I was very sad to hear yesterday evening that Richard Holmes had died, aged 65. Intelligent, communicative, readable and knowledgeable, I enjoyed his work and style. Click on the picture for a link to a BBC article.
Madresfield Court
Interesting Telegraph article Jan 2011 about Madresfield Court and how it was an escape refuge for the Royal Family in case of invasion in WWII. My Grandfather was in the Coates Mission and one of his jobs was visiting the four houses and checking that defences were in order.
“Well now, each of those houses had to be reconnoitered by mostly Gussy Tatham and myself and we used to go occasionally to see that all was well. It consisted of a series of slip trenches placed at strategic points around the perimeter of the house and the grounds so they could not be seen from outside. There were barbed wire entanglements of course, I don’t think they were actually in place or would not be put into place until we were actually called upon to defend that particular house in order that nothing untoward should appear to be going on at these places. The security was so vital.
So Tatham and I used to go round these places now and again to see that all was well, to see that the trenches hadn’t fallen in or something like that, to see that the roads were, to be sure of our road from Bushy, where we were stationed, to that particular house.”
New Page – The Coates Mission
I have transcribed my grandfather’s account of his time as part of the Coates Mission, the company charged with the protection of the Royal Family in WW2. Follow the link to read about his experiences.
https://thesomme.wordpress.com/malcolm-hancock/the-coates-mission/
First Day of The Somme – google map
I’ve made a map for those coming on the trip this Sunday (29th).
View Somme First day in a larger map
Somme Trip 2010
Taking a group of 9 to stay in Longueval for 5 days at the beginning of September. Aboard are 6 uninitiated, me (a medium knowledge bank), another more knowledgeable friend – and if he doesn’t know he makes it up! – and one expert friend. Should be fun.
The picture . . .
. . . above is the ‘Danger Tree’ – it survived the Great War, particularly 1st July 1916.
The Secret Battle
This excellent book by A.P. Herbert has been republished with an introduction by Malcolm Brown. It is largely based on the experience of Sub-Lt Edwin Dyett, one of three officers to be executed in WW1, and the subject of a personal study when I followed his footsteps. It’s a forthright read. Published originally in 1919, it was probably too close to the end of the war to become popular at the time.
You can now get a brand new copy. Click on the book cover for a link.
A page on Edwin Dyett will very shortly be under construction.
The Somme 