Branch Meeting 16th November 2012

Our speaker this month is freelance writer and lecturer, Linda Hart.  Originally from New York, Linda now lives in Malvern, Worcestershire.  Her talk is entitled;

"The Dymock Poets 1911-1915"

In 1993 Linda founded the 'Friends of the Dymock Poets' society, which celebrates six literary figures who lived in, or visited, the area around Dymock in Gloucestershire just prior to the Great War.  She will concentrate on their time in Gloucestershire and the effects of war on their lives and work, especially the war poems of Rupert Brooke, Wilfrid Gibson and Edward Thomas.

Branch Meeting 19th October 2012

Tonight's talk doesn't concentrate on great offensives, mass troop movements or any other overview of the Great War.  The subject is the memoirs of one soldier and has been researched, and will be presented, by Richard Paczko of the WFA's Wolverhampton branch.  The talk is entitled;

"Shall I Ever Dance Again?"

The soldier concerned is Richard's great-uncle, who kept a diary of his Great War service.  The diary describes the day-to-day life in the trenches, together with eye-witness accounts of battle and the horrendous sights which ensued.  There is also humour, a bit of a mystery and, Richard says, something of interest to football fans!  

Branch Meeting 21st September 2012

Tonight's speaker is Paul Handford MBE who's talk is entitled;

"Women Ambulance Drivers in World War One"

Paul is a retired police officer and a member of Birmingham Medal Society.  In a follow up talk to his well-received March presentation, about volunteer Red Cross and St. John's ambulance drivers, he highlights the part women played in transporting the sick and wounded back down the line to hospital and the treatment they meeded.

 

Branch Meeting 20th July 2012

The IWM's Peter Hart is this month's guest speaker.  Peter has produced a number of books on the Great War and appeared on many TV programmes about the conflict.  His talk is entitled;

“The French at Gallipoli”

This presentation concentrates on the, largely unheralded, French contribution to the 1915 Gallipoli campaign, both at sea and on land.  Usually considered as a British, Australian and New Zealand attack, Peter explains how the French became to be considered, by some, to be the most effective fighting force on the peninsular.  

Branch Meeting 15th June 2012

This month's speaker, Andy Hawkins, is a member of the Durand Group, an organisation which explores subterranean workings on the old  1914-1918 Battlefields.  His talk is entitled;

“The Development of Tunnelling Tactics in World War One”

Using the tunnel system beneath Vimy Ridge as an example, Andy explains how tunnelling tactics developed as the  war progressed

  

Branch Meeting 18th May 2012

Tonight's speaker, Paul Cobb, is the chairman of the WFA's Wiltshire Branch.
His talk is entitled;

"Fromelles 1916"

Paul has presented this talk many times to various audiences, including our branch.  However, he has updated it to include the events leading to the exhumation of 250 Allied soldiers (mostly Australians) who died in the Battle of Fromelles and who were subsequently re-buried in a new military cemetery just outside the village.  Pheasant Wood was the first CWGC cemetery to be built in over 50 years and was constructed as the exhumations were being planned and carried out, with the burials taking place in 2010.

Branch Meeting 20th April 2012

Rob Thompson is a military historian who has written a number of books on the Great War.
His talk is entitled;

'Futureshock - Stories from the Devastated Zone'

Rob explains how the BEF re-learned the skills of open, mobile warfare when pursuing the Germans' retreat to the Hindenberg line in the Spring of 1917; lessons which proved invaluable 18 months later. 

Branch Meeting 16th March 2012

Paul Handford MBE is a retired police officer and a member of Birmingham Medal Society.  His talk is entitled:

'Volunteer Ambulance Drivers of the British Red Cross 1914-15' 

In this talk, Paul tells us of the exploits of the civilian ambulance drivers of the British Red Cross and Order of St. John who supported both the BEF and the French Army during 1914 and 1915.

Branch Meeting 17th February 2012

At a much anticipated meeting we will welcome Charlotte Cardoen-Descamps who has, for many years, run a B&B business on the family-owned Varlet Farm in Poelkapelle, Belgium, and is well known to many of us who have visited the Great War battlefields of Flanders.  Details of her talk are;

'The Iron Harvest'

Many farming families in Belgium and Northern France have, for nearly 100 years, had to deal with regularly unearthing military ordnance from the Great War.  Much of it, including explosive shells, gas shells and grenades, is very unstable and has to be handled with extreme care.  Charlotte highlights the problems it causes and how the authorities dispose of it.

Branch Meeting 20th January 2012

This evening we welcome Dave Rowland to Callow End. Dave is Heart of England Chairman and a past president of the Royal Aeronautical Society. His talk is:

“Amelie’s Boys – The Flying McCuddens”

The story of the famous McCudden brothers, three of whom served in the RFC during the Great War, including James McCudden VC.

Welcome to our new blog

The Worcestershire & Herefordshire Branch of the Western Front Association will post all branch news and meeting updates on this site for the benefit of WFA members and non-members alike, as well as relevant features and stories on all aspects of the Great War .  I hope you will find the content educational and interesting and that you will return on a regular basis for all up-to-date information about our branch.

Steve Moorhouse,
Chairman