Tales from the Battlefields

In this episode we explore the incredible story of Machine Gunner Robert Hynd, whose dead body was identified during the Battle of Arras and buried by his comrades. But it wasn’t him…he had been taken Prisoner of War and was in Germany. For 3 long months his parents thought he was dead until they received a post card from him. How did this happen? What was the impact on the family? We find out through the words of Robert himself. We also meet the sister of a casualty who describes, and draws, the battlefield in 1919. Helen McKie later became the only woman, in 1931, to sketch the future Fuhrer. We also discover some other incredible stories on the Arras battlefields.

In this episode we travel to the 1917 Arras battlefield following in the footsteps of Sgt Fred Height, 9th Royal Fusiliers. Fred was killed on the first day of the battle and has no known grave. We follow his journey from his home in Northamptonshire to France, and walk the battlefield where his battalion advanced. We discover a possible grave for Fred in a nearby cemetery. We also talk to 15 year old Harry, who reads a poem he wrote after visiting the mine craters on the Somme battlefield.

In this episode we travel to Vimy Ridge and discover how the Canadian Divisions came together to storm the German defences on Easter Monday 1917. We talk to Canadian historian Samantha McCrae and she explains how a Canadian soldier was awarded the Victoria Cross for his brave actions, but was killed in the process. And how a medic gave his life treating the wounded. We also discover how the Canadians planned and executed the attack and why tunnels, a model of the battlefield, heavy artillery and even the weather played a part in their incredible success. What does this battle mean to Canadians today? We find out.

In this episode we travel to the Somme battlefield of 1916 and 1918, and beyond, following in the footsteps of 5 soldiers. I tell their stories during a battlefield tour with their families. We learn how two of them were captured during the German Spring Offensive. One survived and one didn’t return home. We discover how a Northumberland Fusilier was killed and his grave lost. But did we find his final resting place? And the Ambulance Driver whose job it was to transport casualties to the medical units. But why did he end up on a charge? We also visit the Loos battlefield to discover a soldier killed on the first day of the battle. We also have another “battlefield coincidence.

In this episode we wander around some the small and isolated cemeteries of the Arras battlefield. We discover a tank crew with touching headstones. What is their story? And the story of the 8th Baron of Lucas, who was an amputee but still became a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. We discover the amazing coincidence when we opened the visitor’s book in Wancourt British Cemetery. And the driver who was killed by a “booby trap” following the German withdrawal from the Somme. We also look at what these men achieved in their lives and consider what they could have achieved had they survived the Great War.

In this episode we travel to St Pol and discover a memorial to the Unknown Warrior and the tragic story of 3 soldiers buried together who were “Shot at Dawn”. What is their story? We then walk the September 1916 Somme battlefield from Bazentin to Martinpuich and discover the “iron harvest” along the way and find out why so many Germans surrendered. Within a cemetery on the battlefield, we find 3 Newfoundland soldiers who were killed at Beaumont Hamel on 1st July 1916. But why are they buried so far away from where they fell?

In this episode we broadcast live from the village of Ovillers, in the heart of the 1916 Somme battlefield. We discover a quiet field known as “Mash Valley”, and discover the horror and terror that men of the 8th and 12th Divisions saw here in the first few days of July 1916. We hear the words of the men who were there, and discover the stories of some of the men who are buried in Ovillers Military Cemetery. We also discover the story of a French soldier, killed in Ovillers in December 1914. We also learn the story of a Lt Colonel who took his own life after wishing he had died with his men, and visit the grave of Captain John Lauder, son of the famous entertainer Harry Lauder.

In this episode we continue the story of Alfred Adams. Through his own words and others from both sides of the wire, we discover what happened on 21st March 1918. This was the first day of the German Spring Offensive. Alfred was wounded and captured on this day, and we find out what it was like to be surrounded by the enemy, forced to throw down your weapons and surrender, without knowing what will happen next. We follow Alfred’s journey from the battlefield, to a POW camp, to his final resting place in Cologne.

In this episode we follow the journey of Conscientious Objector Alfred Adams, who didn’t want to fight but became a Stretcher Bearer. We discover his story through a narrative and a series of emotional letters that he sent to his wife Alice, at home in England. How did his strong religious belief help him deal with the awful conditions at Passchendaele? We find out how he used the letters to reassure Alice that he was safe and sound, sparing her the dreadful truth. Alfred’s Grandson Geoff Allen reads his powerful words, and attempts to make sense of his Grandfather’s thoughts from over 100 years ago.

In this episode we explore the story of the 3rd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment during 7 days on the Ypres battlefield in May 1915. We discover what Ypres looked like before it was destroyed by shellfire. We learn of the tragic story of the father and son who died on the same day. And how almost the entire battalion was wiped out, mainly because of a terrific artillery bombardment on their shallow trenches. We discover how a young Officer saved the life of one of his men by using his body as a shield, and the Welshman who was captured but returned home and celebrated 50 years of marriage in 1969.