Footsteps of the fallen

Hill 35 and the story of Fray Bentos


Listen Later

Send us a text

In today's podcast, we look at the remarkable story of Tank F41 "Fray Bentos"  which took part in an attack on the heavily defended German lines near Hill 35 just outside Zonnebeke in August 1917. The attack failed but for three days and nights, Fray Bentos and its crew performed one of the greatest defensive actions of the Great War.

Our journey begins at Oxford Road cemetery near Wieltje, where we hear about one of the greatest cricketers to play the game, Colin Blythe, before we visit the grave of Clement Robertson VC, the first man of The Tank Corps to be awarded the Victoria Cross during the Great War.  We hear about Robertson's remarkable actions during the fighting of October 1917.

Two months before Robertson won his VC,  the crew of Frey Bentos performed an incredible rearguard action in the face of fanatical German firepower while fighting near Pond Farm, just outside Ypres. The story of Capt Richardson and his crew of "tankies" is quite remarkable and led the men to become the most highly decorated tank crew of the Great War.

Support the podcast:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog
https://www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Footsteps of the fallenBy Matt Dixon

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

27 ratings


More shows like Footsteps of the fallen

View all
The History of WWII Podcast by Ray Harris Jr

The History of WWII Podcast

3,973 Listeners

The WW2 Podcast by Angus Wallace

The WW2 Podcast

1,207 Listeners

Dan Snow's History Hit by History Hit

Dan Snow's History Hit

4,659 Listeners

Battles of the First World War Podcast by Mike Cunha

Battles of the First World War Podcast

669 Listeners

Mentioned in Dispatches by Dr Tom Thorpe

Mentioned in Dispatches

10 Listeners

WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk by Goalhanger

WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk

1,318 Listeners

Pete & Gary's Military History by Peter Hart

Pete & Gary's Military History

82 Listeners

The Old Front Line by Paul Reed

The Old Front Line

168 Listeners

Real Dictators by NOISER

Real Dictators

5,127 Listeners

Gone Medieval by History Hit

Gone Medieval

1,768 Listeners

Short History Of... by NOISER

Short History Of...

2,655 Listeners

Tales from the Battlefields by Terry Whenham

Tales from the Battlefields

12 Listeners

Battleground by Goalhanger

Battleground

316 Listeners

WW1: Not So Quiet On The Western Front! | A Battle Guide Production by Dan Hill and Dr. Spencer Jones

WW1: Not So Quiet On The Western Front! | A Battle Guide Production

90 Listeners

WW2: Both Sides of The Wire | A Battle Guide Production by Prof. Matthias Strohn & Jesse Alexander

WW2: Both Sides of The Wire | A Battle Guide Production

63 Listeners