Podcasts about Royal Flying Corps

In this episode we travel to the Arras Memorial to the Missing, where we explore the powerful story of over 35,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave. In this episode, we uncover the personal histories of men from the British Army, Royal Naval Division, and Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force, whose names are etched into the stone. We then walk through the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, visiting notable graves—including those of soldiers Shot at Dawn. Discover the human stories behind the statistics in this compelling look at remembrance, sacrifice, and the legacy of the First World War.On the Old Front Line YouTube Channel: The Arras Memorial to the Missing.Articles on Identity Discs are found here: A Guide to Identity Discs by Dave O'Mara and Military Identification: Identity Discs and the Identification of British War Dead, 1914-18 by Dr Sarah Ashbridge.Got a question about this episode or any others? Drop your question into the Old Front Line Discord Server or email the podcast.6mcpeqwsSend us a textSupport the show

On this week's Mentioned in Dispatches podcast, John Davy examines the London Regiment's links with the Royal Flying Corps and RAF during the Great War. Using primary sources, he offers a statistical analysis of the men who joined the RFC via the London Regiment and considers the impact of their loss on their original battalions. This episode was recorded for the London Pride Conference in June 2024.

At the time of its formation, the RAF had around 20,000 aircraft and more than 300,000 personnel with its primary mission being to provide air support to ground and naval operations, conduct strategic bombing, and defend Britain from aerial ...

The world's first independent air force owes its survival and shape to its ‘father', Hugh Trenchard. We explore how with the RAF Museum's Dr Harry Raffal. Described as ‘the architect and patron saint of modern air power', Marshal of the RAF Viscount Hugh Trenchard (1873–1956) was the first Chief of the Air Staff (January–April 1918 and 1919–1930). An army officer badly wounded in the Boer War, he was among the first British military pilots and the frontline commander of the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. The RAF was formed on 1 April 1918, and Trenchard set firm foundations for its survival and development, often against bitter hostility from the other Services. His administrative skills, realism, tenacity and willingness to be unpopular created an organisation that saved the nation during the Battle of Britain. His friend TE Lawrence (Season 3, Episode 7) argued that ‘The RAF is the finest individual effort in history. No other man has been given a blank sheet and told to make a Service from the ground up. It is your single work…' Following retirement from the RAF, Trenchard was appointed as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, where he set about a substantial reform agenda with the same single-mindedness. Dr Harry Raffal is Head of Collections and Research at the RAF Museum. His doctorate, from the University of Hull, explores RAF and Luftwaffe operations during the evacuation of Dunkirk. He is a Committee member of the RAF Historical Society and the British Commission for Military History, and Vice-Chair of the Royal Aeronautical Society's Aeronautical Heritage Group.

The war is drawing to a close, but men are still dying. How will it all end for the RFC? Pete and Gary continue the stories of the men of the Royal Flying Corps, based on their new book, Laugh or Fly.Order the book now! https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Laugh-or-Fly-Hardback/p/50848Visit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at https://battlefields.com.au/ Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We think of the air war during the First World War as mostly about fighters and dogfights. But as the war progressed, the opportunities for aerial bombardment steadily increased. By 1917 bombing was a key weapon in the air arsenal of both sides. But how did they do it, and was it effective? Pete and Gary continue the stories of the men of the Royal Flying Corps, based on their new book, Laugh or Fly.Order the book now! https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Laugh-or-Fly-Hardback/p/50848Visit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at https://battlefields.com.au/ Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By early-1918 the strategic situation of the Great War had shifted dramatically. New partners were joining the fight, and old Allies were dropping out. And on the ground the pressure was mounting, as the Allies faced a new German onslaught. In the skies over the Western Front, the men of the RFC kept fighting, and kept dying. Pete and Gary continue the stories of the men of the Royal Flying Corps, based on their new book, Laugh or Fly.Order the book now! https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Laugh-or-Fly-Hardback/p/50848Visit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at https://battlefields.com.au/ Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the bitter campaign during the Battle of Arras, the British switch their attention north, to the Ypres sector. This change presents a new set of challenges for the airmen of the RFC and their crews. Pete and Gary continue the stories of the men of the Royal Flying Corps, based on their new book, Laugh or Fly.Order the book now! https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Laugh-or-Fly-Hardback/p/50848Visit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at https://battlefields.com.au/ Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The men of the RFC are still battling hard, as the focus shifts from the Somme to Arras in 1917. Can they survive a resurgent German air campaign? Pete and Gary continue the stories of the men of the Royal Flying Corps, based on their new book, Laugh or Fly.Order the book now! https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Laugh-or-Fly-Hardback/p/50848Visit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary in 2024! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at https://battlefields.com.au/ Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fighting during the Battle of the Somme in 1916 wasn't just taking place on the ground. There was also a bitter aerial war taking place in the skies above the trenches. Pete and Gary continue the stories of the men of the Royal Flying Corps, based on their new book, Laugh or Fly.Order the book now! https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Laugh-or-Fly-Hardback/p/50848Visit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary in 2024! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at https://battlefields.com.au/ Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The tables are turning in the skies over the Western Front! The Germans have brought hundreds of new planes into service, and Allied pilots are paying the price. Pete and Gary continue the stories of the men of the Royal Flying Corps, based on their new book, Laugh or Fly.Order the book now! https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Laugh-or-Fly-Hardback/p/50848Visit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary in 2024! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at https://battlefields.com.au/ Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pete and Gary continue the stories of the men of the Royal Flying Corps, based on their new book, Laugh or Fly. In this episode they tell the story of life at the front during the first year of the war.Order the book now! https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Laugh-or-Fly-Hardback/p/50848Visit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary in 2024! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at https://battlefields.com.au/ Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a brand new series! Pete and Gary have a new book out, Laugh or Fly, and in this special series of episodes they will break down the story of the men who flew in the Royal Flying Corps during the Great War. On the ground there was no end to the amusements they could enjoy. But in the air, combat was no laughing matter, and death lurked behind every cloud.Order the book now! https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Laugh-or-Fly-Hardback/p/50848Visit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary in 2024! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at https://battlefields.com.au/ Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The episode begins with an ongoing artillery attack that is disturbing Blackadder's rest, an attack which Blackadder says is futile as "Jerry is safe underground". Shortly after it stops, an air raid begins. Believing it to be a German raid, Blackadder leaves an angry message for the head of the Royal Flying Corps ("Message reads 'Where are you, you bastards?'"), but is not thrilled to learn that it was simply a display by the Flying Corps. Shortly afterwards, the brash and egocentric Squadron Commander Lord Flashheart crash lands in the trench and punches Blackadder, believing him to be a "Boche". Baldrick and George are enraptured by Flashheart, though Blackadder is completely unimpressed, viewing Flashheart as a "prat". As Flashheart leaves with Bob, he offers George a place in the Flying Corps. Initially uninterested, Blackadder is more agreeable when he learns of the "Twenty Minuters" squadron, so named because new pilots only spend twenty minutes in the air. At Staff HQ, Blackadder tries to join the Flying Corps; Captain Darling tries to stop him, but General Melchett allows the transfer. At basic training the next day, Blackadder learns that the flight instructor is Flashheart, and that the actual reason for the name "Twenty Minuters" is because the twenty minutes is the life expectancy of a new pilot. Darling at this point assures Blackadder that he will be fine as long as he has a good navigator. However, much to Darling's glee, the navigator is Baldrick. Shortly after take off, both Blackadder and Baldrick are shot down by a German plane and captured by Baron von Richthofen, who wants to learn the subtleties of British humour. He informs them of their fate, which entails teaching home economics to young German girls in a convent outside Heidelberg, which the Baron thinks will be a "fate worse than death to a British soldier"; Blackadder feigns sorrow, but he is, of course, overjoyed. George, in the meantime, attempts to rescue Blackadder with the help of Darling and Melchett, but is informed that it would be "pointless". He is shown a life size model of the land they have recaptured, measuring seventeen square feet. He is more successful in recruiting Lord Flashheart, who swiftly rescues Blackadder and Baldrick. Blackadder tries to stall them claiming he has "splintered [his] pancreas", but Flashheart is not fooled and forces Blackadder out the door. At that moment, Richthofen appears and confronts Flashheart, comparing the nobility and majesty of their calling. In response, Flashheart shoots von Richthofen and calls him a "poof". Back at HQ, Blackadder confronts the cowardly Darling who as he steps backwards finds that Flashheart is standing behind him. Flashheart then headbutts Darling into unconsciousness onto his desk to get back at him for not rescuing them sooner. He then leaves, advising Blackadder "If you want something, take it" (a principle he demonstrates with Bob). Melchett appears, at which point Blackadder asks for some time off to recuperate. Melchett agrees, stating that Blackadder's commanding officer would have to be "mad" to refuse. However, when Blackadder reminds Melchett that he is Blackadder's commanding officer and asks if he can have a week's leave to recuperate, Melchett replies "Certainly not", refusing Blackadder's request.

In this episode we feature the story of a young British infantry officer and his experiences on the Somme in July 1916. Jack Lidsey then became an Observer in the Royal Flying Corps. Through his words in his personal diary, we look at what happened to him in the skies above the Western Front. Jack's story ends when he became the 29th victim of the Red Baron. The story is discussed with the author of a book about Jack, historian and battlefield guide Andrew White 

Toronto history aficionado Jeremy Hopkin joins us to talk about the history of the Leaside Aerodrome. This airfield was originally built by the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. It would become the site of the first airmail delivery in Canadian history and the home of the Toronto Flying Club. Learn more about this vanished piece of Toronto history on Muddy York, Toronto's #1 history podcast. You can follow Muddy York on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Toronto_History⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/muddyyorkhistory/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music: The Westerlies - The Dover

fWotD Episode 2569: Raymond Brownell Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.The featured article for Friday, 17 May 2024 is Raymond Brownell.Air Commodore Raymond James Brownell, (17 May 1894 – 12 April 1974) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a First World War flying ace. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Brownell was working as a clerk with a firm of accountants when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on the outbreak of the First World War. He served during the Gallipoli Campaign before transferring to the Western Front. Awarded the Military Medal for his actions during the Battle of Pozières, he was accepted for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. After flight training in the United Kingdom, Brownell was commissioned as a second lieutenant and posted for operational service over the Western Front in September 1917. Moving with his squadron to Italy, he was awarded the Military Cross and credited with shooting down 12 aircraft by war's end. Taking his discharge in 1919, Brownell returned to Australia.Commissioned in the RAAF in 1921, Brownell had risen to the rank of group captain by the beginning of the Second World War. Establishing the RAAF base in Singapore, he returned to Australia in 1941 as an air commodore and was appointed to lead No. 1 Training Group. He was Air Officer Commanding Western Area from January 1943 until July 1945, when he took charge of the recently formed No. 11 Group on Morotai. Retiring from the Air Force in 1947, Brownell assumed a partnership in a stockbroking firm. He died in 1974 aged 79; his autobiography, From Khaki to Blue, was published posthumously.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 10:08 UTC on Friday, 17 May 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Raymond Brownell on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Arthur Neural.

fWotD Episode 2483: Donald Hardman Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.The featured article for Wednesday, 21 February 2024 is Donald Hardman.Air Chief Marshal Sir James Donald Innes Hardman, (21 February 1899 – 2 March 1982) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He began his flying career as a fighter pilot in World War I, achieving nine victories to become an ace. During World War II, Hardman held senior staff and operational posts. He was Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from 1952 to 1954, after which he served as a member of the British Air Council until retiring in 1958.Born in Lancashire, Hardman joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 and was posted to the Western Front the following year. He flew Sopwith Dolphins with No. 19 Squadron, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross for his fighting skills. Between the wars he served with No. 31 Squadron in India and No. 216 Squadron in Egypt. A wing commander at the outbreak of World War II, Hardman was attached to the Air Ministry for several years before being posted in 1944 to South East Asia, where he commanded No. 232 (Transport) Group during the Burma campaign. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1940 and a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1945, and was also mentioned in despatches.Finishing the war an air commodore, Hardman served successively as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, Commandant of RAF Staff College, Bracknell, and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Home Command, before becoming RAAF CAS in January 1952. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath the same year. As CAS he was responsible for reorganising the RAAF's geographically based command-and-control system into a functional structure. Returning to Britain, he became Air Member for Supply and Organisation in May 1954, and was promoted to air chief marshal the following year. He was raised to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in January 1958, shortly before his retirement.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:27 UTC on Wednesday, 21 February 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Donald Hardman on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Stephen Neural.

Dr Tony Garcia talks about the book he jointly authored with Ian van der Waag on the Great War roles of roles played by the South African prime minister, General Louis Botha, and his deputy, General Jan Smuts during the Great War. These were very different men and they appealed to different audiences. Botha's nuance and emotional intelligence complemented Smuts's intellectualism. Thrown into a world conflagration in August 1914, Botha and Smuts – facing internal rebellion and the threat posed by German troops on their borders – led South Africa's Union Defence Force, and often commanded from the front. South Africa's campaigns began badly. The campaigns in German South West and East Africa started with reverses at Sandfontein in September 1914 and Salaitia in January 1916. However, Springbok soldiers of all backgrounds proved resilient, and the later campaigns were marked by near uniform success. The “first-battle” experiences had reshaped thinking and led to better leadership and command at all levels. Both Botha and Smuts commanded in the field. Steadily, the South African army they commanded – benefiting from wartime training, sometimes in the field – gained resilience, experience, and battle-hardiness, adapting to the conditions of the campaigns and the demands of the tasks. South Africa's campaigns were complex and divergent, starting with the invasion of neighbouring German South West Africa – to neutralise the radio stations and so aid security in the South Atlantic. Suddenly suspended following the outbreak of the Afrikaner Rebellion, the campaign recommenced in January 1915. Following its conclusion, an infantry brigade, raised for the Western Front, was diverted to Egypt before facing near annihilation at Delville Wood. Reconstructed more than once, the brigade was accompanied by a field ambulance and general hospital. The South African deployment in France included two brigades of heavy artillery, a signal company, a railway company, and Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, and several South African Native Labour Contingents. At the same time, a large South African force, fighting alongside troops from British Africa and India, broke German resistance in East Africa, and a brigade of field artillery and later the Cape Corps served in Egypt and Palestine. In addition, more than 6 500 South Africans served in the British Army, the Royal Flying Corps, later the Royal Air Force, and on ships of the Royal Navy. Although lionised during the war by a British public hungry for heroes, there is a different side to Botha and Smuts. Shunned by Afrikaner nationalists at the time, they have remained divisive figures. Responsible for the enactment of the Land Act of 1913, which shaped South Africa's socio-economic and political landscape, Botha's statue in Cape Town was vandalised in 2015 and 2016. Behind his charming, attractive façade, and Smuts's stoic machine, were two very human, imperfect, and quite probably inconsiderate, men. Together they provide a wonderful lens through which to examine the potent forces of the early twentieth-century world and the country they hoped to forge. Myopic compatriots had constrained their plans; but it was the outbreak of war in 1914 that offered the most significant opportunities and brought the most adverse challenges. They fought insurmountable odds, and achieved great victories, at home and abroad, but also made startling errors, and, ultimately, in classical fashion risked being crushed by the weight of the world they tried to create. Ian van der Waag is a faculty member in Military History at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Tony Garcia is Research Fellow at Stellenbosch University. His latest book publication The First Campaign Victory of the Great War was published by Helion in 2019.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee   Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter | Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events 1766 John Mulso writes to his friend English naturalist, Gilbert White, in Selborne Gilbert White was born in 1720, So he was 46 when he received this letter from John. At the time. Gilbert had been keeping a journal about the goings on in his garden. Gilbert kept a journal for about three decades, and it was eventually published to the delight of readers everywhere. Today people still love reading through Gilbert White's notations, drawings,  and comments. Gilbert had a knack for observing the natural world and describing in a relatable way all the goings on outdoors. Gilbert was very curious. He was also really personable. When John Mulso begins his letter with a comment on the garden, he finds a point of agreement.  Vegetation thrives apace now, and I suppose you are quite intent on your new study. You will not perhaps relish a Prospect the worse when we force you to look up, as presume you will go with your eyes fixed on the ground most part of the summer. You will pass with country folks as a man always making sermons, while you are only considering a Weed.   John makes a very astute observation - Gilbert liked gardening more than anything else on Earth. Gilbert was like many pastors or reverends of his time who also pursued their hobbies as naturalists or gardeners. During the growing season, it was coming for a naturalist parson to get distracted by their gardens.   1809 A retired Thomas Jefferson enjoyed spending most of his time in his garden. (Finally!) In the spring of this year. Thomas was no longer consumed with the duties of being president. We know that in the last year of his presidency, he spent many hours pining for his garden and accumulating plants from his friend Bernard McMann and other plantsmen. So in April of 1809, Thomas Jefferson was living his dream and his best life as a gardener. He wrote to his friend, Etienne Lemaire, on this day, I am constantly in my garden or farms. And am exclusively employed out of doors as I was within doors when I was at Washington. I find myself infinitely happier in my new mode of life.   Isn't that an interesting observation? Comments like that may pass unnoticed, but this change in seasons, the warmer weather, and getting outdoors is powerful medicine. Spending time outdoors plays a role in our attitudes and our moods. We get more vitamin D we feel more energy. This time of year, we eat the fresh green offerings from our gardens, whether microgreens or asparagus. The rhubarb is popping. You can even eat some hosta leaves, little tiny rolled-up cigars, as they emerge from the Earth. You can cut and fry them up in a pan the same way you would asparagus. (If they're good enough for the deer, they're good enough for us.) They're pretty tasty. The key is to harvest them early - just like you would the fiddleheads. The joys of spring...   1851 George Herbert Engleheart, English pastor and plant breeder, was born. Like Gilbert White, George Herbert Engleheart was a gardener and a pastor.  In 1889, George began breeding daffodils - some 700 varieties in his lifetime. Sadly many of them have been lost to time, but we know that some survived. Fans of 'Beersheba,' 'Lucifer,' or 'White Lady' owe a debt of gratitude to Reverend Engleheart. Engleheart spent every spare minute breeding, and his parishioners would often find a note tacked to the church door saying, "No service today, working with daffodils." Engleheart's charming note reminds me of the little notes that gardeners hang on their porches or somewhere on their front door saying something sweet, like, " in the garden." And if you don't have one of those signs, you can grab a little chalkboard and a little twine And make your own.   1905 On this day,  David Fairchild, the great botanist, married Marian Graham Bell, the daughter of Alexander Graham Bell. Marian and David Fairchild had a long and happy marriage. When David went on his plant explorations, Marian would often accompany him. Together the couple had three children. David Fairchild is considered American botanical royalty for all his collecting and the sheer quantity of his plant introductions, including items like pistachios, mangoes, dates, soybeans, flowering cherries, and nectarines. Without David Fairchild, we would not have cherry trees blooming in Washington, DC. We also might not have kale at Trader Joe's. (David Fairchild is the man who brought kale to the United States.) David also got the avocado here as well. David Fairchild had a fair amount of luck in his life. He had a generous benefactor in a wealthy woman named Barbara Latham, who funded many of his adventures. Of course, by marrying Marian, David had access to the connections of his famous father-in-law.  Today you can continue to learn about David Fairchild and see his legacy at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida. It is filled with many of the plants that David himself collected. And, of course, it's named in his honor.   1911 Harry Radlund, a gardener from Kilborne, Wisconsin, shared his garden successes with a plantsman named Henry Field. In 1911, Henry announced a garden contest for his customers to encourage good gardening. Later, he put their stories together in The Book of a Thousand Gardens. In the forward, Henry wrote,  I requested them to send in the stories of their gardens, true unvarnish- ed stories telling what they grew, how they grew it, what paid best, how big the garden was, what troubles they had, and how they overcame them. Also asked them to send in some pictures if possible. These letters are the result. And they are the most interesting batch of letters I ever read.  They are real heart to heart talks, told in their own language and in their own way. And the pictures, well you can look at them for yourself. Every garden was a real garden not a paper garden. The people were real people like you and I and our neighbors. There were men and women and boys and little girls and old bachelors. They were all garden cranks and garden lovers. You can learn more by a study of these letters than by reading all the text books in creation. You get the real stuff here. Real experience. The only trouble was, I run short of room in the book. It would have taken a book as big as Webster's Unabridged to hold them all in full.   Here's Harry's garden story from 1911: On April 23d, I planted some kale seed from you. We tried to raise kale for ten years but never had any success. This year, the best is about 3 1/2 feet high and about three feet wide without spreading the leaves. On the same day planted some dill, parsley, onion seed and onion sets. The dill grew good and went to seed, the parsley didn't grow very good. My early cabbage grew good and all the heads were used. The first planting of radishes was on April 25th, and I have had radishes all summer. The Shenandoah tomatoes in the garden are dandies, the best we ever had. So are the cucumbers. My cauliflower didn't grow very well in the warm weather, but is growing fine now.   1948 Leslie Young Carrethers, American poet & artist, died. So much about Leslie has been lost to time. But one of his accomplishments is little garden poetry books that are very challenging to find nowadays. I got my copies on eBay, and I love them. I think they're so precious and filled with little poetry about various garden plants, trees, and nature. Now, these books are tiny little pamphlets. Leslie produced about half a dozen or so. They've got adorable little titles, like These Shady Friends (about trees), blooming Friends, and More Blooming Friends. Now Leslie's friends called him Reggie. I didn't realize this until recently when I stumbled on some more research about him. But this clue leads me to think that one of the little books I bought on eBay was one of Reggie's copies because he signed it, making it even more precious to me. But I thought I would share a few little snippets from Leslie to give you a taste. He's whimsical when he writes and coves the garden and plants. Here's a little poem that he wrote about Lemon Verbena. If I were allowed only to grow One fragrant herb I know I'd choose Lemon Verbena. Oh yes, my views Are prejudiced, I'll admit ts so. But I love the way She scents my garden At close of day On a silver plate, In a crystal bowl A spray of her leaves Delights my soul.   And then here's a poem that he wrote about the Foxglove. The fox-glove in the garden Is very, very sly. She always looks at the earth below- Not at the passer-by. But I will tell her secret, Known only to birds and trees When no one is near With her spotted lips She eats the bumble-bees.   Finally, here's his poem about Monkshood. Beware of the Monkshood- His deep purple cowl Is a tricky disguise- He's as wise as an owl. You may think that he bends his head over to pray- He doesn't he brews fearful poisons all day. He's a wicked magician, by evil obsessed Don't be tricked by his acting nor how he is dressed. I hope this gives you a tiny sampling of the charming poetry of Leslie Young Carrethers.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Gardener's Guide to Prairie Plants by Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox This book came out this year. It's another brand-new book for gardeners and an invaluable reference for Prairie plants. So, if you are working with native plants, putting together a tiny meadow, as we discussed with yesterday's book, Tiny and Wild. or if you want to add to your garden reference collection, then this book is truly a gem. Here's what Doug Tallamy wrote about this book. If you are looking for the complete- and I do mean complete - guide to than this much-needed book. Diboll and Cox cover not only what prairie species look prairie ecosystems, you will not do better like each of their growth stages (a first!), they also dive deep into their historical and ecological roles in prairie ecosystems.   So overall, this book is an excellent book and reference guide. One feature I love about this book is how they produced the cover. Even though it's a paperback, it's a little more firm plastic-coated cover, making it wipable. So I imagine having this book in the car with me or in the garden and handling the use and abuse. Now I want to take a second and say, have you ever seen Neil Diboll? (Maybe you are lucky enough to have attended one of his workshops or presentations.) But I want to say he is the friendliest-looking guy, and he is so approachable in how he shares information. I've watched some videos of him on YouTube, and he is frank and genuinely passionate about plants. In short,  He is an excellent, very generous speaker and expert in the area of native plants, Prairie plants. Meadows wildflowers and the like, so the minute I saw that he was one of the authors of this book, I immediately put a little heart by it, and I was like, yes, I need to see this copy so that I can see what he did - And now I can also tell you about it. Now I will walk you through how the book is structured, But I won't get too deep in the weeds here. No pun intended.  I will walk you through each of the chapters. So the book starts with the history and ecology of the Prairie. They also talk about understanding your soil, which is essential for growing anything, much less Prairie plants. Then they discuss how to design, plant, and maintain Prairie gardens. Chapter five is significant because it talks about all the different types of plants; it's a Prairie species field guide. They go into great detail about monocots and dichotomy. Grasses and sedges. This is about 300-plus pages worth of data here. Chapter Six is all about establishing a flourishing Prairie meadow. And so that dovetails nicely with yesterday's book, Tiny and Wild. So this would be a great companion piece to that book. I would say that book is more artistic and design oriented. This book is more of a reference. Chapter Seven talks about burning your Prairie safely. Chapter eight is about propagating Prairie plants from seed, which is pretty easy to do, and also a great way to save money because if you're creating a Prairie, you need to have plants in mass. Chapter Nine is about propagating plants vegetatively. So two excellent chapters on propagation there. Then Chapter 10 is an excellent addition to this book;l It's the Prairie food web. So there's a deep dive into that. And then there is a superb Chapter 11 at the back of the book that goes through the various Prairie seed mixes you might be intrigued by. So, if you are considering growing a Prairie - I had a friend do this a couple of years ago, and they did a beautiful job - but anyone who's raised a Prairie will tell you there is a science of growing a Prairie, which is precisely what is covered in this book - And then there is the art of developing a Prairie and maintaining a Prairie. So it's a little bit of both. It's the yin and yang of Prairie's, but this book will be an indispensable guide. If you are serious and curious about Prairie plants and native plants, especially if you're doing some restoration work, Maybe you are a landscaper, and you need to work with a lot of native plants; maybe you're just a gardener who has a passion for Prairie's Meadows, wildflowers and that type of thing, whatever your scenario, this is a great guide. It's also a heavy book - but it's not so heavy that it's cumbersome or unusable. This book is 636 pages- although it doesn't feel like it - of Prairie plants. Everything you need to know and A truly definitive guide. "A one-stop compendium" is what they say about this book on Amazon. You can get a copy of The Gardener's Guide to Prairie Plants by Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $25. It is a worthy investment.    Botanic Spark 1917 On this day, Maurice Baring writes about flying over the Fourth Army among some nature entries in his WWI diary. Maurice was a soldier with the Royal Flying Corps, and I think Maurice would be surprised and delighted to know that his diary is part of a gardening podcast here in 2023. I found a lovely little review of his diary, which became a book called A War Diary by Maurice Baring. The reviewer wrote: The remarkable thing about his book is that although it has an objective quality, it is also extraordinarily personal. It is far from being a history of the work of the R.F.C. during the war. It attempts nothing of the kind. It is rather an account of the author during the war, and by noting down whatever interested him at the moment, whether it was the book he happened to be reading or a talk he had had, he conveys to us what the war was in reality to him. His irrelevancies are relevant to that. An enormous number of these entries might have been made in his diary if there had been no war going on. Yet their inclusion is precisely what conveys to us the sense of actuality. He has endless details to attend to, news and odd rumours pour in from all sides, men are fighting and being killed (often he stops to record the death of a friend), yet his other interests persist. He is not always thinking about the war he copies out passages from the books he reads, quotes the poets, translates Horace; speculates about this and that, trusting that if he puts down all these things without emphasis, picture of what the war was actually like IS an experience to live through at H.Q. will be left in the reader's mind. Entries follow each other pell-mell. These are typical pages. Dip in anywhere and you will find the same drift of unconnected observations and unaccentuated records, noted down simply and quickly, by a man sensitive to many sides of life. Read the whole book and a curious ineffaceable impression remains of a confused process of human activity and emotion rushing on, on, on, in a definite direction, like a train which carries its passengers, now looking out of the windows, now talking together, now occupied with their own memories, on to a terminus. Such is Mr. Baring's record of the war.   As a gardener, I am delighted by the number of times Maurice mentions some plant or something happening in nature. The natural world was an anchor for him amid wartime chaos and heartbreak. Here's what Maurice wrote: On April 25th, 1917: We heard two shots in the air on the way there on the way back, just as we were this side of the Somme, a kite balloon was shot down and floated down into the river. We were looking at this; at that moment a scout appeared in the sky, and came swooping towards us. I thought it was a German, and that we were going to land looking down at the shelled condition of the ground. I was terrified. It turned out to be an S.E.It was bitterly cold : the earth looked like was a photograph: a war photograph. April 26th. I cannot read any more, not another line of the Golden Bowl by Henry James. April 28th. The garden full of oxlips and cowslips. The trees are red with sap. The hedges are budding. April 20th. We went to Vert Galant to see Harvey Kelly, who commands No. 19 Squadron... He always took a potato and a reel of cotton with him when he went over the lines. The Germans, he said, would be sure to treat him well if he had to land on the other side, and they found him provided with such useful and scarce commodities. He was the first pilot to land in France.   A little look back at WWI through the eyes of a nature lover, a gardener, and a pilot.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

9-JUNE-1928. While serving as a despatch rider as part of the 4th Division Signals Company during the First World War, Sergeant Charles Edward Kingsford Smith sought a greater adrenaline rush and joined the Australian Flying Corps. Later serving in the Royal Flying Corps; British Expeditionary Force, he shot down four German aircraft before he was shot down and grounded due to injury. Not to be stopped, "Smithy" after the war became an aviation pioneer and held the record for having the most aviation records including being the only person at the time to cross the Pacific Ocean from the USA to Australia in both directions and the first person to complete a cross-equator circumnavigation of the globe. IWODMJ Discord Server member AyoshiStar requested this episode and is guest director. TwentyFiveFour Coffee website For Show Notes, transcripts and photos check out the I Was Only Doing My Job Website at www.thedocnetwork.net. Access to the Discord Server Visit here Find the Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,MastodonYouTube --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/iwasonlydoingmyjob/message

The final episode in the long-running series about the air war over Arras in 1917! Today we say farewell to the brave airmen and ground crews of the Royal Flying Corps as the battle reaches its climax in May.Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at www.battlefields.com.au Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pete and Gary continue their epic series on the air war over Arras in 1917 by discussing the often overlooked work of ground crews, to keep the Royal Flying Corps in the air.Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at www.battlefields.com.au Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

The air war over Arras continues in April 1917 as the failure of the French Nivelle Offensive leaves the British no choice but to attack again at Arras. It meant more pain and suffering for the men of of the Royal Flying Corps.Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiBecome a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: www.buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTVTo walk in the footsteps of the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars, join one of our battlefield tours! Full details at www.battlefields.com.au See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-history.

Set in Belgium during the first World War, this is a story about the courage of a young woman, a Royal Flying Corps pilot and the strange power of … a sneeze.----------Music: Hot October by Wood Spider from Free Music Archives Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ and  Juncture, Telling Stories  and The time to Run (Finale) by Dexter Britain from Free Music Archives Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ and   Convergence and Horses  by The Pictures of the Floating World From Free Music Archives  Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ andThe Moments of our Mornings and November by Kai Engel  from Free Music Archives Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/andThe Bridge  by David Hilowitz From Free Music Archives  Copyright: Attribution-Noncommercial- 4.0 United States https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ 

April was a deadly month for the Royal Flying Corps.   Dicta Boelcke 1. Try to secure advantages before attacking. If possible, keep the sun behind you. 2. Always carry through an attack when you have started it. 3. Fire only at close range, and only when your opponent is properly in your sights. 4. Always keep your eye on your opponent, and never let yourself be deceived by ruses. 5. In any form of attack it is essential to assail your enemy from behind. 6. If your opponent dives on you, do not try to evade his onslaught, but fly to meet it. 7. When over the enemy's lines never forget your own line of retreat. 8. For the Staffel (squadron): Attack on principle in groups of four or six. When the fight breaks up into a series of single combats, take care that several do not go for the same opponent

Of all areas of warfare that developed during the Great War, the advances in technology that accompanied the development of flight were surely the most dramatic.Our story of the Royal Flying Corps at war begins in a residential street in east London, where a non-descript house carries a unique place in the history of aerial warfare.  We hear about the German Zeppelin raids in London before looking at the changing role played by aircraft.  From being viewed as a quirky novelty in 1913, to being an essential part of military planning by 1915, men rushed to join the glamour of flight.We follow the life of a young British officer, Oswald Nixon, who joined the RFC and had been qualified as a pilot for just six days when he had the great misfortune to come across a squadron from Jasta 2, the elite fighter group of the German air force.  We hear the tragic tale of the German airman who shot Nixon down, the discovery of some macabre pictures in the German archives,  and we look at the myth of the "twenty-minuters".Support the podcastwww.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblogwww.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallenSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog)

Pete and Gary look at the life and career of controversial figure Sir Hugh Trenchard, who commanded the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary Bain Publisher: Mat McLachlan Producer: Jess Stebnicki For more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTV

By Davy Crockett You can read, listen, or watch Spartathlon is one of the most prestigious ultramarathons in the world. It is a race of about 246 km (153 miles), that takes place each September in Greece, running from Athens to Sparta on a highly significant route in world history. It attracts many of the greatest ultrarunners in the world. This is part one of a series on the history of Spartathlon. In this episode, we will cover how Spartathlon was born, a story that has never been fully told until now. It was the brainchild of an officer in the Royal Air Force, John Foden. Help is needed to continue the Ultrarunning History Podcast and website. Please consider becoming a patron of ultrarunning history. Help to preserve this history by signing up to contribute a few dollars each month through Patreon. Visit https://ultrarunninghistory.com/member Pheidippides' Historic Run Battle of Marathon In 490 B.C., one of the most famous battles in world history was held between the Athenians and the Persians who invaded what we now call Greece, landing at Marathon. Before that battle, a professional messenger named Pheidippides was sent by Athenian generals to Sparta, with an urgent message to ask for reinforcements against the much larger Persian incursion. Pheidippides ran an estimated 250 kms (155 miles) and arrived at Sparta on the next day, likely about 36 hours, and then returned walking. There are many versions of this story. Some say his run was before the battle and others say after. One Romon version, more than a centry later, states that he ran back and he died on returning. But the important thing about the story for ultrarunning, is that Pheidippides made an ultra-distance run of about 155 miles in less than two days. If it were from dawn to dusk of the second day, that would have been 36 hours. The Spartan reinforcements did not immediately leave to help because of a festival and arrived too late for the Battle of Marathon, but the Athenians had triumphed over the more numerous Persians. People have wondered for years if the tale of Pheidippides could be true, running that difficult long distance across the rugged land in less than two days. John Foden His father James Foden John Boyd Foden (1926-2016) was born on May 7, 1926, in Winchester, Australia. His parents, also Australian, were James Clement Foden (1894-1978) and Rosalind Ida Boyd (1888-1957) of Scottish ancestry. The Fodens had lived in Australia for generations. John's father, James, was an aviator who learned to fly a biplane in Hendon, England, in 1917. James served during World War I in the Royal Flying Corps and was awarded the Air Force Cross. In 1924 he was promoted to a Flight Lieutenant. He made his career in the Royal Air Force and he retired a Group Captain. His love for aviation and the Royal Air Force was passed down to his son John. 1933 Ship passenger list Over the years, the Foden family would make multiple long sea voyages to Great Britain to visit family in England and Scotland. At the age of seven, John travelled to and from England by steam ship with his mother, his three-year-old sister, Pauline Margaret Foden, and his uncle, James Shields Boyd. Foden served in World War II as a paratrooper for Australia and after the war went to England. In 1948, at the age of 22, he married Vera Joan Colyer (1926-2001) of England. He later became a career officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In 1952, they had a son, David Michael Foden. Foden Takes Up Running The years passed and Foden continued his career in the RAF. By 1976, at the age of 49, he had taken up running. He belonged to the Veterans Athletic Club. In 1977, Foden ran in his first marathon. At that time, he was working as a flight instructor. He was assigned to teach cadets on various topics, including first aid, map reading, aircraft, and RAF knowledge. Herodotus In 1978, Foden was studying for an advanced degree at a...

The early morning sun is already arching its way into the sky as you step across the field in northern France which has been made damp by the morning dew, leaving your boots squeaking underfoot as you walk with your observer out to your plane. You have been assigned to fly the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2. the mainstay of the Royal Flying Corps, the air arm of the British Army in August 1914. In today's episode of Wars of the World, we put you in the shoes of a British pilot during WW1. 

Doctoral candidate David Spruce talks to me about his research into Recruiting and Training the Royal Flying Corps during the Great War.

Ever wonder what it was like to fly primitive airplanes into battle in World War I? Well, here’s your opportunity to find out!“The engine is the heart of an airplane, but the pilot is its soul,” ⸺Sir Walter Raleigh, The War in the Air, 1922(Music by Hannis Brown)

In this episode, we head back to Belgium and walk the battlefield from Hellfire Corner up to the summit of Mount Sorrel on Hill 62.We look at Hellfire Corner "the most dangerous place on earth" and hear how a light-fingered Scot made off with what was considered to be the finest war souvenir ever seen.  We visit Birr Cross Roads, and hear the story of Harold Ackroyd VC MC, before our walk takes us to Sanctuary Wood.  We visit the preserved trenches and look at the first combat VC to be won by the Royal Flying Corps above Sanctuary Wood before our walk takes us to the Canadian Memorial on the top of Mount Sorrel. The episode reminisces about a day spent guiding two members of the Roundabout Appreciation Society, and why my skills as a battlefield guide are no match for the lure of a giant tap and some exotic Belgian road furniture. 

In 1917, German pilot Werner Voss had set out for a patrol over the Western Front when he encountered two flights of British fighters, including seven of the best pilots in the Royal Flying Corps. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the drama that followed, which has been called "one of the most extraordinary aerial combats of the Great War." We'll also honk at red lights in Mumbai and puzzle over a train passenger's mistake. Intro: The minuet in Haydn's Piano Sonata in A Major is a palindrome. In 1909, Ulysses, Kansas, moved two miles west. Sources for our feature on Werner Voss: Barry Diggens, September Evening: The Life and Final Combat of the German World War One Ace Werner Voss, 2012. Dan Hampton, Lords of the Sky: Fighter Pilots and Air Combat, From the Red Baron to the F-16, 2014. Michael Dorflinger, Death Was Their Co-Pilot: Aces of the Skies, 2017. Michael O'Connor, In the Footsteps of the Red Baron, 2005. Norman S. Leach, Cavalry of the Air: An Illustrated Introduction to the Aircraft and Aces of the First World War, 2014. O'Brien Browne, "Shooting Down a Legend," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 23:2 (Winter 2011), 66. Jon Guttman, "Aerial Warfare Revived the Ancient Drama of the One-on-One Duel," Military History 18:5 (December 2001), 6. O'Brien Browne, "The Red Baron's Lone Wolf Rival," Aviation History 13:6 (July 2003), 30. Jon Guttman, "The Third Battle of Ypres Saw the Death of an Idealistic Generation -- in the Air as Well as on the Ground," Military History 14:5 (December 1997), 6. Kirk Lowry, "September Evening: The Life and Final Combat of the German World War One Ace Werner Voss," Military History 22:6 (September 2005), 68. O'Brien Browne, "The Perfect Soldier," Aviation History 22:1 (September 2011), 30-35. David T. Zabecki, "Hallowed Ground German War Cemetery Langemark, Belgium," Military History 32:5 (January 2016), 76-77. O'Brien Browne, "Deadly Duo," Aviation History 24:1 (September 2013), 44-49. A.D. Harvey, "Why Was the Red Baron's Fokker Painted Red? Decoding the Way Aeroplanes Were Painted in the First World War," War in History 8:3 (2001), 323-340. Dick Smith, "Build Your Own Fokker F.I Triplane," Aviation History 13:6 (July 2003), 37. James Lawrence, "A Victory That Vanished in the Mire," Times, May 20, 2017, 16. Robert Hands, "'Master of the Skies for a Fleeting Moment': A Brief and Brilliant Life -- Arthur Rhys Davids Was a Pioneering Pilot in the First World War," Times, July 3, 2010, 108. Karen Price, "World War I, by Four Men Who Were There," Western Mail, Aug. 19 2006, 24. Meir Ronnen, "Death in the Mud," Jerusalem Post, Nov. 10, 1989, 14. "Famous 'Aces' Downed; Friend and Foe Lose," Madison [S.D.] Daily Leader, Feb. 14, 1918. Listener mail: Richard Proenneke's website. Hannah Ellis-Petersen, "'Honk More, Wait More': Mumbai Tests Traffic Lights That Reward the Patient Driver," Guardian, Feb. 5, 2020. Rory Sullivan and Esha Mitra, "Mumbai Tests Traffic Lights That Stay Red If You Honk Your Horn," CNN, Feb. 5, 2020. Jeffrey Gettleman, "Mumbai Police Play a Trick on Honking Drivers," New York Times, Feb. 4, 2020. "The Punishing Signal in Collaboration With Mumbai Police," FCB Interface Communications, Jan. 30, 2020. "Killer's Remains Will Stay in Museum," East Anglian Daily Times, March 23, 2007. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Marie Nearing, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on Google Podcasts, on Apple Podcasts, or via the RSS feed at https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/rss. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- you can choose the amount you want to pledge, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

We hope you are enjoying Drew's “31 Days of Getting Organized” series at The Genealogy Guys Blog. Day 0 begins at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2019/12/day-0-introducing-31-days-of-getting.html, and you can follow each day. (Use the Tag labeled Organization for quick access to all of these entries.) News You Can Use and Share MyHeritage added millions of new records in November 2019 and in the first half of December. MyHeritage added new records for Germany in late December: the Hesse Birth Index (1874-1911) and the Hesse Marriage Index (1849-1931). The Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Park Service announced the launch of the U.S. Mexican War Soldier & Sailor Database, coming on 27 January 2020. (See press release at our blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/search/label/Mexican%20War. Fold3 has recently added the “UK Militia Attestation Papers, 1806-1915,” containing great personal information for each individual. The Royal Air Force Museum has launched a new website containing casualty forms of the officers of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force. The site is located at https://www.casualtyforms.org. Donna Moughty announced her two annual research trips to Ireland: the Belfast trip October 10-17, 2020, and the Dublin trip October 17-24, 2020. Space is limited. Details are available at https://www.irishfamilyroots.com/2020-research-trips. Findmypast has released updates to the 1939 Register, British Armed Forces' World War I Medical Records, and the U.S. National Veterans Cemetery Index. They also have released records for Kent Baptisms, Marriages and Banns, and Burials. FamilySearch has released GEDCOM Version 5.5.1, the first update in ten years. FamilySearch's 2019 highlights include 1.24 billion people in the Family Tree, 6.3 billion searchable records and images online, 8.75 million new photos and stories added, and 15.5 million volunteer hours contributed. FamilySearch has announced new things coming in 2020: sitewide support for new languages; improvements to the user experience with the Family Tree; updates to Memories to allow topic tagging; improvements in social interactions and social media; and a new tool, Explore Images, allowing users to view images within days of their capture. Drew recaps new record additions, updates, and indexes at FamilySearch. DNA Segment with Blaine T. Bettinger Blaine and Drew discuss chromosome mapping at the DNA Painter site. Cyndi Says Cyndi Ingle discusses thinking of your end goal. Our Listeners Talk to Us Robin wrote about loose papers and about oversized documents and photographs and how she approached copying them. Now, the question is where to send them for permanent storage. Mark captured George's interest with an article from the Biblical Archaeology Review (January-February 2020 issue) titled “Rescuing and Recovering Vesuvius's Survivors.” The report addresses the people who escaped the volcano's eruption on 24 August 79 C.E. [A.D.], where they moved, the customs they took with them, and intermarriages. The author, Steven L. Tuck, performed extensive research, including identifying people and events using genealogical standards. Excellent article! Don't forget! The Genealogy Guys and Vivid-Pix have issued a new call for nominations for the Unsung Heroes Awards. Submissions will be accepted until midnight EST on 1 February 2020. Awards will be announced at RootsTech 2020 in Salt Lake City. Full details and links to nomination forms can be found on our blog at http://blog.genealogyguys.com/2019/12/genealogy-guys-and-vivid-pix-issue-call.html. You can even nominate yourself! Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please tell your friends or your society about our free podcasts. Enroll in Genealogy Guys Learn at https://genealogyguys.learn for written courses, videos, and helpful resources. New content is added every month! And join The Genealogy Squad Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/genealogysquad/ for the highest quality help from the administrators Blaine T. Bettinger, Cyndi Ingle, Drew Smith, George G. Morgan, and more than 27,500 members worldwide!

On May 7, the Royal Flying Corps suffered one of their greatest losses when the great Albert Ball was shot down near Annoeullin, France. Ball had just scored his 44th victory and was pursuing another plane when he disappeared into a cloud. When he reappeared, his plane was falling from the sky and his propeller was motionless. Ball fell from the sky and his plane crashed some distance away. Lothar von Richthofen, the Red Baron's younger brother, was officially credited with the kill. Dur: 24 mins File: .mp3

Welcome to THE STORY OF THE SOMME podcast series, which tells the story of the Somme Offensive in the words of those fighting on the Western Front and their families back home. The series was commissioned by the DEPARTMENT FOR DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT and developed in partnership with the FIRST WORLD WAR CENTENARY BATTLEFIELD TOURS PROGRAMME and CHROMERADIO. It was first released to accompany the SOMME100 VIGIL at Westminster Abbey, held through the night of 30 June/1 July 2016 to mark the centenary of the opening of the Battle of the Somme. In this podcast, LIEUTENANT CECIL LEWIS recalls flying over the Somme on the morning of 1 July 1916. Cecil Lewis was born in 1898. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1915. SOURCE | SAGITTARIUS RISING, Cecil Lewis (1936) PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio for the DEPARTMENT FOR DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Narrator - Nicholas Rowe | Reader - Simon Bendry | The Last Post played by LSgt Stuart Laing, Welsh Guards on a First World War bugle.

World War I pilot Clayton Knight reminisces about his training and hair-raising service on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918. Knight was one of the first 150 American aviators who were sent to Europe in the summer of 1917. In this recording he discusses his training, including staying in digs at a number of Oxford Colleges, before recounting a number of hair-rising stories about his service with the Royal Flying Corps on the Western Front, being shot down by Oberleutnant Harald Auffahrt on 5 October 1918 and finishing the war as prisoner of war in a German hospital. Knight later went onto be a noted aeronautical illustrator, including providing the drawings for the comic strip Ace Drummond. Please note, due to the age of this recording, there are issues with the sound quality of this recording. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

Ahead of the imminent start of this year's Brighton Fringe festival, we speak to Eddie Alford the writer + director of a Brighton Fringe play set during World War 1. The play follows the lives of 3 Irish members of the Royal Flying Corps and is based on true events. We find out more about the play and Eddie's own history with the Royal Air Force. What's the Craic is a weekly Irish radio show that broadcasts on Brighton's Radio Reverb on 97.2FM, DAB+ and online at radioreverb.com. You can follow us on Twitter at @whatsthecraicrr or on facebook.com/whatsthecraicrr for up to date news on whats coming up on the show and to get in touch with us. #Brighton #Hove #Sussex #podcast #Ireland #RoyalFlyingCorps #WorldWarOne #RAF #theatre #BrightonFringe #FringeFestival

Billy Bishop is one of the most recognizable names in the military history of Canada. He was Canada’s top ace during the First World War, credited with over seventy victories during his career as a pilot with Royal Flying Corps. But there were many other pilots whose names have been forgotten because of Bishop’s looming shadow. Graham Broad, associate professor of history at King’s College at Western University, has uncovered the story of another ace, Eddie McKay, from London, Ontario. In this episode, Broad talks about not only the story of McKay, but also the process of researching and writing the story of McKay. References Graham Broad, One in a Thousand: The Life and Death of Captain Eddie McKay, Royal Flying Corps. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017.

S01E01 - Spring 1915: 18-year-old Alan Farmer, a blacksmith from Becket’s Hill in Sussex, lives with his widowed mother, his father having been killed attempting to fly an old plane. Alan continues to have a keen interest in flying and engines and, against his mother's wishes, goes for an interview with the Royal Flying Corps. TVTime.

The return of the major series tracking the development of the First World War through the sound archives of the Imperial War Museums and the BBC. The name Ypres has become shorthand for the most hellish conditions imaginable. In this week's programmes, looking at the events of autumn 1917 through interviews with those who experienced it, we come to the war's darkest days. As they inched their way towards Passchendaele from July to November 1917, men witnessed scenes that would stay vividly with them for the rest of their lives. As Norman Macmillan, officer of the Royal Flying Corps, surveying the Battle of Passchendaele from the sky, said of it: 'Never at any time had I passed through such an extraordinary experience... Real damnation on the ground. And as we came out of it I felt that we had escaped from one of the most evil things I had ever seen at any time during that war'. Dan Snow, based on location in Ypres and listening to the accounts of those who survived the place a century ago, attempts to grasp the unimaginable horror and dangerously low morale that marked this period of the war on the Western Front. The first programme surveys the terrible conditions of the battlefield around Ypres in the autumn of 1917 - among the worst experienced by any army at any time in history. In the second programme Dan maps the painfully slow progress of the British towards Passchendaele between July and November in a series of battles, and how the men were afforded little or no shelter as they inched forward. In programme 3 we hear one man's account of the Battle of Passchendaele. In an extraordinarily honest interview with the BBC recorded almost 50 years later, John Palmer, suffering complete exhaustion after three years on the Western Front, describes the almost suicidal despair that took hold of him one night towards the end of his time on Flanders fields. The relative excitement and rapid gains of the early stages of the Battle of Cambrai are described from the point of view of members of the Tank Corps in programme 4, and in the final programme we hear the remarkable story of William Towers, who was seriously injured at Passchendaele. His life threatened as much by the primitive medical practices of 1917 as by the shrapnel that hit him, Towers speaks movingly of the role of courage, love and luck in his journey back to Britain, and back to health.

In the first five programmes looking at 1917, Dan Snow explores the events of the year through the recollections of those who were there. As the fighting became more and more desperate, in the air, on the Western Front - even below ground in extensive mining operations - the morale of those being sent into battle was at times becoming dangerously low. Morale was never worse in the Royal Flying Corps than in spring 1917, which became known as 'Bloody April'. Germany had the upper hand at this point of the war in the air, with superior tactics, training, and technology. Crisis enveloped the French Army from May onwards, as mutiny took hold among their long-suffering troops. Dan also looks at the extraordinary feats of military engineering - and deadly human cost - involved in exploding 20 huge mines at the Messines Ridge. Soldiers and officers speak about the issue of rank and class in the British Army of 1917, by which time many of the ex-public school officers had been wiped out. And there are conflicting versions of events when it comes to the British mutiny at Etaples in September, but Officer Jim Davies, at the centre of the action on the bridge between the army camp and the town, tells his story. Voices of the First World War is made in partnership between the BBC and the Imperial War Museums.

The return of the major series tracking the development of the First World War through the archives of the Imperial War Museums and the BBC. Reaching 1917, Dan Snow explores the events of the year through the recollections of those who were there. As the fighting became more and more desperate, in the air, on the Western Front - even below ground in extensive mining operations - the morale of those being sent into battle was at times becoming dangerously low. Morale was never worse in the Royal Flying Corps than in spring 1917, which became known as 'Bloody April'. Germany had the upper hand at this point in the war, with superior tactics, training, and technology. With outclassed aircraft, the RFC suffered disastrous losses throughout the month, and beyond. Cecil Lewis and Norman Macmillan eloquently describe the intensity of the dogfights of spring 1917, and others recall the leading flying ace at the time, Captain Albert Ball, who was lost in early May. In the first five programmes of this year's series, Dan will be also looking at the French mutinies of May 1917 onwards, and the extraordinary feats of military engineering - and deadly cost to German soldiers - involved in exploding 20 huge mines at the Messines Ridge. Soldiers and officers speak about the issue of rank and class in the British Army of 1917, by which time many of the ex-public school officers had been wiped out. There are conflicting versions of events when it comes to the British mutiny at Etaples in September, but Officer Jim Davies, at the centre of the action on the bridge between the army camp and the town, tells his story. Voices of the First World War is made in partnership between the BBC and the Imperial War Museums.

Highlights: Feature: Mothers in WW1 | @ 00:45 Guest: Mike Shuster on poetry in the trenches | @ 06:30 War In The Sky: Colonel Rene Fonck | @ 10:15 Recipe: The Monkey Gland | @ 13:05 Guest: Nathan King on new National Park Service WW1 web site | @ 14:00 International: Albert Ball new journal released | @ 20:00 Media: Gordon Thomas Ward new single - “The Boys of 17” | @  21:30 Web: New WW1 Promotion Tool Kit at ww1cc.org/promotion | @ 25:00----more---- World War One Centennial News: May 10, 2017 Welcome to World War One Centennial News. It’s about WW1 news 100 years ago this week  - and it’s about WW1 NOW - news and updates about the centennial and the commemoration.WW1 Centennial News is brought to you by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library. Today is May 3rd, 2017 and I’m Theo Mayer - Chief Technologist for the World War One Centennial Commission and your host today. World War One THEN 100 Year Ago This Week We have gone back in time 100 years. It is 1917 and we are coming up on Mother’s day.Mothers always play a special and difficult role in war and WW1 is certainly no exception - let’s take take a look.The motherhood image plays a key role in America’s recruitment campaigns - The war propaganda artists use mother figures to remind young men of their duty to their country and family, and to assure them of how proud their mothers and wives will be when they become soldiers.One notable poster shows a mother and a wife embracing a newly minted recruit with the slogan: ‘They are proud of you. Be of proud of yourself!”Another shows a mother inviting a reluctant young man forward with the slogan: GO. It’s your duty lad! Join today.Mothers are the homefront resource managers - They are fundraisers for the war effort promoting war bonds, and raising money with bake sales and raffles, all the while - they conserve -  they keep the family home and life going - under sharp rationing of essential goods - and they are filling in all sorts of places - as American men take up soldiering.Mothers are the healers as they nurse the wounded. A  world war 1 red cross propaganda poster shows a caring nurse with the slogan - “The Greatest Mother in the world”.They are  also healers in another way. The devastating loss of life in World War I leaves many mothers with the heartbreaking task of mourning and memorializing their dead. One of the memorial symbols is the Gold Star. Families are hanging popular  “Man-in-Service” flags in their windows - red, white and a blue star -  mourning mothers cover that  blue star with gold fabric, symbolizing their loss. Women are encouraged to forgo traditional mourning garb in favor of a simpler black armband with a gold star. Woodrow Wilson refers to these women as the gold star mothers. Moving forward 10 years to 1928, the organization American Gold Star Mothers is founded. To this day, mothers - who have lost a child in military service - wear - a gold star pin to honor the deceased.Moving forward to the present, we addressed the difficult conflict of motherhood in war during the commission’s April 6 commemoration event “in Sacrifice for Liberty and Peace” with a medley sung in counterpoint . Here is Chrissy Poland with “America, Here’s My Boy” and Ramona Dunlap with  “I Didn’t Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier”.[music]To mothers of soldiers everywhere - we salute you and thank you for bearing your gold star burden. Great War Project Joining us now is former NPR correspondent Mike Shuster from the Great War Project blog. This week Mike is going to cover a very thoughtful post from the great war project blog about poetry in the trenches.Mike it seems like the very nature of this nearly unimaginable trench warfare is becoming as much a battle of the spirit as it is a combat of arms. Tell us about it.[Mike Shuster]LINK:http://greatwarproject.org/2017/05/09/bitterness-among-the-troops-is-growing/Thank you Mike. That was Mike Shuster from the Great War Project blog. War in the Sky One hundred years ago this week in the great war in the sky, a french pilot - Colonel Rene Fonck downs 6 German aircraft in a single day. Let's meet this interesting man, whose skills ultimately earn him the title of Allied Ace of Aces, but who has a personality that does not match the cool bravado and hero-of-the-sky that many of his compatriots garner.Fonck is apparently a meticulous man who with the outbreak of World War I in 1914, receives conscription papers - and becomes an engineer building trenches and re-enforcements - but his interest in planes lead him to take flight training.Like France's leading ace, Captain Georges Guynemer, a dashing hero-of-the-sky, he begins flying the limited production SPAD S.XII. This aircraft features a hand-loaded 37mm cannon that fires through the propeller. This is a really unwieldy weapon, but Fonck manages to down 11 German planes with the cannon. He then transitions to the more powerful SPAD S.XIII. Later in 1917 the Germans applaud when beloved French Ace - Guynemer - is shot down by their Lieutenant Kurt Wisseman. Just a short time later Fonck shoots down Wisseman and names himself "the tool of retribution." Though in the end it turns out the aircraft downed by Fonck was most likely flown by a different Wisseman.He IS an amazing flier.By the end of the war he has 75 confirmed kills making him the Allied Ace of Aces.  though -  he submits claims for 142 - only 75 are confirmed. Despite his stunning success in the air, Fonck is never embraced by the public. He has a withdrawn personality, he seldom socializes with other pilots and instead prefers to focus on improving his aircraft and planning tactics. When Fonck does socialize, he is thought of as awkward,  arrogant and egotistical. To quote a fellow flier - Fonck  is a "slashing rapier" in the sky, but on the ground he is a "a tiresome braggart"On the other hand - he DID survive the war! We salute you Colonel Rene Fonck from the Great War in the sky 100 years ago this week.LINK:https://www.thoughtco.com/world-war-i-colonel-rene-fonck-2360477http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/fonck.htmhttp://ww1cc.org/warinthesky The Great War Channel Let’s move on to our friends from the Great War Channel on Youtube. They offer great videos about WW1 - This week their new episodes include: Reinventing Cavalry in WW1 - Bulgarian General Ivan Kolev The Battle of Arleux - Robert Nivelle gets fired Out of the trenches! Link:https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar World War One NOW Activities and Events Taste of trenches: Follow upThe Michigan World War 1 Centennial Commission recently held a wonderful local event - “A Taste of the Trenches”, an event featuring cocktails, food and music from the era. As a fundraiser, their guests were treated to WW1 exhibits including “Combat uniforms on the Western Front”,  a musical group “The Dugouts” provided WW1 era musical entertainment, and a bar that featured WW1 era cocktails like the B&B (Brandy & Benedictine), Vin Rouge, Side Cars, French 75s and the wonderfully named Monkey Gland. What IS a monkey gland!? Well, if you’d like to know, The Michigan State Commission has generously shared their cocktail recipe book with us, and you’ll find the link in the podcast notes!link:ww1cc.org/images/podcasts/WW1Cocktails.pdfNational Park Service: An interview with Nathan KingThe National Park Service has recently launched a WW1 web site. With us today is Nathan King -  the National Capital Region’s  Digital Communications Specialist for the National Park Service - Welcome.Your process for collecting the stories for the web site is quite unique - tells us how you did that.[Nathan King]That was Nathan King -  the National Capital Region’s  Digital Communications Specialist for the National Park Servicelink:https://www.nps.gov/subjects/worldwari/index.htmhttp://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/communicate/press-media/wwi-centennial-news/2265-national-park-service-shares-forgotten-wwi-stories-from-parks.htmlNational Museum of the Marine Corps The National Museum of the Marine Corps, is located in Quantico, Virginia. They have started to hold biweekly WW1 Wednesdays -- there’s one today the May 10th and the next one will be May 24th. WW1 Wednesdays include activities for children as well as informational displays.Then on  JUNE 10th: they are holding a WW1 themed Family day- and event that will commemorate the battle of belleau wood - a story we will be talking about more in the coming weeks.There are links in the podcast notes.link:http://www.usmcmuseum.com/calendar-of-events.htmlhttp://www.usmcmuseum.com/uploads/6/0/3/6/60364049/wwi_family_day_2__1.pdf Updates From The States Baseball with the International LeagueLast week we announced the first of many collaborations with the commission and professional sports. We have been working with the president of the International League, so this May and into June,  various league teams are going to hold - WW1 night - honoring the doughboys. If you are a baseball fan, we just launched a new web page that gives you the schedule at ww1cc.org/baseball - all lower case ww1cc.org/baseballHawaii: Baseball’s greatest sacrificeSpeaking of baseball - from Hawaii’s WW1 web site at ww1cc.org/hawaii - we have a new post in the articles section about a Hawaiian WW1 soldier who was a renowned local baseball player. Apau “Sam” Kau, was a Chinese American pitcher. He deployed to France in July 1918 at 28 years old and served with the 315th infantry. Sam lost his life on November 5th, just six days shy of armistice. Learn more about this man as an athlete and a soldier at ww1cc.org/hawaii link:http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/hawaii-wwi-centennial-articles/2028-baseballs-greatest-sacrifice.htmlhttp://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/hawaii-wwi-centennial-home.htmlArkansas WW1 Centennial Commission MinutesFrom the Arkansas the State WW1 Commission comes an interesting program -  and idea that other state commissions may want to explore - they have created a weekly 1 minute radio series in collaboration with local  public radio station  KUAR 89.1 FM; these segments highlight stories of Arkansan life during the war and you can listen to them online at their website the link in the podcast notes.Link:http://www.wwiarkansas.com/arkansas-wwi-minuteswww.wwiarkansas.com/Delaware: A behind the scenes tour of the public archivesIn Delaware - On Saturday, May 6, visitors were treated to a “behind the scenes” tour of the Delaware Public Archives. This tour of the building was done in conjunction with a local holiday, which is celebrated in Delaware’s capital every year, known as ‘Old Dover Days’.As a special feature, this tour showcased a display of 36 World War I propaganda posters from 1917-1918 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of America’s entry into the war. The posters encouraged participation from the American public with rationing food and raw materials, as well as buying government bonds to help fund the war effort.link:http://archives.delaware.gov/outreach/publicprograms.shtml International Report Albert Ball’s final journal entryOn to our international reportThe title reads Albert Ball’s final journal entryFrom the UK - Last week we mentioned the death of Albert Ball, famous British flying ace, during our War in the Sky segment. Ball’s surviving relatives just released his last journal entry to the public for the first time over the weekend, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of his death. Ball’s great-niece, who takes care of his journals now, wants the public to know that Ball, was not the loner everyone supposes he was and that his optimism, enthusiasm and love of life shines through in the entries of his journal. Read more about his journal through the link in the podcast notes, It’s a great reminder that even though we know a lot about the events of the conflict, there is always more to discover and learn about the people who sacrificed in the war.link:http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/800709/Captain-Albert-Ball-VC-war-diary-final-entry-Royal-Flying-Corps-fighter-pilotCambrai tank veteran “Deborah” prepares for moveFrom France  a tank was discovered after lying buried for decades, It’s named Deborah the Mark IV female tank and is about to move further than she has in a hundred years. She’s been sitting in a barn in Flesquieres for the last few years and now, with the help of two heavy duty cranes and a special transporter, she’ll be moved to her forever home at the new World War museum dedicated to the Battle of Cambrai - Read more about her upcoming move as well as about how she was discovered by a local french man - by Following  the link in  the podcast notes.link:http://www.centenarynews.com/article/cambrai-tank-veteran-deborah-prepares-for-centenary-movehttps://www.thegoodlifefrance.com/deborah-tank-at-flesquieres-france/ Spotlight in the Media With us today is singer-songwriter, Gordon Thomas Ward who wrote and produced a single - The boys of 17. Welcome Gordon.Tell us about the project and the song.[Gordon Ward][music]That was musician author and radio host Gordon Thomas Ward.link:http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/communicate/press-media/wwi-centennial-news/2247-composing-the-boys-of-17.html Articles and Posts Promotion ToolkitWe have a new resource section on the site called the Promotion Toolkit The toolkit offers resources for promotion of commemoration events, reportage, activities, and fundraising. There is general information, the War that Changed The World logo, stock video footage, a great high-resolution library of ww1 public domain photos, educational videos about the war and if you want to do a little peer-to-peer fundraising for us and our programs, we have donation appeal videos that you can post on your facebook, website or other social media asking for help in raising the money to build a national WW1 memorial in Washington DC to honor our doughboy veterans.Stories of ServiceSpeaking of doughboys  - you know that there are no longer any living ww1 veterans - but you can keep your family ww1 veteran’s memory alive at our Family ties - stories Stories of Service site! Where you can submit your ancestor’s story along with pictures at ww1cc.org/stories From the Stories of  Service archive - this week we feature Thad Manning Mangum. His story was submitted by his grandson, Michael. Thad served in Company K  in the 323rd Infantry Regiment -  81st Army Division - the fighting Wildcats. He was mustered into the Army in front of the Courthouse in Greenville, NC on May 25, 1918 and by 3 am the next morning was on a train and on his way to South Carolina for basic. By August 16th, 1918 her arrived in France where he served in the Vosge Mountain area until armistice. Meet Thad and learn more about his life and service at our Stories of Service page. You can also submit photos and stories of the WW1 veterans in your family and they will be preserved in perpetuity in the national archive at ww1cc.org/stories Link:http://ww1cc.org/stories http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/commemorate/family-ties/stories-of-service/2225-thad-manning-mangum.htmlWwrite BlogHow I turned a family archive into an epic saga of the Great WarIn our WWrite blog - which explores WWI’s Influence on Contemporary Writing and Scholarship, This week's post is titled “How I turned a family archive into an epic saga of the Great War”It features journalist, writer, and teacher, Richard Bachus. For the post, Bachus discusses the complex process of writing his novel, “Into No Man's Land” , which was inspired by a family archival collection of letters and other artifacts dating from his grandfather's experience in WWI as a Trench Commander in France to the present. If you are interested in WWI’s Influence on Contemporary Writing and Scholarship - sign up to follow the Wwrite blog at ww1cc.org/W-W-R-I-T-ERichard Bachus also curates his own blog on the commission web site called trench commander providing details and insights that go well beyond his book. You can follow that at ww1cc.org/trench-commander all lower case.link: http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/articles-posts/2264-rich-bachus-on-the-making-of-a-new-world-war-i-novel-part-1.html The Buzz - WW1 in Social Media Posts Moving on to the WW1 and social media with The Buzz and also with Katherine Akey - Katherine - what is happening with the WW1 commemoration and social media this week?The French let the Germans know the US has entered the warhttps://www.facebook.com/ww1centennial/photos/a.290566277785344.1073741829.185589304949709/771407626367871/?type=3&theaterDiary of a War Nurse: PBShttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/diary-war-nurse/The Radium Girlshttps://www.buzzfeed.com/authorkatemoore/the-light-that-does-not-lie Closing That’s WW1 Centennial News for this week. Thank you for listening!We want to thank our guests Mike Shuster from the Great War Project blogNathan King, Digital Communications Specialist for the National Park Service, National Capital RegionGordon Thomas Ward, Musician, Author, Radio Host, & PresenterKatherine Akey the Commission’s social media director and also the line producer for the show.And I am Theo Mayer - your host this week.The US World War One Centennial Commission was created by Congress to honor, commemorate and educate about WW1. Our programs are to--inspire a national conversation and awareness about WW1;we are bringing the lessons of the 100 years ago into today's classrooms;We are helping to restore WW1 memorials in communities of all sizes across our country;and we are building a National WW1 Memorial in Washington DC.We rely entirely on your donations. No government appropriations or taxes are being used, so please give what you can by going to ww1cc.org/donate - all lower caseOr if you are on your smart phone text  the word: WW1Now to 41444. that's the letters ww the number 1 and the letters now to 41444WW1 Centennial News is brought to you as a part of that effort. We want to thank commission’s founding sponsor the Pritzker Military Museum and Library for their support. The podcast can be found on our website at ww1cc.org/cn on  iTunes and google play ww1 Centennial News. Our twitter and instagram handles are both @ww1cc and we are on facebook @ww1centennial. Thanks for joining us. And don’t forget to talk to someone about the centennial of WW1 this week. So long.[music] SUBSCRIPTIONS WW1 Centennial News Video Podcast on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ww1-centennial-news/id1209764611?mt=2 Weekly Dispatch Newsletterhttp://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/communicate/2015-12-28-18-26-00/subscribe.htm

The closing days of World War II witnessed a bizarre battle with some unlikely allies: American and German soldiers joined forces to rescue a group of French prisoners from a medieval castle in the Austrian Alps. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the Battle for Castle Itter, the only time that Allies and Germans fought together in the war. We'll also dodge another raft of aerial bombs and puzzle over a bottled pear. Intro: In 1917, Royal Flying Corps trainee Graham Donald fell out of his plane at the top of a loop. In 1750, the 1st Earl of Hardwicke installed an artificial ruin near his country house, Wimpole Hall. Sources for our feature on the Battle for Castle Itter: Stephen Harding, The Last Battle, 2013. Stephen Harding, "The Battle for Castle Itter," World War II 23:3 (August/September 2008), 38-45. George Hodge, "The Last Battle: When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe," Military Review 94:4 (July/August 2014), 100. John G. Mayer, "12th Men Free French Big-Wigs," 12th Armored Division Hellcat News, May 26, 1945. Andrew Roberts, "World War II's Strangest Battle: When Americans and Germans Fought Together," Daily Beast, May 12, 2013. Bethany Bell, "The Austrian Castle Where Nazis Lost to German-US Force," BBC News, May 7, 2015. Listener mail: Roadside America, "Omaha, Nebraska: Plaque: Japanese Balloon Bomb Exploded Here." "B-52 Accidentally Bombs Kansas Lake," Aero News Network, Dec. 16, 2006. Bill Kaczor, "Bombs Rained on Florida Family in 1944," Los Angeles Times, Aug. 14, 1994. Wikipedia, "MOVE: 1985 bombing" (accessed Nov. 4, 2016). Wikipedia, "Pavlovsk Experimental Station" (accessed Nov. 4, 2016). Ian Crofton, A Curious History of Food and Drink, 2014. Wikipedia, "1958 Tybee Island Mid-Air Collision" (accessed Nov. 4, 2016). This week's lateral thinking puzzles were adapted from the Soviet popular science magazine Kvant and the 2000 book Lateral Mindtrap Puzzles and contributed by listener Steve Scheuermann. We refer to this image in the second puzzle: You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

The news includes: The new season of Who You Think You Are? begins on 23 July on the TLC Network. Ancestry.com has recovered from the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on 16 June 2014, and Scott Sorensen, Chief Technology Officer, assures the public that no data was compromised. MyHeritage has made all of its World War I military records free to search through the end of July. They also will present their first interactive webinar highlighting their newly updated mobile app on Wednesday, 23 July 2014. RootsMagic has introduced its new Weekly Tips on their blog and, you can also see these by Liking RootsMagic on Facebook and Following them there. The British Newspaper Archive has recently added 240,000 new digitized newspaper pages to their subscription service. Blaine Bettinger has started a new website called "How-To DNA" at http://www.howtodna.com. The site will include short instructional videos for beginners as well as presentations and webcasts for the advanced genealogists, all created and produced by DNA experts. WikiTree has announced the DNA Ancestor Confirmation Aid, a tool to help genealogists confirm their ancestry. Findmypast.co.uk announced that it has bought Origins.net, the vast online subscription service with more than 156 million British, Scottish, and Irish records. Findmypast.co.uk announced that it has acquired Mocavo, the genealogy-focused Internet search engine. Drew highlights the new and updated collections from FamilySearch that have been added in the last month. The Georgia Archives, located in Morrow, Georgia, south of Atlanta, has announced that it has returned to a five-day operating week, Tuesday through Saturday. The South Carolina State Library is offering Digitization in a Box, a complete digitization solution, to the state's libraries to put their historic photos and documents online. The Library of Congress has collected more than 4,000 family records forms and registers. These are now being made available for free download, printing, and use at http://www.loc.gov/search/?q=+family+records+and+registers. The National Archives (TNA) in the UK has announced the release of digitized images for the following collections: Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force service records, 1899-1939; Royal Air Force combat reports, 1939-1945; Royal Air Force officers' service records, 1918-1919; Household Cavalry service records, 1799-1920. It has been announced that funding in the amount of £2.2 million is to be given to Welsh museums, libraries, and archives. Part of these funds will be used for archives to open up their collections and resources to the community. Ancestry.com and ProQuest have announced an expanded distribution agreement to deliver enhanced online solutions to and through libraries, including Ancestry Library Edition and HeritageQuest Online. The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced that William (Bill) Forsyth of ProQuest is the recipient of the 2014 Genealogical Publishing Company award. Kirkus Reviews has named Out of Style: A Modern Perspective of How, Why and When Vintage Fashions Evolved, by Betty Kreisel Shubert as “One of the Best Books of 2013.” Gavin Laboski has shared news of a new iPad app called Timeline Builder, available at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/timeline-builder-create-design/id733989611?mt=8. The Guys review two books of interest to genealogists: Drew discusses Mind Maps for Genealogy: Enhanced Research Planning, Correlation, and Analysis, by Ron Arons. George discusses The Family Tree Historical Maps Book: A State-by-State Atlas of U.S. History, 1790 – 1900, by Allison Dolan and the Editors of Family Tree Magazine. Listener email includes: Carole asks for advice about how to cite information about a child that only lived a few days and for whom there is neither a birth nor death certificate. Using the 1900 and 1910 censuses, she may be able to infer the child's birth, and The Guys provide some suggestions. Jenny wants to know how far out The Guys study and record collateral lines.

This talk covers the record sources for those who served in the air forces, their formations and machines. It also explores a case study of a famous airman to illustrate some of the inventions and developments that led to final victory in 1918. Clive Hawkins is a military specialist at The National Archives. Clive has worked for The National Archives for 37 years. He has always had a deep interest in military history and is an avid collector of steel helmets. Sponsored by the Friends of The National Archives.

This lecture examines the origins of the Royal Flying Corps who travelled to France in the aircraft they had. Driven by the necessity of war, there were resulting developments in tactics, equipment, communications and weapons in the first year of the Great War.