Peter Doyle

Thanks very much!

RND anchor silk postcard with the words ‘Souvenir from France’

Regimental badges on silks are sought after, as they are decorative and interesting, connecting the sender with their unit, instilling pride. This one is all the more interesting through its connection to the Royal Naval Division (RND) - sailors in khaki who served in the trenches

They are beautiful - and numerous - with the ‘rare’ ones commanding the most interest. This can lead to them being taken as ‘common’ or ‘familiar’, but most carry messages home from a shell-blasted landscape of love and hope from that is poignant

Silk postcard with the flags of the Allies, and a central Maple leaf and crown motif of the CEF. It’s message- Souvenir de la Grande Guerre - suggests it was aimed at French Canadians

A silk postcard sent home by a soldier from the Great War, but perhaps with a difference. Its central maple leaf and crown motif indicative of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), its French script suggesting it was aimed at French Canadians

There are a huge number of them out there, so many in fact, that they are commonly overlooked. But their message is clear, keepsakes from the war zone, intended to be treasured by those who received them.

Silk postcard with the flags of the Allies, a doing of mistletoe and the message ‘A kiss from the trenches’

Silk postcards are avidly collected, though examples like this one, faded and grubby, are likely to be overlooked. But there is something about its message, ‘a kiss from the trenches’, that draws the eye and sponsors reflection: a simple message of love from a frontline soldier of the Great War

Abram Games’ poster, at the IWM (Art.IWM PST 2911) showing the health centre with a child with rickets behind: the centre, still thriving, is shown below, 2026

Your Britain: Fight For it Now - 1943/2026. Abram Games’ hard-hitting poster depicted modern health care (Finsbury Health Centre, with want and degradation lurking in the rear; a future worth fighting for in 1943- and today

Zeppelin building, Farringdon

Plaque recording a Zeppelin raid on Farringdon, 1915

Reminders of the ‘first blitz’

Rifleman Strudwick’s grave in 1985

Essex Farm dressing station in 1985

Here’s Rifleman Strudwick’s grave in 1985, and the adjacent Essex Farm dressing station from the same period

They were, though I guess I didn’t know it then. The standouts for me were Zeebruge & HMS Invincible, Dixmude ‘Trenches of Death’, Ypres & Menin Gate, Langemarck & Tyne Cot, the Sanctuary Wood trenches, Beaumont Hamel, Thiepval & Ulster Tower, Lochnagar crater - all the classics of course

Fantastic: good to hear

Laurel & Hardy, masters of their art

Erm…. ‘Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness’ - these guys, naturally

Remains of FWW shells and other detritus at Hooge Chateau, part of the Ypres Salient

Remains of FWW shells and other detritus at Hooge Chateau, part of the Ypres Salient

Remains of FWW barbed wire and other detritus at Hooge Chateau, part of the Ypres Salient

Remains of FWW shells and other detritus at Hooge Chateau, part of the Ypres Salient

The Salient. The physical remains of a war that still reminds us of how easy it is to slip into conflict, and how difficult it is to escape entrenched positions

Hopefully we are seeing a journey for the illustrations’ from being seen as anachronistic oddities to one of the pinnacles of Victorian scientific achievement. Many have challenges in viewing the beasts as anything other than ‘wrong’. Fortunately, the guys from Utah fully understood this

I visited aged 15 with a School
group led by Graeme Maddocks in the mid ‘70s, the first time I’d ever been ‘abroad’. I’ve never forgotten that trip; I visited again in the mid ‘80s, and from then on the Salient entered the soul. It’s really interesting to see the changes in attitude and approach

The Victorian Geological Illustrations of Crystal Palace Park, London: cycles of conservation and neglect, 1993–2023 In 2023, two decades after the restoration of the Victorian Geological Illustrations by the London Borough of Bromley—and the visit of the late HRH Prince Phillip to mark the completion of the restor...

Which is great news, especially after the neglect of the last few years. In my view - and others - this site and its incredible reconstructions is World Heritage onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

I was there just before Christmas with a student group from Utah. They are carrying out extensive renovations, and when I went the whole site was fenced off. You can walk around the perimeter of the fence and can get some glimpses.

YouTube video by Gallipoli Association Gallipoli 1915: the impact of terrain from ‘forcing the Dardanelles’ to ‘evacuating the beaches’

@profpeterdoyle.bsky.social kindly spoke at our Annual Conference in 2024. You can catch up with it here....and all of our other conference talks and zoom lectures.

youtu.be/gyJol5djRHA?...

And to you, Nigel!

Thanks Bart, and to you!

Ooh lovely

HNY!

😁

Thanks Bart, and to you

And to you, Veronica!

Thanks Simon, best wishes to you and yours!

The Khaki Chums’ memorial cross at Plugstreet, scene of one of the Christmas Truce meetings in No Man’s Land, 1914

Merry Christmas to all

Happy Christmas Dion

Thanks Andy!

The killing was always present, but the spontaneous truces were well-documented. The exaggeration is really due to the interest in football, and the desire to have this as a real centre to the stories