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PODCAST

The Old Front Line

Walk the battlefields of the First World War with Military Historian, Paul Reed. In these podcasts, Paul brings together over 40 years of studying the Great War, from the stories of veterans he interviewed, to when he spent more than a decade living on the Old Front Line in the heart of the Somme battlefields.

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All Episodes

61:34

The Monocled Mutineer: Fact or Fiction?

The Old Front Line ·

2023/06/24

In 1986 the BBC Drama 'The Monocled Mutineer' was released, starring Paul McGann who plays Percy Toplis. In this episode, we look at the series and ask what is the truth behind Toplis and the claim that he dressed as an officer and took part in the Etaples Mutiny? We also ask how realistic the series was in depicting various aspects of the Great War.Support the show

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71:51

Gas! Gas! Gas!

The Old Front Line ·

2023/06/10

In this episode we look at a weapon that came to symbolise the First World War - Poison Gas. We look at the history behind its use, the story of the 'Birth of Chemical Warfare' at Ypres in April 1915 and what measures were made to protect soldiers against the gas, as well seeing what can be found of this history on the battlefield today.Support the show

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61:38

Ypres Walks: Menin Gate to Ypres Town Cemetery

The Old Front Line ·

2023/06/03

In this episode recorded in Ypres, we look at the renovations at the Menin Gate Memorial, discuss what Memorials to the Missing mean to us, and then walk to Ypres Town Cemetery following the stories of English Lords, members of the Royal Family, and seeing how the graves themselves are witnesses to the Great War. Support the show

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38:20

Somme Walks: Hawthorn Ridge to the Sunken Lane

The Old Front Line ·

2023/05/20

In another episode recorded on the battlefields, we walk the crest of the Hawthorn Ridge near Beaumont-Hamel on the Somme, visiting Hawthorn No 1 Cemetery, across to the Hawthorn Mine Crater, and down to the famous Sunken Lane and Beaumont-Hamel British Cemetery. Support the show

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60:17

Changing Landscapes: Canal du Nord

The Old Front Line ·

2023/05/13

A massive engineering project has been announced for Northern France which will create a new 'super canal' linking in with the existing Canal du Nord, the scene of heavy fighting during the Great War, especially in 1917/18. In this episode we will look at the history of the canal, the fighting there and how this project may change the landscape of the Western Front in this region, and what might be found during the work. Support the show

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29:50

Somme Walks: Bois Français

The Old Front Line ·

2023/05/06

Recorded on the battlefields, in this episode we walk the ground where poets Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers at Bois Français near Fricourt and end at the Devonshire Cemetery near Mametz. Support the show

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56:26

Trench Chat: Black Poppies with Stephen Bourne

The Old Front Line ·

2023/04/22

In this latest Trench Chat, we are joined by Stephen Bourne, author of Black Poppies. His important book, now in its third edition with a children's version, tells the often-neglected contribution of Black soldiers in the British and Commonwealth forces in the Great War.Support the show

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59:19

Springboks at Delville Wood

The Old Front Line ·

2023/04/15

In the summer of 1916 men of the South African Brigade marched into Delville Wood. After six days of fighting, less than a third of them returned from among the shattered trees of "Devil's Wood". Who were the Springboks of the South African Brigade and what can we find of them on the Somme today?Support the show

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69:13

Forgotten Battlefield: The Reunion

The Old Front Line ·

2023/04/01

More than twenty years after the BBC made a film about the work of 'The Diggers' called 'Forgotten Battlefield', in this special edition of the podcast we bring together three of us connected to the film - Aurel Sercu from the Diggers, BBC Producer John Hayes Fisher and me, Military Historian Paul Reed. We look back on the work the group did, the making of the film in 2001, and what happened with the film was released the following year.The film can be watched on YouTube via the

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51:11

Verdun: The Trench of Bayonets

The Old Front Line ·

2023/03/18

In December 1920 a large concrete shelter financed by an American millionaire marked the spot where French soldiers had fallen in one of the many small actions around Verdun in 1916. The story of the Trench of Bayonets was born, but what is the real story behind this episode of the Great War, and the memorial that still marks the spot? Support the show

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66:59

The Hindenburg Line

The Old Front Line ·

2023/03/04

In this episode we ask: what was The Hindenburg Line? A system of German defences built in Northern and Eastern France, it was the largest single engineering project of the Great War on the Western Front. Some of the key battles of 1917/18 were fought along it, and we look at the background to these important First World War fortifications.Support the show

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72:56

Ypres: The Immortal Salient

The Old Front Line ·

2023/02/25

In this episode we look at the four years of the Great War in Flanders and the battles around the city of Ypres, in what became known as the 'Immortal Salient'. What was the Ypres Salient, what was its meaning and what does it still mean to us more than a century later?Support the show

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48:32

Trench Chat: Reclaiming The Salient with Roger Steward

The Old Front Line ·

2023/02/11

In this Trench Chat, we are joined by Roger Steward who works as a Battlefield Guide in Flanders, and is the author of an excellent book on Langemarck German Cemetery and a new one 'Reclaiming the Salient' about the battlefields around Ypres in the years following WW1. We look at the problems of the 'Iron Harvest', the recovery of the dead, and modern battlefield archaeology.Support the show

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67:51

Birds on the Western Front

The Old Front Line ·

2023/02/04

In this episode, we look at the birds which flew above and lived across the battlefields of the Western Front during the First World War, and what they meant to the men who served in the trenches of France and Flanders. We also look at how birds did their bit in the war, too, how the battlefield conditions affected them, and discuss ways we can connect this subject to what we see on the Great War landscape today.Support the show

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53:34

WW1 Battlefield Pilgrimages: Trench Chat with...

The Old Front Line ·

2023/01/21

In a Trench Chat special we are joined by Professor Mark Connelly of the University of Kent to discuss the post-war Pilgrimages to the Great War Battlefields, and his new work on the postcards, ephemera and guidebooks that came out of this period. Support the show

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59:16

Doughboys in Flanders

The Old Front Line ·

2023/01/14

In this episode we look at the men of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) who fought in Flanders, from Ypres to the Scheldt River, in 1918. What were American troops doing in Belgium away from the main US sector and what remains of their battlefields more than a century later? Support the show

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62:04

The Art of War

The Old Front Line ·

2023/01/07

What can War Art and the work of Official War Artists tell us about the experience of the Great War and the landscape of the Western Front? We examine this through the work of three war artists: John Nash, CRW Nevinson, and Paul Nash.Support the show

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56:32

Winter on the Somme

The Old Front Line ·

2022/12/24

We look at three winters on the Somme front: from 1914 to 1916. We discuss Christmas Truces involving the French and Germans, and later when the British arrive, discuss the terrible sub-zero conditions of 1916, and look at the problem of Trench Foot, particularly amongst Australian troops faced with the harsh reality of Somme mud. Support the show

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48:20

Gallipoli: The Farm

The Old Front Line ·

2022/12/17

Who was Harry Moseley? In this episode we ask: can one man's life be more important than another? Our journey takes us from the Helles Memorial, and the Missing of the Gallipoli Campaign, up to the high ground at Chunuk Bair and a walk to the isolated cemetery at The Farm, uncovering the life and achievements of one of Britain's greatest Edwardian scientists. Support the show

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59:35

Five Little-Known WW1 Memorials

The Old Front Line ·

2022/12/10

In this episode we explore five little-known memorials along the Western Front battlefields in France and Flanders, looking at how different nations commemorated the battles of the Great War, and what they chose to remember. Support the show

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265 results

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