Trench Lincs 7th December 2025
- trenchlincs
- 7 hours ago
- 21 min read
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Good Morning,
Welcome to the festive month of December and I hope you will attend the Show and Tell event at the Royal Naval Club tomorrow night, even if you just want to come and listen. Don’t forget to put on your Christmas party hat or jumper!
My visit to Prague was a great success. What a beautiful city and with the Christmas market all lit up at night it really was picture postcard.
I have included a couple of photos of the market below and I will write further next week about the assassination of Heydrich in 1942, my visit to the Prague war cemetery and the city's main attractions.
PLEASE NOTE - FIRST COME FIRST SERVED. Due to ill health, one person has dropped out of attending the Lincoln WFA Christmas lunch at the White Hart, Lincoln, this coming Saturday 13th December.
Therefore, there is one vacancy at a cost of £25 (Please bring cash on the day) If you would like to attend the lunch, please let me know asap.
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS.
December sees a ‘Double Header’ of events on consecutive Monday’s, the 8th and the 15th for the Lincoln WFA Branch.
Next event TOMORROW - Lincoln & North Lincolnshire Branch, WFA - Monday, December 8th - Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30pm start - Royal Naval Association Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG.
The annual branch Christmas Buffet and Show and Tell Evening will be held on Monday 8th December. Entrance is FREE and the buffet will be delicious!
Please sign in on arrival if you would like a 10-minute slot to show and talk about a Great War artefact in your possession.
Christmas dress is not obligatory, but if you have a Christmas jumper, shirt or hat, why not wear it and really enter into the festive party atmosphere.
Next Speaker Event – Monday 15th December at the venue and time stated above.
Dr. Scott Lindgren presents – “The Fog of Naval Warfare – The Battle of Jutland May 31st 1916.”
The Battle of Jutland was the major naval engagement of the Great War. Although the Royal Navy lost more ships than the German fleet, the German fleet returned to their home ports and did not set sail again for the duration of the war. Therefore, was it a British victory?
Come and listen to Dr. Lindgren on 15th December.
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Next Meeting - Spalding & South Lincolnshire Branch, WFA - Thursday, December 11th - Doors open 7.00pm for 7.30 pm start - Spalding Baptist Church, Swan Street, Spalding, PE11 1BT
December 11th sees the Spalding branch Show and Tell Evening and Christmas Buffet. Everyone welcome.
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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.
Me at Isandlwana on my trip in 2024.
You can also click on the link below to see the Leadenham events for the first six months of 2026.
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Another group who meet at the Royal Naval Club, Coulson Road, Lincoln, LN6 7BG are the Lincs Aviation Society.
I now have great pleasure in advertising their forthcoming events, which take place on the third Thursday of each month - entry is £2 for members and £3 for visitors.
The final event for 2025 will take place on Thursday 18th December when the Annual General Meeting and Members Night will be held. All welcome for a 7.30pm start.
PLEASE NOTE – this event is now the 18th December, not the 11th as originally planned.
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The East Midlands (Nottingham) WFA Branch meets again on Friday 12th December at 7.30pm at St. Peter’s Church Hall, Church Street, Ruddington, Nottingham, NG11 6HA. All welcome.
LATE CHANGE OF SPEAKER - Unfortunately, Tim Lynch has had to cancel and we now have Jim Grundy visiting the branch.
Jim has a long record of managing Facebook groups specialising on Hucknall's involvement in the Great War and the Gallipoli campaign. His Gallipoli,1915 Facebook page is a mine of interesting stories and has culminated in the publishing of his book 'Alive with Death: August 1914 - April 1915' the first in a trilogy titled 'Hell and Confusion: Gallipoli day by day' which lets those who were there talk for themselves.
Jim's talk will ask a number of key questions about how the campaign was reported and the influence of journalists to contemporary audiences considering:
- What can we learn about the local geography and attitudes towards the Ottoman Turks from contemporary journalism?
- How Britain's wars were reported before the Great War.
- The nature of the relationship between politicians, senior naval and military officers and newspaper proprietors following the outbreak of war.
- How journalists in the front lines reported what they saw, both official war correspondents and those serving in the ranks.
- Did journalism influence the outcome of the campaign?
- Does it still influence perceptions today?
Sounds like an excellent talk coming up. John Beech and friends would be pleased to welcome you on the 12th.
Jandarama, Gallipoli.
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If you would like to read the latest newsletters from the Sleaford and District Aviation Society and the Friends of Lochnagar, please click on the links below.
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At the last Lincoln WFA committee meeting, a decision was taken to offer the branch Linesman trench map tablet for sale.
Peter Garland writes; 'For Sale
Following item owned by Lincoln Branch WFA is now surplus to requirements and is offered for sale to the highest bidder (serious bids only please). [A new one is in the region of £375 I believe - Ed]
The item is a tablet computer preloaded with the LinesMan2Go trench mapping programme. Operation uses GPS technology (like your car's SatNav) and does not require an internet connection, or use any data (so will not use up any of your data plan). The device is preloaded with a complete set of WW1 trench maps, and uses a GPS system to geolocate your position against your selected map, and comes complete with a weatherproof cover and carrying folder, charging cable, magnifying glass and full instructions. The tablet can, of course, be used for other things as well.
Please forward your offers to the Editor of Trench Lincs, who will pass them on to the Lincoln Branch Committee. Payment can be made via secure bank transfer, card or cash, and the device will be handed over to the buyer at a Branch event or we can arrange secure delivery at cost.'
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Ray Sellers and his recent trip around the Emerald Isle has gone down well with the readers and I hope you enjoy part 3 this week.
Ray writes; ‘As promised, please find some more photos and their details, this time in Armagh, Ulster.
Armagh is still the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland. It has strong links to St Patrick and this reflects in that it has two Cathedrals, one Catholic, built in the 19th Century, and the other, the Church of Ireland, which dates as far back as 445AD.
PHOTO 73 is the C of I cathedral. PHOTO 96 is the War Memorial Chapel, that contains many memorials, sadly too many to show here. PHOTO 98 gives details about The Royal Irish Fusiliers. PHOTOS 16, 17 and 31 were taken in the City’s Royal Fusiliers Museum, another wonderful regimental collection showing the Napoleonic Eagle captured from the French in 1811. Again Jonathan, many thanks for including these in Trench Lincs.’
Armagh C of I cathedral.
The RIF chapel.
Ray's last photo for today is of an artefact from the Christmas Truce of 1914. Which segues beautifully with a piece I have written below about the Christmas Truce.
Very kind of the German to show Colonel Hill that it didn't contain poison!!
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Last week I Included and wrote about the Royal visit to Lincoln in April 1918. This was to boost morale at a time when fortunes on the Western Front were at a low ebb for Haig and the BEF.
Mike Credland wrote in in response and says; 'I was interested to see in Sunday's TL the Royal visit to Lincoln in April 1918. As mentioned they visited (apart from Foster's and Ruston, Proctor & Co) the 4th Northern General Hospital, which is now Christ's Hospital School on Wragby Road. I discovered during my research of the Hospital that George V presented Military Medals to 14 soldiers who were patients. With much difficulty, I managed to compile a full list along with their regiments and citations.
Attached are copies of a contemporary postcard of the Hospital, the Official Invitation, photo of George V presenting the medals and a list of the recipients.'
Thank you Mike. An excellent additional update to the story of the Royal visit.
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As we approach Christmas, a recent email from Philip Ward hit the bullseye. Philip wrote; ‘The December issue of Derbyshire Life has an interesting article about a scrapbook that was discovered at a house clearance in Derby.
The scrapbook had belonged to a Maude Alice Lineham - she was a VAD nurse who served at Spondon House Hospital and the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary. The article includes an account of the truce entitled “Peace on Earth” written by a Private John J Ferguson who was severely wounded at Messines on the December 26th 1914. His account was written while at the DRI and also pays tribute to the nursing staff there.
The scrapbook album was sold at auction in November 2024 for £3,400. The article doesn’t say who bought it - the editor must have access to it has images of the article.’
Philip very kindly scanned the article which is in three sections and you can read this fascinating first-hand account by clicking on each link in turn.
John Ferguson served with the 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders and was badly wounded on Boxing Day 1914, a wound which resulted in the loss of his arm. I do hope you will click the links below.
There were many John Ferguson’s who served with the Seaforths, but I think this is the John Ferguson in question. Arrived August 1914 and formally discharged from the army in 1915.
I initially believed this to be a new and unknown account in which Ferguson clearly states that men from both sides met in No Man’s Land and that there was a football kick-about between men of B Company of his battalion, but the idea that there was a Britain v Germany game is a complete non-starter!
However, one of the best researched books about the Christmas Truce – “Christmas Truce” by Malcolm Brown and Shirley Seaton – ISBN 0 330 39065 1 – which was first published in 1984, contains a full reference to John Ferguson’s account on page 61. The plot thickens!
The idea that Maude’s scrapbook was discovered after being tucked away for 100 years is obviously not the case, Brown and Seaton were aware of its existence back in the 1980’s. Nevertheless, it is a remarkable eye-witness account and whoever paid £3,400 for it has a real snapshot of history from a man who was actually part of it.
When we talk of the Christmas Truce, we are immediately thinking of the trenches near to Ploegsteert (Plugstreet to the Tommies) on the Franco – Belgian border, here the truce was widely witnessed and reported on by many men and officers, including Bruce Bairnsfather, the Great War soldier and famous cartoonist.
However, accounts exist of fraternisation between opposing soldiers in Flanders and on the 23rd December as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In fact, the so called Truce officially ended for the British by an Army Order dated 3rd January 1915.
Lieutenant Malcolm Kennedy of 2/Cameronians wrote; ‘….one of the men on sentry duty called my attention to the fact that the German troops opposite were clambering out into the open, waving their arms in the air and making friendly gestures in our direction. As they were unarmed and showed no signs of hostile intention, I was wondering what to do when a message came along from the Company Commander saying, “Don’t shoot, but count them.” Kennedy continues; ‘…..the Company on our left, however, allowed a couple of Germans to come across and a friendly exchange of cigars took place, one of the two Germans jocularly remarking that he hoped the war would end soon, as he wanted to return to his former job as a taxi-driver in Birmingham.’
Vize-Feldwebel Lange a Saxon NCO recorded that Saxon soldiers put up Christmas trees on the parapet of their trench on the night of the 23rd, upon which a number of Tommies – who had had previous parleys with the enemy to exchange tinned meat and tobacco – came over to ask what the trees were for. Told that it was a custom at Christmas, two of the Tommies hurried away, returning shortly to say that two of their officers were waiting beyond the wire anxious to speak with the Major in charge. The officers proposed a private truce for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The idea was accepted.
Christmas Eve 1914 also holds one other significant moment in 20th century history. It was the day when the first bomb fell on mainland Britain. At 11am, a solitary German aircraft dropped a bomb towards Dover castle. The bomb missed and landed in the garden of Thomas Terson JP, blowing a John Banks out of a tree in the Rectory garden next door, where he was cutting evergreens for the Christmas decorations in the church.
The 2/Cameronians were due to be relieved on the evening of the 24th and Lieutenant Kennedy recorded that the Germans showed no signs of resuming hostilities and that ‘………occasionally the guttural tones of a German were to be heard shouting out lustily, “A Happy Christmas to you Englishmen”. Only too glad to show that the sentiments were reciprocated, back would go the response from a thick-set Clydesider, “Same to you, Fritz, but dinna o’er eat yourself wi’ they sausages.” ‘
Word of these early episodes soon reached Sir John French’s High Command HQ at St. Omer and he ordered a signal sent to all units – “It is thought possible that the enemy may be contemplating an attack during Xmas or New Year, Special vigilance will be maintained during this period.”
The same thought also struck the Germans. An order was issued to 133rd Saxon Infantry Regiment which noted; ‘………it was expected that the English would perhaps take advantage of our good mood at Christmas by mounting a raid.’
On Christmas Eve, Johannes Niemann, a Lieutenant in the 133rd Saxon IR wrote; ‘We posted a tiny Christmas tree in our dugout – the Company Commander, myself the lieutenant, and the two orderlies. We placed a second lighted tree on the breastwork. Then we began to sing “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht” (Silent night, holy night).
It is believed that on about two-thirds of the British held sector, Tommies watched in amazement as lighted Christmas trees and lanterns appeared on the German parapets.
Albert Moren of 2/Queen’s was in the front line trenches at La Chapelle d’Armentieres and noted that ‘It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere: and about seven or eight in the evening there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and there were these lights – I don’t know what they were. And then they sang “Silent Night”. I shall never forget it, it was one of the highlights of my life.’
The Tommies responded with calls for more and carols of their own. Charles Brewer, a Lieutenant in the 2/Bedfordshires said that ‘…when the Germans struck up the famous German carol “O Tannenbaum”,’ his men replied ‘less artistically but no less heartily’, with ‘We are Fred Karno’s army’.
Johannes Niemnann remembered the British singing ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ and ‘Home Sweet Home’.
The lads of the London Rifle Brigade, being a well-educated lot, held a full scale concert with their opponents. Rifleman Graham Williams, remembered that after the Germans had sung Silent Night; ‘….we sang “The First Nowell (sic)’, and when we finished they all began clapping; and they struck up another favourite of theirs, “O Tannenbaum”. And so it went on. First the Germans would sing one of their carols and then we would sing one of ours, until we started up “O Come All Ye Faithful” the Germans immediately joined in singing the same hymn to the Latin words “Adeste Fideles”. And I thought, well, this was really a most extraordinary thing – two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war.’
It was at this point, as soldiers settled down to try and sleep, that the first instances of fraternisation in No Man’s Land took part. Second Lieutenant Bruce Bairnsfather, the Machine Gun Officer of the 1/Royal Warwicks, and later the famous cartoonist, was returning to the trenches after enjoying a Christmas dinner and he noted that a Boche band was attempting to play Deutschland, Deutschland Uber Alles when ‘…suddenly we heard a confused shouting from the other side. We all stopped to listen. The shout came again. A voice in the darkness shouted in English, with a strong German accent, “Come over here”. A ripple of mirth swept along our trench, followed by a rude outburst of mouth organs and laughter. Presently, in a lull, one of our sergeants repeated the request, “Come over here”
‘After much suspicious shouting, our sergeant went along the hedge. He was quickly out of sight; but as we all listened in breathless silence, we soon heard a spasmodic conversation taking place out there in the darkness.’
Private Tapp confirmed this meeting and wrote; ‘Our sergeant goes out, their man takes a lot of coaxing but comes at the finish and we find that they have sent two, we can hear them talking quite plain, they exchange cigarettes and the German shouts to wish us a Merry Christmas.’
When the sergeant returned, he brought with him cigars and cigarettes which he had swapped for two tins of Maconochie’s and a tin of Capstan tobacco. He also brought back an offer from the Germans not to fire until Boxing Day unless the British fired first. Bairnsfather’s comrade, Lieutenant Black noted that ‘we were strolling about outside the trenches as though there was no war going on.’
A much longer fraternisation went on between the trenches at Ploegsteert, and this is where John Ferguson’s account, at the start of this article, happened. If you haven’t clicked on the links above, Ferguson noted that the Germans were calling to the Tommies and Ferguson replied; ‘”Hello Fritz.” “Do you want any tobacco” he asks, “Yes,” “come halfways”, we shouted back and forward until Old Fritz clambered out of the trench, and accompanied by three others of my section we went out to meet them.’
Christmas Day dawned and all along the British front, individual instances of fraternisation and temporary truces came into being. Most British accounts suggest that it was the Germans who made the first overtures, just as they had started the carol singing the previous night, but two German accounts suggest otherwise.
One German wrote; ‘….we came up from our mouse holes and saw the English advancing towards us, they had no rifles with them, and therefore we knew it could only be a greeting and that it was all right. We advanced towards them about halfway.’
Another German account states; ‘At about 9am on Christmas Day an English officer, accompanied by two of his men, came across and asked for a cease fire until midnight to bury the dead. This was willingly granted.’
Not everyone agreed with the truce, and an officer of the Rifle Brigade had ordered his men, the night before, to shoot down the German Christmas trees, but now he was overtaken by the speed of events and found himself conversing with the Germans and eventually collaborating with the enemy to bury the dead. He wrote; ‘The Germans came out, and as soon as we saw they were Saxons I knew it was all right, because they’re good fellows on the whole [The British saved their loathing for Prussians – Ed] and play the game as far as they know it. The officer came out; we gravely saluted each other, and I then pointed to nine dead Germans lying in midfield and suggested burying them, which both sides proceeded to do. We gave them some wooden crosses, which completely won them over, and soon the men were on the best of terms and laughing.’
The wholesale burying of the dead carried on apace all along the front and near to Fleurbaix, a parley between the Chaplain of the Gordon Highlanders, the Reverend J Esslemont Adams, and senior German officers led to a major repatriation of bodies which were carried to the mid-point of No Man’s Land. Here the bodies were sorted out and a British and a German digging party set to work and the Reverend Adams presided over the burials reading the 23rd Psalm whilst prayers were said in both English and German. The Germans wouldn’t repatriate the British rifles though!
At the end of the service, the Chaplain stepped forward and saluted the German commander, who shook hands with him and bade him farewell. The 6/Gordon Highlander’s War Diary recorded that it was; ‘..an impressive sight, officers and men, bitter enemies as they were, uncovered, reverent, and for the moment united in offering for their dead the last offices of homage and honour.’
Men of the Gordon Highlanders photographed in No Man's Land during the truce. (Above)
In some sections of the line, especially if there was a Prussian regiment opposite, no truce or fraternisation occurred. Hostilities continued and in some sectors, men who believed they were safe were shot dead by the treacherous Hun.
Sergeant Blackwood James noted that; ‘I took some tobacco and jam to the Germans. But, never no more. Another sergeant, a pal of mine from Monmouth, did the same, but when he was coming back to the trench they shot him through the back and killed him. He fell down and said “My God, I’m done”. They are dirty cowards, after giving them tobacco.’
The dead man was sergeant Frank Collins, a 39 year-old, married man with three children. His official records state Killed in Action – the action in which he was killed was taking Woodbines to the Hun. The Germans, believe it or not, subsequently sent a letter of apology.
The 1/Leicester’s had two men killed and three wounded whilst a truce was in place, so dear TL reader, please do not believe that the Paul McCartney video is a truthful depiction of the 1914 Christmas truce.
Perhaps the most enduring theme of the 1914 Christmas Truce is the idea that a football match took place. There is no evidence for this at all, although it is well reported that kick-abouts did take place in No Man’s Land.
It is even suggested that attempts were made to organise a football game, but the idea was quashed by senior officers who thought it a step too far.
There is no confirmed case of an organised match being mentioned by either a British or German soldier who occupied the same sector of the front line at the same time, there is, however, evidence to suggest at least one ad-hoc kick-about took place between the two sides that day. Interviewed by The Evening News while on home leave just days after the truce, CSM Frank Naden of the 6th Cheshire Regiment spoke of his experience in the sector of line near Wulverghem:
“On Christmas Day one of the Germans came out of the trenches and held his hands up. Our fellows immediately got out of theirs, and we met in the middle, and for the rest of the day we fraternised, exchanging food, cigarettes and souvenirs. The Germans gave us some of their sausages, and we gave them some of our stuff. The Scotsmen started the bagpipes and we had a rare old jollification, which included football in which the Germans took part. The Germans expressed themselves as being tired of the war and wished it was over.”
Almost seventy years later another soldier from the 6th Cheshire’s, Ernie Williams, spoke of the encounter near Wulverghem in a television interview. He also made it quite clear that it was not an organised match.
“The ball appeared from somewhere, I don’t know where, but it came from their side – it wasn’t from our side that the ball came. They made up some goals and one fellow went in goal and then it was a general kick-about. I should think there were a couple of hundred taking part… There was no referee and no score, no tally at all. It was simply a melee.”
What definitely did happen though, is that pre-war barbers set up cutting the hair of friend and foe alike, and men who knew each other before the war met once again. Bruce Bairnsfather recalled that; ‘….a machine gunner who was a hairdresser in civilian life, cut the hair of a docile boche, who was patiently kneeling on the ground whilst the clippers crept up the back of his neck.’
Equally, not everyone who walked in No Man’s Land had honourable intentions. Many men took the opportunity to inspect the enemy trenches with a view to future actions. Billy Congreve noted that his ‘…best friend had had a cigar with the best shot in the German army, who had killed more than a dozen of us, but I now know where his loophole is and I mean to mow him down tomorrow.’
I hope you have enjoyed this brief foray into the Christmas Truce of 1914, the majority of the text above has been taken from the research of Malcolm Brown and Shirley Seaton, and if this particular topic really whets your appetite, please buy the book which can be found on Amazon and other sites.
Christmas Truce: The Western Front December 1914: Amazon.co.uk: Brown, Malcolm, Seaton, Shirley: 9781447264279: Books
These pictures are probably the most well-known surviving photographs from Christmas 1914. It was shortly after Christmas 1914, that the authorities forbade soldiers taking private photos in the trenches, and having a Kodak Vest Pocket camera in your possessions would lead to a serious charge.
Unfortunately, recent centenary events and what I call a growing sentimentality, have led to the erection of ridiculous memorials on the Western Front. Regular and long term TL readers will know of my dislike of modern ‘mushy’ memorials. Here are a couple that have seriously peed me off made me shake my head in recent times!
This memorial of two soldiers meeting in No Man’s Land can be found in the main square in the village of Messines. Note the addition of a football!
This absolutely awful football memorial can be found near Ploegsteert, opposite the field where it is suggested a football game took place, and close to the site of Bruce Bairnsfather’s dug-out.
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I didn't arrive home until late on Friday afternoon and was then on Grandpa duties on Saturday, so as mentioned earlier, I will write more fully about Prague next week.
However, I am sure that many of you know that Prague was the third city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after Vienna and Budapest until the collapse of the empire at the end of WWI.
The Czechs enjoyed twenty years of indpendence until 1938 when Hitler annexed the country following the most spineless and cowardly act of Chamberlain's Tory government when the Treaty of Munich was signed by Great Britain, France and Italy to preserve 'Peace in our Time' - so said Chamberlain.
The Czech army was dug in along their border with Germany and prepared to fight the Nazis, but the rug was pulled from under them by the Treaty of Munich. Peace in our Time became WWII in September 1939 anyway, and the Czechs endured seven years of German occupation followed by 45 years of Soviet communism.
Many brave Czechs fled their homes in 1938 and fought against the Germans in France and Poland in 1939/40 and it was free spirited Czechs who assassinated Hitler's Reichsprotektor, Reinhard Heydrich in 1942 - more about him next week.
Czech memorial remembering the seven years of brutal occupation by Hitler's National Socialists. Sadly, this was followed by over forty years of communism.
Today, Prague has a reputation as a city break and party weekend venue, with tourists arriving from many countries to enjoy the beautiful architecture that the wealth of the Austro-Hungarian empire created. The city was not badly bombed in WWII and many of the 19th century villas and splendour has survived, despite being commandeered from their rightful owners by the communists post 1948.
Czechoslovakia is also remembered for the August 1968 uprising against communism which led to Soviet tanks entering Prague to put down the spontaneous attempt to break free from the Warsaw Pact. It would take just over another twenty years for the Iron Curtain to eventually fall, and on 1st January 1993, the Czech Republic was created alongside an indpendent Slovakia.
Light at the end of the tunnel, as the Iron Curtain came down.
Today, a Republic, Bohemia (the Czech Republic) was once ruled by a succession of Kings. Perhaps the most famous being Good King Wenceslas who was king from 1378 to 1414, and who is remembered by us in the Christmas Carol that bears his name.
As you would expect, there is a large square that is named after King Wenceslas and the King's statue stands proudly in the square despite the years of foreign occupation.
We all know how King Wenceslas liked his pizzas? Deep Pan, Crisp and Even!!
Sorry about that poor joke! Today, Prague is famed for its annual Christmas market and that was a primary reason for our visit. Sited over a substantial area of the old town, the market is buzzing all day and well into the evening, and is very top heavy with traders selling food and drink of all imaginable tastes.
At night with all the lights on and the fairy tale Rapunzel towers standing over the market, it really does come alive and I can thoroughly recommend a visit to you. With a flight time well under two hours from East Midlands Airport and accommodation to suit all pockets, you can't go wrong with excellent local food, Goulash, dumplings, Schnitzel and of course, international cuisine including pizzas to boot. Oh, and don't forget the wonderful Czech Pilsner beers and very quaffable Czech wines.
What's not to like?
Next week, I will tell you more about the assassination of Heydrich and my visit to the Prague war cemetery.
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I continue now with this week's short biography and a colourised photo, courtesy of Chris at Colour by CJS.
Missing decorated soldier found after 97 years.
Sergeant David Harkness Blakey MM
David was born in Gateshead in 1889, where his father was a coal miner, and after leaving school he followed him down the mine.
David was a fine athlete and also played rugby league for the Winlaton Vulcans, Durham and Leeds.
He married Sarah Kendall in 1908 and the couple had three children.
David enlisted in 1914 and after training joined 11th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.where he was deployed to France with his battalion in October 1915.
His actions in the Spring of 1916 earned him the Military Medal.
On 1st July 1916 the battalion took part in the opening attack of the Battle of the Somme, where they were tasked, along with their comrades of 36th (Ulster) Division, with capturing the Schwaben Redoubt near Thiepval.
By the evening, the survivors were back in their own lines where they had started the day. Approximately 800 men of 11/RIF had “gone over the top” that morning and they suffered 595 casualties, (74%).
David did not answer roll call that evening and was reported missing. He remained missing for 97 years.
In November 2013 three bodies were discovered during roadworks. A home made identity disk with his name and service number confirmed that David was one of them.
From the location, on the edge of Thiepval Wood, it was apparent that he had been killed almost as soon as he left the British trench.
The men were buried on 8th October 2015 with full military honours in Connaught Cemetery just 50 yards from where they fell.
Three generations of David’s family attended the service.
David Blakey was 26 years old.
Postscript
David’s son Henry was killed in action at Dunkirk on 6th June 1940.
David H Blakey MM
In Memoriam the Lincolnshire Regiment 7th December.
1914
10380 Lance Corporal Louis William Morris, 2nd Battalion, aged 27. Buried in Bois Guillame Communal Cemetery, France
8370 Private John William Dann, 1st Battalion, aged 32. Remembered on the Menin Gate, Belgium.
1916
20019 Private W Henfrey, 4th Battalion. Buried in Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery, France.
1917
21396 Private Charles Henry Peck, 6th Battalion. Buried in Noeux les Mines Communal Cemetery, France.
26499 Private Henry Connell, 2nd Battalion. Buried in Manchester Southern Cemetery, UK,
1918
7810 Private Joseph Norton, 1st Battalion, aged 42. Buried in Liverpool Cemetery, UK.
202399 Private Charles John Enderby, Depot. Buried in Grimoldby Churchyard, UK.
19750 Private B T Lomas, Depot. Buried in Bilston Cemetery, UK.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
I hope you all have a good week, and I hope to see many of you at the Lincoln Show and Tell tomorrow evening.
Until next week
All best wishes
Jonathan
© Jonathan D’Hooghe
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