Tales from the Battlefields

Terry Whenham

Podcast telling the unheard stories of men who served on the Western Front during World War 1. Listen to the stories of soldiers told by Terry Whenham, battlefield guide and researcher. I have been researching these stories for over 20 years and can now share incredible experiences of ordinary men and women. Who were these soldiers? How did they die? What is their legacy? How do we remember them?

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24 episodes
weekly
Avg 54 min
English

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#189
Tuesday · 57 min
189: Woodbine Willie and A Victoria Cross – My Son My Son No Reward Can Be Too Great
In this episode we learn about the famous Chaplain Woodbine Willie and how he buried the 2 Crutchley brothers who had died together during a trench raid. Who was he and how did he provide comfort to the bereaved parents back home? And we also visit the home of Captain Thomas Colyer-Fergusson, who was awarded the Victoria Cross at Ypres in July 1917. What artefacts did we find and what is his story? We discover personal letters that reveals both stories.
#188
September 10 · 50 min
188: Killed on a Quiet Day in the Trenches
In this episode we discover the tragic stories of 2 soldiers, one from London and one from Australia, who both died from the effects of German trench mortar fire. But not during a famous battle. These were incidents that happened during a quiet period in the trenches. What happened to them? Lance Corporal Thomas Stevenson from New South Wales had been wounded and buried by shellfire at Fromelles but survived, only to die near Messines a year later. And Alf Stevenson from London died of gas poisoning on the Somme. But how?
#187
September 3 · 1 hr 7 min
187: A Walk around the Menin Gate
This episode was recorded at the Menin Gate in Ypres last week. We look at the stories of several soldiers remembered on the memorial; Boer War veterans who fell in action on Halloween 1914, during the 1st Battle of Ypres. And we look at the sad story of the Stallard brothers, who died together after one answered the call from the other. We read their descriptive letters home that reveal what it was like to be involved in those early months of the Great War. We end the episode with a chat with a volunteer of the Last Post Association, and learn of the plans for the Menin Gate Centenary, and listen to the cast of “War Horse” singing beneath the arches of the Gate.
#186
August 28 · 44 min
186: The Story of 2 Soldiers from the Opposite Ends of the World at Passchendaele
In this week’s episode we travel to the Passchendaele battlefield and discover previously untold stories about 2 boys from the opposite ends of the world, who were killed in action in this infamous battle. Neil Newsum was a bespectacled student from Lincoln, who gave up his university education to become an Officer in the Lincolnshire Regiment. What happened to him during a successful action in September 1917? What did his men say about him after his death? Could we find a possible grave for him? And we read a poem at the grave of Rifleman Herbert Harris, from Canterbury in New Zealand, written by his family after his death. Who was he and how did they remember him?
#185
August 18 · 53 min
185: When Heroes Die – The Story of a School Cricket Match
On 18th July 1914, a school cricket match was played in Holt, North Norfolk. By the end of the Great War, 11 of the 24 players who took part were dead, victims of the Great War. This is their story. We follow the story of 2 brothers who played in the game, Mark and Cuthbert. They died within weeks of each other, Mark on the Somme battlefield and Cuthbert during the Battle of Jutland. What are their stories and what do their poems and letters home tell us about them? We also discover how writing a book about them helped a teacher at the school comes to terms with the death of her daughter, and how she got to understand these lads and how their deaths affected the Headmaster of the school, George Howson.
#184
August 11 · 1 hr 8 min
184: Jack and Noel – From Scrum to Sacrifice with Lewis Moody
In this episode we travel to Twickenham, the home of English Rugby, to meet up with the families of 2 England Rugby internationals who died together, on the same day, 9th August 1916 at Guillemont on the Somme battlefield. The families had been introduced to each other by the author, Toby Goodman, of a book about the 2 men. We discover how their journey, and friendship, took them from the rugby fields to the battlefields, and we hear eye witness accounts of their final hours. We also hear from England World Cup Winner Lewis Moody, who told Toby about Jack and Noel’s story, and he talks about the strong connection between rugby and the Great War. He also discusses a portrait hanging at Twickenham called “Forever England”, showing the faces of 6 England players who died in the war.
#183
August 4 · 41 min
183: The Story of a Chaplain on the Western Front – Kenelm Swallow
In this episode we look at the incredible story of a man who gave up his job as a Rector in a village church to serve on the Western Front. Kenelm Swallow arrived on the Somme battlefield in the mud of November 1916. We follow his journey from the Somme to Arras and discover how he performed various tasks to help the war effort, way beyond his spiritual duties. We find out how he went alone into No Man’s Land at Ypres to ensure dead comrades were properly buried, and how he slipped down the steps of a dugout and landed on a stove, much to his amusement. He also describes what it was like to sleep in a dirty dugout. Kenelm was part of the BEF that liberated Belgium in 1918, and we hear how the civilians reacted to liberation and what he thought of the German enemy.
#182
July 27 · 51 min
182: Lives Changed Forever by the Great War
In this episode we discover what happened to the veterans after the guns had stopped firing. We find out that their suffering continued for decades, and, in some cases, caused their death years later. We hear the words of Joseph Pickard of the Northumberland Fusiliers. He was left for dead on the battlefield and he describes what happened when he went home without his nose, and how some children laughed at him. How did he react? Did he regret enlisting? We find out how some men turned to crime to feed themselves, and an Officer who left a legacy in his will to a soldier who had helped him when he was wounded at Ypres, and another Officer who gave a Christmas hamper to the Great War’s first wounded man. Who was he? And much more too...
#181
July 16 · 52 min
181: The Bicker Boys and the Living Ghosts of the Battlefields
In this episode we discover the stories of the boys, and a woman, from a small Lincolnshire village who died in the Great War. We read an emotional final letter to his wife from an Officer who predicted his own death on the following day, and how a man shot himself in the chin soon after arriving on the Western Front, survived but then died years later. What is his story? And the nurse who worked in hospitals in France but is now buried in the local churchyard. How did the War claim Martha’s life and what is her legacy? We also look at two descriptions of the battlefields during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Why did the writer describe the soldiers who stayed behind as “The Living Ghosts?
#180
July 1 · 38 min
180: Somme Success on 1st July 1916
In this episode we mark the 110th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme by following the successful advance by 6th Northamptonshire’s on that infamous day. How did they achieve their objectives on such a disastrous day for the British Army? We tell their story through the eyes of the soldiers who were there. Men like their popular Commanding Officer George Ripley – what did he give each of his boys as a present before the battle? And Richard Jerrams. Richard and his mate Joe walked 25 miles, and slept overnight in a ditch, to enlist with the battalion. What happened to them? We also hear about Private Fred Roberts, who used found himself face to face with Germans in a dugout…what happened then.
#179
June 25 · 1 hr 18 min
179: An Australian Pilgrimage to the Western Front
In this episode the follow the story of 6 soldiers, 5 who died and 1 who returned home to Melbourne, across the Western Front. We listen to the words of Australian veterans as they describe the horrors of Pozieres on the Somme and reflect on the lives of these men through the eyes of 4 people, their relatives, on a private battlefield tour that I guided last week. You can hear the raw emotion in the words and language of the veterans, and then the pilgrims 110 years later. Who were these men? What happened to them? And why is there no Christian cross on one of their graves?
#178
June 15 · 56 min
178: The 6th Airborne Division in Normandy with Neil Barber
In this episode we talk to historian and author Neil Barber about the 6th Airborne Division. We discuss the men that landed on D Day and how Neil got to know them and discover their incredible stories of bravery. We hear about Wally Parr, the Para who used a German gun to shoot at the enemy, and the Frenchman who wasn’t bothered about the battle going on outside his home and went back to bed! We also listen to an emotional “last letter home” from Stan Eckert, read by 17 year old Charlie. Stan and his brother were both killed in action are buried together in Ranville Cemetery. We remember them, and many others.
#177
June 4 · 47 min
177: Massacre at the Ardenne Abbey – June 1944
In this episode we visit the garden of an ancient Abbey near Caen in Normandy, the scene of the murder of 20 Canadian soldiers in the days following D Day in June 1944. Who were these young men? We pay tribute to each and every one of them…and discover how a bereaved Mother refused to move from her home as she expected her son to come through the kitchen door one day. And we look into the story of the SS Officer, Kurt Meyer, who was held responsible for these murders. Who was he? Why was he released from a military prison after just 8 years and what happened when he returned home? And how did a Chestnut tree become the unmarked grave of some of these lads?
#176
May 28 · 1 hr 3 min
176: The Tyneside Scottish on the 1st Day of the Somme
In this episode we travel to La Boisselle and follow the fortunes of the Tyneside Scottish volunteers on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916. Who were these men? What happened to them as they went “over the top” at 7.30am on this disastrous day? Who was the 16 year old “Boy Soldier”? And what happened to their Commanding Officers in No Man’s Land? This episode was recorded on the battlefield, as we walk through the village and discuss their brave actions with Newcastle City historian Martin Talbot.
#175
May 21 · 48 min
175: 4 Stories from the Great War
In this episode we discover the story of Lt Charles Potts, Tunnelling Officer at the Birr Cross Roads beneath the Menin Road near Ypres. Wounded in both legs, awful shell shock. What is his story? And we follow the trail of 2 brothers who joined the Royal Flying Corps and died within a few days of each other. And the incredible story of a decorated Officer who had to supervise the execution of a deserter, and was wounded 4 times whilst serving on the Western Front for 4 years. What is his story? We also visit the Greek Island of Rhodes and discover the grave of soldier who served in the Great War as a 14 year old, was evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 but died in a tragic accident after the fighting had stopped.
#174
May 13 · 51 min
174: Following in the Footsteps of the Ulstermen at Thiepval
In this episode we travel to the Somme battlefield of 1st July 1916 and follow in the footsteps of the 36th Ulster Division on that day. We learn, through the eyes of the soldiers who were there, what happened as they charged into the Schwaben Redoubt. We discover what the veteran’s thoughts were when they returned in 1930 and what happened when war returned to the area in 1940. What became of the caretaker of the Ulster Tower? And we walk across No Man’s Land and discover 2 battlefield cemeteries. What did we find along the way?
#173
May 5 · 53 min
173: Killed in Action, Buried by his Comrades and Back to Blighty
In this episode we explore the incredible story of Machine Gunner Robert Hynd, whose dead body was identified during the Battle of Arras and buried by his comrades. But it wasn’t him…he had been taken Prisoner of War and was in Germany. For 3 long months his parents thought he was dead until they received a post card from him. How did this happen? What was the impact on the family? We find out through the words of Robert himself. We also meet the sister of a casualty who describes, and draws, the battlefield in 1919. Helen McKie later became the only woman, in 1931, to sketch the future Fuhrer. We also discover some other incredible stories on the Arras battlefields.
#172
April 17 · 50 min
172: Following in the Footsteps of a Royal Fusilier at Arras
In this episode we travel to the 1917 Arras battlefield following in the footsteps of Sgt Fred Height, 9th Royal Fusiliers. Fred was killed on the first day of the battle and has no known grave. We follow his journey from his home in Northamptonshire to France, and walk the battlefield where his battalion advanced. We discover a possible grave for Fred in a nearby cemetery. We also talk to 15 year old Harry, who reads a poem he wrote after visiting the mine craters on the Somme battlefield.
#171
April 9 · 1 hr 10 min
171: The Canadians Success at Vimy Ridge with Samantha McCrea
In this episode we travel to Vimy Ridge and discover how the Canadian Divisions came together to storm the German defences on Easter Monday 1917. We talk to Canadian historian Samantha McCrae and she explains how a Canadian soldier was awarded the Victoria Cross for his brave actions, but was killed in the process. And how a medic gave his life treating the wounded. We also discover how the Canadians planned and executed the attack and why tunnels, a model of the battlefield, heavy artillery and even the weather played a part in their incredible success. What does this battle mean to Canadians today? We find out.
#170
April 3 · 53 min
170: Following in their Footsteps on a Battlefield Tour
In this episode we travel to the Somme battlefield of 1916 and 1918, and beyond, following in the footsteps of 5 soldiers. I tell their stories during a battlefield tour with their families. We learn how two of them were captured during the German Spring Offensive. One survived and one didn’t return home. We discover how a Northumberland Fusilier was killed and his grave lost. But did we find his final resting place? And the Ambulance Driver whose job it was to transport casualties to the medical units. But why did he end up on a charge? We also visit the Loos battlefield to discover a soldier killed on the first day of the battle. We also have another “battlefield coincidence.

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