Trench Lincs 4th January 2026
- Jan 3
- 16 min read
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Good Morning,
Here we are at the start of yet another New Year. I hope you celebrated in style? and now we are putting the Christmas decorations away once again. Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions? Let me know.
It doesn’t seem like 10 minutes since I embarked on Dry January a year ago, and now I will try to do it again whilst attempting to shift a few pounds of Christmas Good Cheer.
My Santa stocking was remarkably empty this year of WWI themed presents, no new books for once, might give me a chance to catch up on books already on the shelves. I have though, booked a trip to the WWI Italian/Slovenian Front high up in the Dolomite mountains for September – which should be very interesting, especially as the tour guide is the indomitable Major Gordon Corrigan.
I am room sharing with an old pal, Marcus Dunbar, but looking on the Cultural Experience web site, it appears that there are still places available. If this trip is of interest to you, click here
6 Day Italy During the First World War Tour With Gordon Corrigan
It would be good to have some additional TL readers on the tour.
Someone who did get a superb WWI themed Christmas present is Shirlee Cottam. Shirlee writes; ‘I would like to say what a wonderful job you do putting together these stories you share with us every week, dedication! and I much enjoy the talks that are given at the club, even though some are beyond me! [Thank you for your kind words Shirlee and yours and John’s support at the Naval Club is much appreciated – Ed]
I think I may have missed the boat regards, ' What presents we received at Christmas', but anyway; here goes, I was surprised when I had a big cardboard box to open, when opened, inside was a piece of paper! I am guessing John bought me this because I enjoyed the film so much, and follow Talbot House on Facebook, I also wondered if any group members have stayed there?’
As to your last question Shirlee, I have visited Talbot House at Poperinghe on many occasions but have never stayed there. I know folks who have stayed, and of course, you can volunteer to do a two-week stint there working at Talbot House should the idea appeal. Not a bad way to have a holiday and see the Ypres area too.
You will enjoy reading the Wipers Times Shirlee. Please do let us know what you think.
The Wipers Times was a satirical newspaper for the trenches produced by an officer of the Sherwood Foresters Pioneer 12th Battalion, Captain Fred Roberts. I believe that he discovered a working printing press in the ruins of Ypres and started production of the paper with the help of a sergeant who had been a printer in civilian life.
When word of the paper reached the ears of the ‘Top Brass’, the first reaction was to find those responsible and bring them to trial. However, such was the popularity of the paper, that eventually the paper was deemed good for the men’s morale, even though it poked fun at the HQ staff, and in particular, at journalists like William Beech Thomas of the Daily Mail, who were thought by the soldiers to glamorise the war in their articles.
Click on this link to read more.
The Wipers Times: The soldiers’ paper | National Army Museum
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS.
Next event - Lincoln & North Lincolnshire Branch, WFA - Monday, January 12th 2026 - Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30pm start - Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG.
The 2026 season of talks kicks off at Lincoln Branch on Monday, January 12th, when our old friend John Chester will be presenting a brand new talk entitled "Honour and Tradition".
Full details to follow.
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Next Meeting - Spalding & South Lincolnshire Branch, WFA - Thursday, January 22nd 2026 - Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30 pm start - Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, PE11 1BT
Meanwhile, Spalding Branch will kick off their 2026 season on Thursday, January 22nd, 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 26th 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 22nd?
[See also the event at Leadenham detailed below about Isandlwana – Ed]
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The East Midlands (Nottingham) WFA branch will hold their next speaker event on Friday 9th January 2026 at 7.30pm. The branch meets at St. Peter’s Church Hall, Church Street, Ruddington, NG11 6HA.
The speaker on this night is Dr. Scott Lindgren who will give his talk – “The Fog of Naval Warfare, The Battle of Jutland May 1916.”
Naval/maritime historian Dr Scott Lindgren will be visiting Nottingham with another story from the annals of naval warfare. Obtaining his PhD at Salford under the late, Professor Eric Grove, he specialises in 19th/20th century maritime history and is one of the few people on the lecture circuit who actually gives presentations on this subject.
The Fog of (Naval) War: The Battle of Jutland, 1916'
The Jutland engagement was the only time during the Great War that the opposing British and German battle fleets would meet. It was the largest naval battle in history up to that time and was controversial from the start with an array of differing strategies, tactics and new material being employed by its thousands of local and remote participants. It was arguably the first major engagement where truly three-dimensional warfare was considered and affected the outcome - if only by threat. This talk examines the battle and its background, along with some of the lessons, myths and controversies that have surrounded it.
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The Leadenham Military History Group’s next meeting will be on Tuesday 27th 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 22nd 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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I will start this week by harking back a fortnight to my daughter’s recent visit to Gdansk in Poland. Mick Surr has kindly shared his experience of a visit to Gdansk and he comments; ‘Your article on the Gdansk trip of your family was of interest to me.
In July 1955, being a boy seaman on-board the cruiser HMS Glasgow, we were deployed for a visit to Gdansk, being the first ship to go behind the iron curtain. We found a very war torn country, and although allowed ashore, the currency exchange on the Zloty was about half the normal rate so as not to be seen as big spenders. We had quite a lot of journalists on-board, due to the occasion, and I remember they were very critical of the Admiralty for not drafting some footballers on-board for the visit, when the ship’s football team lost 10 nil against the Polish Navy.
Needless to say when we sailed we had a full ship’s company on-board so as to not leave anyone behind.’
What a wonderful memory Mick. Thank you for sharing.
I had a quick look at British Pathé News reels on line and found this film of the visit and the docking of HMS Glasgow at the nearby port of Gdynia. I noted that the news reels didn’t mention the 10-0 beating at football!
Click on the link below to watch a three minute film. I wonder if Mick spots any faces that he recognises all these years later?
POLAND WELCOMES H.M.S. GLASGOW (aka POLES WELCOME H.M.S. GLASGOW) - British Pathé
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A new subscriber to Trench Lincs, Nick Firby, has kindly written in with more information regarding my recent visit to the Prague CWGC war cemetery. Nick writes; ‘Looking through this latest edition, I was also reminded of how small a world we live in when I read about the CWGC cemetery in Prague, particularly the details of the grave of F/Sgt Muller of 301 (Polish) Sqn. My late uncle, Sgt 'Tadek' Majer, was the flight engineer on the same aircraft (Halifax Mk 5, serial number LL187 (Sqn code GR-H)) and he is commemorated just to the left of F/Sgt Muller's headstone - I say 'commemorated' as it was apparently not possible to identify 7 of the eight crew members after the War so they are buried in a collective grave.
The one exception is the rear gunner, WO Macierzynski, who - still alive - was reportedly thrown clear of the aircraft when it crashed but who died shortly afterwards.
I understand Polish bomber crews typically operated with the navigator acting as the aircraft captain. For this particular mission, there was a second navigator present, Flt Lt Wianecki, to gain some operational experience alongside a more experienced captain before commencing operations with his own crew. Hence there were eight killed on this occasion rather than the more typical 7 crew members of a British 4-engined bomber aircraft.
I have done some research into the loss of LL187 on behalf of the RAF Ingham Aviation Heritage Centre. Therefore, if anyone wants to know more about its loss, I may be able to help.’
Thank you Nick. I have been to the small but very informative museum at RAF Ingham, and can thoroughly recommend a visit in the New Year.
Click here RAF Ingham Heritage Centre | Non-Profit Organisation | Fillingham
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Over the years now of TL, we have often mentioned that you do not need to go to France and Flanders to find the Great War. If you look hard enough, you will find traces of the 1914-18 conflict on your doorstep, often neglected or forgotten, and sometimes found almost by accident.
This is what happened to Dave Moore on a recent visit to the hairdressers. Dave takes up the story; ‘Firstly let me wish you a very Merry Christmas and a look forward to a happy and healthy new year of 2026. [And a Happy New Year to you Dave – Ed]
After a pre-Christmas haircut in Newark ended in me setting myself a little challenge, I thought I'd send you a precis of the result.
Men named on the Roll of Honour in the Methodist Church on Barnby Gate at Newark.
The 12 men of the congregation that gave their lives for our freedom and liberty during the Great War were unknown to me.
Just by chance, I called in at the Methodist church after having my haircut in Newark last week, something I tend to do for a cheap coffee and a chat whilst out and about.
After a conversation with the three elderly people that were present, I asked the lady serving coffee if there were any stained glass windows or memorials in the church, and she allowed me to go to the upper floor area that is sadly in a poor state of repair for a Grade 2 listed building. I was pleasantly surprised to find a wonderful memorial window and two wooden wall memorials to those men that served during WWI.
Then came one of my usual side-tracked ideas; as I was going to visit my ‘adopted’ French family near Arras and to drop in on friends with Christmas cards and gifts on a three-day visit before returning home for Christmas, I thought I’d do some quick research and then visit as many of the named men as possible during my trip, it wasn’t too far out of my way was it? And the chaps deserve to be remembered and have a visitor from near their old home at Christmas….. [Most certainly Dave – Ed]
Men as named on the Roll of Honour. (Note that this also adds to the subject of incorrect spellings or missing soldiers on monuments/memorials previously mentioned in Trench Lincs)
William Davison
Walter Hammond
Walter Hanson
John Haywood
Herbert Kirk
Charles Kirk
Edward Knight
Harry N MacKears
Isaac Overton
Samuel B Quibell
Vincent Taylor
Cecil Windy
There is plenty more to be researched about these men, maybe somebody else has already done some or they are family members of readers of TL?
Something to look at over the holiday period anyway.’
Dave sent me his work, photos and commentary of his visit to France as a word.doc, so please click on this link to read Dave’s monumental effort to visit so many of the men from the Barnby Gate Methodist congregation on his recent short trip.
[Please note, as Dave's original file was over 20MB in size, too large for Mailchimp to upload, I have reduced the size of the photos. I hope this doesn't spoil your enjoyment of this excellent piece of work. - Ed]
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Now we have Ray Sellers’ next bite sized chunk of his autumnal visit to Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ray comments; ‘Some more photos from Ulster. We are now in Carrickfergus, County Antrim. Famous for its magnificent Norman Castle. Photos 10 and 11 are of William III, better known as William of Orange. He made landfall here in 1690, to challenge James II for the crown. This culminated in the notorious Battle of the Boyne. There will be photos from there in a later edition of Trench Lincs.
Photos 24 and 25 are of the town’s war memorial. An unusual edifice, it consists of a group of marble columns, each dedicated to a particular battle or action of both World Wars. It was Consecrated in 1972, and it includes a 25 pounder gun from the 1939-45 conflict.’
Thank you again Ray.
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I believe that I inherited my love of travel from my parents, my father soldiered in Germany, Palestine and Egypt just after the second world war, and my mother, can you believe, worked in both Egypt and Beirut in the early 1950’s long before anyone had ever heard of a ‘gap year’.
Therefore, it is no surprise that my children are regularly on their travels. My youngest son, Will, has been lucky enough to be in Australia over Christmas and New Year, but not, visiting his brother up north.
Will has been in Melbourne and Sydney for the 4th and 5th Test matches in the Ashes cricket series against the ‘Old Enemy', Australia. I was very pleased to receive this photograph of Will (centre) meeting up with two of my old cricketing team mates, Tim (left) and Marcus (right) all sporting the club blazer of my old touring team, The Cuckoos CC - Happy days indeed.
Cuckoos at the MCG.
However, Will also found time to visit Melbourne’s World War II memorial park and sent me these snaps to share with you.
Thank you Will and you got to see an England win at the MCG.
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Well, did you watch it?
The film Zulu, that is. As Tony Nutkins so eloquently put it in his last email to me, a film full of historical inaccuracies, from rifle types to regimental name to the singing of Men of Harlech, and yet the film, made in 1964 by a very politically left wing anti-establishment team led by Cy Endfield – a man who was investigated by the House Committee in America for his un-American activities – has become a by-word for British Empirical backbone and stiff upper lip, as a small garrison of less than 150 men, albeit with a massive store of ammunition, held off determined attacks by some 4,000 Zulus on the 22nd/23rd January 1879 after the Zulu victory at Isandlwana earlier on the 22nd.
This period of the 1960’s was a peak in anti-Empire, anti-British satirical cinema and theatre. ‘Oh! What a Lovely War’, Joan Littlewood’s satirical musical about WWI had been released in March 1963 and Alan Clark’s book, The Donkeys, had been published in 1961. This was the time, as I mentioned last week, when the parents of the war dead of 1914-18 had all but died off, and it was now felt right to give Haig and his fellow generals a good bashing in print and on the stage.
Perhaps the only good that came out of this early period of British self-loathing by the political left, was that Harold Wilson’s government did not feel compelled to support the Americans and Australians in Vietnam, although enough young British lives were lost in the 1960’s in end of Empire struggles in places like Kenya and Aden, and there were the troubles in Ireland to contend with by the end of the decade.
Nevertheless, Zulu, for all of its faults is a film that most of us can return to year after year and Cy Endfield, who died in 1995, could not have imagined that his efforts to portray the British Empire as brutal colonialists, would have backfired so spectacularly.
“At 100 yards, independent volley fire”
If you want to learn more about the Anglo – Zulu conflict of 1879, there is the Isandlwana workshop night at Leadenham Military History Group on Tuesday 27th January, 7.30pm – all welcome, and if you like to learn at home, then Jonty Wild has supplied us with this link to a battlefield You Tube channel.
Jonty writes; ‘I saw that Jonathan recommended various films in the recent newsletter, including Zulu, if watching that has inspired you to learn more about that battle, I recommend visiting www.youtube.com/@BattleGuideVT/videos and entering ‘Zulu’ in the page search facility. You will find three related offerings:
‘Victory From Disaster: Last Stand at Rorke’s Drift’
‘The Battle of Isandlwana 1879 (Anglo-Zulu War Documentary)’
and a virtual battlefield tour ‘Rorke's Drift - Anglo-Zulu War – 1879’
[Click on Jonty’s link above. When the page opens, click on the magnifying glass (search) symbol, and then enter the word Zulu. – Ed]
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Today’s Trench Lincs comes to you on 4th January 2026, but what did the 4th January hold for the lads of the BEF back in 1915, 16, 17, 18 and 19? Here’s my take on it.
4th January 1915.
The original BEF that landed in France in August 1914 comprised of two Corps and initially four and shortly after, six infantry divisions. By January 1915, this original regular army had ceased to exist, the losses at the 1st Battle of Ypres had shattered the BEF, the Kitchener volunteers were not ready to fight and yet the BEF, still commanded by Sir John French, had grown to two Army Groups, commanded by Haig and Smith-Dorrien.
The BEF held the line from just north of Ypres to the Franco-Belgian border. Regular battalions stationed in the Empire had returned home, more Territorial Force battalions were committed overseas, and most importantly, large numbers of Indian and later Canadian troops had started to arrive on the Western Front.
Politically, Winston Churchill was pushing his great plan to end the war in the east rather than in the west by using the Royal Navy to force the Dardanelle Straits and capture Constantinople (Istanbul today).
When the naval assault failed in March 1915, troops were landed on the Gallipoli peninsular in April and August and another bloody stalemate ensued.
4th January 1916.
Following the handling of the Battle of Loos in September and October 1915, Sir John French had been sacked as C-in-C of the BEF on December 19th and his command was taken over by Sir Douglas Haig.
On January 4th, Haig was only just feeling his way into his new role. Haig’s preferred offensive for 1916 was to attack along the Belgian coast and east of Ypres, but he was to be overtaken by events elsewhere.
In February 1916, the Germans launched a massive offensive against the French at Verdun, and Haig was forced to fight on the Somme in the summer of 1916 to relieve pressure on the French.
At Gallipoli, the final evacuation of British and allied troops from the peninsular took place in the first week of January 1916. Ironically, the evacuation was the only successful part of the campaign.
4th January 1917.
Haig closed down the Somme offensive in December 1916, and both sides used the winter to draw breath after the colossal casualties incurred in the Somme fighting.
In February 1917, the Germans made a voluntary withdrawal from their forward positions either side of the Somme battlefield to their much vaunted Hindenburg Line.
The French army appointed a new commander in General Nivelle, and the BEF would be forced to fight the Battle of Arras in April/May 1917 in support of Nivelle’s offensive further south.
Eventually, Haig would get his wish to attack in Flanders in the late summer and autumn of 1917 – Passchendaele.
4th January 1918.
The BEF on the Western Front was now severely short of men following the 1917 fighting at Arras, Messines, 3rd Ypres and Cambrai. Politically, Lloyd George’s government was holding back the supply of reinforcements and Lloyd George was contemplating removing Haig from his post as C-in-C.
Russia, following the revolution, had signed an armistice with the Germans, and this allowed the Germans to transfer some 500,000 troops from the east to the west. For the first time since 1914, the Germans now outnumbered the allies on the Western Front. This would lead to a spring and early summer of large scale German offensives, their last roll of the dice.
In April 1918, the Entente Allies, France and Britain came as close to losing the war at any time since August 1914.
4th January 1919.
As the 1918 German offensives ran out of steam, the Allies, now including the USA, attacked along a broad front, and as the warfare became mobile once again, the Germans spent three months in full retreat, until the signing of the Armistice which came into effect on 11th November.
In early 1919, the four Allies in the west, Britain, France, America and Belgium all had armies of occupation in sectors of Western Germany. Alsace and Lorraine came under French control once again, and the politicians were preparing for the Peace Conference to be held at Versailles.
For the Tommy at the front, the most pressing topic was demobilisation and the speed or rather, lack of speed of the process, and for the prisoners of war, many who had been captive for three and four years, repatriation home was well underway.
I hope you enjoyed my commentary? Have you anything to add? Please drop me a line.
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The first colourised photo for 2026 from Chris at Colour by CJS is;
Lieutenant Colin MacPherson Dobell
Colin was born in Québec, Canada in November 1896. He was the eldest of four brothers and his father was a prosperous timber merchant.
Initially schooled in Canada, in 1910, aged 14, he travelled to England to attend Rugby School. In 1914, at the age of 18, he returned home to attend the Royal Military College of Canada.
Colin Dobell was commissioned in August 1915 and deployed to France in May 1916, where he served with 1st Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers.
Colin fought in the Battle of the Somme and was seriously wounded on 3rd September 1916. After a long convalescence period, he returned to active duty in April 1918 joining 9th Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers.
At the end of May 1918 his battalion was sent to the Soissons - Reims sector to help the French resist the third great German Spring Offensive. Sadly, on 30th May, Colin was badly wounded by shell fire. He was evacuated to a medical facility behind the lines but died of his wounds later that day.
Colin Dobell was 22 years of age and today, he rests in Marfaux British Cemetery.
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In Memoriam the Lincolnshire Regiment 4th January.
1916
13709 Corporal Harold Forrester, 7th Battalion. Remembered on the Menin Gate, Belgium.
15951 Private H W Nelson, 1st Battalion, aged 22. Buried in Houplines Communal Cemetery, France.
1918
17138 Lance Corporal Byron McWarren Pitman, 1st Battalion, aged 26. Buried in Heudecourt Communal Cemetery, France.
14216 Sergeant John Stewart, 1st Battalion, aged 29. Buried in Grimsby Scartho Cemetery, UK.
1919
241488 Private Fred Hallam, 2nd/5th Battalion, aged 21. Buried in The Hague General Cemetery, Holland.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
I will finish by taking this opportunity to thank you all for your continuing support of Trench Lincs, and I look forward to meeting many of you at the various events that 2026 will have to offer. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in touch if I can help you in any way to enjoy our shared passion for the Great War, its historiography, its memorials, and most importantly, the memory of all of those who served.
I would be delighted to help you with ancestor research, deciphering documents and photos and of course, helping you to put an itinerary together if you are proposing to visit the battlefields in 2026.
Don’t forget the trip to Italy in September. It would be tremendous if a couple of you decided to join the tour.
A Very Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year to you all.
Until next week,
All best wishes
Jonathan
© Jonathan D’Hooghe
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