The Old Front Line

In this episode, we follow the Australians - the ANZACs - and men from the West Riding of Yorkshire who fought around the sleepy village of Bullecourt near Arras, in Northern France. Here more than 1…

Once the haunt of lovers, these gentle slopes on a Flanders landscape became Hill 60 to the British Tommy - one of the most infamous locations on the battlefields near Ypres. We look at the story of …

In this episode, we have an introduction to the battlefields east of Reims in the vast open fields of the Champagne. We discover a surprisingly diverse battlefield where men of many nations fought du…

Back in the city of Ypres in Flanders, in this episode we follow the walls, the old Ramparts, seeing British bunkers, visit the Ramparts Cemetery, discover more about military historian Rose Coombs, …

Was this the 'greatest game'? On 25th September 1915, men of the London Irish Football Club kicked a ball into battle signalling the start of the Battle of Loos. We follow their story and the other L…

In this latest Trench Chat we are joined by military historian Dr Tim Godden to discuss his research on the Junior Architects of the Imperial War Museum, and the design and meaning of the 'Silent Cit…

In this 50th Episode of the podcast, we return to home ground - the village of Courcelette on the Somme. We walk the Canadian attack route in the attack on the village, visit Courcelette British Ceme…

Along the old Roman Road between Ypres and Menin was a road junction that became the main route to the front line: this was Hell Fire Corner, the most infamous spot on the Western Front. In this epis…

We return to Picardy, for a walk across the 'Forgotten Somme': those places less visited on these battlefields of 1916, and see the villages of Ginchy and LesBoeufs, look at the story of the 'Tally H…

In this episode, we travel to Vimy Ridge in Northern France, taken by Canadian soldiers in April 1917. We walk from a series of preserved trenches and mine craters to the crest of the Ridge and look …

In this episode, we are joined by Military Historian Amy Harrison to discuss her work as a Commonwealth War Graves Commission Intern, and her research into Battlefield Tourism and Landscape for the P…

In this episode we take a detailed look at the film 1917, examining how it represents this period of the First World War, how it depicts the landscape of the Western Front, and how it links us to the…

Cambrai in November 1917 witnessed the first mass use of British Tanks in the Great War as battalions of the Tank Corps supported the infantry. On this walk we follow the men from the West Riding of …

In the shadow of Lutyens' mighty Thiepval Memorial, we visit the graves of British soldiers in the picturesque Authuille Military Cemetery, discover how a Newcastle United player launched the attack …

On a cold winter's day in December 1914, the men of both sides emerged from their trenches. Not to fight, but to take part in the Christmas Truce. For a brief moment, there was Peace in No Man's Land…

Amidst the dark trees of Polygon Wood near Ypres, bunkers and old shell craters tell the story of the Great War in Flanders. This week we walk the cemeteries and memorials around the wood, follow the…

In this latest Trench Chat, we are joined by military historian Mathilde Bernardet who works at the Memorial 14-18 Museum near Lens in Northern France. Mathilde discusses how France remembers the Gre…

Alongside a busy road in Northern France, the Star of India rises from between two weeping willows, commemorating the thousands of Indian Army soldiers who died in the trenches of the Western Front. …

In the latest Trench Chat, we talk to historian and battlefield guide Andrew Thornton about his research on the men of the British Expeditionary Force in 1914, the 'Old Contemptibles'. Who were they,…

We return to Flanders and walk the battlefields near the village of Langemarck across to Langemarck German Cemetery, the story of which runs like a dark thread through the history of the Twentieth Ce…