Send us a textWelcome to today's episode!For the first time, we have created a listener's request podcast; I was contacted by a listener who discovered his Grandfather had been killed at Hill 70 while serving with the Cameron Highlanders at the Battle of Loos in 1915. The listener is planning his first-ever trip to the Western Front and wants to walk the battlefield where his Grandfather was killed. He asked if I could do a podcast about that area - your wish is my command!We begin with an overview of the fighting on the Loos battlefield and then walk a circular route around Hill 70 and Bois Hugo to explore what happened and what remains to be seen to this day.Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://footstepsofthefallen.com/gallery/
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Trench talk - Uniforms of the Great War with Taff Gillingham
Send us a textWelcome to the first Trench Talk of the season, where Taff Gillingham joins me. Taff is a military historian and specialist historical advisor for the film, TV and theatre industries and has worked as an advisor on many well-known productions from Downton Abbey to the film 1917.Taff is an expert on WW1 uniforms and kit, and in this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, he shares his encyclopedic knowledge. Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://footstepsofthefallen.com/gallery/
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Bois Grenier
Send us a textWelcome to the first episode of Season 8!Today, we travel to the forgotten front and the village of Bois Grenier. The fields in this sleepy corner of agricultural France contain dozens of German bunkers and blockhouses from the time of World War I. The sector was a nursery sector - a relatively quiet location where new battalions could learn the regimes of trench warfare. The peace was shattered on the afternoon of the 25th September 1915 when a diversionary attack for the Battle of Loos had disastrous effects for the men of the 2nd Rifle Brigade and the Royal Berkshires.We walk the fields and hear about the infamous "Dicky's Dash", the tragic end to the life of a Canadian flying ace, listen to stories of murder most foul and unbelievable gallantry, as well as boomerangs and the mystery and unknown fate of Clifford the monkey.Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://footstepsofthefallen.com/gallery/
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Faithful unto death - the story of the Chinese Labour Corps
Send us a textWelcome to the final episode of Season 7!In today's episode, we look at the little-studied role played by the Chinese Labour Corps during the Great War.Over 90,000 Chinese labourers served in France and Belgium, engaged in manual labour and the dangerous work of clearing munitions and bodies from the battlefields.Who were these men, and how did they end up so far from home? The podcast will be back for Season 8 on Sunday July 6th 2025.Supoort the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://footstepsofthefallen.com/gallery/
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In the shadow of the Springboks - Delville Wood to Courcelette
Send us a textWelcome to the penultimate episode of Season 7!Today we are on the Somme and walk the battlefield from Delville Wood to Courcelette via High Wood and Martinpuich.We begin we looking at "The Turning Point" a remarkable but little-known narrative of the Somme battle written by the eccentric Harold Perry-Robinson. We visit Delville Wood cemetery and memorial and hear the history of the site, as well visiting the only remaining tree from the Great War.We walk to High Wood - "Ghastly by day, ghostly by night, the rottenest place on the Somme" and discover some of the memorials around this great killing ground. We then head to Martinpuich and conclude at Adanac Cemetery in Courcelette.Support the podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsbloghttps://footstepsofthefallen.com/gallery/
UK