Send us a text Welcome to the first Trench Talk of the season, where Taff Gillingham joins me. Taff is a military historian and specialist historical advisor for the film, TV and theatre industries and has worked as an advisor on many well-known productions from Downton Abbey to the film 1917. Taff is an expert on WW1 uniforms and kit, and in this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, he shares his encyclopedic knowledge. Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog https...
Jul 20, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 8Ep. 2
Send us a text Welcome to the first episode of Season 8! Today, we travel to the forgotten front and the village of Bois Grenier. The fields in this sleepy corner of agricultural France contain dozens of German bunkers and blockhouses from the time of World War I. The sector was a nursery sector - a relatively quiet location where new battalions could learn the regimes of trench warfare. The peace was shattered on the afternoon of the 25th September 1915 when a diversionary attack for the Battle...
Jul 06, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 8Ep. 1
Send us a text Welcome to the final episode of Season 7! In today's episode, we look at the little-studied role played by the Chinese Labour Corps during the Great War. Over 90,000 Chinese labourers served in France and Belgium, engaged in manual labour and the dangerous work of clearing munitions and bodies from the battlefields. Who were these men, and how did they end up so far from home? The podcast will be back for Season 8 on Sunday July 6th 2025. Supoort the podcast: https://www.buymeacof...
Jun 01, 2025•1 hr•Season 7Ep. 25
Send us a text Welcome to the penultimate episode of Season 7! Today we are on the Somme and walk the battlefield from Delville Wood to Courcelette via High Wood and Martinpuich. We begin we looking at "The Turning Point" a remarkable but little-known narrative of the Somme battle written by the eccentric Harold Perry-Robinson. We visit Delville Wood cemetery and memorial and hear the history of the site, as well visiting the only remaining tree from the Great War. We walk to High Wood - "Ghastl...
May 18, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 7Ep. 24
Send us a text Welcome to the latest episode! Today, we walk the canal at Cuinchy, one of the forgotten battlefields of the Great War. Cuinchy was the site of the infamous brickstacks and the scene of bitter fighting throughout the entire war. We walk the battlefield to discover the military history of what happened here, and hear the personal stories of the dead as we visit some of the nearby cemeteries. Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog https://www.patreon.com/foo...
Apr 27, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 7Ep. 23
Send us a text Welcome to this latest episode in which we walk the battlefield of Fromelles. On the evening of the 19th July 1916, men of the newly arrived Australian 5th Division were thrown into battle against the heavily fortified village of Fromelles in Artois. In one night, over 5000 men were killed, wounded or missing and the line remained staunchly in German hands. We begin at Pheasant Wood and meander across the battlefield, visiting some key sites and hearing the stories of the men buri...
Apr 13, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 7Ep. 22
Send us a text The weather played its part in the Great War, perhaps in more ways than first imagined. The Great War lasted over 1500 days, and over 600 saw rain on the Western Front. The winter of 1914 saw torrential rain and temperatures drop to -10 in France, and the autumn of 1917 in Flanders saw four months' worth of rainfall in just 33 days. London's Met Office offered to help at the outbreak of war, but a terse telegram from GHQ rebuffed this offer. However, the increased use of aircraft ...
Mar 23, 2025•55 min•Season 7Ep. 21
Send us a text On the 110th anniversary, we travel to France and walk around the battlefield of the first major offensive launched by the British on the Western Front at Neuve Chappelle. Initial successes were tempered by poor decision-making and poor communications between divisional commanders and the offensive ground to a halt in the face of heavy German resistance. Casualties were 11,000 killed, wounded and missing in three days, but no fewer than nine VCs were awarded for the fighting in th...
Mar 09, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 7Ep. 20
Send us a text Welcome to this latest episode of the podcast. Today, we walk the battlefield around the area of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, the formidable German strongpoint located on the battlefield at Loos, which was attacked by the 9th Scottish Division on the opening day of the battle of 25th September 1915. Fighting continued until the middle of October when men of the 46th Midland Division tried and failed to retake the redoubt. What happened here, and what can be seen when you walk the bat...
Feb 23, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 7Ep. 19
Send us a text Welcome to the first Trench Talk of Season 7! It's a real pleasure to be joined by naval historian and writer Chris Sams as we talk about the Battle of Jutland in 1916. The long-awaited showdown between the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine turned into an unexpectedly bad day for the British. We look at what happened that afternoon off the coast of Denmark and talk about other naval matters in this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation. Chris' book on the German navy can be foun...
Feb 09, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 7Ep. 18
Send us a text Welcome to the first episode of 2025! Today, we head to Belgium and walk a less-trodden route south of Plugstreet Wood towards the hamlet of Le Gheer. From the village of Ploegsteert, we head south and east across the farmer's fields to discover the long-lost history of this part of the battlefield. These seemingly bare fields tell the story of the rank and file of the Allied infantry who fought and died in this so-called quiet sector of the front. There is much to be found if one...
Jan 26, 2025•1 hr•Season 7Ep. 17
Send us a text Welcome to the final episode of 2024! One of the great misnomers of WW1 is that soldiers spent all their time in the trenches fighting. Fighting battles took up a tiny amount of soldiers' time, so what did soldiers do when not in the line? In this episode, we look at life behind the lines, where soldiers had the opportunity to spend their pay on treats to make soldiering more bearable. Many soldiers indulged in the age-old vices of women and gambling; gambling was technically ille...
Dec 31, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 7Ep. 16
Send us a text A famous saying asserts that an army marches on its stomach, and in this episode, we examine food and drink for men on the front line. The challenge of feeding an army was immense, and the war office employed science to calculate the exact calorific intake needed by a soldier to survive. Feeding the men was one thing; feeding them something palatable was something else. We look at trench rations, from the infamous Army Biscuits to cans of "dog vomit," and see that the culinary lif...
Dec 08, 2024•58 min•Season 7Ep. 15
Send us a text In the early hours of the 30th July 1915, men of the Rifle Brigade and Kings Royal Rifle Corps were attacked near Hooge by German soldiers using a new and appalling weapon of war - liquid fire. The subsequent counter-attack that afternoon by the British was a military disaster that could have been avoided had the protests of senior commanders in the line been listened to. We examine what happened that day, discover the story of the man who won the first VC for the new armies, and ...
Nov 24, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 7Ep. 14
Send us a text Welcome to this latest episode, in which we explore the history behind one of the world's great monuments, the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in the Belgian city of Ypres. We hear the history of the Last Post, look at the famous lions and their connection to Australia, hear the stories of some of the dead, and contemplate what makes this an iconic place of remembrance. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog...
Oct 27, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 7Ep. 13
Send us a text Welcome to the latest episode! In today's episode, we look at the role played by Army Chaplains during the Great War. Responsible for the spiritual and personal welfare of soldiers, the Chaplain was a source of great comfort for men during the hell of trench warfare. We look at the history of the Army Chaplain Department and discover the massively important role that Chaplains had in the lives of men at war and meet some of them, including the famous Woodbine Willie, "Tubby" Clayt...
Oct 13, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Season 7Ep. 12
Send us a text Welcome to this latest podcast, in which we travel to the southern part of the Somme battlefield, a shell-cratered morass on which the men of Canada, Australia and France died in their thousands in the final 100 days of the War. We tour the battlefield and visit the cemeteries and memorials, which bear testament to the sacrifice of so many who fell so close to the end of four years of conflict. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacof...
Sep 29, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 7Ep. 11
Send us a text In today's podcast, we journey through Amiens and its surrounding areas, uncovering the deep connections to the Great War. We start in the village of Naours, exploring caves that hold a remarkable record of soldiers from the conflict. Next, we delve into the history of Amiens Cathedral and discover a moving poem, "The Song of Amiens," written by a lesser-known poet of the Great War. A British Chaplain shares a story of divine intervention after "borrowing" a standard lamp from the...
Sep 08, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 7Ep. 10
Send us a text In this latest episode, we answer a couple of listener questions and then tour the battlefield near St. Quentin. We hear the story of the tragic death of two British soldiers shot for spying by the Germans, stand on the very trenches from which the offensive began, and visit some of the redoubts which stood in the way of the German onslaught. Our journey concludes with the story of Manchester Hill and the heroic efforts of Lt Col Wilfrith Elstob VC DSO MC. Support the podcast: htt...
Aug 25, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 7Ep. 9
Send us a text In this episode we look at the Kaiserschlact, or Kaiser's Battle which was launched by the Germans in March 1918, a final roll of the dice to win the war before American superiority in arms and men came to the fore. Logistical problems tempered initial successes, and by early summer, the advance had faltered. On the 8th of August, the Allies counter-attacked with an offensive near Amiens that captured nearly 15,000 men and saw estimated German losses of 30,000. Ludendorff describe...
Aug 11, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 7Ep. 8
Send us a text Why do we always do the same thing? This question was posed during a work call last week, and it got me thinking about travelling around the battlefields and why I always seem to take the easy route to Ypres. In this episode, we meander up the coast from Calais to Nieupoort, taking in Zuydcoote, Adinkerke, Coxyde, Nieupoort and Ramskappelle to see what Great War history can be found when heading to Ypres along a road less travelled. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/foo...
Jul 28, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 7Ep. 7
Send us a text Welcome to this latest episode. We find ourselves in Ypres, on a part of the salient that offers real bang for the buck regarding military history. Our journey today covers just over a mile and a half from White House Cemetery to Kitchener's Wood, and we hear the stories of the cemeteries and memorials on this part of the old front line. We visit White House Cemetery, where we also discover the social history behind a small wooden house opposite the cemetery entrance. We visit Oxf...
Jul 14, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 7Ep. 6
Send us a text In this latest episode, we look at colonial soldiers' experiences in the Great War. Britain and France made full use of the human capital of their global empires to provide extra manpower for their armed forces. Our journey begins in an art gallery in Belgium, and we look at the work of the famous German artist Karl Goetz and his most scandalously infamous medallion depicting "The Black Shame." We examine the role played by French colonial troops and discover the story of the most...
Jun 30, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Season 7Ep. 5
Send us a text In this episode, we travel to the Somme and begin our journey at one of the most iconic sites on the battlefield, the Basilica at Albert. We hear about its founding and discover more about the legend of the Golden Virgin. We leave Albert, head onto the battlefields over the Tara and Usna line, and visit the Lochnagar Crater at La Boiselle. Just to the right of the crater on the 2nd of July 1916, a Victoria Cross was won by one of the great characters of the First World War. A man ...
Jun 16, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Send us a text In this episode, we visit one of the forgotten fronts of the Great War and look at the fighting in Palestine in 1917-1918. This was an unforgiving landscape that saw numerous battles, the removal of a Corps Commander and one of the most impressive military victories in history. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog...
May 26, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 7Ep. 3
Send us a text In this episode, recorded live on the battlefields, we are at Festubert, the forgotten battle of 1915, and we visit some of the cemeteries around the battlefield to hear the personal stories of the men buried within them. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog...
May 12, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 7Ep. 2
Send us a text Welcome to Season 7! In our first episode, we look at poison gas, its development and use on the battlefield, and how the science of chemical weapons saw the militarisation of academia in the pursuit of developing more lethal and deadly weapons. We discover how the Allies combated the German gas threat, what it was like to be a gas victim and how a common garden pest was, in fact, nature's most effective gas detector. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefall...
Apr 28, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Send us a text Welcome to the final episode of Season 6 and our 150th podcast! In this episode, we look back at the podcast since it began 3 1/2 years ago, examine some of the statistics about the pod, and contemplate some of my favourite episodes that have been released. We then head over to Belgium and travel from Essex Farm to Elverdinghe, where we visit some of the smaller and less visited cemeteries in this part of the Ypres salient, including Talana Farm, Bleuet Farm and Ferme Olivier ceme...
Mar 31, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 6Ep. 25
Send us a text In this latest podcast, historian and author Tom Isitt joins us. Tom has a passion (or, he might say, obsession) with the Italian Front in the Great War. An inhospitable battlefield with appalling weather conditions and treacherous terrain, the fighting around the Isonzo River proved to be the graveyard of the Italian army in a series of 12 battles that cost hundreds of thousands of casualties. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about the fighting at Isonzo and Caporetto, ...
Mar 17, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 6Ep. 24
Send us a text With the sad news of the passing of Martin Middlebrooke, this podcast heads to the Somme battlefield where we walk across the battlefield at the village of Fricourt. Our journey takes in some of the cemeteries and memorials that cover this part of the Somme battlefield, and we look at some of the literary figures whose output provides so many insights into Fricourt and its surroundings during the Great War, including John Masefield, Siegfried Sassoon and Bernard Adams amongst othe...
Mar 03, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 23
