17 January 2025
Thank you for visiting the site.
Much has be done since my last update in December 2023!
New sections have been added to the site in addition to blogs in the General section.
General
New blogs to the General section include:
Five Cemeteries Walk This WW1 Tour is a rewarding walking tour of Ieper (Ypres) battlefields and is a circular route that takes in all five cemeteries located on the southern tip of the Ieper (Ypres) Salient World War I sites south of Ploegsteert. The WW1 battlefield here saw some of the early fighting of 1914 and 1915, including the Christmas Truce of 1914. theypressalient.com/post/five-cemeteries-walk-south-of-ploegsteert
A Glimpse of Wartime Reninghelst During the First World War Reninghelst was located in a restricted zone close to the front line along with the nearby villages of Ouderdom and Dickebusch. Ypres is some 10 kilometres from Reninghelst. The population of Reninghelst in 1914 was approximately 2,400 inhabitants, and unlike Poperinghe and Ypres, Reninghelst did not have a doctor or a solicitor with the burgomaster and the priest being the most prominent citizens. It did, however, have a brewery as was usual with most villages in Flanders as well as a large number of estaminets in the village and in the surrounding rural area. Read more about the village, billets and camps, Chinese Labour Corps, The church, Tankodrome and more theypressalient.com/post/a-glimpse-of-wartime-reninghelst
The Ypres Salient in Ten Themes
I was visiting the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and picked up a leaflet that broke the museum down into ten objects, each object in a different section of the museum. It was when following the map around the museum and viewing each object that I had the idea of doing something similar with the Ypres Salient. The ten themes have been designed to be read as bite size pieces and cover Death, Wounded, Last Leave, Trench Life, Behind the Lines, Prisoner of War, Clearing Station, Pilgrims, Remembrance, and Toc-H. See the links at the bottom of the page. theypressalient.com/post/introduction-the-ypres-salient-in-ten-themes
The Twelve Poets of the Ypres Salient There were sixty-six poets killed in the First World War. Some were recognised, and their work published others, going into obscurity. Of the sixty-six there are twelve who are buried or commemorated in the Ypres Salient and their profile reflects the sixty-six. Two are recognised the others going into obscurity. There are ten officer poets and two other ranks, and three of the officers hold the Military Cross. Indeed, Lt Col John Ebenezer Stewart, listed on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, was glad of the MC he had won, if only to prove that ‘fellows who write verse are not softies.’ theypressalient.com/post/the-twelve-poets-of-the-ypres-salient-1
As Dim as a Toc-H Lamp The phrase ‘As dim as a Toc-H lamp’ you would be forgiven if, like many, you thought that this was a derogatory phrase describing someone as dim witted. Indeed, in the 1979 Thames TV series ‘Danger UXB’ about a Royal Engineer unit in Second World War London defusing unexploded bombs, an officer describes a sapper as being ‘dim as a Toc-H lamp.’ Another view, however, can be found from an article about the Toc-H movement in the Illustrated Chronicle, Leicester of 20 September 1963, the Secretary of the Leicester Toc-H said: ‘Our lamps may have a small flame, but our spirit is bright as ever… Actually, the saying ‘As dim as a TOC-H lamp’ is quite accurate. A lamp is our symbol. We always have one lit at our meetings. But those old-fashioned oil and wick lamps only have a small flame.’ theypressalient.com/post/as-dim-as-a-toc-h-lamp
Prisoners of War: The Forgotten Heroes It is estimated that between 7 to 9 million prisoners of war were taken in the First World War. In ‘Black Bread and Barbed Wire,’ Michael Moynihan puts the British Prisoners of War at 6,482 officers and 163,907 other ranks. The official British statistics for all theatres including all services put the numbers at 192,848. The Falkirk District roll of PoWs can be found in the Falkirk Herald of December 1918. By December 1916, there were 81 PoWs plus three internees from Falkirk District and by the Armistice the number of PoWs from Falkirk District had risen to 360 this increase was due to the German spring offensive of 1918. theypressalient.com/post/prisoners-of-war-the-forgotten-heroes
New Sections
MPs and MP's Sons Who are Buried or Commemorated in the Salient There are two MP's and eighteen son's of MP's buried or commemorated in the Ypres Salient.
Cemeteries & Memorial section
This section lists all the cemeteries and memorials where men from Falkirk District and buried or commemorated. Each cemetery also includes other interesting burials and stories of interest. There have been updates made to some of the cemeteries and memorials listed here. Additional information has bee added to Ypres Reservoir and Aeroplane Cemeteries and many others! theypressalient.com/home/categories/cemeteries-memorials
Other Cemeteries & Memorials I have added a new section which lists all the cemeteries and memorials where there are no Falkirk District men. Each cemetery has interesting stories about men who are buried or commemorated. This one is currently under construction and here are thirteen cemeteries listed with biographical details.
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