Trench Lincs 18th January 2026

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Good Morning,

A new season of talks kicked off last Monday at Lincoln, when John Chester spoke about Honour and Tradition in the army and navy. I now have the great pleasure of being the speaker at Spalding this coming Thursday night and hope to see some new faces in attendance – for full details see below.

This week you can read about the first outing of the year that will be held on 27^th February and again, I do hope some new faces will register to come along and meet up with like-minded folk.

Who were the best soldiers in WWI? Australian? New Zealanders? Scots? Peter Garland and Neil Bell have posed the question this week and I have set down some of my thoughts, which you may or may not agree with. Either way, I would welcome everyone’s opinions please.

A short visit to the Lincoln city war memorial last week surprisingly opened up a new tale, which I have set out below. I hope you enjoy this week’s TL?

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FORTHCOMING EVENTS.

Next event - Lincoln & North Lincolnshire Branch, WFA - Monday, February 16^th 2026 - Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30pm start - Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG.

Phil Watson will present – ‘The Lancers from the Boer war to the Great War.’

Major Phil Watson (Rtd) will talk about the Lancer Regiments of the British Army, their role in the Boer War and how they adapted to twentieth century warfare, as warfare changed due to technological advances.

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Next Meeting - Spalding & South Lincolnshire Branch, WFA - Thursday, January 22^nd 2026 - Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30 pm start - Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, PE11 1BT.

Spalding Branch will kick off their 2026 season on Thursday, January 22^nd, when Jonathan D'Hooghe, will be presenting his new talk entitled "General Horace Smith-Dorrien; his two defining battles - Isandlwana 1879 and Le Cateau 1914." 

At Isandlwana, only five British officers escaped the slaughter, one of these five was Horace Smith-Dorrien. His escape reads like a ‘Boy’s Own’ novel with copious amounts of ‘derring-do’, and as a result of his good fortune, he rose through the ranks to command II Corps of the BEF in Belgium and France in August 1914.

This talk examines his life and decision making at Le Cateau on 26^th august 1914, and asks what may have happened in August 1914, if Smith-Dorrien had fallen with many other young British Subalterns in January 1879.

If you missed this talk in November at Lincoln, hopefully you will come to Spalding on the 22^nd?

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The East Midlands (Nottingham) WFA branch will hold their next speaker event on Friday 13^th February 2026 at 7.30pm. The branch meets at St. Peter’s Church Hall, Church Street, Ruddington, NG11 6HA.

The speaker on this night is Peter Hart and his talk is ‘I’m out of here! – Escape from German POW Camps 1914-18.’

Everyone welcome.

American POW's.

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The Leadenham Military History Group’s next meeting will be on Tuesday 27^th January 2026 at 7.30pm at Leadenham village hall.

This event will be an inter-active workshop which will look at the infamous Battle of Isandlwana which took place on 22^nd January 1879 at the start of the Anglo-Zulu War.

All contributions on the night are welcome, or you can just sit, listen and hopefully learn.

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Chas Parker has sent me this link to the first 2026 newsletter from the Lincoln Aviation Society. Their programme of speaker events for the new year will be available shortly.

https://mcusercontent.com/363e2db896f2f8d9553fda5f9/files/70c79dd1-8626-4661-e8d6-a06f29703ace/Air_Link_2026_01_January.pdf

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Steve Baldwin has kindly forwarded news from the Leicestershire War Memorials At Risk project, and Steve comments; ‘After leaving the meeting on Monday, I realised I had forgotten to talk to you about the Memorials Project in Leicester.

I have attached their notice about their open days for this year.

Their first open day is a week on Saturday (24th Jan.), which I realise is short notice but it will include a talk by Tom Bowers.

Tom is an archaeologist and his short talk “The found fallen” is about the four British WWI soldiers found in 2020 during a hospital building project.

As you will know, these four soldiers were identified as all being men of the 1/5th Bn. Lincolnshire Regiment.’

Click here for full details  https://mcusercontent.com/363e2db896f2f8d9553fda5f9/files/bd70c995-3930-9b5d-90f1-9525bc0c713e/Open_Days_2026_V1_plus_HODs_.doc

This sounds to be a fascinating talk, and I hope some TL readers will attend. These four men were identified after their bodies were found during the construction of a new hospital in Lens. You will recall that they were re-buried in the new Loos British CWGC Cemetery Extension last October, as covered in TL.

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The first Trench Lincs/Lincoln WFA outing for 2026 will be held, weather permitting, on Friday 27^th February.

Everyone and anyone is welcome to attend at 10.45/11.00am at Crich Stand in Derbyshire. This is the memorial park for the Sherwood Foresters. There is an array of memorials on site covering the history of the Foresters from the Great War to their existence today as a battalion of the Mercian Regiment.

Following the First World War, plans were drawn up to construct a memorial tower to recognise the 11,409 men of the Sherwood Foresters Regiment (drawn from the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire) who had fallen in the Great War.

The chief architect was Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Brewill, who had commanded the 7^th Battalion (Robin Hoods) and who unfortunately passed away before the tower was completed. However, his son, Captain L C Brewill, oversaw the completion of the memorial. The official opening of the memorial was held on Monday 6^th August 1923, when the tower was opened by General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, who had been commissioned into the 95^th (Derbyshire) Regiment in 1877.

The unveiling of Crich Stand in 1923.

Over the years there have been additional dedications to those who have given their lives for their country.

In 1952 there was a further dedication to the 1,502 members of the Sherwood Foresters regiment who had fallen in World War II.

You will have the opportunity to walk to the top of the memorial tower, where on a clear day you can see well into five counties.

I have emailed the Regimental HQ and they have confirmed that the on-site café will be open that day, subject to the weather. Following a walk around the park and a coffee and snack, I will then lead a tour to the war memorials in Alfreton and Ripley.

Car parking at Crich Stand is £1.50 per car, payable in cash and the postcode to use for the tram museum which is adjacent is DE4 5DP.

So that I can let the park know our numbers, will you please drop me a line if you intend to join the outing. Thank you.

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Neil Bell and Peter Garland have contacted me with an excellent topic for discussion, which I hope will provoke some interesting comments from the TL readers.

Neil asks, ‘Having read this article about whether the New Zealanders were better soldiers than the Australians, what does anyone think?’  Please click the link below.

How Kiwi troops compared to Australian counterparts in the World Wars | RNZ News

It appears that at a forthcoming conference in NZ, this topic will be discussed by leading historians and academics including Professor Gary Sheffield.

I’ll start the ball rolling with my thoughts. Undoubtedly, the Australians were a supremely tough and uncompromising element for the British Army to handle both in the Gallipoli campaign and on the Western Front.

The Australians would not agree to their men being subject to Capital Punishment, and this may have contributed to their well recorded lack of discipline, especially when behind the lines. Let loose in London and in French towns, their drinking and wenching, led to record numbers of men unfit for duty with venereal disease. Their disregard for ‘spit and polish’ and ‘bull’ was well known, and they were not readily deferential to senior officers when on leave.

However, when in the offensive, they were supreme in their dogged determination to take the fight to the enemy. The downside of this ferocious reputation was the fact that they were probably thrown into the attack more often than they deserved, especially on the Somme at Pozieres and Mouquet Farm in the summer of 1916.

Their commander, Sir John Monash, was not a regular soldier before the war, and his forward thinking and tactical nous was second to none. Monash was even suggested as a possible replacement for Haig in early 1918.

As battlefield tactics evolved, especially the advent of all arms offensives led by tanks in 1918, the Australians proved themselves to be the masters as demonstrated at Hamel and at Amiens in July and August.

Australia twice voted against conscription, but such was their loyalty to the mother country with many of the troops having been born in the UK, that the Australians fielded five divisions on the Western Front. In comparison, New Zealand, with a smaller population fielded just one division, but nevertheless, their contribution was outstanding in 1917 at Passchendaele and in the Advance to Victory of 1918.

This memorial to the 2nd Australian Division at Mont St Quentin, was one of the very few WWI memorials destroyed by the Germans during their occupation of France in WWII. The iconography of the Digger killing the German Eagle was too much for them to bear!

The general discipline and behaviour of the New Zealanders is said to be much better than that of the Australians, although, there will be instances of poor behaviour with every army if you look hard enough.

The text book capture of Le Quesnoy by the New Zealanders in November 1918 sums up how much they had learnt over the course of the war. Led by Major General Sir Andrew Russell on the Western Front, the three New Zealand rifle brigades carried on the good work that had be seen in Gallipoli in 1915.

The New Zealand memotrial at Tyne Cot.

Ah! I hear you say, but what about the Canadians?

Yes, the Canadian army, like the Australian and New Zealand armies, contained as many as one-third British born soldiers. Young men who had set off for the colonies to find fame and fortune, rallied to the call of the Mother Country on the outbreak of war.

Canada, being an immense geographical country, found its nationhood during WWI when men from all regions came together to form the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In due course, Canada, like Australia, fielded five divisions on the Western Front under the command of Sir Arthur Currie, like Sir John Monash, a man of great intellect and tactically forward thinking, not hidebound in the ‘old ways’ in the sense that many British generals were.

The Canadians first came to prominence in April 1915 when their first arrivals in Flanders stemmed the German offensive after the Germans had used gas for the first time to break the line held by French colonial troops north-east of Ypres.

However, their most noticeable achievement in the historiography of the Great War, is the first time that all five Canadian divisions fought side by side on the opening day of the Battle of Arras in April 1917. On this day, after meticulous planning, the Canadians (with the help of 51^st Highland Division on their right flank) captured Vimy Ridge, the high point of the terrain that overlooks the Douai Plain and the coal mining area of north-east France. This is the day that historians suggest that Canada became a unified nation.

After this battle, the Canadians were withdrawn from the line and allowed to re-fit and rest until October 1917. At this point Haig required, in his usual manner, ‘One More Push’ to take the remnants of Passchendaele village and its surrounds. The British army was exhausted and depleted after slogging through the Flanders mud from the previous August. The Australians and the New Zealanders had already played their part, most noticeably in the capture of Polygon Wood and the land where Tyne Cot cemetery now stands.

Haig called on Currie for the final slog up the Passchendaele ridge. Currie had to obey orders but told Haig that it would cost the Canadians 16,000 casualties.

The Canadian push (aided by British troops on the flanks) commenced on 26^th October and the destroyed village of Passchendaele was captured by the Winnipeg battalion on 6^th November. The total casualties sustained by the Canadians in this ‘push’ was 4,000 dead and 12,000 wounded – Currie’s prediction had proved to be correct.

Canadian machine gunners in the mud of Flanders 1917.

The Canadians, like the Australians, suffered from overuse because they were so reliable and good at their job. They played a very full and active part in the final 100 day’s advance to victory.

All of the above is not written to denigrate the British soldiers at the front. Jon Sandison and many others will tell you that the Scottish soldiers, particularly the kilted highland regiments, were the best soldiers on the Western Front. They were feared by the Germans who allegedly referred to them as the ‘Devils in Skirts’ and the ‘Ladies from Hell’ – although academics will tell you that this is a myth. Nevertheless, the Scottish regiments have always played a full part in British military history over the last three centuries, notably at Waterloo and in the Crimea.

The 51^st (Highland) Division ended the Great War with a fearsome reputation despite being Territorials, rather than regular soldiers. They do however, have one blot on their history through no fault of their own.

Their commanding officer at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, Major General George Harper refused to embrace the new tactics of mutual infantry and tank support, and as a result tanks and infantry suffered in the stunning advance of November 20^th – this led to the division being known as ‘Harper’s Duds’.

Lord Kitchener’s New Armies played a full role in the war and the 9^th and 15^th (Scottish) Divisions both ended the war with a very good reputation for taking the attack to the enemy. Professor Peter Simkins has written extensively about the successful exploits of the K2 18^th (Eastern) Division which was led by a very forward thinking commander, Sir Ivor Maxse.

The 18^th Division succeeded on 1^st July 1916, to capture all of their objectives. Maxse had sent his men out into No Man’s Land, and they closely followed the final artillery barrage and so assaulted the German front line trenches before the Germans had time to come up from their dugouts and set up their machine guns. The ‘creeping barrage’ with men following closely behind, became a staple tactic as the war progressed into 1918.

Maxse’s reputation saw him promoted to a Corps Commander in 1917, and in June 1918 he became Director General of Training for the British Army, in an effort to unify tactical knowhow. The question we must ask, is not necessarily how good the troops were, but how were they led?

Divisional patch of the 18th (Eastern) Division. 

A good example of this is our very own 46^th (North Midland) TF Division. On 1^st July 1916, the opening day of the Somme offensive, they, along with the 56^th (1^st London) Division, were given the impossible and suicidal task of making a completely unsupported attack against the Gommecourt Salient. According to Haig’s diaries, the idea behind this attack was to draw fire upon themselves so as to aid the attack at Serre, some two miles to the south by the Northern Pals battalions from Sheffield, Barnsley and Accrington.

There was no plan in place to support this isolated attack, and no plan in place should it be successful. On the day it was a bloody disaster, just as it was at Serre where they waited for the barrage to end before leaving the trenches, and was in complete contrast to Maxse’s 18^th Division’s success further south.

If you have seen my talk on Gommecourt, you will know that I believe it was Haig’s personal animosity with Major General Stuart-Wortley, commanding 46^th Division, which led to the 46^th Division being the only division to face a Court of Enquiry after the debacle of the opening day of the Somme offensive. The 46^th Division were accused of lacking ‘offensive spirit’, in short, cowardice.

If we then go forward to 29^th September 1918, the 46^th Division, which by now had adapted to the new tactical doctrines and was given an attack plan properly supported by overwhelming artillery fire support and attacking troops with tanks on both flanks, they became the first British division to breach the Hindenburg Line, when the Staffordshire Brigade captured the Riqueval Bridge intact.

The Daily Mirror described this as the ‘Best Feat of Arms by a British Division in the War’ - a complete contrast to the suggestion of cowardice two years earlier.

As for the Regular Divisions of the British Army, those that arrived on the Western Front in 1914 were all but destroyed and were non-existent by early 1915 in terms of original manpower. However, a core remained and around this core came the replacements, and as the battalion ethos survived, so did the battalion. All battalions and divisions were re-built, often more than once and so the British Army survived and learnt to endure the hardships of trench warfare.

The first six divisions to form the BEF in 1914 all served to the war’s end with new drafts appearing as required, the 29^th Division, hastily thrown together from regular battalions that returned from Empire outposts, performed bravely and improved in Gallipoli and France and Flanders over the length of the war, and of course, the Guards Division, formed in 1915 by amalgamating Guards battalions serving in other divisions into one division, and with the birth of the Welsh Guards in 1915, went on to serve with distinction in all of the major battles from Loos to the Armistice.

Therefore, I would suggest that all of the men who served in the Great War did ‘their bit’, and that every battalion would contain good, bad and indifferent soldiers. What really counted was leadership, morale and when properly trained and led, this led to an elan and esprit de corps, that the Germans could not match. When this manpower superiority was combined with the Anglo-American economies supply of materiel, a war winning formula was eventually found.

Monash, Currie and Maxse stand out as clear and forward thinking generals, I also think that Smith-Dorrien may have made an excellent commander if he hadn’t lost his field command in May 1915 due to a spat with Sir John French, but on the other hand, generals like Haking, Townshend and Gough pay the price for their war records, and are held up as examples of ‘Butcher’s and Bunglers’. As I said earlier, there were good, bad and indifferent men at all ranks of the allied armies.

Neil and Peter have hopefully started the hare running, and I would be delighted to receive your thoughts. Don’t be shy, there’s no such thing as a wrong opinion!

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The Great War of 1914-18 has so many interesting tangents, and I believe that is why so many folk are fascinated by the subject. Thanks to David Surr visiting an art exhibition, we now have a story for you of local interest, and it is one of art and creative writing.

David takes up the story; ‘A chance discovery that may interest your readers, a painting, and an outstanding one at that.  William Nicholson was born and raised in Newark-on-Trent and became a versatile painter of portraits and still life, and a noted printmaker and book illustrator.

There is an exhibition of his work in Chichester this winter, which I visited recently. The end of the Great War was a difficult time for him, as his second son Tony, a bombardier in the RFA, was killed in action in October 1918, and his wife died in the Spanish Flu epidemic.

His elder son Ben became an artist too and is perhaps better known today than his father. His daughter married the soldier poet Robert Graves, and they had a mutual friend in Siegfried Sassoon, who bought work from Nicholson.

The painting titled simply ‘A Soldier of the 1914-18 War’ was commissioned by Lady Denham who had also lost relatives, and had been a key founder of the Women’s Land Army in the Great War, and would be director of the same in WWII. It is not a portrait of anyone specific, more a memorial for the many. It is from a private collection and has apparently never been seen in public before.

Close up detail from William Nicholson's painting.

Although I thought it familiar, it must have been from something specialist as I can find little mention of it online beyond the context of the current exhibition.

Also shown are two other works from the exhibition - the atmospheric ‘Armistice Night’ which normally lives in Cambridge, and an illustration for the War Propaganda Bureau in 1917.’

Armistice Night.

Propaganda 1917.

I immediately replied to David about the outstanding works of art and the Graves, Sassoon et al connection. I noted; ‘I admit to not being aware of Wm Nicholson and his Newark roots. Thank you for bringing him to my attention.

He certainly had some sadness in his life in 1918, and this possibly reflects in his Armistice painting, which comes across as dark and brooding rather than joyous and victorious, even the foremost character is an amputee on crutches in his hospital blues.. What do you think?

The link to Graves and Sassoon is interesting as four of the war's greatest memoirs were written by Graves, Sassoon, Blunden and Richards - all of whom served together in the same battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

All except Frank Richards were public school educated officers, whereas Richards was an old sweat who had been in the Empire as a private since the turn of the 20^th century. Not formally educated, and not a natural writer, Graves coaxed and tutored Richards to write his two books - Old Soldiers Never Die (1933) and Old Soldier Sahib (1936).’

Following my response to him, David replied with some very profound and thought provoking comments, thus; 'Regarding the ‘Armistice Night’ painting. It's easy to see Nicholson’s grief here, but it is also a painting to which anyone can attach their own views of the war, regardless of how well-informed they are, and in return it asks questions of how certain you are. The celebrations appear wild and spontaneous, as they were reported to be, but also vague, distant and detached, someone else’s party. Nicholson, is there, but not part of it, the empty foreground is the barrier he cannot cross. Yet in that space he paints two limbless soldiers, in scratchy outline where detail should normally be clearest, propelling themselves on crutches in the opposite direction, perhaps to an altogether different future, perhaps already irrelevant.

I do not know anything of Nicholson’s views on the war and if they changed after the loss of his son, but his other work leaves no doubt as to his patriotism. At 53 he was a ‘late Victorian’, yet his association with Graves and Sassoon is unlikley to have left him unsympathetic to their outlook.

Regarding 2/RWF - yes, great books all. Greater still in my opinion is the book written after the publication of Graves and Sassoon’s memoirs in direct response to them, to ‘put the record straight - JC Dunn’s ’The War the Infantry Knew’ - I’m sure you will have that one too. [Indeed I have. Thank you for the reminder. - Ed] He thought Graves too negative. I remember reading all relevant passages closely when researching the first day at Hohenzollern as they were a close, but supporting unit. I think Graves held a perfectly valid view on what must have been an all too common experience - the bloody shambles of men trapped in communication trenches by artillery fire and  their own numbers, unable to communicate.

Thanks to David we have all learnt something this week, and I can recommend all of the memoirs noted above – they are all on my bookshelves, as I wrote a university essay about the relationship of these men and their service together in 2/RWF.

Siegfried Sassoon – (Trilogy) Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man, Memoirs of an Infantry Officer and Sherston’s Progress.

Robert Graves – Goodbye to All That.

Edmund Blunden – Undertones of War.

Frank Richards – Old Soldiers Never Die.

J C Dunn - The War The Infantry Knew.

They are interesting books to read, because their service overlapped, and therefore, you can cross reference events from their individual viewpoints, and see events from the view of an officer and a ranker. Perhaps the most memorable, is after a mine is detonated in front of the RWF trenches, there is a race to occupy the crater, which the RWF win, and it becomes known as Red Dragon crater.

I do hope TL encourages you to give these books a try? Please let me know.

From my library of Great War books.

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In December, I visited an optician in Lincoln so as to purchase a new pair of glasses. During the examination of my eyes, the start of cataracts was revealed, and so last week, I returned for more tests. Fortunately, I have been told to ‘Keep Calm and Carry On!’ and they will take another look in two years-time.

However, with some time to kill before my bus home, I walked to the High Street to pay a visit to the Lincoln City war memorial, which looked splendid in the winter sun.

Although I have visited Lincoln’s memorial on many occasions, there is always something new to learn, and this latest visit was no exception.

I spotted this private memorial plaque to George William (Bill) Fowler, one of the 862 men lost when HMS Barham was torpedoed by U-Boat 331 off the Egyptian coast in November 1941.

HMS Barham was one of five Queen Elizabeth Class battleships built in the run up to the 1914-18 war and she had served nobly and gallantly at Jutland in 1916, and had seen action against the Vichy French navy in 1940 and had helped sink an Italian cruiser at the Battle of Cape Matepan in March 1941, before being damaged by German air attacks in the evacuation of allied troops from Crete.

HMS Barham was the only British battleship lost in WWII to a U-boat attack and she is remembered because the final explosion of her magazines which sank her was captured on a famous piece of film which you can watch here.

WW2 HD Colorization — The Sinking of HMS Barham, 1941

Leading Stoker Bill Fowler went down with the ship and is also remembered on the Chatham Naval War Memorial. However, what caught my eye about his memorial plaque, was that it also remembered his late father killed in WWI.

Bill Fowler was born in 1916 to Robert Alfred and Kate Fowler of 9 Saville Street, Lincoln. Robert’s mother had re-married and known as Mrs Butler, she lived at Welton, Lincolnshire. Therefore, young Bill was only two years old when his father, 56546 Private Robert Fowler, was killed in action on the 26^th August 1918 whilst serving with the 2^nd Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers. Robert has no known grave, and is remembered on the memorial wall at the Vis en Artois CWGC cemetery. [Amazing how this battalion crops up this week - Ed]

Here is Robert’s MIC, which shows that he was a conscript who trained with the Training Reserve and was then drafted to 2/RWF. I also attach Robert’s name on the Lincoln memorial.

What on earth poor Kate felt, to lose her husband in the 1914-18 conflict and her son in the next war. This is why we must carry the torch and never forget the sacrifices of families like the Fowlers of Lincoln.

We Will Remember Them.

HMS Barham - torpedoed with the loss of 862 men, including Bill Fowler of Lincoln.

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Last week we read about John Pont who served as a Royal marine from 1900 to 1921. During my correspondence with Jo Stacey, John’s great-granddaughter, I suggested that she should read one of the best Gallipoli memoirs written by a man of the Royal Naval Division, Joe Murray, in 1965.

Reading this book, ‘Gallipoli As I Saw It’, is harrowing in parts, but would give the reader an idea of just what John Pont went through in Gallipoli during 1915.

Again, both are on my bookshelves!

The timing of all of this was uncanny, as Bill Pinfold contacted me to tell me that a large amount of RND records had just been released on Find My Past. I don’t subscribe to FMP, and so as an example, Bill downloaded the surviving records for the book’s author, Joe Murray, which I can now share with you.

If your ancestor served in the RND, I am sure that Bill wouldn’t mind doing a ‘look up’ for you. Please let me know.

Joe Murray of the RND - did he ever meet and talk to John Pont?

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Ray Sellers has let me have his final batch of interesting photos from his autumnal tour of the Emerald Isle. Ray writes; ‘As promised, please find a final batch of photos taken on my latest visit to the Island of Ireland. We are now in the Republic. Photos 61 and 67, are of the site of the Battle of the Boyne on the Oldbridge Estate near Drogheda in County Meath.

It was a pivotal, and a notorious battle in Irish history, fought in 1690, between the armies of King James II and William of Orange, later King William III. James’ defeat saw the end of the Stuart Dynasty. The site is well worth walking if the weather allows, and is complete with a Visitor Centre.

Photos 24,25 and 26 are in the town of Trim. It’s one of Ireland's most historic towns, and apart from a magnificent Castle, it has more ancient sites than any other town in Ireland. The memorial is to the Duke of Wellington, whose family lived in the town. He spent much of his youth there, and also began his political career there, serving as an MP between 1790 and 1795. But, with regard to the Duke of Wellington as they say, THE REST IS HISTORY!

Photos 07 and 97 are in Athy, County Kildare. The great Antarctic explorer, Shackleton, was born in Kilkea, close to the town in 1874. His was a notable local family, but his parents decided to move to London in 1884. His adventurous life is well known, and the Shackleton Society to which I belong, holds a memorial conference in his honour at the Shackleton Museum every October. His statue was unveiled in 2016 by his Granddaughter, 100 years to the day, since the rescue of his stranded party from Elephant Island.

The cabin is where he died on 5^th January 1922 in South Georgia, on board his ship QUEST, on what turned out to be his final expedition. The cabin was removed from the ship in 1924, and spent decades being used as a garden shed in Norway! Amazingly, it has survived and in 2025, after being restored, it was donated to the museum.

The cabin in which Shackleton died. Long term readers of TL may recall that Jon Sandison’s grandfather, William, was a pall bearer at Shackleton’s funeral.

Read Jon’s article here  Shetlanders' role in Shackleton's funeral | Shetland.org

One of Britain’s greatest explorers standing next to a statue of Sir Ernest Shackleton!

Ray then dropped me a line with a Postscript – ‘On BBC I-player, and available until February 10^th, there is a documentary available about Shackleton’s Cabin.’

Ray continues; ‘I hope readers have found all these places of interest. It's only a small sample of what there is to see just across the Irish Sea. A big thankyou to you Jonathan for your time and expertise, for including these contributions in Trench Lincs.’

Thank you Ray for entertaining us over the last five weeks. As we often say, there is plenty of interest on our doorsteps, if we only look hard enough for it.

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This week’s offering from Chris at Colour by CJS details a Scottish Rugby Captain killed in action.

Lieutenant Eric MacLeod Milroy.

Eric was born in Edinburgh in 1887 where his father worked for a local bank. Eric had three siblings.

As befitting a family of their standing, he was educated at George Watson's College and Edinburgh University where he studied Mathematics.

At university he was recognised as being an excellent Rugby player and a talented debater in the Literary Society.

After graduating from University he worked as a chartered accountant, and continued to play Rugby winning twelve international caps representing Scotland, and on two occasions, captaining his country’s XV.

Eric, along with many others, enlisted shortly after the outbreak of War, and in late December 1914 he was commissioned in the 11^th Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders).

In October 1915 he was posted to France where he joined the Regiment’s 8^th Battalion. The following year, he was fighting in the Battle of the Somme, where he was reported missing on 18^th July 1916 during heavy fighting at Longueval.

Eric’s body was never identified and as he has no known grave, he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing of the Somme. Eric Milroy was 28 years old.

Postscript

The Battalion sustained 540 casualties (killed, wounded and missing) representing 68% of its infantry strength during the first month of the Somme campaign.

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In Memoriam the Lincolnshire Regiment 18^th January.

1915

8985 Private J Watkin, Depot, aged 23. Buried in Netley Military Cemetery, UK.

1918

Lieutenant Gorham Vinton Stevens, 5^th Battalion, aged 30. Buried in Chocques Military Cemetery, France. **

51428 Private Albert Henry Berry, 1^st Battalion, aged 19. Buried in Tincourt New Britsih Cemetery, France.

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

** Lieutenant Gorham Stevens (1918 above) was the son of the Reverend Lorenzo Gorham Stevens and Mrs Susan Lynde Stevens, of Acadia Valley, Alberta Canada.

Gorham Stevens had been educated at Dover College in England and on the outbreak of war, enlisted as a Private in the 28^th (County of London) Artists Rifles battalion. This battalion took on the role of being an officer training battalion in 1915, and by the war’s end, had trained some 10,000 young men to become an Officer and a Gentleman.

Gorham Stevens was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and promoted to Lieutenant in the 1/5 TF battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment – I attach his MIC below.

He died on 18^th January 1918 of pneumonia and bronchial complications, having been previously severely gassed.

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I hope you have enjoyed this week’s edition and please do write in with your thoughts and opinions as to the best soldiers in WWI? I look forward to hearing from you and maybe seeing you at Spalding on Thursday night.

Until next week,

All best wishes

Jonathan

www.jonathandhooghe.co.uk

e: trenchlincs@gmail.com

© Jonathan D’Hooghe