191: Beneath Flanders Fields with Simon Verdegem

In this week’s episode we return to Ypres and discover what happened to Private William Bowers on Halloween 1914, his battalion (1st Northamptonshire's) was part of the BEF trying to hold back the formidable German Army east of Ypres, close to the Menin Road. Their counter attack was successful. The Germans who weren't killed turned and fled....but William was missing in action. His wife Annie wrote several desperate letters to the War Office pleading for more information. But William remained “missing”. We discover the awfully sad impact his fate had on Annie.We also hear about some lads, from the same town, who met by accident on the battlefield and arranged to meet at home after the war…but did they? And we hear from Iain Forbes, who recently presented the Memorial Plaque and Service Medals for a Ypres victim to the Passchendaele Museum. What is his story?

In this episode we travel to the 1918 battlefield and discover how the Australians cleared St Martin’s Wood, between Amiens and Albert, in bitter hand to hand fighting. We follow their story through the eyes of the soldiers who were there, and learn about the incredible bravery of individual men, including Captain Harold Burke and Corporal John Payne. What is their story? And we find out how, during a lull in the fighting, the sound of a piano was heard. We visit the cemetery where many of the dead from this day are buried, and find the grave of another Australian who was awarded the Victoria Cross. We also look at this day from the German perspective.

In this episode we visit the Arras battlefield and discover the story of a cavalry attack in April 1917. We learn how the Northampton Yeomanry raced across open ground into a storm of artillery and machine gun fire. We tell the story through the eyes of the men who were there. We tell the story of Trooper Charles Law, and discover how his horse was killed but saved his life, and how Charles tried to save the life of a gassed German soldier, by offering him his gas mask. We walk the battlefield with Charles’ Grandsons, and hear what the tour meant to them. We also discuss another soldier who has been discovered and properly buried on the Ypres battlefield, over 100 years after his death. What is his story?

In this episode we follow the Army Benevolent “Frontline Walk” from the Somme to Ypres. Over 50 people walked 100K from the Lochnager Crater to the Menin Gate, via Vimy Ridge, to raise funds for this charity. Along the way, we discover stories of the men who served on the Western Front. We hear about the Heyworth brothers who are remembered at Arras, and discover an incredible coincidence that occurred when I visited the Thiepval Memorial. We talk to a fundraiser whose Great Uncle fought on the Somme and walk around a massive German cemetery. We also hear from several walkers and discover what the walk has meant to them.

In this episode Battlefield Archaeologist Simon Verdegem talks about how he discovered the remains of Captain Henry Walker on the Ypres battlefield, 101 years after his death. How did he find him? How was he identified? What did the discovery mean to Simon and Walker’s relatives? We also discuss lots of other World War 1 battlefield issues and the role that archaeology plays in our understanding of the Western Front.

In this episode we travel to Ypres and visit some of the mine craters on the Messines Ridge. What did we discover? We find out through my eyes and the eyes of the soldiers who were there in June 1917. We then visit Talbot House in Poperinge and discover news about a new research project that is being undertaken to discover the stories of the boys who visited the house. We listen to some of their stories and discover what happened to them on the battlefield. We also discover the original copies of the “Wipers Times” in the House archives, and listen to part of the stage play that was performed in Ypres on the eve of the Centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele.

In this episode we learn about the famous Chaplain Woodbine Willie and how he buried the 2 Crutchley brothers who had died together during a trench raid. Who was he and how did he provide comfort to the bereaved parents back home? And we also visit the home of Captain Thomas Colyer-Fergusson, who was awarded the Victoria Cross at Ypres in July 1917. What artefacts did we find and what is his story? We discover personal letters that reveals both stories.

In this episode we discover the tragic stories of 2 soldiers, one from London and one from Australia, who both died from the effects of German trench mortar fire. But not during a famous battle. These were incidents that happened during a quiet period in the trenches. What happened to them? Lance Corporal Thomas Stevenson from New South Wales had been wounded and buried by shellfire at Fromelles but survived, only to die near Messines a year later. And Alf Stevenson from London died of gas poisoning on the Somme. But how?

This episode was recorded at the Menin Gate in Ypres last week. We look at the stories of several soldiers remembered on the memorial; Boer War veterans who fell in action on Halloween 1914, during the 1st Battle of Ypres. And we look at the sad story of the Stallard brothers, who died together after one answered the call from the other. We read their descriptive letters home that reveal what it was like to be involved in those early months of the Great War. We end the episode with a chat with a volunteer of the Last Post Association, and learn of the plans for the Menin Gate Centenary, and listen to the cast of “War Horse” singing beneath the arches of the Gate.

In this week’s episode we travel to the Passchendaele battlefield and discover previously untold stories about 2 boys from the opposite ends of the world, who were killed in action in this infamous battle. Neil Newsum was a bespectacled student from Lincoln, who gave up his university education to become an Officer in the Lincolnshire Regiment. What happened to him during a successful action in September 1917? What did his men say about him after his death? Could we find a possible grave for him?And we read a poem at the grave of Rifleman Herbert Harris, from Canterbury in New Zealand, written by his family after his death. Who was he and how did they remember him?