On the Day of Peace 11 November – Loss…

| November 5, 2018

Great War Armistice at 100 Soon the day of the Great War Armistice will turn 100 – 11 November 2018. Some will travel at this time to London, the Somme, the Salient. Others will remain at home in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, wherever. The ceremonies will be well attended…special events…special art installations such as Weeping […]

Mud, Memory and Musings

| September 25, 2016

Ypres Day One of Five The train arrives at Lille once again and I am most pleased to be back on this familiar expedition towards the Ypres Salient. As our driver takes us on our journey past drifting towns, villages and landmarks he is careful to avoid the many sail-less bicycles drifting to and fro on this […]

Charms of Life in the Trenches

| April 21, 2015

Lieutenant George Samuel Ager, 16th Battalion CEF As time advances from one Great War anniversary to the next, I engage my grey cells in an exercise to find connection with  the Canadian Expeditionary Force of April 22 – 24, 1915. Specifically I search for something personal, a familar name to speak to the area northeast […]

Private John Parr, Middlesex Regiment

| August 21, 2014

Snapshot of the Great War 21 August 1914 John Parr is believed to be the first British soldier killed during the Great War on 21 August 1914. Parr served with the 4th Battalion Middlesex Regiment and is thought to have been killed while on a reconnaissance mission. However, there has been growing debate about his fate […]