World War I

Whilst we commemorate the fallen on this Remembrance Day it seems a particularly appropriate time to bring you this research by FOBLC members David Platt and Michael Martin into the story of Reginald Mines and the other soldiers from Crofton Park commemorated by the Celtic cross in front of St Hilda’s church. Great War Commemorations Early in 1915 it was decided by the British Government that it would be impossible to return all the dead from the Great War to Britain for burial. As result it became policy to not return any and that they were to be interred where they fell with their ... Read Full Story

Continuing our series on war heroes buried in the Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, David Platt and Michael Martin have written this account of the life of Commander Buckle Located in the Brockley section of the Cemetery is the headstone of Archibald Walter Buckle. He rose from a private to command the Anson Battalion in the Royal Naval Division (RND). He was the only officer to be awarded the DSO with three bars; he was recommended for the Victoria Cross, was wounded three times and mentioned in dispatches five times. Winston Churchill referred to Buckle as one of the `salamanders born in the furnace,' who ... Read Full Story

Canadian National Memorial at Vimy Ridge. Picture courtesy of Webshots This year sees the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that signified the end of the First World War. Here in the UK every year, we hold remembrance services and parades across the country to commemorate the fallen from both World Wars. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to be able to visit some of the Battlefields and associated war cemeteries from the First World War on a trip to Northern France. The highlight of this trip for me was the visit to Vimy Ridge, situated on a rising escarpment ... Read Full Story

WEIRD AND UNWHOLESOME TYPES AS TURN OUT BEING RACISTS, WHITE SUPREMACISTS--NOT TO MENTION CLOSET APOLOGISTS FOR APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA --are fond of whipping up racist and xenophobic feelings from time to time against Hispanics by suggesting that the Mexicans have secret designs on La Reconquista (as in reclaiming such parts of the United States as were previously under Mexican control) bordering on "race war." The idea, it turns out, is nothing new. Witness the infamous Zimmermann Telegram as would be the last straw forcing the hand of the United States into World War I on 6 April 1917; decoded from German ciphers 0075 and ... Read Full Story

My latest trip abroad was one of these things where everything fell nicely into place. The planning started when England announced a friendly against France in Paris. Now as Paris is my least favourite city in Europe, it was always my intention to spend as little time there as possible. A quick bit of research showed that driving was a far more attractive proposition that driving so I decided to combine it with a bit of a self-drive tour of some of the Western Front battlefield sites. On my return journey, I also managed to arrange a meeting with a company which will probably ... Read Full Story