R.I.P. Harry Patch, Wells Cathedral, 6th August 2009

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Magicfingers

Should it be of interest, you will find some photos taken at the funeral of Harry Patch a few years back if you click the Somerset link to the right of the page.

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South of Ploegsteert Part Two – Gunners Farm Military Cemetery

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Magicfingers

Half a mile east of London Rifle Brigade Cemetery our second stop, Gunners Farm Cemetery, is somewhat smaller; 172 men were buried here in the year between July 1915 and July 1916 (there are three later burials and four Germans, two of whom are unidentified).

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South of Ploegsteert Part One Addendum – 12th East Surrey Raid

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Magicfingers

Page from the 12th Bn. War Diary detailing the events of late June 1916.

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South of Ploegsteert Part One – London Rifle Brigade Cemetery

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Magicfingers

On this tour we shall visit six CWGC cemeteries that lie between Ploegsteert village and the town of Armentières, just across the French border a couple of miles to the south.  Six small cemeteries, somewhat off the beaten track and seldom visited, the final resting places of 1291 soldiers from Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  No major battles were fought here, and until the Gemans overran the area in April 1918, the trenches on both sides remained more-or-less static throughout the War.  The men buried here were killed during the day-to-day fighting that took place all along the front line, many the result of shellfire, some from snipers’ bullets, and some as a result of the ubiquitous trench raids which both sides carried out on a regular basis.  You will find a map showing the locations of all the cemeteries on this tour, as well as those visited in the ‘Tour of Ploegsteert Wood’, if you click the Tour Maps link near the top of the page.

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The Advance East Part Five – Moorseele Military Cemetery

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Magicfingers

Just a few minutes drive east from Ledegem, Moorseele Military Cemetery is another burial ground now rather incongruously surrounded by a modern housing estate.

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An Irish Diversion – The Easter Rising

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Magicfingers

During the last week of April 1916, Irish republicans fought British soldiers on the streets of Dublin.  Should the events of that particular week be of any interest whatsoever to you, you might find a series of posts, to be found in the Ireland category, worth checking out (they will NOT appear on the home page).  If not, please ignore.

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Dublin – St. Stephen’s Green: Fusiliers’ Arch

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Magicfingers

Fusiliers’ Arch, at the northern end of St. Stephen’s Green, commemorates the men of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who died fighting for the British in the Second Boer War at the start of the 20th Century.

Above and below: The names of the dead, inscribed beneath the roof of the arch.

The north eastern side of the Memorial is still spattered with British bullet holes from the Easter Rising in April 1916, as explained elsewhere on this website.

Bullets holes on the western side of the memorial, most likely fired from the Royal College of Surgeons after the Irish Citizen Army evacuated their trenches and fled there on the 25th April 1916.

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And finally a new photo, taken in November 2016, just because.  For a complete tour of St. Stephen’s Green itself, and the story of its significance during the Easter Rising, click here.

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