Author Archives: Magicfingers

Reninghelst Churchyard & Extension

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Magicfingers

Next to Reninghelst church, there’s a purpose-built churchyard extension, with a Cross of Sacrifice front and centre. Reninghelst had been occupied by British troops in the late autumn of 1914 and would remain in their hands throughout the war.

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Banbury – Southam Road Cemetery

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Magicfingers

So, here’s the story. I don’t live anywhere close to here, but I was early for a gig that I’d driven eighty five miles to get to on a Monday evening, and had briefly researched this cemetery beforehand. Just in … Continue reading →

Posted in Oxfordshire, U.K. Churches, Memorials & Cemeteries - Back in Blighty | 4 Comments

Reninghelst War Memorial

Posted on August 3, 2025 by Magicfingers

I doubt if too many of you have visited Reninghelst. It’s hardly on the coach tour route, and I imagine most people who visit likely have personal reasons for doing so.

Posted in Belgian War Memorials, Reninghelst | 2 Comments

Bamforth Postcards – The Commercialization of Sentimentalism

Posted on July 13, 2025 by Magicfingers

James Bamforth had long produced ‘song cards’, utilising popular songs of the time to layer the sentiment on his postcards, and the tradition continued throughout the Great War, by the end of which his company was producing some twenty million … Continue reading →

Posted in Postcards | 2 Comments