189: Woodbine Willie and A Victoria Cross – My Son My Son No Reward Can Be Too Great

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 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.