Latest news with #Ypres
BBC News
27-05-2025
- BBC News
Worcester man to cycle to Belgium to honour great-grandfather in WW1
A man is to take on a 320-mile cycle ride from Worcester to Belgium in honour of his great-grandfather, who fought in a pivotal World War One Walker will be supported by about 20 other cyclists as he goes to the Belgian village of Gheluvelt, which is today marked on maps as Geluveld, which was the scene of a clash won by 300 people from Worcestershire in 1914. Men from the 2nd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment saved the city of Ypres in Belgium from Walker, from Worcester, whose great-grandfather, Sgt Joseph Garner, was involved, will begin the four-day journey at Gheluvelt Park in the city, which was named after the battle, on 26 June. More than 300 men charged through open fields during the Battle in Gheluvelt on 31 October 1914 before the Germans Worcestershire Regiment was the last available reserve of the British defence and fought against the Germans alone, leaving 187 men from the county wounded or Walker said: "When I look at the footage... it's quite unbelievable, and the sacrifice they made and what they went through as soldiers, I don't think we can comprehend fully."But it makes me extremely proud that he was one of those soldiers, and I'm here today for that reason." He will embark on the ride to honour his great-grandfather and the men from the 2nd Mercian Regiment Museum collects and displays artefacts and documents relating to the Worcestershire Regiment, its antecedents and its why the park has the same name as the village, the museum's Lt Col Mark Jackson said: "At the end of the First World War, when many other people were building memorials across Flanders and other places the British Army went to, the people of Worcestershire said, 'No, we'd like to build our memorial in our city'. "So Gheluvelt Park is Worcester's war memorial and it's used every day." Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Today, only Ukraine and Russia are ready for land war. We must change that
Ukraine's struggle against Russia has not fundamentally changed the principles of war. But when it comes to how we fight and how we prosecute violence on the battlefield, it most certainly has. The requirements for success are the same in general terms. We need actionable intelligence on enemy dispositions and intentions, the ability to strike and defeat the enemy, and the ability to hold ground. This latter and most important element still requires soldiers. The trench warfare today in the Donbas is no different to the trench warfare at Ypres in 1915. Necessity is the mother of innovation on today's battlefield as much as it was during WWI, and trained manpower is still essential to develop and exploit any sort of success. For most casual observers on the war in Ukraine, it is the drone which has changed the nature of conflict, but I suggest that is a false assumption. It is the changing way drones are used, not their inherent characteristics which have changed the fight. My last post in the British Army was in an intelligence role to help bring the Watchkeeper drone into service. This was a multi-million-pound surveillance platform. If you lose one such vehicle, you lose a huge amount of your capability. Today for the same price you can buy 10,000 drones off the shelf which can do much the same job. You can lose quite large numbers of these and your fighting capability is barely affected. What is key today is the electromagnetic spectrum – he who controls this, controls the battle space. This means that fighting is not now about men and women being robust and able to shoot straight: there is an increasing role for the gamer and the hacker to affect the outcome of the battle from a 'room in-the-rear'. Most of the soldiers killed in today's war are killed by drones, potentially operated by someone far off: most of the drones, however, are relatively short ranging, meaning that the drone which kills a soldier probably took off from somewhere not that far away. There is thus still a need for tough, brave troops able to operate close to the enemy lines. At the beginning of the war, we were training the Ukrainian army how to fight, but it is now them who are showing us the way to operate on the contemporary battlefield and I hope we are listening. We must also acknowledge, with the evolution of technology accelerating at such a pace, that where possible, we must buy drones etc off-the-shelf, modified if required. If we try to produce everything ourselves it will be well out of date well before it hits the front. Where we have the advantage, as perhaps in laser anti-drone technology, we should lead, but for most other capabilities we should follow our allies. The much-discussed Strategic Defence Review is about to hit the streets with the plans for the British military over the next decade or so. With the current pace of change, it is no small wonder it is delayed and shrouded in secrecy. The team producing it are no doubt nervous about backing the wrong horse, tank or drone. The old saw 'there is nothing new, just stuff we forgot' has some resonance here. What has certainly not changed is the general principles of war, or as General Bill Slim put it 'hit the other fellow as fast as you can, as hard as you can, when he ain't looking and where it hurts him most'. The principles of war have not changed at all, but the pace of innovation and technology has never been faster. Agility and flexibility are key. Well trained, motivated and well led soldiers are still essential, but control of the electromagnetic spectrum is the single most significant element for the successful prosecution of violence on the battlefield today and likely into the future. The Review must produce a fighting force fit for the current and future battlefield – not the 'status quo ante' which Reviews have been wont to do in the past.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Deminers comb Belgian countryside for remnants of Great War
Working with the utmost care, a Belgian deminer wiggled a century-old artillery shell from the soil and deposited it safely in a sandbox in the back of his truck. "This one's an 18-pounder -- there might be a bit of explosive left inside," said Franjo, one of a team of army specialists whose job is to comb the countryside for remnants of the Great War. In the flat fields of northwestern Belgium, where hundreds of thousands of soldiers fell between 1914 and 1918, traces of the conflict are everywhere. Beyond the military cemeteries -- their neat rows of tombstones stretching sometimes beyond the line of sight -- British, German and French shells and munitions are constantly turning up at the surface. The task of tracking and removing them keeps the demining service of the Belgian army -- known as SEDEE in French, DOVO in Flemish -- busy on a daily basis. Founded in the wake of World War I, the service concentrates its activities around the town of Langemark-Poelkapelle, north of Ypres, where it has set up base. Each year its teams respond to more than 2,000 requests from farmers or construction crews to remove munitions -- some spent, but others still live -- after turning the soil to sow crops or lay foundations for a new home. Once removed, the team determines how dangerous the munitions are -- and based on that how to dispose of them, either detonating them outside, or burning them in an oven. "We destroy 200 to 250 tonnes every year," Jacques Callebaut, head of public relations for the deminer service, told AFP. On this morning near Ypres, it took the team under an hour to scoop up a dozen shells and grenades -- snaking along little country roads with their small truck. Franjo -- who asked to be identified by first name only -- and his two teammates navigate with the help of a small pile of printed police emails, mapping all the spots where potential explosives have been flagged. - 'An added danger' - Sometimes landowners try to make their work easier by setting out the shells to be collected from the roadside. The deminers themselves wear thick gloves to handle the rusted relics, which can potentially contain white phosphorus, arsenic or mustard gas -- a chemical weapon causing skin blistering also known as yperite because of its use near Ypres in World War I. "Around 60 percent of the munitions we find contain an explosive load, and around 10 to 30 can also be toxic, which brings an added danger," Callebaut said. When in doubt, they rely on technology -- peering inside the shell with X-rays to spot a smoke cartridge, or using a neuron spectrometer to analyse its various materials. Belgium's deminers have built up a degree of expertise that other countries have come to rely on. "We handle the toxic munitions found in The Netherlands, and a few weeks ago we were called to neutralise a bomb in Norway as they didn't have the equipment to do so," Callebaut said. At the crossroads of the Germanic, French and British empires, Belgium has been a key battlefield since the European Middle Ages -- and famously saw Napoleon's French army defeated by the British at Waterloo, in 1815. It was heavily hit by the two world wars of the 20th century -- but it was the first that left by far the most traces in the land. "World War II shells only turn up from time in time, in cities that came under bombardment," said Corentin Rousman, a Belgian historian. Near Ypres, by contrast, "there was a static front line for four years, with millions of shells on either side," he said. mad/ec/ub/jj
Times
12-05-2025
- Times
First World War soldier buried 108 years after his death
A soldier who died in the First World War has been buried with full military honours nearly 108 years after he was killed in battle. Private John Tame died on August 16, 1917, during the Battle of Langemarck, and was one of three brothers who died between 1915 and 1917. After his remains were discovered during roadworks near Ypres in Belgium, the Ministry of Defence's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) — also known as the War Detectives — identified him from a previous shoulder wound, a cap badge and shoulder title of the Royal Berkshire Regiment. They traced his great nephew, Keith Brooks, who provided a DNA sample to confirm his identity. He was laid to rest on May 8 in Belgium, attended by
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
WW1 soldier laid to rest after nearly 108 years
A World War One soldier has been buried with full military honours nearly 108 years after his death. Pte John Tame, who was from Windsor and served in the Royal Berkshire Regiment, was killed in Belgium in August 1917. His remains were found during road works at Zonnebeke, near Ypres, in May 2018, with a cap badge and a Royal Berkshire Regiment shoulder title found nearby. A DNA match to a living relative confirmed his identity and he was laid to rest at the New Irish Farm cemetery, near Ypres, on Thursday. Pte Tame's older brother L/Cpl Alfred Tame and Cpl William George Tame, who served in the same regiment, were both killed during the Battle of Aubers Ridge on 9 May 1915. Their bodies have never been found and they are commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial, about 11 miles (18km) from where their brother is now buried. On Friday, on the 110th anniversary of their deaths, their family and a party from 2nd Battalion the Rifles visited the memorial to remember the missing brothers. Keith Brooks, Pte Tame's great nephew, helped the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) to identify him by giving a DNA sample. "John and his brothers Alfred and William have been remembered by the family from just photographs and vague memories from those who have now long passed," Mr Brooks said. "Now, after finding John's remains, he is more than just a distant photograph. This has made him more real along with his story for future generations. "This has all been achieved because of the excellent work the MOD do with all the research and investigations, giving missing people who have served their country the funeral they all greatly deserve." Rosie Barron, who works for the JCCC, said: "It has been an honour to work with The Rifles to give Pte Tame the full military funeral that he deserves and to have conducted the research which led to his identification. "It has also been a privilege to meet Keith and to have shared this experience with him and his family." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Commonwealth War Graves Commission Ministry of Defence
