Ypres Diary 1914 15

Sir Morgan Crofton fought in the Boer War and joined the 2nd Life Guards at 34 years old as a cavalry office. His diary charts his experiences on the front-line at Ypres from late October 1914 to the centenary of Waterloo in June 1915. Crofton describes a battlefield a world away from what he and any of his comrades had experienced before - one of staying still in trenches, being pounded by artillery and the terrifying new power of machine guns. He describes the bewildering pace of technological change as new weapons, such as gas and hand grenades entered the fray. His often ascerbic commentary offers a fascinating glimpse into the mindset of the regular officer class and his outspoken scepticism informs our understanding of a lost generation of professional soldiers.

Ypres diary 1914-15

Approaching World War I as an adventure with the high spirits of many of his age and background, Sir Morgan Crofton soon discovered the combination of terror and tedium afforded by static warfare in the machine-gun age. His diary describes the bewildering pace of technological change as new weapons like gas and hand grenades entered the fray.

The Diary of Soeur Marguerite of the Sisters of Lamotte Suffering and Sacrifice in the First World War. The campaign in Flanders, with its successive battles, would be the longest of the Great War and the costliest in terms of human life. At the centre of the fearful and prolonged barrages of shelling by the military of both sides lay the town of Ypres, known for its Cloth Hall and cathedral, its butter and its lace -- now to be blasted to infamy as an indelible symbol of suffering and sacrifice and wanton destruction. The underground passageways of the towns ancient fortifications provided shelter for the trapped townspeople. In desperate circumstances courageous and selfless individuals administered medical attention, distributed food and clothing, provided milk for babies and set up orphanages and schools for children. Some of these volunteers, such as the Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU), came from afar, whilst others already formed an essential part of the moral and social fibre of the beleaguered town: these included the local priest, Camille Delaere, and the nuns who lent him their support. The cures indefatigable assistant was the young nun Soeur Marguerite of the Sisters of Lamotte, and it is her daily journal that became The Diary of an Ypres Nun. Originally published in French in 1917, this harrowing yet sometimes surprisingly humorous account of events in the besieged and battered town of Ypres was written between October 1914 and May 1915, as she worked alongside the FAU and Father Delaere, to bring comfort and succour to the suffering civilian population.

Ypres was a medieval town known for its textiles; however, it became infamous during the Great War with trench warfare, poison gas and many thousands of casualties. As the German Army advanced through Belgium, it failed to take the Ypres Salient. On 13 October 1914, German troops entered Ypres. On looting the city, the Germans retreated as the British Expeditionary Force advanced. On 22 November 1914, the Germans commenced a huge artillery barrage killing many civilians. In 1917, the Third Battle of Ypres commenced making it an exceptionally dangerous place to live. In 1918, a German major offensive was launched, but the British held firm. Ypres was finally safe in late September 1918 when German troops withdrew from the Salient. Today the battlefields of Ypres contain the resting place of thousands of German and British soldiers. This book explores the first and second battles of Ypres through narrative, eye-witness accounts and images.

Regarded as one of the most outstanding commanding officers on the Western Front, Wilfrid Abel Smith commanded an elite unit of 1,000 of the finest soldiers in the British Army. Educated at Eton and Sandhurst, Smith was a career soldier who led his battalion of Grenadiers with distinction through the First Battle of Ypres and the winter trench warfare of 1914–15. He died of wounds received at the Battle of Festubert in May 1915. The letters and diaries provide a vivid, first-hand account of the fighting and suffering on the front line, written by a compassionate commander and affectionate family man. Most of his brother officers were Old Etonians, including his brigade commander, Lord Cavan, and his second-in-command, George 'Ma' Jeffreys. Smith's account offers a poignant insight into the way in which the privileged world of a Guards officer responded, with the highest sense of duty and courage, to the unprecedented demands of industrial warfare. From Eton to Ypres is edited by his great-grandson, Charles Abel Smith.

These are the diaries of Gerald Achilles Burgoyne, wrote from the trenches just south of Ypres while he was with the Royal Irish Rifles in the Great War.The author's daughter, Claudia Davison, was not even born when these diaries were originally written and was only 12-years-old when her father died in 1936 after being bombed by the Italian Air Force while he and his mules were conveying a Red Cross unit in Ethiopia.Claudia found the diaries in a trunk full of personal effects when her mother died and, after showing them to a long-standing friend who loved the diaries, she sent them off to be published.Despite conditions of all-pervading mud, bitter cold and wind, let alone the bursting shells and the 'sipping' bullet, Burgoyne dispassionately recorded and drew what he saw. These vivid accounts, written on pages of a notebook, were almost daily sent back to his wife. Each day is a gem of interest, from the very first entry in November 1914 to the last in May 1915.The diaries end as abruptly as they begin. In May 1915 Burgoyne was wounded and sent back to England after a gruesome and abortive attack on the notorious Hill 60.Complete with maps and sketches drawn by Burgoyne at the time, this book is essential reading for all Great War enthusiasts and those wishing to learn more about the key conflicts that occurred in 1914 and 1915.

The campaign in Flanders, with its successive battles, would be the longest of the Great War and the costliest in terms of human life. At the centre of the fearful and prolonged barrages of shelling by the military of both sides lay the town of Ypres, known for its Cloth Hall and cathedral, its butter and its lace-now to be blasted into infamy as an indelible symbol of suffering and sacrifice and wanton destruction. The underground passageways of the town's ancient fortifications provided shelter for the trapped townspeople. In desperate circumstances courageous and selfless individuals administered medical attention, distributed food and clothing, provided milk for babies and set up orphanages and schools for children. Some of these volunteers, such as the Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU), came from afar, whilst others already formed an essential part of the moral and social fibre of the beleaguered town: these included the local priest, Camille Delaere, and the nuns who lent him their support. The cure's indefatigable assistant was the young nun Soeur Marguerite of the Sisters of Lamotte, and it is her daily journal that became The Diary of an Ypres Nun. Originally published in French in 1917, this harrowing yet sometimes surprisingly humorous account of events in the besieged and battered town of Ypres was written between October 1914 and May 1915, as she worked alongside the FAU and Father Delaere, to bring comfort and succour to the suffering civilian population. [Subject: WWI, Military History, French History]