How Were the Battlefields of WWI Cleared up After the War Ended ?
Whilst the First World War was a truly global conflict the area of devastation on the Western Front was, compared to WWII, more restricted in size. The devastation though was much more concentrated. So, once the killing had stopped how were the bloody, churned up, gas drenched battlefields cleaned up ?
Herm’s War – Herm Island’s Occupation Years
Much has been written about the occupation and liberation of Guernsey from the Germans in World War II. But what about Guernsey’s nearest neighbour Herm? What was her war like?<
Guernsey’s Buried Artillery – Guns in Victoria Gardens
Standing opposite each other in Victoria Gardens opposite the Town Fire Station, like sentinels from another age, you’ll find two heavy calibre artillery pieces – trophies of a previous war. They’re not British or even French but German and date back not to the dark days of Occupation but to the First World War. How they came to be here and their survival through another world war, and subsequent re-discovery, is even more fascinating.
The End of World War One : The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month
1918 – At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month an armistice, signed 6 hours before in French marshal Ferdinand Foch’s railway carriage at Compiegne, France, took effect between the Allies and the Central Powers, bringing the First World War to a close after 4 years, 3 months and 9 days of fighting.
Guernsey’s WWI Military & Convalescence Hospitals
Whilst the RGLI can be considered Guernsey’s ‘official’ response to the war it wasn’t the islands only one. One such contribution was the creation of a number of hospital facilities right here on the island for soldiers who were returning sick or wounded from the trenches.
The RGLI’s War In Photograph and Film
WWI saw the development of a form of mass media – copious recordings of events both in print, photographs and film on a scale not seen before. We have real time recordings of events that illuminate, educate and terrify us in equal measure. In this article we look at some of the media coverage that was created around The Royal Guernsey Light Infantry.
The Royal Guernsey Light Infantry – A Timeline
WWI has become a byword for slaughter on an unimaginable scale. It was war on an industrial scale. No country in Europe was immune from its effects even Guernsey. In this article we look at the main timeline of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry, or R.G.L.I, which was Guernsey’s patriotic response to Britain’s call to arms.
Firsts of World War I – Gas
If we were to ask : Who used gas first in WWI and when? The chances are that most people wouls say ‘The Germans as 2nd Yrpres in April 2015’. The surprising fact is that it was not.
It was , in fact, the French, who first used gas as a weapon of war and they did it in the very first month of the war
How did WWI End ?
The First World War, which has become a byword for a static war of attrition, ended in 1918 just as it had begun in 1914, as a mobile war. But it was a final throw of the dice by the Germans in the Sping of 1918 that was to be a ‘catalyst of the end’.
Did the British’s experiences in the Boer War help or hinder fighting strategies at the start of the First World War?
World War I for the British – Would it have been worse or was it indeed better than it could have been because of Britain’s experiences in the Boer War some 12 to 15 years earlier ?
Kaiser Wilhelm II – The Man Who Changed Europe Forever
History can often turn on the actions of a single individual, either singly or over a period of time. Personality traits and the whims, especially of absolute monarchs, for either ill or good, can shape our world. Such could be said of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.
Winnie the Pooh – A Real Bear with a WWI Story
It may surprise you to know that the lovable bear, Winnie the Pooh, is actually based on a real Bear. A Canadian bear actually with a direct link to World War I.
4 More Myths About World War I Debunked
2014 was the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, the supposed “war to end all wars”. It was the first ‘modern mechanised war’ and a lot of myths about it have been built up over the years. In this article we look at some of the bigee “facts” that are just plain wrong
5 Inventions Brought about by World War I
In wartime nations are often galvanised into frenzied action to innovate and invent in order to try to gain the upper hand in their struggle for survival. In this article we look at some of the seemingly more trivial and rather inexpected things that were invented or developed as a result of the WWI.
The Poppy and the Bleuet – Symbols of Enduring Rememberence
“In Flanders Fields” is a poem which contains some of the most famous lines ever written about the Great War. In it lies the seeds of why we use the Poppy as the symbol of remembrance.
