Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History WW1

We hav`nt made any plans yet,so it`s an open date at the mo.

keep me informed dude and wen you two come to an around about decision on a date let us know pleaseeeeeeee

Will do mate.

ta much

A copy of my Uncles Casualty Form - Active service. Who was killed at Guillemont, Battle of the Somme 8 Aug 1916 aged 19.

Bert that is absolutly fantastic,thanks for your post.

Army Form E624 from the War records of my Uncle.

Superb Bert.

I've been the Somme and Ypres in Belgium 3 times.

The number of graves dotted all around that area is incredible.

We stayed in a chateau, just outside of Albert.

I visited places such as Montauban, Bapaume, Thiepval memorial and the Lochnagar Crater + other places I can't remember the names of.

I have loads of photos of all these places, although none of the digital (might scan them in though).

I Also went into the museum in Albert, which has this great painting on the wall of it:




One of the teachers of Park High, Graham Maddocks organised the trips and was has written a few interesting books, one of Montauban and another of the Pals battalions of the Liverpool regiment, of which he bought a piece of land and had a memorial stone erected in Montauban.

Just found a picture & details of the memorial - click me


He passed away shortly after starting to write a book on all the passengers and crew of the Lusitania (which one of my relatives was on).

Excellent stuff Joe,you should post your pics.Wouls love to see them.

i agree post ya pics joe be amazin to see

Closer to home during the first world war Cammell Laird built 33 warships ranging from large Battleships to small Torpedo boat destroyers, including 8 submarines.The high performances demanded by warfare revealed serious limitations of boilers in British warships. In 1915 the admiralty invited Lairds to find a solution. the result was a new type of boiler which was fitted in over 50 warships. The repair section of the yard carried out repairs on 9 Battleships, 60 Cruisers, 100 British and 95 American Destroyers, 8 Submarines, 123 armed merchant vessels and 107 merchant ships

Built in Cammell Laird and handed over to the navy in 1913, The AUDACIOUS hit a German mine on 27 October 1914, off the northen coast of Donegal, Ireland, and became the first British Battleship to be sunk in WW1 and the only British Battleship to go down without loss of life during the war. Answering her distress calls RMS OLYMPIC sister ship of Titanic and HMS LIVERPOOL raced to her aid.

Although this relates to WW2, one of the most moving things I've ever seen is in a war cemetery near Dieppe. Among the rows of headstones, there's a pair next to one another, without a gap between. They are the graves of a pilot & his navigator. The inscription is a couple of lines from a poem by Rupert Brooke:
"Safe shall be my going, secretly armed against all Death's endeavour"

Rupert Brooke is one of my favourite poets. Here's the complete poem

SAFETY

Dear! of all happy in the hour, most blest
He who has found our hid security,
Assured in the dark tides of the world that rest,
And heard our word, "Who is so safe as we?"
We have found safety with all things undying,
The winds, and morning, tears of men and mirth,
The deep night, and birds singing, and clouds flying,
And sleep, and freedom, and the autumnal earth.

We have built a house that is not for Time's throwing.
We have gained a peace unshaken by pain for ever.
War knows no power. Safe shall be my going,
Secretly armed against all death's endeavour;
Safe though all safety's lost; safe where men fall;
And if these poor limbs die, safest of all.

I gave this poem to my son when he went to Bosnia, as a forward air controller, which is really sharp-end stuff. Thankfully, he survived.

The Flanders Poppy as it is now known grew in the trenches and craters of the war zone. The earth stirred up by artillery shells exposed the seeds to light and let them germinate. In the years following World War 1 governments and society would not accept responsibility for those incapacitated. Unemployment added to the problem. Earl Haig the British Commander in Chief organised the British Legion as a means of coping with the problems of thousands of men under his command. In 1921 a group of french widows of ex servicemen called on him at the British Legion headquarters. They brought with them some Poppies they had made and suggested they be sold to raise money for the distressed and incapacitated. Thankfully many have benefited from the proceeds from poppies, and will continue to do so.