The Old Front Line

In this latest Old Front Line Q&A, we tackle four fascinating questions that take us from the opening moments of the Battle of the Somme to the long legacy of the Western Front landscape.
We begin at Hawthorn Ridge on 1 July 1916 and ask whether the famous mine was detonated ten minutes early to help the attack, to provide Geoffrey Malins with the perfect filming opportunity, or for a combination of both. We also examine whether the advanced position of the Lancashire Fusiliers in the Sunken Lane, together with the early gains of the Ulster Division nearby, could have transformed a disastrous sector of the Somme battlefield into a genuine British success.
We then explore memories of the Second World War, discussing whether First World War veterans ever compared their own experiences with the rapid collapse of France and the BEF in 1940.
A question inspired by a walk along the Old Front Line looks at modern ownership of battlefield land. If your house stands on top of a trench system, can you excavate it, and what permissions might be required in France and Belgium?
Finally, we examine what happened when soldiers' remains were discovered in the 1920s. How were they identified, who carried out the work, and what kind of burial and ceremony followed?
Book: Nick and Fiona Jenkins - Walking The Line (Wetsocks Books 2021)
Main Image: Field Marshal Montgomery reads the inscription on a grave at the Canadian First World War memorial at Vimy Ridge, 8 September 1944. (IWM BU 763). 
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We begin Season 10 of The Old Front Line with a journey into The Great War Around Us: the First World War history that can still be found in the places where we live.
In this episode, we visit the East Sussex village of Wadhurst and explore how the impact of the Great War can still be discovered more than a century later. Starting at the village war memorial in the church, we uncover the stories behind the names carved in stone and examine what they reveal about the devastating losses suffered by this small community, particularly during the fighting of 9 May 1915 at the Battle of Aubers Ridge.
We then step into the parish churchyard to search for traces of the war, from Commonwealth war graves to moving family epitaphs that preserve personal memories of sacrifice and loss. Along the way, we discover how local history can open a window onto the wider story of the First World War.
This episode is also a call to action. Wherever you live, the history of the Great War is often closer than you think. War memorials, churchyards, memorial plaques and family stories can all help us understand how the conflict touched communities across Britain and beyond.
Join us as we explore the Great War around us and discover why local remembrance remains such a powerful way to connect with the history of that conflict more than a century ago. 
Main Image: Wadhurst Church and Roy Fazan. (Old Front Line archives)
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For our final Bonus Episode before Season 10 begins in September, we look at a rare Roll of Honour for the Gravesend and Dartford area of Kent, and discuss the whole history of these Rolls of Honour and then look through this example seeing what it can tell us about the wider history of the Great War. 
Main Image: Extracts from the Gravesend and Dartford 'Peace Souvenir' 1919. (Old Front Line archives)
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How do you find the hidden story of the First World War landscape? In this special bonus episode of The Old Front Line, we explore the fascinating world of WW1 trench maps and discover how they can transform your understanding of the Western Front and beyond.
We begin by looking at the Blue Series IGN maps that first inspired a deeper exploration of the battlefields, before uncovering the remarkable trench maps created during the Great War. What were trench maps? How were they produced? Who used them, and why are they still such an invaluable resource for battlefield historians today?
The episode also tells the story of Lieutenant Colonel Evan Maclean Jack CMG DSO, one of the key figures behind the development of British trench mapping, and examines his lasting influence on military cartography.
Finally, we put theory into practice by studying three original trench maps from very different theatres of war: Richebourg on the Lys battlefield, Neuville Vitasse south of Arras, and the Salonika Front around Lake Doiran. Together they reveal how maps recorded trenches, strongpoints, roads, artillery positions and the ever-changing front line.
Main Image: Trench Maps of Arras, Richebourg and Salonika. The portrait is Lt Col Evan Maclean Jack CMG DSO, 'Maps' at GHQ (IWM archive)
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In this episode of the Old Front Line Podcast, we answer another fascinating collection of listener questions that explore the people, places and practical realities of the First World War.
We begin by asking why visitors can walk, play and live on some historic battlefields, such as the D-Day beaches, while places like Newfoundland Memorial Park on the Somme remain carefully preserved. What makes a battlefield "sacred", and who decides how these landscapes should be remembered?
We then untangle the mystery of First World War barbed wire. Discover how troops navigated their own defensive obstacles for raids, wiring parties, patrols and major offensives, and how carefully concealed gaps and communication routes balanced defence with the need to attack.
Next, we delve into the history of the King Edward's Horse, examining its formation in 1914, its links to men from across the British Empire, and why some recruits with no Dominion connections—including one listener's ancestor—found themselves serving in this unusual cavalry regiment.
Finally, we travel to the closing days of the war to explore what happened after the Armistice. From the emotional scenes of 11 November 1918 to the long process of demobilisation, the return of prisoners of war, encounters between former enemies in No Man's Land, and the immense task of clearing and rebuilding the shattered battlefields of France and Belgium, we trace how Europe emerged from four years of conflict.
Main Image: German barbed wire entanglements, known as 'knife rests' photographed in the Beaumont Hamel area, November 1916. (IWM Q1530). Image by Ernest Brookes.
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