160: Harry Patch – The Last Fighting Tommy – with Richard Van Emden

In this episode we wander around some the small and isolated cemeteries of the Arras battlefield. We discover a tank crew with touching headstones. What is their story? And the story of the 8th Baron of Lucas, who was an amputee but still became a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. We discover the amazing coincidence when we opened the visitor’s book in Wancourt British Cemetery. And the driver who was killed by a “booby trap” following the German withdrawal from the Somme. We also look at what these men achieved in their lives and consider what they could have achieved had they survived the Great War.

In this episode we travel to St Pol and discover a memorial to the Unknown Warrior and the tragic story of 3 soldiers buried together who were “Shot at Dawn”. What is their story? We then walk the September 1916 Somme battlefield from Bazentin to Martinpuich and discover the “iron harvest” along the way and find out why so many Germans surrendered. Within a cemetery on the battlefield, we find 3 Newfoundland soldiers who were killed at Beaumont Hamel on 1st July 1916. But why are they buried so far away from where they fell?

In this episode we broadcast live from the village of Ovillers, in the heart of the 1916 Somme battlefield. We discover a quiet field known as “Mash Valley”, and discover the horror and terror that men of the 8th and 12th Divisions saw here in the first few days of July 1916. We hear the words of the men who were there, and discover the stories of some of the men who are buried in Ovillers Military Cemetery. We also discover the story of a French soldier, killed in Ovillers in December 1914. We also learn the story of a Lt Colonel who took his own life after wishing he had died with his men, and visit the grave of Captain John Lauder, son of the famous entertainer Harry Lauder.

In this episode we continue the story of Alfred Adams. Through his own words and others from both sides of the wire, we discover what happened on 21st March 1918. This was the first day of the German Spring Offensive. Alfred was wounded and captured on this day, and we find out what it was like to be surrounded by the enemy, forced to throw down your weapons and surrender, without knowing what will happen next. We follow Alfred’s journey from the battlefield, to a POW camp, to his final resting place in Cologne.

In this episode we follow the journey of Conscientious Objector Alfred Adams, who didn’t want to fight but became a Stretcher Bearer. We discover his story through a narrative and a series of emotional letters that he sent to his wife Alice, at home in England. How did his strong religious belief help him deal with the awful conditions at Passchendaele? We find out how he used the letters to reassure Alice that he was safe and sound, sparing her the dreadful truth. Alfred’s Grandson Geoff Allen reads his powerful words, and attempts to make sense of his Grandfather’s thoughts from over 100 years ago.

In this episode we explore the story of the 3rd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment during 7 days on the Ypres battlefield in May 1915. We discover what Ypres looked like before it was destroyed by shellfire. We learn of the tragic story of the father and son who died on the same day. And how almost the entire battalion was wiped out, mainly because of a terrific artillery bombardment on their shallow trenches. We discover how a young Officer saved the life of one of his men by using his body as a shield, and the Welshman who was captured but returned home and celebrated 50 years of marriage in 1969.

In this episode we visit the Somme battlefield and discuss what happened at Mouquet Farm in August and September 1916. But not through the history books. We drill down to the awful personal experiences of the soldiers who were there. An Australian explains how he was buried by a shell burst for an hour before being saved. How did that feel? And how the soldiers fought amongst the unburied bodies, and body parts, of friend and foe. We also hear from a British Officer who discovered a dead soldier still clinging to his Bible. And the Canadian soldier who wrote a letter to his Mother the day before he died, but it wasn’t delivered until 1928.

In this episode we travel to the village of Zandvoorde and discover what happened to the 1st Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers on a single day during the 1st Battle of Ypres. Their story is made very personal as we find out how Nick Dooner, son of one of the Officers who died that day, found the grave of his ancestor in a cemetery at Hooge. Lt Alfred Dooner’s Commanding Officer, Lt Col Henry Cadogan, was also killed trying to help him. We learn about these two men, and discover Cadogan’s original grave marker in Buckinghamshire. We also have a discussion about the importance of remembrance and how these men impact on our lives today.

In this episode we discover the incredible story of Cecil Lewis, who lived a charmed and eventful life. We learn, through his own words, what it was like to take part in a dogfight with the Red Baron above the battlefields, and he describes how the Lochnagar and Y Sap mines were blown on the Somme battlefield, from his vantage point in the sky. He talks about the loss of good friends, including a Victoria Cross recipient, and how the airmen relaxed when out of the air. We then look into his eventful post war life, and how he helped create the BBC. And much more too.

In this episode we talk to the best selling author, historian and broadcaster, Richard Van Emden about his friend Harry Patch, the Somerset man who was the last soldier to die (aged 111)  who could recall the fighting in the Great War. We learn what a character Harry was, and how Richard persuaded him, at the age of 100, to discuss his wartime memories and feelings. We hear from Harry himself as he talks about going “over the top” at Passchendaele in 1917 and how he was seriously wounded a few weeks later. And we learn how Harry planted some acorns at his nursing home, to remember the Germans who sacrificed their lives in the war.