Vimy Day: Remembering Private Thomas Shearman
On April 12, 1917, a 21-year old Rhodes scholar candidate from British Columbia lay injured in a German trench on Vimy Ridge with gunshot wounds to his side, arm and leg. He […]
Digging out on the Home Front
This week marks the 100th anniversary of a snowstorm that paralyzed Victoria BC in the first week of February 1916. The snow began falling on the 1st of the month and […]
Paying Respect: a Pilgrimage to France and Belgium in 1926
In the aftermath of the Great War many families made a pilgrimage to the battlefields and cemeteries of France and Belgium, including the family of Rev. A.P. Gower-Rees, a former Deputy Assistant Chaplain-General and an out-spoken […]
Remembering Rev. A.P. Gower-Rees MC: the “Football Parson”
Rev. Albert Phillip Gower-Rees MC served his God, his King and his parishioners on two continents and through two world wars. Born in Carmarthen in 1880 Albert was a keen sportsman […]
Made-to-order: Valentine’s Post-War Christmas Dinner
While most Officers did their best to provide their men with a filling Christmas dinner there was no substitute for family and a home-cooked meal. In this article I’m featuring two letters […]
Christmas at the Front – Merry Xmas from Giessen Dec. 1915
As a Prisoner of War in the Giessen P.O.W. camp Sergeant Thomas Bramah Diplock was nearly 300 miles behind enemy lines when he posted this Christmas card 100 years ago. It was […]
Remembering Pte John Fleming, C.A.S.C – Part 2 of 3
When 27-year old husband and father of two John Fleming attested in Winnipeg on December 13, 1915 he brought with him mechanical skills and driving experience that made him a natural […]
Update: Brothers Henry and Benjamin Skelton in 1907
Earlier this month I published a story on Henry and Benjamin Skelton both of whom lost their lives in the final six weeks of the First World War. This weekend […]
Remembering Lt. James Atkinson-Jowett, 6th KOYLI
Reviving forgotten family stories is what I love to do and a pair of dusty old photograph albums has given rise to a fascinating tale that began in Victorian Yorkshire and ended more […]
Remembering Fallen Brothers Henry & Benjamin Skelton
Today I’m remembering two brothers from Woodford in Essex, both of whom lost their lives in the final six weeks of the Great War. The youngest died of wounds 97 years ago […]
Doing Our Bit 