Work on Great War Lives progresses well, with to date more than ten chapters complete and at the end of last week I received the provisional book dust-jacket, which is heavily illustrated with photographs of some of those who feature in the publication. The book isn’t due out until the autumn but I suspect it will be picked up by Amazon for pre-order soon. The book also has a blog here:

http://greatwarlives.wordpress.com/

A fellow WordPress blogger and Twitterer, Project 65 is a UK Veteran’s Charity raising money for UK veterans through a number of events, which in 2009 included a march into Normandy for the 65th Anniversary. They have many other ideas in the pipeline and are always looking for people to help out and volunteer. See their blog:

http://project65.wordpress.com/

and Twitter page:

http://twitter.com/project_65

I’ve had the Twitter page running for a while now. Please come along and check it out, and join my growing band of ‘followers’. Later this year I will be running some quizzes to win my new book.

http://twitter.com/sommecourt

This November I was alerted to the fact that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has decided to experiment with four cemeteries in Belgium and France, to look at how they might appear if predictions on climate change are correct; lonh periods of drought meaning that maintaining the ‘English Garden’ look might prove impossible. As this is such a fundamental core what these cemeteries and memorial sites are about, it has caused much discussion such as here:

Great War Forum

and:

World War 2 Talk

To say the least, the look of Railway Chateau Cemetery, shown in the above video, is startling for anyone used to the calm serenity of Great War cemeteries. Such a radical change, if it is ever adopted, would change the look and ‘feel’ of these sites forever. More information on CWGC’s own site:

CWGC

Sixty five years ago men of the Airborne Army were pre-paring for the largest airborne operation of the Second World War which would later always be defined by one place, Arnhem. Operation Market Garden saw both American and British airborne troops drop along a narrow corridor with the aim of capturing bridge after bridge until Arnhem was secure – and a foothold for the entry into Germany would be gained. Supported by ground troops advancing up the same narrow corridor, the operation nearly succeeded. But of the 10,000 men of 1st Airborne Division who dropped into the area around Arnhem itself, only 2,000 got back. The rest were killed or taken prisoner. War Correspondent Alan Wood later remarked, “‘If in the years to come, you meet a man who says, “I was at Arnhem”, raise your hat and buy him a drink” and certainly there is something about those who fought in what the Germans called The Cauldron.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting another of these fine men, Reg Curtis. Reg served with the Grenadier Guards, joining in 1937 and serving at Dunkirk in 1940. He volunteered for the Parachute Regiment on its formation and served with 1st Battalion in North Africa, Sicily and at Arnhem, where he was badly wounded and lost a leg. He spent most of the battle in the Tafelberg, a hotel then used as a hospital, before being taken prisoner. Reg had published two books on his war experiences, the most recent of which is one entitled Tafelberg about his time and Arnhem and full of interesting stories, and rarely seen illustrations. Details can be found on his website: Talfelberg by Reg Curtis.

Every September my mind wanders to Arnhem, even if my body doesn’t. What happened there has fascinated me ever since I saw A Bridge Too Far in the 1970s. I must have read almost every book on the battle, and visited the ground countless times. Holland in the early autumn often has golden sunshine that casts long shadows among the trees and leafy glades of Oosterbeek. The sun sets across the Lower Rhine, but the sun must never set on the story of men like Reg. We owe them debt we can probably never repay, except to remember those who stayed behind, and whose souls cast their own shadows at The White House, The Bakery, or among their gardens and fields that once they mastered.

Just returned from filming in Dunkirk with a group of local amateur archaeologists who have been digging up the beaches there for more than 20 years. During the period we were working with them, they found some amazing material, just in a morning, including a gas mask (above) in incredible condition. This will feature in a series for BBC1 entitled Dig1940, and presented by Jules Hudson. Current broadcast date is sometime around June 2010.

Was amazed to find this is available on You Tube in a number of parts. It was made in the summer of 2001, and broadcast the following year on BBC2 as a Meet The Ancestors special. It was Produced & Directed by John Hayes-Fisher.

This is some of the coverage from the ITN News Channel on You Tube.

… and then there was none. With the passing of Harry Patch – “the Last Fighting Tommy” – a page of our history has turned and will be never seen again. There are no longer men who saw the flares dance in a Flanders sky, or heard skylarks sing above the Somme corn. Our direct link with the war is lost – it is all history now in a way it never was. The world is a poorer place with no veterans of the Great War, and for those of us who knew veterans, and were able to spend time with them on the former killing fields, it’s a sad day indeed. But while the eyes of a generation may have been shut tight forever, the need to remember, to never forget has never been stronger. Harry’s gone to join his comrades in Ancient Sunlight… now we must make his life and their sacrifice worthy.

Just returned from Normandy, having spent the 65th Anniversary in the company of the York Branch of the Normandy Veterans Association. It was quite an incredible experience in many ways; tinged by sadness, but also to a degree with anger too over the way the Vets were treated by the French authorities, and the obvious American bias to the commemorations… the posters of Obama and ‘Welcome America’ throughout the British sector appalled and surprised many Vets.

But one thing emerged quite strongly – this is far from the last time these men and women will return. In many ways it is not the end, but the start of something new. The shadow of their youth cut stongly across the fields of Normandy, and danced among the white stone in the soldiers cemeteries south of the beaches. These men fought Hitler’s might, and lived to tell the tale. Their song is far from sung.