Paul Reed
@sommecourt.bsky.social
Military Historian, author and Battlefield Guide. Occasional wargamer. Host of the Old Front Line #WW1 #podcast.
www.oldfrontline.co.uk
www.oldfrontline.co.uk
Pinned
BBC Two - Meet the Ancestors, Series 5, The Forgotten Battlefield
Life on the World War I front line near Ypres is pieced together by archaeologists.
www.bbc.co.uk
Forgotten Battlefield returns tonight at 19.30 on BBC4 looking at the groundbreaking work of The Diggers to recover the archaeology and the dead of Ypres. Made in 2001, it was the first BBC film I worked on.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
The Battle of the Ancre took place #OTD in 1916. Among those killed was Leonard Hasman of the Anson Battalion, an 18 year old from Barrow Hill. He’d enlisted at 17 and joined the unit France being killed in his first battle. I rescued his Memorial Plaque some time ago.
November 13, 2025 at 9:40 AM
The Battle of the Ancre took place #OTD in 1916. Among those killed was Leonard Hasman of the Anson Battalion, an 18 year old from Barrow Hill. He’d enlisted at 17 and joined the unit France being killed in his first battle. I rescued his Memorial Plaque some time ago.
Reposted by Paul Reed
On the cusp of WWII, in 1938, my grandfather Charles W. Bridgen shot a colour film of his journey to revisit the Northern Front. It documents a Europe on the brink of war, still scattered with the fragments of the last. The full film is on Youtube here: youtube.com/watch?v=esA9...
And in the Sky the Larks: 1930s Colour Footage of the Western Front & Northern France. WWI.
YouTube video by Flash of Splendour
youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:15 PM
On the cusp of WWII, in 1938, my grandfather Charles W. Bridgen shot a colour film of his journey to revisit the Northern Front. It documents a Europe on the brink of war, still scattered with the fragments of the last. The full film is on Youtube here: youtube.com/watch?v=esA9...
Today in 1918 the Guns Fell Silent on the Western Front, and more than a century later on Armistice Day we continue to reflect on the meaning of the Great War, and all those ordinary men and women in extraordinary times.
November 11, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Today in 1918 the Guns Fell Silent on the Western Front, and more than a century later on Armistice Day we continue to reflect on the meaning of the Great War, and all those ordinary men and women in extraordinary times.
A daughter’s hand places a cross against her father’s name on the Cassino Memorial to the Missing. #RemembranceDay #RemembranceSunday
November 9, 2025 at 9:51 AM
A daughter’s hand places a cross against her father’s name on the Cassino Memorial to the Missing. #RemembranceDay #RemembranceSunday
We Will Remember Them - sunset on the Somme at Courcelette British Cemetery. #RemembranceDay #RemembranceSunday
November 9, 2025 at 8:11 AM
We Will Remember Them - sunset on the Somme at Courcelette British Cemetery. #RemembranceDay #RemembranceSunday
Reposted by Paul Reed
During War people had no humour... wrong
Just a standard group photo of WW1 soldiers?
Something in this picture is very curious...
No caption on the photo, just my educated guesses:
▶️103e Régiment d’Infanterie
📅Likely Winter 1915/16
📍Ville-Sur-Tourbe to Melzicourt area
Just a standard group photo of WW1 soldiers?
Something in this picture is very curious...
No caption on the photo, just my educated guesses:
▶️103e Régiment d’Infanterie
📅Likely Winter 1915/16
📍Ville-Sur-Tourbe to Melzicourt area
November 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
During War people had no humour... wrong
Just a standard group photo of WW1 soldiers?
Something in this picture is very curious...
No caption on the photo, just my educated guesses:
▶️103e Régiment d’Infanterie
📅Likely Winter 1915/16
📍Ville-Sur-Tourbe to Melzicourt area
Just a standard group photo of WW1 soldiers?
Something in this picture is very curious...
No caption on the photo, just my educated guesses:
▶️103e Régiment d’Infanterie
📅Likely Winter 1915/16
📍Ville-Sur-Tourbe to Melzicourt area
Forgotten Battlefield is about to start on BBC4 - a few photos from the filming in 2001. One of the more incredible experiences I’ve had on The Old Front Line.
November 6, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Forgotten Battlefield is about to start on BBC4 - a few photos from the filming in 2001. One of the more incredible experiences I’ve had on The Old Front Line.
Forgotten Battlefield returns tonight at 19.30 on BBC4 looking at the groundbreaking work of The Diggers to recover the archaeology and the dead of Ypres. Made in 2001, it was the first BBC film I worked on.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
BBC Two - Meet the Ancestors, Series 5, The Forgotten Battlefield
Life on the World War I front line near Ypres is pieced together by archaeologists.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Forgotten Battlefield returns tonight at 19.30 on BBC4 looking at the groundbreaking work of The Diggers to recover the archaeology and the dead of Ypres. Made in 2001, it was the first BBC film I worked on.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
In the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social we discuss:
- How big is the 'Zone Rouge' today?
- Was morphine use in the trenches ever misused?
- When did British and Canadian troops first get steel helmets?
- Which #WW1 slang terms are still in use today?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/11/01/q...
- How big is the 'Zone Rouge' today?
- Was morphine use in the trenches ever misused?
- When did British and Canadian troops first get steel helmets?
- Which #WW1 slang terms are still in use today?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/11/01/q...
Questions and Answers Episode 39
In this episode we ask what is the current size of the ‘Zone Rouge’ and are there plans to clear it? We then look at the use of morphine to treat pain and was this misused? We then look…
oldfrontline.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 4:20 PM
In the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social we discuss:
- How big is the 'Zone Rouge' today?
- Was morphine use in the trenches ever misused?
- When did British and Canadian troops first get steel helmets?
- Which #WW1 slang terms are still in use today?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/11/01/q...
- How big is the 'Zone Rouge' today?
- Was morphine use in the trenches ever misused?
- When did British and Canadian troops first get steel helmets?
- Which #WW1 slang terms are still in use today?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/11/01/q...
Reposted by Paul Reed
Battle of Loos with Peter Doyle: in the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social we are joined by @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social to discuss the offensive of September 1915.
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/25/b...
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/25/b...
Battle of Loos with Peter Doyle
In a special episode we are joined by Professor Peter Doyle who delivered this talk on Loos at a Podcast Supporters Evening for the 110th Anniversary of the battle last month. Peter’s new edi…
oldfrontline.co.uk
October 25, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Battle of Loos with Peter Doyle: in the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social we are joined by @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social to discuss the offensive of September 1915.
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/25/b...
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/25/b...
Thanks to all who joined me for an @oldfrontline.bsky.social Supporters Evening where we discussed the Official Images of the Battle of Messines in June 1917.
October 30, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Thanks to all who joined me for an @oldfrontline.bsky.social Supporters Evening where we discussed the Official Images of the Battle of Messines in June 1917.
Very pleased that the BBC will be specially re-showing my first ever TV programme ‘Forgotten Battlefield’ made in 2001 by John Hayes Fisher about the work of The Diggers at Ypres. BBC4 6th November at 19.30:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
BBC Two - Meet the Ancestors, Series 5, The Forgotten Battlefield
Life on the World War I front line near Ypres is pieced together by archaeologists.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 27, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Very pleased that the BBC will be specially re-showing my first ever TV programme ‘Forgotten Battlefield’ made in 2001 by John Hayes Fisher about the work of The Diggers at Ypres. BBC4 6th November at 19.30:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
Battle of Loos with Peter Doyle: in the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social we are joined by @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social to discuss the offensive of September 1915.
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/25/b...
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/25/b...
Battle of Loos with Peter Doyle
In a special episode we are joined by Professor Peter Doyle who delivered this talk on Loos at a Podcast Supporters Evening for the 110th Anniversary of the battle last month. Peter’s new edi…
oldfrontline.co.uk
October 25, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Battle of Loos with Peter Doyle: in the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social we are joined by @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social to discuss the offensive of September 1915.
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/25/b...
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/25/b...
Reposted by Paul Reed
In the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social QnAs we look at:
- Was there only one “Hill 80”?
- How did armies supply millions of men in #WW1?
- Did regiments fight with multiple battalions at the front at once?
- Who were the “whippers-in” at the front line?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/18/q...
- Was there only one “Hill 80”?
- How did armies supply millions of men in #WW1?
- Did regiments fight with multiple battalions at the front at once?
- Who were the “whippers-in” at the front line?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/18/q...
Questions and Answers Episode 38
In this latest QnA episode, we tackle a fresh set of listener questions about the First World War, ranging from battlefield geography to the realities of supply and discipline at the front. We star…
oldfrontline.co.uk
October 18, 2025 at 3:16 PM
In the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social QnAs we look at:
- Was there only one “Hill 80”?
- How did armies supply millions of men in #WW1?
- Did regiments fight with multiple battalions at the front at once?
- Who were the “whippers-in” at the front line?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/18/q...
- Was there only one “Hill 80”?
- How did armies supply millions of men in #WW1?
- Did regiments fight with multiple battalions at the front at once?
- Who were the “whippers-in” at the front line?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/18/q...
Reposted by Paul Reed
As mentioned y'day Kevin, our Chair, is writing a booklet about Notable Graves in the cemetery.
He has published a booklet on our Commonwealth War Graves of which there are 178.
@cwgc.bsky.social
@sommecourt.bsky.social
"War Graves — Friends of Ocklynge Cemetery" www.fooc.org.uk/war-graves
He has published a booklet on our Commonwealth War Graves of which there are 178.
@cwgc.bsky.social
@sommecourt.bsky.social
"War Graves — Friends of Ocklynge Cemetery" www.fooc.org.uk/war-graves
October 21, 2025 at 6:31 AM
As mentioned y'day Kevin, our Chair, is writing a booklet about Notable Graves in the cemetery.
He has published a booklet on our Commonwealth War Graves of which there are 178.
@cwgc.bsky.social
@sommecourt.bsky.social
"War Graves — Friends of Ocklynge Cemetery" www.fooc.org.uk/war-graves
He has published a booklet on our Commonwealth War Graves of which there are 178.
@cwgc.bsky.social
@sommecourt.bsky.social
"War Graves — Friends of Ocklynge Cemetery" www.fooc.org.uk/war-graves
In the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social QnAs we look at:
- Was there only one “Hill 80”?
- How did armies supply millions of men in #WW1?
- Did regiments fight with multiple battalions at the front at once?
- Who were the “whippers-in” at the front line?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/18/q...
- Was there only one “Hill 80”?
- How did armies supply millions of men in #WW1?
- Did regiments fight with multiple battalions at the front at once?
- Who were the “whippers-in” at the front line?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/18/q...
Questions and Answers Episode 38
In this latest QnA episode, we tackle a fresh set of listener questions about the First World War, ranging from battlefield geography to the realities of supply and discipline at the front. We star…
oldfrontline.co.uk
October 18, 2025 at 3:16 PM
In the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social QnAs we look at:
- Was there only one “Hill 80”?
- How did armies supply millions of men in #WW1?
- Did regiments fight with multiple battalions at the front at once?
- Who were the “whippers-in” at the front line?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/18/q...
- Was there only one “Hill 80”?
- How did armies supply millions of men in #WW1?
- Did regiments fight with multiple battalions at the front at once?
- Who were the “whippers-in” at the front line?
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/18/q...
Reposted by Paul Reed
Gunner Officer: Malcolm Vyvyan. In this latest Old Front Line #podcast we return to the memories of #WW1 veteran Malcolm Vyvyan MC, who served with 96th Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery on the Western Front from 1916.
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/11/g...
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/11/g...
Gunner Officer: Malcolm Vyvyan
We return to the memories of WW1 veteran Malcolm Vyvyan MC, who served with 96th Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery on the Western Front from 1916, and then latterly the Royal Flying Corps and …
oldfrontline.co.uk
October 12, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Gunner Officer: Malcolm Vyvyan. In this latest Old Front Line #podcast we return to the memories of #WW1 veteran Malcolm Vyvyan MC, who served with 96th Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery on the Western Front from 1916.
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/11/g...
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/10/11/g...
Shrapnel from 1944 found along the edge of the fields at Hill 112 in Normandy this morning.
October 16, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Shrapnel from 1944 found along the edge of the fields at Hill 112 in Normandy this morning.
Reposted by Paul Reed
What I’m listening to this week. Started with:
@oldfrontline.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
@oldfrontline.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Remembering the Forgotten Front
Podcast Episode · The Old Front Line · 09/27/2025 · 1h 7m
podcasts.apple.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:10 AM
What I’m listening to this week. Started with:
@oldfrontline.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
@oldfrontline.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
On a Battlefield Tour in Normandy and at a museum we visit regularly which seems to get more and more tempting to the wargamer in me each time I visit. 😱
October 15, 2025 at 1:22 PM
On a Battlefield Tour in Normandy and at a museum we visit regularly which seems to get more and more tempting to the wargamer in me each time I visit. 😱
Reposted by Paul Reed
In 1917, during 3rd Ypres, 11/Northumberland Fusiliers returned to the front lines after a brief rest and took over from the 13/Durham Light Infantry. C company, with 2/Lt. L.W. Ablett and 2/Lt. E.D. Bruty, went in support trenches near Reutel on 12 Oct.
October 14, 2025 at 7:35 PM
In 1917, during 3rd Ypres, 11/Northumberland Fusiliers returned to the front lines after a brief rest and took over from the 13/Durham Light Infantry. C company, with 2/Lt. L.W. Ablett and 2/Lt. E.D. Bruty, went in support trenches near Reutel on 12 Oct.
The scars of war in Ranville: from MG/Flak impact marks on buildings to battle-damaged (and later repaired) walls. One of the many layers of that landscape of the Second World War in Normandy.
October 14, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The scars of war in Ranville: from MG/Flak impact marks on buildings to battle-damaged (and later repaired) walls. One of the many layers of that landscape of the Second World War in Normandy.
Popped into Ranville Church this morning - in the heart of the Airborne Drop in 1944 and at the heart of post-war visits by veterans.
October 14, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Popped into Ranville Church this morning - in the heart of the Airborne Drop in 1944 and at the heart of post-war visits by veterans.