atStamford Bridge just three weeks before Hastings.Moreover, he was a statesman of experience,having been a great earl for a quarter of a century,first of East Anglia, then of Wessex, and eventuallyacting as a kind of underking (subregulus) as theaging king, Edward the Confessor, becameincreasingly preoccupied with prayer and hunting.


down the Normans now investing his hilltopposition. This story is probably intended to magnifythe Normans’ fame in overcoming the hero andwinning the battle. At this stage in the battle, theattention turns to Harold and William personally.Both were great warriors, but, since the sources areNorman and French, William is of course thegreater, Achilles to Harold’s Hector, Aeneus to thelatter’s Turnus. His chaplain claims that DukeWilliam surpassed even the bravest of his knights:

‘His leadership in battle was noble, preventing menfrom fleeing, inspiring courage in others, sharingdanger, more often ordering his men to follow himthan to advance... Three horses were killed underhim. Three times he intrepidly leapt to the groundand hastened to avenge the death of his warhorse.This showed his quickness, his strength of mind andbody. The fury of his sword pierced shields, helmetsand hauberks; he struck down several soldiers withhis shield alone... He helped and rescued many men.’

The Carmen differs only in claiming William hadonly two horses killed from under him, but the

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THE INSCRIPTION HERE reads 'hic harold rex interfectus est', with the name'Harold' written above a warrior with an arrow in his eye. But the words 'interfectusest' (has been killed) appear to refer to a second warrior being hacked down by amounted Norman swordsman.The tapestry is the only source on this point, so wecannot know for sure which of the two figures was meant to be King Harold.www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/bayeux_tapestry_gallery_05.shtml

Battlefield9.00am

Battlefield5.00pm


picture of a mighty warrior is much the same: ‘Atthe appearance of the duke the trembling host fellback, as soft wax melts away in the face of fire.With drawn sword he hewed to pieces helms andshields, and even his war-horse slew many’;presumably by trampling them.

Clearly there must have been some justificationfor such stories, and we need not doubt that Williamwas a prominent figure on the battlefield and thearchitect of the Norman victory. All the same, theWilliam of the Bayeux Tapestry is presented moreplausibly as an orthodox commander, giving ordersand haranguing his fleeing men, but never shownactually fighting. In contrast to his knights, but likehis priestly half-brother Odo, he carries no shield,and in his hand is no sword but a harmless woodenmace of office. It was necessary for the sources topresent a valorous, martial William outdoing thegreat men of ancient myth. But there is an air ofcliché about William’s supposed exploits, and evenin Poitiers’ account, the emphasis is on William’squalities as an inspiring leader of men rather thanthe man who more or less singlehandedly won theBattle of Hastings. He seems to take on two roles:the commander with his staff, and the embodimentof the Norman army. When the Carmen has himpersonally killing Harold, Gyrth and severalthousand others, his audience no doubt understoodit in a poetical sense: they were killed by Normans,William was the leader of the Normans, thereforeWilliam killed them.

By the time Harold was slain and his standardoverthrown, the shield-wall had crumbled andthe English line may have shrunk to a circular

phalanx of men in thevicinity of the present dayabbey. On the Tapestry onlytwo men stand by the king,his standard-bearer and a lonehousecarl. The death of King Harold is acontentious subject. Most sources say he fell lateon in the battle, perhaps shortly before dusk. Thescene everyone knows is on the last but one panelof the Bayeux Tapestry: ‘Hic Harold: Rex:Interfectus: Est’ - ‘Here King Harold is killed’.Beneath the word Harold, a tall figure clutches anarrow, seemingly embedded in his right eye. Thetradition that Harold was struck in the eye by anarrow was well known to chroniclers writing ageneration or two afterwards.

King Harold’s loss effectively ended the battleand began a sauve qui peut, as the English fled thefield. As the Carmen put it, ‘The flying rumour“Harold is dead!” spread through the fray’. Atthat news proud hearts were tamed by fear: ‘TheEnglish refused battle. Vanquished they besoughtmercy; despairing of life, they fled from death’.The impression given elsewhere is that thehousecarls fought to the death, while it was thefyrd, or some of them, that fled. No housecarlsflee or beg for mercy on the Bayeux Tapestry: theyare last seen fighting and falling with sword andaxe amid a thicket of Norman lances. Even asHarold receives his death wound, scavengerswere at work, stripping bodies of their coats ofmail, or collecting weapons and shields. In thelast surviving section of the Tapestry, fivemounted Normans, including an archer, pursuethe English as they flee into the forest. Three ofthe English have found mounts, which they lashfrantically in their haste. One unfortunate hasentangled himself in a thicket (or is he climbing atree?). Another runs blindly with an arrowsticking from an eye. The last figure on theTapestry is a poor naked figure apparently hidingin the bushes, peering out at the carnage.

THE SITE ofHarold’s death.

Click herefor the

timetable ofthe Battle of

Hastings

1066:TheBattles of York,StamfordBridge &HastingsPeter MarrenPaperbackISBN: 9780850529531£9.95

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CONSTANTINETHE GREATGENERALA Military BiographyElizabeth JamesPublished by Pen & Sword BooksISBN 9781848841185 • HB192 Pages • £19.99

CONSTANTINE THE GREAT is atitanic figure in Roman, and indeed,world history. Most famed formaking Christianity the officialreligion of the Roman Empire, it isoften forgotten that his power andsuccess was made possible by theuse of armed force, in an impressivemilitary career well worthy of studyin its own right. Constantine wonvictories over external barbarianarmies as well as defeating theRoman armies of his internal rivalsin civil war. The author discusses thenature of the Roman Army as itemerged in evolved form from theThird Century Crisis, describing themake up of the armies, theirweapons and tactics, and the impactof Constantine's policies andreforms. She examines each ofConstantine's campaigns and battles,to show that he deserves to beremembered as a great general aswell as a great emperor.

VALOUR IN THE TRENCHES‘Bombo’ Pollard VC MC* DCM HAC in theGreat WarN S NashPublished by Pen & Sword BooksISBN 978184848844476 • HB256 Pages • £19.99

ALFRED POLLARD JOINED theHonourable Artillery Company atArmoury House in the City ofLondon in 1914 aged 21. The HACis a unique Territorial unitcomposed entirely of middle classvolunteers, who recruit all theirofficers from the ranks. Pollard wasa natural soldier who believedhimself to be invulnerable, herevelled in combat and claimed toenjoy going into action. This extraordinarymindset is borne out by his well documented acts of selfless courage.He rose quickly through the ranks, earned a battlefield commissionand was awarded in quick succession the Distinguished ConductMedal, two Military Crosses and finally the Victoria Cross. This is afascinating study of a courageous patriot who saw action throughoutthe Great War.

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THE ADVANCE FROMMONS 1914The Experiences of a GermanInfantry Officer

Walter Bloem

Published by CasemateISBN: 9781907677045 • PB • 128 Pages£19.95

MONS 1914–1918 The Beginning and the End

Don Farr

Published by Helion and CompanyISBN: 9781907677083 • PB • 256 Pages 30 Photographs • 8 Maps£18.95

HILL OF SQUANDEREDVALOURThe Battle for Spion Kop,1900

Ron Lock

Published by CasemateISBN: 9781612000077 • HB • 256 Pages 16PP of Illustrations & 6 Maps £19.99

DAY THE WORLD WASSHOCKEDThe Lusitania Disaster and itsInfluence on the Course of WorldWar I

John Protasio

Published by CasemateISBN: 9781935149453 • HB • 256 Pages16 Page Photo Section£20.00

IF CHAOS REIGNSThe Near-Disaster and UltimateTriumph of the Allied AirborneForces on D-Day, June 6, 1944

Flint Whitlock

Published by CasemateISBN: 9781612000008 • HB • 384 Pages£16.99

YORKSHIRE SIEGESOF THE CIVIL WARSDavid CookePublished by Pen & Sword BooksISBN: 9781844159178 • PB • 192 Pages • £12.99

DAVID COOKE'S NEWhistory on sieges of the CivilWar period focuses on Hull,York, Pontefract,Knaresborough, Sandal,Scarborough, Helmsley,Bolton, Skipton – which allwitnessed notable siegesduring the bloodyuncertain years of the CivilWars. His vividreconstructions allow thereader to visit the castles and towns where sieges tookplace and stand on the ground where blood was spiltfor the cause – for king or Parliament. Usingcontemporary accounts and a wealth of maps andillustrations, his book allows the reader to follow thecourse of each siege and sets each operation in thecontext of the Civil Wars in the North.

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IF YOU’REREADING THISLast Letters from the Front LineSiân PricePublished by Frontline BooksISBN 9781848326101 • HB • 288 Pages • £19.99

FOR MORE THAN threecenturies, soldiers havebeen writing farewell lettersto be read in the event oftheir death – a last link, avoice from beyond thegrave. If You’re ReadingThis... brings together acollection of these lettersthrough history. Startingwith the NapoleonicWars and concludingwith Iraq and Afghanistan, the book notonly reveals farewell letters from soldiers of allranks and nationalities, but tells a potted history ofeach individual soldier and his or her story.

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TRACING YOUR SECONDWORLD WAR ANCESTORSA Guide for Family HistoriansPhil TomaselliPublished by Pen & Sword BooksISBN 9781848842885 • PB • 176 Pages £12.99

THIS NEW BOOK by Phil Tomaselli isthe perfect guide to how to locate andunderstand the sources available andget the most out of them. He explainshow, and from where, service recordscan be obtained, using real examplesto show how they look and how tointerpret them. He also examinesrecords of the military units relativesmight have served in so their careerscan be followed in graphic detail.The three armed services arecovered, along with the merchantnavy, the Home Guard, civilianservices, prisoners of war, gallantryand campaign medals, casualties, women’sservices and obscure wartime organizations. Also included are a glossaryof service acronyms, information on useful websites, an introduction toThe National Archives and details of other useful sources.


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PEN & SWORD BOOKS THE PERSIANINVASIONS OFGREECEDr Arthur KeaveneyPublished by Pen & Sword BooksISBN 9781848841376 • HB • 152 Pages£19.99

2,500 YEARS AGO in490 BC Darius I, GreatKing of Persia and themost powerful man inthe world, led amassive invasion armyagainst Athens. Theresultant Battle ofMarathon was adisaster for Dariusand one of the mostfamous victories forthe underdog in all military history.The Persians were forced to withdrawand plot an even bigger expedition.The second invasion came ten yearslater, under Darius’ successor, Xerxes.This led to the legendary last stand ofthe Spartan King Leonidas atThermopylae, the sacking of Athensand the famous naval clash at Salamis,which saved Greece. The followingyear, saw the remaining Persian forcesdriven from mainland Greece at theepic Battle of Plataea. Dr ArthurKeaveney, an expert on AchaemenidPersia, re-examines these momentous,epic events from both Greek andPersian perspectives to give a full andbalanced account based on the mostrecent research.

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SIGNALMAN JONESTim ParkerPublished by Seafarer BooksISBN 9781574093094 • PB • 140 Pages • £9.95

THIS BOOK, THE first by Tim Parker, explores the braveexploits of Holder-Jones throughout the war andincludes limitless examples of the comradeship andhumour needed for such demanding and dangerous tasks. The truestory begins in 1915 where the young Holder-Jones tells of the hardship of lifeon the poverty stricken and flu ridden streets of Liverpool, and after the tragicdeath of his mother, he begins to lose touch with his family and to drift in andout of jobs, eventually joining the ‘weekend sailors’ more formally known as theRoyal Navy Volunteer Reserve. Starting out a mere boy, we are taken on anintriguing tale of his training, his first time out at sea, and the high exemplarystandards required by the strict Naval Officers. Before we know it we areplunged right into the middle of the war, and taken on an enthralling journey ofthe difficult tasks set by the high command. With numerous illustrations, thisbook is a truly great read and not only includes exciting wartime tales, but alsothe love-life of Holder-Jones, his marriage with Gladys and other events in hislife which led to his quick rise to position of a Commander.

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TO WAR WITH GODThe Army ChaplainWho Lost His FaithPeter FiennesPublished by Mainstream PublishingISBN: 9781845966522 • HB • £17.99

TO WAR WITH GOD plotsMonty’s journey from thebewildered but eager firstdays of the Somme, throughthe mud and terror ofCambria, to Belgium andthe Army of Occupation.Along the way, Montycarries out funeral services,prepares morale-boostingsermons, and writes to themothers, sisters, fiancées and fathers of thedead and dying.

During his time on the Front, Monty loseshis faith, rebelling against the institution of theChurch of England which he had, for so long,served.

The book also looks at the war lives of threemen who had a powerful influence on Monty’slife: his beloved brother-in-law, Jack Bigger, anInfantry Officer who dies after only a few daysat the Front; his friend ‘Pullthrough’, a poetand author of scintillating letters; and PrivateJack Bateman, executed for desertion in 1917,who spends his last night with Monty by hisside.

After the war, Monty meets the charismaticpreacher and pacifist vicar of London’s StMartin-in-the-Field, Dick Sheppard, who helpshim find his way back to spiritual health. Dickalso persuades Monty to head up the Boys’Club at St Martin’s, for ex-servicemen and localworkers. It is during his time with Dick, whoMonty describes as ‘his greatest friend’, that hediscovers what he believes to be the meaningof life.

To War With God shows a man’s faith in Godbeing tested by the onslaught of unimaginablehorror. It reveals the confusion of life as aclergyman in the war to end all wars, but italso brings to life the joy and the humour thatoccasionally lightened those darkest of days. Itis testament to the man that, despite losing hisfaith in the trenches, he was still awarded theMC, the third-level military decoration forgallantry.

FOGG IN THE COCKPITHoward Fogg – Master Railroad Artist,World War II Fighter Pilot

Published by CasemateRichard and Janet FoggISBN: 978 1612000 04 6 • HB • 360 Pages£22.50

THE ART OF WARSun Tzu, Translated by James Trapp

Published by AmberISBN: 9781907446788 • HB • 96 Pages£14.99

SAS AND ELITE FORCES GUIDETO ROPES AND KNOTSSurvival Skills from the World’s EliteMilitary Units

Alexander Stilwell

Published by AmberISBN: 9781907446948 • PB • 320 Pages600 Artworks • £14.99

Available from CasemateMAINSTREAM PUBLISHING

THE REMAINS OF WARSurviving the Other ConcentrationCamps of World War IIG. Pauline Kok-SchurgersPublished by iUniverse ISBN: 9781450296717 • PB • 190 Pages • $17.95

THIS TRULY IS the first book of its kind. The real lifestory of Sofia, a nine year old girl imprisoned in aJapanese Prisoner of War camp, along with hermother and two younger sisters. A deeply heroic talewhich explores the horrific nature of Japanese PoWcamps and how the Japanese soldiers brutally mistreated, tortured andkilled woman and children. This book enters new realms and uncoversnew truths. Immediately we are plunged into the heart of the warthrough the Island of Sumatra which is Sofia's unstable and threatenedhome. Nothing could prepare Sofia for the landing of the Japanesearmies, resulting in her dad, along with all the other men in town, beingwrenched away from their homes by brutal soldiers. From this momenther life changed forever. Life in camp became successively worse forSofia as the Japanese appear to gain more power and increase thefrequency and severity of punishments dished out to the prisoners. Anextremely emotional read which touches the core of human suffering.

iUNIVERSE

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NAVAL WEAPONS OF WORLDWAR ONENorman FriedmanPublished by Seaforth PublishingISBN 9781848321997 • HB • 320 Pages • £45.00

THE GREAT WAR saw the maturing ofunderwater weapons – the mine andtorpedo – as well as the first signs of thefuture potency of air power. Between 1914and 1918 weapons development was bothrapid and complex. This book has twofunctions: it details all the guns, torpedoes,mines, aerial bombs and anti-submarine systems employed duringthat period; but it also seeks to explain the background to theirevolution – how the weapons were perceived at the time and how theywere actually used. This involves a discussion of tactics and emphasisesthe key ‘enabling’ technology of fire control and gun mountings. Basedlargely on original research, this sophisticated book is more than acatalogue of the weapons, it offers insight into some of the mostimportant technical and operational factors influencing the war at sea.

SEAFORTH PUBLISHING SIMON MANN -THE REALSTORYSue BlackhallPublished by Pen & Sword BooksISBN: 9781848845770 • HB • 192 Pages£19.99

IT HAD ALL theingredients of a best-selling thriller – theclandestine activities ofmercenaries, animpossibly dare-devilplot to topple theregime of one of theworld’s most corruptcountries; the ‘boy’sown’ approach byarrogant old public school pupils andthe controversy and intrigue fromwithin governmental departments. Addin high-profile figures and far-reachingrepercussions and you have what wasto become one of the most talked-aboutexploits of the twenty-first century.

The attempted coup on the tinyAfrican country of Equatorial Guineawas always destined to fail. This storyis about those who dared to involvethemselves in change of a countrywhich did not want to be changed.What was to be nicknamed the‘Wonga Coup’ carried a price whichcould never have been anticipated.Men were at the mercy of the veryman whose brutal leadership they hadtried to terminate. They foundthemselves incarcerated in a jail wheremany before them had been torturedand from where opposers to theregime had mysteriously disappeared.The multi-million pound reward fortheir endeavours evaporated leavingall feeling cheated, some betrayed andothers totally alienated from theoutside world. Those, like SimonMann – the pivotal character in theplot – who finally won freedom, havebeen wary to talk about their ordeal. Itis no wonder, for self-preservation isstill paramount. They will alwayshave to look over their shoulders.

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FOR KAISER ANDHITLERFrom Military Aviator to HighCommandThe Memoirs of Luftwaffe GeneralAlfred Mahncke 1910-1945Translated by Jochen MahnckePublished by Tattered FlagISBN: 9780955597749 • HB • 288 Pages • £25.00

A FAR CRY FROMany other book of itskind, For Kaiser andHitler is told from acompletely differentperspective bysomeone who wasneither at the top,nor the bottom. As aresult an interestingand unique accountis provided byMachncke, whichalso includes atimeline of Generalder Flieger AlfredMahncke's career promotions and awards –from his birth in 1888 to his death in 1979 –maps of Germany and the surroundingcounties which provide a good visualperspective of Europe at this time, as well as aglossary of terms for easier reading.

This rare memoir is unique in the sensethat very few books that surface todayconcerning the war are written in an attemptto ‘set the record straight’, but this factualnarrative does just that. It follows the story ofJochen Mahncke's father Alfred Mahncke,who was a senior but not very well knownGerman general who met both the Kaiser andHitler. In addition to this, unlike many otherwartime books, For Kaiser and Hitler alsolooks at the inter-war years and the rise ofHitler, rather than just focussing on the 1939-45 years, not to mention the development ofsome of the earliest known military flying.

As well as being crammed with interestingand relevant facts which only aid the story, italso contains commemorative photographs andnumerous black and white images of manydifferent aspects of the war. A great, factualand interesting read.

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HEALING IN HELLThe Memoirs of a Far EasternPOW MedicKen AdamsPublished by Pen & Sword BooksISBN 9781848845756 • HB • 192 Pages • £19.99

KEN ADAMS, A trained medic,was sent out to the Far East andimmediately saw action on theMalay Peninsula. Captured atSingapore he initially workedat Changi Hospital. Manymoves and much worse caposin Thailand were to follow. Hedescribes his life, work andthe terrible conditionsendured at the hands of theJapanese and Korean guardsand worst of all, theKempetai secret police.Illnesses such as dysentery,malaria, avitominosis, cholera and smallpoxwere treated with minimal or no medicine. Starvation was afact of life. The author was frequently moved around and in1945 took part in a march of many hundreds of miles whichinevitably proved fatal to many of his fellow POWs.Liberation and repatriation are movingly described as, mostsignificantly, is the whole process of settling back intonormal life after so long in captivity of the worst kind.Healing in Hell is an exceptional account that demandsreading.

TATTERED FLAG PRESS

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MACHINE GUNPREACHER18 November (UK), Rated: RDirector: Marc ForsterStarring: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan,Michael ShannonStudio: Relativity Media

WHEN EX-BIKER GANG member SamChilders (Butler) makes the life-changing

decision to go toEast Africa to helprepair homesdestroyed by civilwar, he is outragedby the unspeakablehorrors faced bythe region’svulnerablepopulace,especially thechildren. Ignoringthe warnings ofmore experienced

aide workers, Sam breaks ground for anorphanage where it’s most needed – in themiddle of territory controlled by the brutal

Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a renegademilitia that forces youngsters to become soldiersbefore they even reach their teens.

But for Sam, it is not enough to shelter theLRA’s intended victims. Determined to save asmany as possible, he leads armed missions deepinto enemy territory to retrieve kidnappedchildren, restoring peace to their lives – andeventually his own. This is an explosive, real-lifetale of a man who has rescued over a thousandorphans from starvation, disease andenslavement.

THE ROAD TOFREEDOM30 September (US) Director: Brendan MoriatyStarring: Joshua Fredric Smith, Scott Maguireand Tom ProctorStudio: Madcat Productions & Bajan VistaProductions LLC

THE DIRECTIONAL DEBUT from BrendanMoriaty, The Road to Freedom is inspired by the

true-life story ofphotojournalist SeanFlynn, whodisappeared withfellowphotojournalistDana Stone in wartorn Cambodia in1970 – they werecaptured byKhmer Rougeguerrillas whilsttrying to bring the

world’s attention to this region. Many of the extras in the film are actual

Cambodian Militia and were able to use theirown issue machine guns during filming.

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MY BEST ENEMY12 September (UK)Rated: 15Director:Wolfgang MurnbergerStarring: Moritz Bleibtreu, Georg Friedrich, UrsulaStrauss, Marthe Keller, Udo Samel, Uwe BohmDistributed by: Metrodome GroupRun time: 100 minutes • Price: £15.99

SET JUST BEFORE the start of the Second WorldWar, as Nazi Germany sought to annex Austriathrough political allegiance, we meet Victor – amember of a small Jewishcommunity in Vienna whoworks alongside his wealthyfamily at their art gallery.Housing a pricesslessMichelanglo sketch at theirhome, the family are takenupon by Nazis who not onlyremove the sketch but tearthe family apart by sendingthem to differentconcentration camps. When

the Nazis realize some time later that the sketch is aforgery, they threaten Victor and his mother (hisfather passed away whilst imprisoned) in order tolearn the whereabouts of the original sketch –which would secure Hitler's plan of an alliancewith the Italians. There are a number ofunexpected twists, the dramatic story alongsidethe great acting and wonderful cinematographyall makes for fantastic viewing.

The disc also includes a 15 minute bonusfeature with on-set footage and interview clips.

THE DARK AGESTHE 1066 HASTINGSCAMPAIGNOctober (UK), Rated: ExemptProduced by: The Battlefield History TV LtdDistributed by: Pen & Sword Books LtdRun time: 90 minutes • Price £15.99

THE BATTLE OF Hastings in 1066 is, without adoubt, one of the most significant events in Englishhistory. In the aftermath of the battle, King Harold’sSaxon England was brutally swept away by theConqueror to be replaced by Norman Feudalism.With the decisive nature of the battle, it isoften forgotten just how narrowly DukeWilliam succeeded. This DVD identifiesand examines the turning points in the1066 Campaign and explains whyHarold lost. Not only is Hastings coveredin detail but also the first battle of thecampaign against Harold Hardrada’svictorious Vikings at Fulford, William’slanding at Pevensey, and Harold’smarch north to victory over the Vikingsat Stamford Bridge. Vignettes providedby leading living historians help paint avivid picture of the men who fought the

three battles, along with their weapons.This production has benefited from the formula

used in their other best selling DVDs, this includeslocation filming on the three 1066 battlefields, highquality maps and diagrams, complimented byexcellent re-enactment footage and illustrations oflife and battle in 1066. The presenters’understanding and experience of warfare providesa new insight into a campaign and battle that isoften treated in simplistic terms. The team re-tellthe story with insight but retain the essentialdrama of a campaign that could have turned inHarold’s favour at a number of points.

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THE DARK AGESTHE VIKING INVASIONOF WESSEX 878 ADNovember (UK) Rated: Exempt

Produced by: The Battlefield History TV LtdDistributed by: Pen & Sword Books LtdRun time: 90 minutes • Price £15.99

IN THE YEAR 878 AD Alfred, King of Wessex, facedthe fourth and most serious attempt by the deviousViking chieftain Guthram to seize the last remainingSaxon kingdom. Thwarted in their conventionalattempts in 871, 876 and 878 AD, the Vikings ‘stoleaway’ from their base in Gloucester and descendedon Alfred’s court while they were celebrating TwelfthNight on the borders of wintery Wessex atChippenham. Alfred escaped but was driven intohiding in the Somerset Marshes, while the Vikingsfanned across Wessex. All seemed to be over forAlfred and the Saxons!

The King of Wessex then staged one of the mostunlikely recoveries to be found in all military history.It is, however, one full of historical controversies,with historians from many backgrounds bending theslim Dark Ages body of facts to breaking point andbeyond to support their own theories. Soldiers andmilitary historians, Tim Saunders and Andrew Duffapply the enduring principals of war and inherentmilitary probability to take a fresh look at thecampaign and its hotly debated locations. Thecampaign climaxed in the Battle of Eddington. Thisthe most decisive and formative battle to be fought on

English soil and it led to Alfred becoming the onlyEnglishman to be known as ‘The Great’.

Filmed on location in theWest Country SomersetMarshes and Salisbury Plain,Tim and Andrew use theirexperience as army officers tolook at Dark Ages life andwarfare and examine thephases of the campaign with apurely military eye. Wth thehelp of maps, re-enactment anddiagrams, they explain themost likely course of eventsusing their knowledge of theenduring characteristics ofwarfare to flesh out the scantinformation in anunderstandable and crediblemanner.

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ASSASSIN'S CREEDREVELATIONSNovember 2011Platforms: PC, PS3, XBOX 360, Certificate 15Publisher: Ubisoftwww.assassinscreed.ubi.com

WHEN A MAN haswon all his battles anddefeated his enemies;what is left for him toachieve? Ezio Auditoremust leave his lifebehind in search ofanswers, in search ofthe truth.

In Assassin’s CreedRevelations, masterassassin Ezio Auditorewalks in the footstepsof the legendary mentor Altair, on a journey ofdiscovery and revelation. It is a perilous path – onethat will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart ofthe Ottoman Empire, where a growing army ofTemplars threatens to destabilise the region. Inaddition to Ezio’s award-winning story, a refinedand expanded online multiplayer experiencereturns with new and additional modes, maps andcharacters, allowing you to test your assassin skillsagainst others from around the world.


BATTLEFIELD 3Release Date:November 2011Platforms: PC, PS3, XBOX 360, Certificate 18Publisher: EA Gameshttp://www.battlefield.com/uk

IN BATTLEFIELD 3, PLAYERS step into the role ofthe elite US Marines. As the first boots on theground, players will experience heart-poundingmissions across diverselocations including Paris,Tehran and New York.Periods of tension andanticipation arepunctuated by momentsof complete chaos. Asbullets whizz by, aswalls crumble, asexplosions force playersto the ground, thebattlefield feels morealive and interactive than ever before.

Battlefield 3 leaps ahead of its time with thepower of Frostbite 2, DICE’s new cutting-edgegame engine. This state-of-the-art technology is thefoundation on which Battlefield 3 is built, deliveringenhanced visual quality, a grand sense of scale,massive destruction, dynamic audio and characteranimation utilizing ANT technology from the latestEA SPORTS™ games.

• BECOME DEADLIER THAN EVER – Take on the lethalskills of a wiser, more efficient and deadlier Ezio. Swiftlyeliminate your adversaries by deploying a new arsenalof weapons and abilities, such as enhanced free-runningand hook blade combat. Experience new levels ofgameplay customisation with bomb crafting, and useheightened Eagle Vision to overcome your enemies andthe environment.

• TEST YOUR SKILLS AGAINST THE BEST – A criticallyacclaimed multiplayer experience gets even better, withall-new team modes and unlimited replay value.

• EXPERIENCE REVOLUTIONARY GAMEPLAY – Explorethe farthest reaches of the Animus as you uncover themysteries of Desmond’s past whilst gaining insight intowhat the future might hold.

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The brain-child of Steve Fox,www.thankyousoldier.co.ukis a quick and easy way forany member of the public togo online and write a shortmessage to the young menand women serving on thefront line, these messages are

instantly displayed and can be accessed bysoldiers anywhere in the world. Becci Banfield,whose partner is currently serving with the RoyalMarines in Afghanistan says: 'It's nice to be ableto reach out to soldiers out there who do notnecessarily have loved ones at home to send themmorale-boosting letters and parcels, you wouldn'tbelieve the boost it gives to our boys and girls outthere when they get a nice message from home.It's sad to think that some of them don't have thesupport of a family or partner but with ThankYou Soldier they get something too.'

Steve, whose father served as a Royal MarineCommando, set up the website in March 2011and, as well as the online forum also has anonline shop where you can buy Thank YouSoldier themed clothing and gifts. A percentage

of the proceeds from these is donated to theregistered charity, Support Our Soldiers (SOS),who send parcels out to troops on the front lineand provide support to their families at home.They are very grateful of Steve's support.

Steve says: 'Thank You Soldier is a cause veryclose to my heart and it has been touching to read

www.thankyousoldier.co.uk There is a new website for the British public to show their respect andsend messages to members of our Armed Forces currently serving inAfghanistan.

Johnson Beharry.Steve Fox.


all of the comments left by members of thepublic, you can see from the messages thesoldiers are posting back that they mean a lot.' Hehas also had a great deal of celebrity endorsementwith the likes of Calum Best, Johnson Beharryand glamour girl Jodie Gasson having beenphotographed wearing TYS t-shirts. The actorBen Richards has agreed to become patron andwill be helping out as much as he can.

TYS will be holding their first event in January2012, a celebrity ghost hunt withwww.deadlive.co.uk. Full details will beavailable on the site soon. TYS also helps out atthe National Armed Forces weekend event inNottingham, organizing celebrities and bandsand singers to perform. June 2012 will bethe third year of taking part in this event.

TYS have also teamed up with the Rideof Honour (www.rideofhonour.co.uk)team, to help members of the public torecord messages of support andencouragement. Anyone who would likehelp to send their message is invited tovisit the RoH camouflage tour van at anyRoH Roadshow event (seewww.rideofhonour.co.uk/2012/roh-roadshow) where they will be happy torecord and send your message for you.Ride of Honour is an annual fundraisingevent supporting Help For Heroes andthe Black Rat Fund.

Support Our SoldiersSupport Our Soldiers(www.supportoursoldiers.co.uk) wasformed in March 2003 to encourage andprovide support for members of the

British Armed Forces serving overseasthat their families at home. Since thattime, thanks to the overwhelmingkindness and generosity of the Britishpublic, over 70,000 morale-boostingcare parcels have been sent out tothose on the front line, and countlessfamilies with loved ones away on tourhave been helped through the verydifficult time.

SOS support all the Services, and allranks within these. They also workvery closely with the medical teams inAfghanistan and the UK to providemuch-needed support for the injured.Their wonderful teams, which arenow spread across the UK, share thesame passion and commitment, and

will do whatever they can to help our braveServicemen and women and their families.

Care or welfare package are much appreciatedby members of the Armed Forces servingoverseas and are a great way for you to let themknow that you're thinking about them. SOS haspermission from the MOD and BFPO to sendparcels but they do so under very strictguidelines. For more information about sendingcare or welfare parcels including ideas on what tosend, visit their Care Packages page atwww.supportoursoldiers.co.uk/irshop.aspx?section=content&page=115.

ousoldier.co.uk


1-2 OctoberOLD GLORY WORLD WARGAMESUniversity of Derby, Kedleston RoadCampus, Derby DE22 1GBDisplay, participation and traders.www.worldwargames.co.uk/

8 OctoberSKELP 2011 MINIATURE WARGAMESEXHIBITIONThe Reid Hall, Castle Street, Forfar, AngusTraders, clubs, bring and buy, paintingcompetition and raffle.Click for website

16 October2011 SELWG 40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, EastDulwich, LondonThe 40th anniversary show, with up to 40prize giveaways, 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.www.selwg.com

22-23 OctoberBRIAN BORU TROPHYDublinAn annual ancient wargames competitionheld in Dublin and hosted by RINIWA. Four-round, themed event - Armies andEnemies of the Roman Republic.www.iworg.com

23 OctoberENGLISH DBA OPENSouthsea Community Centre, St Paul’sRoad, Southsea. Theme is China and its Neighbours in thetenth century (901-1000) AD.For details e-mail: [email protected] Click for website

28-31 OctoberGAELCON 2011The Ballsbridge Inn Hotel, D4 Hotels,DublinIreland's premier game convention. www.gaelcon.com/gaelcon/

29-30 OctoberBRISTOL BRAWL PART DEUXIron Acton Parish Hall,Iron Acton, Nr Bristol.A doubles tournament, including bothWarhammer 40000 and WarhammerFantasy.Click for website

12 NovemberTARGE 2011Webster’s High School, Prosen Road,Kirriemuir, Angus DD8 4BSKirriemuir Wargames Club annual war-gaming event – all proceeds going to charity.www.kirriemuirwargames.co.uk

26 NovemberDRAGONMEETKensington Town Hall, LondonDragonmeet promises a day jam-packedwith games for you to play. There will bespace for all and everyone can join in.Simply sign up on the day for the gamesyou want to play.www.dragonmeet.co.uk/

26 NovemberSMOGGYCONSouthlands Leisure Centre, Ormesby Road,Middlesborough TS3 0HGBring and buy, trade stalls, participationand demonstration games, competitionsand tournaments, 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. www.m-gc.co.uk/smoggycon

27 NovemberREVEILLE IILincombe Barn Folk House, OverndaleRoad, Downend, Bristol BS16 2RWBring and buy, trade stalls and games, from10.00 am to 4.00 pm.

14-16 OctoberWARTIME WEEKENDNorth Yorkshire Moors Railway, Whitby toPickeringRecapturing the spirit of 1943. Hundreds ofskilled re-enactors help re-create anauthentic atmosphere. Includes a parade inPickering followed by a superb eveningcostume dinner dance with NAAFI canteenand Glen Miller-type orchestra.www.nymr.co.uk/

15-16 OctoberTHE BATTLE OF HASTINGSAbbey and Battlefield, Hastings, EastSussex, TN34 1RE400 soldiers clash in the annual re-enactment. Living history encampments,Norman Cavalry display, chainmail andweaponry makers, medieval falconry. Doyou have what it takes to be an archer inbattle? 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.

24-28 OctoberPREHISTORIC BRITAIN 400BC-43ADButser Ancient Farm, Chalton,Waterlooville PO8 0BGChildren’s crafts, stories in the roundhousewith Red Phoenix, folk band, fortunetelling and bonfire.

24-28 OctoberROMAN ARMY WEEKFishbourne Roman Palace, Fishbourne,Chichester, West Sussex PO19 3QRSign up as a Roman Soldier and take partin the marching drill, sword and spearpractice, archery, tasting Army food andlots more.

24-30 October ANGLO SAXON LIFEWest Stowe Country Park and Anglo-SaxonVillage, Bury St Edmunds IP28 6HGFun for all the family with demonstrationsof Anglo-Saxon crafts, woodwork, textiles,metal-work, cooking and much more,10.00am to 5.00pm.

27 October THE AMERICAN CIVIL WARChurchfield Museum, St Mary’s Gate,Chesterfield, Derbyshire S41 7TDArts and Market Festival event, 10.00 amto 4.00 pm.

Events around the UK

Here at Warfare we aim to bring you a comprehensive list of UK events. If you have a related eventyou would like us to list (or you would like to see another category included) please contact us at:[email protected]. For any budding photographers out there we would love tosee some of your shots from listed events, please send them in to the same address.

RE-ENACTMENT

WARGAMING


4-6 NovemberVIKINGS AND FIREWORKSTutbury Castle, Tutbury, Burton-on-Trent,Staffordshire DE13 9JFOne of the best firework displays in theUK. Moonlit Viking battle followed by aViking ‘funeral’ – book in advance to avoiddisappointment, from 6.00 pm.Click for website

5-6 NovemberGOTHIC DAYSWhitby Abbey, Whitby, North YorkshireGhastly tales and grisly discoveries pluscostumed falconers. Meet the Hangmanbut beware the Resurrection Man – withrevelations of body snatching.

5-6 NovemberGUY FAWKES EXPERIENCERoyal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey,Essex EN9 1JYLively light-hearted adaptation of the famousgunpowder plot. Discover the food of theStuart period, learn how secret messageswere sent between the conspirators andenjoy the spectacular firework display.

6-7, 13-14, 20-21 YULE FEST NOVEMBERWest Stowe Country Park & Anglo-SaxonVillage, Bury St Edmunds IP28 6HGCraft stalls and live traditional music. Buyunusual Christmas gifts and visit the Village.Click for website

2 OctoberAUTUMN AIR SHOWShuttleworth Aerodrome Nr. Biggleswade,Bedfordshire SG18 9EPGates open 9.00 am Flying starts 2.00 pm.www.shuttleworth.org/

16 OctoberAUTUMN AIR SHOWImperial War Museum DuxfordRemembering the Korean Warhttp://duxford.iwm.org.uk/server/show/

1 OctoberHELP FOR HEROES DAYBournemouth Aviation Museum, Merri-town Lane, Hurn, Christchurch BH23 6BAMilitary Vehicles, militaria stalls, live 1940smusic, all proceeds going to Help forHeroes.www.aviation-museum.co.uk

2 OctoberNEWBURY 4X4 & VINTAGE SPARES DAYNewbury Showground, Chieveley, nrNewbury, Berks RG18 9QZHuge selection of 4x4 and vintage spares.Click for website

2 OctoberEXMIL MANCHESTER INDOORMILITARIA FAIREvent City, Phoenix Way, Urmston M41 7TBHuge selection of products available from awide range of stalls.Click for website

October/November 2011

AIR SHOWS

MILITARY VEHICLES

9 OctoberSKIPTON AUCTION MARTGargrave Rd, Skipton, N Yorks BD23 1UDIndoor and outdoor Land Rover andvintage autojumble including ex-military spares and surplus. Onsite cafe.Click for website

9 OctoberAUTUMN RALLY AT HACK GREENHack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker,Nantwich, CheshireCivil, military and vintage radio equipmentplus vehicle spares and more.www.bellradio.co.uk/rally.htm

23 OctoberDALLAS DIG OUTDallas Autos, Cold Ash Farm, Long Lane,Hermitage, Newbury RG18 9LTSell those unwanted parts or militaria fromyour boot, 8.00am to 2.00 pm.Click for website

6 NovemberNORTHERN MILITARY EXPO AND 4X4SHOWNewark Showground, Notts NG24 2NYOver 200 stands selling a wide variety ofmilitary from vehicles to medals.www.northernmilitaryexpo.co.uk

20 NovemberGREAT MALVERN INTERNATION INDOORMILITARY CONVENTIONThe Three Counties Showground, Wye Hall,Malvern, Worcestershire WR13 6NWOver 240 stalls, buy and sell vehicles,uniforms, weapons, medals, models andmore. Doors open 9.00 am.www.militaryconvention.co.uk

20 NovemberAWDC SLAB COMMONArmy Slab, Common Site,Off A325, BoltonA great opportunity to take your militaryvehicle off road.www.awdc.co.uk

Remembrance Sunday falls on 13November 2011. There will be variousparades, concerts, church services andevents across the UK throughout Novemberto commemorate the anniversary.

5 NovemberWALES FESTIVAL OF REMEMBRANCESt David's Hall, The Hayes, Cardiff CF10 1AHIn aid of the Poppy Appeal featuring theregimental band of the Royal Welsh, pluschoirs, organist, massive muster ofStandards and special guest stars.Click for website

6 November11TH ANNUAL REMEMBRANCE SERVICEAND LUNCHThe Ambassador Rooms, Potter Street,Worksop, S80 2AEHosted by Nottinghamshire Freemasonry insupport of the Royal British Legion PoppyAppeal. Attendees to include Sir AndrewBuchanan Bt, Lord Lieutenant ofNottinghamshire, and Sir John Peace, HighSheriff of Nottingham, plus a number ofserving and ex-Service personnel. TheService will also be broadcast to anaudience of around 70,000 on Trust AM.Doors open 10.15 am. See the website for more details andbooking information or e-mail Dr Jon PHarris:[email protected] for website

7 NovemberGARDEN OF REMEMBRANCEPROCESSIONPrinces Street Gardens East, EdinburghEH2 2HGIn aid of the Poppy Appeal featuring theregimental band of the Royal Welsh, pluschoirs, organist, massive muster ofStandards and special guest stars.E-mail [email protected]

11 NovemberARMISTICE DAY AT THE NATIONALMEMORIAL ARBORETUMNational Memorial Arboretum, CroxallRoad, Alrewas, Staffordshire DE13 7ARAnnual Armistice Day Service ofRemembrance on the Armed ForcesMemorial. Limited tickets available, applyvia the website.Click for website

11 NovemberSILENCE IN THE SQUARETrafalgar Square, London and CastleSquare, SwanseaOn the eleventh hour of the eleventh day ofthe eleventh month, a two minute silence

will be held at the above venues. Registeryour email address to enable you to viewlive webcasts from the events on the day.www.britishlegion.org.uk/sits/

13 NovemberREMEMBRANCE SUNDAYThe Cenotaph, Whitehall, London.A two-gun salute will be fired on HorseGuards Parade at 11.00am to mark thebeginning of the two-minute silencefollowed by the Service. Includes theplacing of wreaths by The Queen and otherdignitaries. Click for website

13 NovemberREMEMBRANCE SUNDAYSt Paul’s Cathedral, London.A Service of Remembrance will take placeat 10.15am. www.stpauls.co.uk


27 November AIRCRAFT ENTHUSIAST FAIR ANDMODEL SHOWMuseum of Army Flying, Middle Wallop,Hants SO20 8DYFor enquiries and stall bookings contact:[email protected] or call 01264 334779, 10.00am to 4.00pm.Click for website

OTHER EVENTS

October/November 2011

19-20 NovemberA VICTORIAN CHRISTMASOsborne House, Isle of WightAmazing side-shows, singing chimneysweeps, traditional Victorian fairgroundstalls – meet Father Christmas andQueen Victoria herself. Click for website

25-27 NovemberVICTORIAN FESTIVAL OF CHRISTMASPortsmouth Historic DockyardA family favourite set in atmosphericsurroundings featuring live reindeer,Fagin’s Tavern and Snow Street.www.christmasfestival.co.uk

REMEMBRANCE

Mapping the London Blitz is a small scale exhibit on show at London MetropolitanArchives (LMA) until 22 December 2011. The exhibit offers a brief glimpse of theextensive records held at LMA which reveal the story of London and Londonersduring WWII. Visitors to LMA can do personal research using the collections, whichincludes maps, photographs, posters and written documents relating to issues suchas rationing and evacuation. If you only have a short time to spare the exhibit offersan ideal introduction to the type of records LMA holds, but it would be worthplanning a longer visit to explore the catalogue and perhaps look at some originalmaterial. You can also search the catalogue online and find out more about LMA byvisiting www.lma.gov.uk.

Anxiety and fear accompanies any threat to our homes or our neighbourhoods and suchfeelings were the daily burden of Londoners during the months of wartime bombingbetween 1940 and 1945.

Incidents of wartime bomb damage, which for weary Londoners were just another streethaving ‘caught a packet’, were for local officials problems that needed to be logged,categorised and dealt with. Maps were a basic tool in this task and the London CountyCouncil (LCC) Bomb Damage Maps were created to fulfil this role.

District Surveyors in each of the twenty eight Metropolitan Boroughs provided information about damage within their districts to theWar Damage Section of the LCC Architects’ Department at County Hall. Using standard 25 inch-to-the-mile Ordnance Surveymapping as the basis,the incoming data was painstakingly plotted, building by building, with a colour code to indicate the extent of thedamage, black indicating total destruction. To cover the 117 square miles for which they were responsible, 110 large map sheets wereneeded.

These maps constitute the prime source for the assessment of London Blitz damage within the County of London. The original sheetsare held at LMA together with a further set for the former County of Middlesex and plans produced by the City of London Corporationto cover the square mile.

Behind the dispassionate evidence of the maps, each incident – whether resulting in ‘Blast Damage, minor in nature’ or ‘TotalDestruction’ – is the story of greater or lesser human suffering and loss. In this display we have used photographs from our extensiveholdings together with some contemporary diaries and published accounts to reveal some of these personal stories.

London Metropolitan Archives,40, Northampton Road, London, EC1R 0HBhttp://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma

London Bomb Damage Map.

Bomb Damage in St Paul'sCathedral.

Mapping the London Blitz

the royal british legion celebrated - daruma sushi royal british legion celebrated its ninetieth ......

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