I have today received the latest posting of the Battalion's War Diary. As could probably be predicted from the recent patrols, Harry is now back in the front line.
This section of the War Dairy is extremely difficult to decipher, but I will do my best to update the blog of the War Diaries as the entries occur.
For those that haven't followed the War Diary, Harry's Battalion made it to the Divisional Football (soccer) Cup Final last Wednesday and won 2-0. A great result! BL
Back in the front Line
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109 comments:
Am a new and avid reader of this blog. Think it's a fantastic idea, and it makes me realise what we today owe the young men who fought such terrible battles in years gone by. How they fought in such terrible conditions I will never undestand, but I will be forever grateful.
I've just finshed reading your blog and wanted to say that it is fantastic! People need to be reminded that war is not as it is in the movies.
There is so much in Harry's letters that ring's true, I'm in the forces myself, and the fact that he keeps saying "write back soon" letters are a big moral boost when away from loved one's.
Keep up the good effort.
Those letters are like some that I read in a book called 'Soldier Boy.' I can't remember who the author is but it was a really good book describing what the trenches were like. I've been reading this blog from beginning to end
hey! greetings from Brazil here! i just want to say thank you for posting these moving letters! WWI fascinates me,and altought im only 16 I just love to know the soldier's personal experiences! it must be great have such things in your family! im waiting Harry news!
Brilliant, I am so glad I found this. I have a blog on a smaller scale of my dad's time as a POW in Singapore during WW2
http://daveross.wordpress.com/2007/12/01/my-dad-private-william-ross-10533623/
I am another new reader to the blog and just wanted to add my comment to thank and encourage you in all your efforts here.
It is a truly fascinating collection of letters and information. I have spent most of my day reading through the archives and I'm sure I will read each new entry as it appears with delight.
Hi there.
Could I suggest that you used a different font or different font colour when you are posting as a narrator then when you are posting on behalf of Harry? It would make reading easier.
The leading media in the Spanish-speaking world ("El País") featured your blog today:
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/blog/Primera/Guerra/Mundial/elpepuint/20080107elpepuint_8/Tes
Thank you so much for these letters. My Grandfather fought in the war. He was from Appleton Wisconsin, USA.
These letters give me an idea of what he went through as a soldier.
When he returned from the war he brought with him 2 rifles. I still use his 1917 Remington Enfield 30-06 rifles for deer hunting.
Hi from the US. I read about this blog on Yahoo. I just finished reading it from the beginning and like so many others, I'm now hooked.
Being only 44, I haven't experienced the fog of war personally, but did serve my country in the reserves so in training for that, I can appreciate.
I did, however, remember stories told of my mothers father who served in WW1 in the US Army.
Keep up the good work, and the way you are posting the letters...the date they occurred 100 years later...is excellent in that it keeps us readers on edge awaiting the next letter just as your grandfathers family did, awaiting the next correspondence.
wow. I hope you can decipher it, because Im eager to hear about it. You got us all interested. It feels like the letters were sent to us...
Excelente por conocer lo que ocurrio hace tantos años como si fuera ahora.
www.espacinsular.org
Es importante uno poder conocer esta experiencia sin estar presente
www.espacinsular.org
Quite interesting and istructive story. Madness of war appears through soldier's view. They see nothing of the battles, only gunshots, bombing, shrapnels and bullet. Nothing of heroic, but they hereos are.
I've read sime tìme ago the war diary of a man living in Italy dolomites mountains, at that time part of Austria, but the guy speaks italian and he's fighting against people living in tha next valley beyond mountain ridge, people they met at the country fair. They do not understand what is happening, but they are brave.
I recommend to everybody paying atttention to this story to read the last 50 pages of Thomas Mann's novel Der Zauberberg. Rarely i've found better description of war.
Thank you for your time you spend in this blog.
Graziano, Italy
Hi there. Just to let you know that an article has been written about your blog in the NZ Herald, one of NZ's largest daily papers. Go to : http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10485789
So you may be getting more NZ readers and comments now. Great blog idea. Keep up the great work!
I saw this post on the BBC news this morning, so I thought I would just drop in for a quick look. I ended up reading the lot with tears rolling down my face.
We really don’t know how lucky we are.
Good luck with the rest of your blog, I shall be dropping in again to follow Harry’s journey.
Helen
anewwayoflife08wordpress.com
Gostaria que fosse traduzido para português, não sei inglês e acho que deve ser bem interessante, quando eu arrumar um bom tradutor voltarei aqui.
Abraços....
Great idea and a brilliant resource for the younger generation to experience life during WW1. I will be recommending that our pupils have a look when they study ww1 life in the trenches.
What a lovely way to remember a loved one.
DDB - HHS, Earl Shilton
This is a fascinating, yet sad, soldier's perspective of fighting in and living through WWI. I read about your blog yesterday on MSNBC and spent this whole night reading the blog and the comments.
I was especially touched by how often Harry asks for letters from his family (he doesn't quite beg, but gets close on occasion). Our soldiers today experience fear, boredom, death, discomfort, and the unexpected, but soldiers in Harry's day had small rations of bread and water (no mention of meat except at Christmas), rarely had showers or baths, suffered uncomfortable boots and wet feet, barely stayed warm, and went for days and weeks without correspondence. I am not trying to downplay the havoc and despair of war in this day and age; I'm just pointing out that our soldiers now have much more decent food, clothing, bedding, shelter, leave times, and access to email, cell phones, etc. to keep in touch with their loved ones.
I do not know about my family's service (or lack thereof) during WWI. I am grateful and proud that both of my grandfathers were kept in the States during WWII to help with the war effort from home. My maternal grandfather was a mechanic (he was sent to San Diego to work on ships), and my paternal grandfather was a chemist working for a natural gas company (he was kept at his job in Texas, as maintaining and producing power at home was considered of the utmost importance during wartime).
I am especially grateful that my father, who was drafted, and my uncle (my dad's brother), who volunteered, were both 4-F for the Vietnam conflict (they're both legally blind without glasses). My dad's best friend did serve in Vietnam, and Dad said that his friend wouldn't even talk with him about what happened over there, and they'd known each other since diapers! It was truly terrible, and I'm glad I can't even imagine. As one commenter (Beverly) posted: "I suppose each war has its somewhat
unique brand of horror."
Thank you again for this wonderful insight into what life was like for an ordinary family man who was thrown into unspeakable conditions. Several readers and you have recommended books to go along with your blog. Most of the books describe the soldier's point of view. I strongly recommend a book I read in high school; I think it was called "The Black Hand of Sarajevo", that explains WHY WWI happened in the first place. It's been 20 years, but I still remember how the book explained the complexities of world politics, territorial boundaries, treaties made and treaties broken, and how one assassination brought about such a devastating war.
Keep up the good work!
Yours truly,
Texas History Buff
What a wonderful and touching tribute to your grandfather.
My family has a similar story, in that Grandpop's trench diaries survived with him until 1965 - they were read by my mother and uncle when they were deemed old enough, but he rarely mentioned that part of his life. Unfortunately, on his death, his 2nd wife destroyed the diaries and all other family papers and photographs.
In a strange way, this blog brings me closer to the Grandpop I struggle to remember (he was 3 years older than Harry). Thank you.
Nice work.
How about doing an audio version using an Asworth Lad the same age?
Just a thought!
My grandfather, another Harry, went through the war from its start to 1st July 1916. He was killed in action on the first day of the Somme. He was a sergeant in the South Staffs. Nothing survives from him.
My grandmother was left with 3 children under 6, one of whom was my father - another Harry. There had been another child but she died a few months before her father. My own father's earliest memory (aged 4) was the black edged telegram arriving and his mother holding it.
The horrors of the trenches are undoubted, but remember also the pain and suffering of the widows and orphans.
Ros
Dear Bill
What a brilliant concept !
As an ex-ww2 veteran who spent most of the years between 1943 and 1946 in Italy it has particular significance for me and I shall await each posting with great interest.
I have already posted a link to "a- Trieste",
http://www.atrieste.org/viewforum.php?f=34
(an Italian Blog to which I suscribe) and I know they will be equally enthralled.
Best wishes
Ron Goldstein
I speak spanish... ican't understand... I would like translate the text to spanish... sorry for my horrible english. Hablo español y no puedo entender... me gustaria y estoy interesado en visitar el blog pero no entiendo ingles... podria traducirse o algo por el estilo.
Thanks
I am a 55 year old American. My war was in Vietnam. Reading Harry's letters with his requests for letters from home brought up a well of emotion in me that caught me quite by surprise. I do not believe it is possible for people "back home" to comprehend how treasured each and every letter is to someone so far from home in such an alien environment.
Thank you for making the effort to share this treasure.
Qué guerra al pedo.
Your blog in Spanish main newspaper
Greetings
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/blog/Primera/Guerra/Mundial/elpepuinteur/20080107elpepuint_8/Tes
Hi, H,
Very interesting blog, it must have been scary and exiting for you to to discover these letters from your grandfather. As I am Belgian and from Bruges originally, I'm am interested in WWI, as I grew up near the main battle fields.
Both world wars left quite some traces in the landscape, but the most astonishing is still the scars in the landscape that are over 90 years old. Farmers in the Ypres and Passchendaele regions are still finding WWI bombs...
This summer I visited the north of France and I can advise you, if you ever go there, please visit the WWI museum in Péronne, http://www.greatwar.co.uk/westfront/Somme/museums/historial.htm
This link is only in French:
http://www.historial.org/
I did notice in the blogposts that you edit out comments with links, but I can assure you that I'm not spamming!
I just wanted to say, keep up the good work and go to Péronne if you can. It's the best war museum I have ever seen. Not because it's spectacular or overwhelming, but because it's discrete, informative, delicate and confronting. At the time I was there, there was a magnificent temporary exhibition about animals present in WWI.
There there, I shall stop my rambling :-)
Greetings
Wendy
Your blog just featured in Icelandic media today.
Thank you for sharing this with us. We must not forget the past, it is what shapes our present.
Andrea Ævars,
Reykjavík, Iceland.
I have just spent the last couple of hours reading your blog, and I must congratulate you, on the idea and the thought you have given it. As ex forces myself I can truly relate to “wanting to receive mail” it’s a great morale booster, also I received food parcels while away in the 1990s and still send them to my friends who are on ops now so nothing has changed there.
Keep up the great work, looking forward to the next letter!!!
Thankyou so much for these letters, they have taken over my life! I heard about the blog on radio 4 and was immediately captivated - as it seems is the rest of the world!
when im not spending time reading Harrys letters, im engrossed by all the comments from other readers!
I have many letters written by my grandfather during world war 2 which are very precious to me. I am inspired and touched by your blogs - what a wonderful way to share and preserve them.
I wait with baited breath and along with readers world wide for Harrys next letter. Once again - thankyou.
Thank you for this informative blog. My uncle (also a Harry) served with the AEF in WWI. His then fiance saved all his letters. Many years ago Harry collected them into a folder which my wife is now putting into electronic form. Maybe I'll do something like this showing an American soldier's perspective of The Great War.
I have just finished reading the blog i had found it to be amazing the amount of detail it lets you into on how the soliders in WW1 survived. I read about this blog on Yahoo and immediately logged on to read it. I wait with anticipation on the next letter from Harry to find out how he is. Fantastic, keep up all the good work with the blog.
This was a wonderful idea. I have just discovered it via the CNN story today, and I plan to read it from the beginning.
Thank you for this wonderful and poignant blog documenting the realities and sacrifices made by WWI Soldiers.
My Uncle Manny gave his life in battle and is buried somewhere in France although I still researching to find out exactly where.
Sincerely,
Chuck
USA
The media explosion continues. Your story and work made the front page of CNN.http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/01/08/wwi.soldier.blog.ap/index.html
For my part I would simply like to thank you. I'm about to start reading _The Guns of August_ and will greatly appreciate the soldier's perspective that this site brings.
I have just today become aware of your fascinating blog and have read it through in one sitting. I shall be a daily reader henceforward! I wonder, are you aware of the book "Your Death Would Be Mine: Paul and Marie Pireaud in the Great War" by Martha Hanna? Dr Hanna was one of my grad (post-grad) professors at university, a specialist in French history. Her work is very similar to yours, utilizing as it does a set of family letters to chronicle the experiences of one family through WWI ... though "her" family was French. Your readers may find Dr Hanna's book to be a very good companion to your blog. I shall be sending her a note to alert her to your work. I look forward to your daily updates and to discovering the fate of your ancestors.
Hi.
New reader here, you just reached the Icelandic press, at
"mbl.is" is a link to your blog.
I read about this blog on CNN Online, and I'm glad to be aware of it. I didn't have any relatives serve in the Great War, but my husband's great-grandpa did as a doctor. His grandma told me some stories about him, and he was an honorable man.
The whole subject of the politics surrounding WWI have fascinated me for years. I think that it's shameful that the US hasn't paid adequate tribute to the 100,000 who never returned from France. I sincerely hope that Harry came home to Britain. We shall see.
"Lafayette, I have come!"
Have just discovered this blog all the way from New Zealand - what a fantastic record of a conflict in which the repercussions are still echoing even today! I am a keen amateur military historian particularly WW1 and am currently trying to write a fictional account of a New Zealand Soldier's experiences in the first world war, as with it having more or less passed from living memory I feel its a story that must be told - much as you have done here. Thank you for publishing this online - we are indebted to you.
The information of Passchendale in particular resonates with me. Passchendaele is only just becoming recognised in New Zealand for the disaster that it was - much more so than the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign. After a supporting role in the successful assault at Broodenseinde Ridge by the Australian units in the (the New Zealand objective in support was Gravenstafal Spur) on Oct 4th (where the artillery support was meticulously planned) the subsequent attack on the 12th of October was hurried and the artillery support insufficent and as a result New Zealand suffered the greatest number of military casualties suffered in a single day - and 2,700 casualties including some 800 killed. This eclipsed the entire number of casualties New Zealand suffered in the entire Gallipoli campaign.
There are eseveral good books for those interested - Nigel Steele and Peter Hart's book "Passchendaele: The sacrifical ground" is a comprehensive look at the Passchendaele offensive, and for a New Zealand perspective Glynn Harper's book "Massacre at Passchendaele" makes for sober reading.
Anyway once again thank you every so much for publishing these. They are a special reminder of the ordinary men who did their duty on both sides. my email address for Correspondence is a.realistnz@gmail.com
Thanks
Aran
Excellent and good for you, sir. As a teacher of history I know and understand the joy you must feel for creating a project and watching it blossom into a spectacular success. Please keep up the good work.
What a wonderful project that you are sharing with us! I suspect it got away from you a bit in scale, didn't it? :D You certainly have become The Place To Visit on the internet! I have a quick question for you... did Harry and his wife exchange letters with one another? I assume they did, were they lost to the family? Do you have any information to share regarding this? Perhaps you mentioned something earlier in the blog but I have just discovered you today and am currently plowing my way through the archives. Thanks so much for sharing, and keep up the great effort!
I just read about your blog on CNN here in the US. Thanks for doing this. I've read many books about the boys we sent to Europe in WWI. It's good to see that more stories are being published. As we approach the 100th anniversary, I hope the world remembers and stories like this one will help that happen.
Thanks again.
I read about Harry's blog on Reuters two or three days ago, and immediately went to the site and read it from bottom to top. Thank you so much for putting in what is obviously a great deal of work. The extra links to battalion diaries, etc are a fantastic addition, the additional context complements the incredible journey tremendously.
Both of my mother's grandfathers served in France in World War I, though little record of their time there remains--just a couple of photographs--but Harry's letters allow me to imagine, to some extent, my great grandfathers as they endured the horrible "war to end all wars".
As a young college student, I was assigned to read the collected poems of Wilfred Owen, a British soldier turned poet who wrote of the horrors and realities of World War I. If you have never read his works (I'd bet you have), you may find them enlightening and relevant not only to Harry's blog, but to your students as well. His poetry is easily found online (and could be easily linked to from the blog). Among other poems, you may recognize, "Dulce et decorum est".
Thanks again for all of your hard work--checking for new entries is quickly becoming a high point of my day!
~Doc~
Awesome work!
Are you sure about Connie being Kate's daughter? Since Kate worked later as a mid-wife, couldn't it be that she just took this girl under her care and then because of her hectic life, had to turn her over to her brother (and also because she was single and that way she didn't have to do so much explaining)? They may have just buried them together because she helped her. Just asking.
Your blog story has been picked up by Brisbane Times, Queensland, Australia. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au
Came acroos this by accident, how absolutely fantastic!!
A great read, very informative and very compelling.
My own grandfather served in WW1 survived but died when I was very young, so was unable to get information from him.
I have researched the family tree and got to 1700's but always feel compelled to find more about his war service and his other relatives who served.
Thank you for this insight...
hi bill, just like to compliment you on your blog. came to by accident. like many other readers my grandfather too served in the great war. my grandfather was part of the 36th ulster division (royal Irish Rifles) that took theivpal at the battle of the somme and after being relieved at the front after a few weeks went onto passchendale. my late grandfather survived the war but when i was growing never liked to talk about it as it brought back so many memories of lost colleagues and friends. through your blog and what harry went through one can only imagine what the boys went through. thankyou for trying to give us an insight. keep up the good work, god bless. GARY ULSTER
Outstanding work !
Congratulations for your initiative and thanks to share with us your grand father's dramatic experience ...
The leading journal in Portugal recommends your blog ( http://clix.expresso.pt/gen.pl?p=stories&op=view&fokey=ex.stories/211204 )
Well done
Hello! I am writing from Western Australia. I'm sure you'll get a few of us "sand-groppers" emailling you due to an article in todays West Australian newspaper. As an avid family historian, with an interest in war-time history, it caught my eye and the curiosity about Harry and his life, his battles, his experiences and the men along side him got the better of me. Wanted to say thank you so much for sharing a part of yourself and your family with the world - and doing it in such a unique and interesting way! Keep it up. All the best. Melissa
My grandfather Pvt. Ralph Reed, Battery B (U.S. Army) rode a horse pulling the cason's "artillery" and had a horse shot out from under him. He was also wounded in a Mustard Gas attack and spent four weeks in a hospital in France. This is a perfect use for a blog.
Hello, thank you so much for sharing such a personal and beautiful thing with us! I'm from Western Australia. My great-great-grandfather, 2 of my great-grandfathers and all their brothers, 2 of my grand-fathers, my father, my uncle, now my young cousin...all have been to war, all are undoubtably heroes - though they did/do not think so, all have suffered greatly - along with their families. If the madness could only stop, if only we could raise our children - the next generations- in peace.
Thank you once again.
I have been sneak-reading this at work when possible since yesterday and have now caught right up to date. The men like Harry made it possible for me to sit and do that. he seems so cheerful and positive, and how he waits for his parcels from home. We need to think of our guys currently deployed around the world and rememeber them with little notes and parcels. It is the same for them now as it was for harry. My thoughts are with is gallant Soul. I hope he makes it home to Ethel.
I've been reading your blog and think it's brilliant, what a great idea. I think as these events get more into the past we have to try different things to keep them alive. My Son is in the forces so I can empathise with the family left at home...we must never forget what we owe these guys and girls! Thanks
My mother had three uncles in this war. I have struggled to find ANYTHING about what they did and where they were. Your Blog is fantastic. IT has refreshed my heart in my search to find out about my heritage. Thank YOU!
I just found out about this blog and read it all. I think it is an excellent idea.
To relive what those men went through.
Thank you for bringing it to life for us.
Fasinating!
In chili also we follow(continue) you and even you have gone out in the press, excuse but my Englishman is not very good
El Mercurio (a chilean newspaper)featured your blog today:
http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/01/09/internacional/internacional/noticias/831A227D-9920-41BB-8D11-20864AECCD66.htm?id={831A227D-9920-41BB-8D11-20864AECCD66}
Very stunning the blog I miss the pictures simply from beside the entries.
You should move this blog to your own web site! At least you could than sell advertisments on it and get a little money for your work. Would be alot better than having all these google ads on you site!
B.r
Atli
Hello,
We just hear about your blog in the radio, here in France on France Inter. It's a great idea to share your grandda's letters. It's really interesting for every human being. Thank you a lot.
Krisstl
I came across your Blog via an article on Yahoo. It is fascinating.
Just finished the War Diaries section. On the entry for December 23rd you refer to the strange lettering of the work parties. I assume you mean the (a) (B) (D). If so perhaps these refer to A B & D Coy's.
This blog is amazing. As a young fan of war history, it's totally gripping.
I constantly keeping signing back on, to see if there is anymore news.
What your doing is amazing, and I respect you for it. Your keeping the memory of war alive, and getting across the message that it's not at all glamourous.
Well done.
Thank you for your work on this blog.
Harry's letters make me think about my relatives at war (my great-grandfather was a medical officer, his brothers were in artillery and spent the rest of their lives suffering from shell-shock): I've always thought it's a pity I have no way to know how they felt there in the trenches - just some mementos: a pale photo, an officer's sword. It sounds like, when I'm reading these posts, I get a little bit closer to my deads and their feelings: I guess there are really few things as precious as this, if you want to understand what History means.
Many thanks from V., Italy
I'm eager to know what happened to Harry.
I'm a Spanish student who is now in Sheffield and I realise here that the WWI and WWII are very different here. Well...it could be just because we didn't fight in any of them (at least, oficially).
Anyway...great job, for me it's a very valuable and enjoyable reading. Thanks a lot and keep up with the effort!
Thank you for setting up such an interesting blog. I heard you being interviewed on BBC Radio 4 when you were asked what you would do with the original letters. I would suggest that you make copies for you/family and donate the originals to the Imperial War Museum so that they can be conserved and archived properly. My brother and I did this with our father's papers relating to his being a political conscientious objector during WW1. They were in bad condition and it is good to know that they have been conserved and will be available to future researchers.
Thanks.
I read about your blog in a Toronto newspaper, and have followed since.
Keep up the good work.
S.Roseth
Toronto,Ontario, CA
very moving and interesting at the same time,even though hell is all around him he comes over very calm,as if he is there to do a job and by golly that is what he is going to do.
Hi.
If you want to see a story on your blog who have delivered in a TV Spain "laSexta." Get http://www.lasextanoticias.com and in the search (buscar) enter the word "Primera" click and click on the first video and watch the film. Thank you.
i am finding myself gripped by the situation harry is in i keep checking if there is any letters and i think it must of been a daily prayer if harrys just hoping for news from home i find that i can almost taste the mood for him it must of been very tough i just want him to be ok
An article on Henry Lamin's blog was featured in the Herald newspaper today (10 Jan) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Brilliant blog this is.
Thank you so much for posting this. I am a student of cultural history so I am just thrilled! What a exciting story and it's so amazing to get into the details of history like that.
I am so excited to see what happens to Harry next!
All the best,
Helene in Norway.
Article in major Norwegian newspaper:
http://www.dagbladet.no/magasinet/2008/01/10/523389.html
Hi. I recently came accross this blog, and now that I've read through the archives, I'm fascinated, and am hoping for good news come November, not bad news sooner.
I just wanted to let you know that I named your blog my Awesome Link of the Week. I'd link you, but I know you're keeping links out of the comments, which I understand. Even so, I thought you'd like to know. Thanks!
Hi!I've found out about your blog in a local station in Portugal. It's a fantastic an amazing work. A really tribute to your grandfather.
Please continue because i'm eager to find out want happen with Harry.
Bye
Read about this blog on a news site; once I started reading the 'letters' I couldn't stop! Am so caught up in Harry's fate that I found myself worrying if he will get back ok. Many thanks to Harry's grandson for doing this project.
Hi!
I´m one more brazilian reader, and I´d like to thank you for the effort to keep this part of history alive.
Many friends of yours are waiting Harry news!
One of the papers here in Norway had an article of your blog, its really cool :D I just finished reading your blog, and I have to say its fantastic! Keep it up :D
I've just finished reading your blog. Thank you for posting this. My great-granduncle went overseas with the 85th Michigan Division to fight in World War I, but we have no letters of his preserved from that time. I feel as if reading Harry's letters that you've posted helps to give me a better understanding of what his life might have been like. The addition of the Battalion War Diary is an excellent one and is very helpful in putting Harry's experiences in context. Thanks again.
Another new reader. Great blog.
Good afternoon:
Just received the link to your blog from a friend and have spent the better part of an hour reading them (instead of grading papers as I should be doing!). As a high school teacher of World History and U.S. History, I am moved by the picture that these letters paint. I will be using them in the classroom to enable my students to get a better understanding of the terrible realities of warfare, especially "the war to end all war". Keep up the good work!
Ocoee, FL USA
tht was th weridest things i've ever saw la8ly so idk wat 2 think about it...
Hey,I found your blog in an article in the Fincancial Times Deutschland.
Very interesting idea,best regards Tobias
I just have to read one of these for a school assignment so I hope it is as interresting as everybody says it is
Everyone says this is good but Im only reading this for a school assignment so I hope its good
Im only doing this for a school asignment so I hope it is good
By Timmy S.
This blog is amazing! I saw it as a news item on Yahoo.com.au. Now I'm hooked on Harry.
My Great Grandad fought in WW1 although as far as I know there are no letters, diaries etc. How I wish there were.
I have 2 small children and always remind them of the sacrifice these people made. They love going too the Anzac day marches. (We are in Australia, but I am English). We owe so much to the brave people that fought for us. Thank you for this blog!
This Blog is amazing. I'm hooked on Harry!
Thank you so much for doing this. My Great Grandad fought in WW1 but unfortunatley I do not have any memorabilia.
These guys are the real heroes. Thanks to them we live as we do. We are making sure our 2 children know this as they grow up.
Thank you again. I'm really encouraging my 9 year old to read this too.
Brilliant idea!
Your blog is featuread today, in Diário de Notícias, one of Portugal's main newpapers.
Congratulations
just read your blog, had to photo copy it for my family to read, gret as you feel like you are with him and find out information you neve hear about keep it up as I shall keep reading, my granfather was on the sea so shall be looking through his old letters found to see what I can find out.
from Kent england.
Having just finished reading this blog I would like to say to the author that you have done a wonderfull job!
I take great interest in WW1, having visited the majority of battlefields many of them mentioned on this blog. It is a very humbling experiance and would recommend it to anyone (in particular Vimmy Ridge, Messine, Tyne-Cot cemetry, Hill 60, Hooge Crater). Toc H is worth visiting, this being the very first NAAFI set up by a Padre for all ranks, it was a refuge in Ypres where soldiers could go to rest or use the homemade chapel in the roof. Be sure to make time to visit the Menin Gate, I had the privalige in laying a wreath here. I was 17 at the time and had just joined the Army (it is an emotional memory that I shall allways cherish).
I myself am a serving soldier, my grandfather also served and my great grandfather served in WW1 (Royal Artillary). My family have kept letters from all generations, be it mine from operational tours to grand parents from the wars. I wonder how many diaries or letters that are in attics that people don't know about, it would be a shame to loose this bit of history.
Before I stop rambling some books that are a must read:-
Regeneration by Pat Baker, Memoirs of an Infantry Officer by Siegfried Sassoon, War Diary by John Glubb, Forgotton Voices of the Great War.
P.s. Looking forward to Harry's next letter
Incredible! What a great idea!
I am currently working on a similar blog about a P51 fighter pilot from WW2. I am planning on publishing his complete diary from Jan 1 to June 12, 1944(the day before he gets shot down).
Your blog is quite an inspiration!
My blog is
http://angelfromhellmovie.blogspot.com/
Hi from Colombia Bill!
Your blog is amazing! That's a wonderful document about how real people live a war. No the generals who are living like at home guiding the war as far as possible from the front. Here we have a war also. We have lots of horrific stories told by the victims of our conflict. Your blog gives the world the opportunity to see how terrible a war is.
Congrats and go ahead!
I'm from Brazil and I'm having one of the most interesting experiences of my life reading this diary.
I've read about the blog in a newspaper from here and got interested on it - now also sharing it with my friends.
Excellent idea! It's history happening in front of our eyes!
Wish you lucky,
Ana Maria Rosa
Btw. the German media now jumped on the bandwagon. Not in some kinda bad way, plain reports. I'm pretty curious, but all great stories end tragically ;-)
Not only after the "Joyeux Noel", I knew the common soldier back in the day on any side was more alike with his counterpart than with his own committed officers. My great-grandfather was dead by the time I was born in '81 but my great-grandmother told me about the WW1 when I was kid, she was born 1888 and lives 101 years.
But nowadays you can barely talk about bravery in war here, but it's becoming more normal.
WOW. Just read your blog, extremely interesting. Puts my own experience in Iraq in a new prespective. I have little to complain about.
Thanks,
~G
So..We will never know what a war will be like unless your there and we hope a world war never happens again. But with this, we can try to feel wjhat ti was like to there.
Hi there. I know you are aware of the BBC's coverage of your blog, but I thought you might be interested to hear that I found out about it watching the CBC's (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) news program "The National". Small wonder you are feeling overwhelmed with the attention.
Anyway, I intend to read everything you've posted so far and follow it into the unknown.
Deborah
British Columbia
Canada
German Financial Times reported about
your blog, take a look at:
http://ftd.de/lifestyle/outofoffice/:Out%20Office%20Erster%20Weltkrieg%20Web/302010.html
My Grandpa was in Verdun...he never talked about that time, but when he was POW in South France..he could report a lot, this was around 1917.
He had luck, he was only 4 weeks in Verdun, than the Allied catch him.
Its sad i cant find out more about, because the german central archive from the WW1 was lost in WW2, after a bombing attack. It burned down.
So every file from all soldier from the WW1 was lost.
Only a chance is the French central WW1 Archive, but they need time.
Well anyhow...great blogg...like it
Friendly greets from germany
I feel sorry for Harry to be "now" in the front where Italy and Austria were fighting in the Alps, specialy in this time of the year. Terrible cold, avalanches and low oxygen levels means that Harry is "now" shivering in cold and gasping for air. And coming now from the western front means that he has litle or no fat to help him keeping warm.
Thank you for creating this amazing blog. I have just spent the last few hours reading it and am totally in time and space with Harry and his family.
I have spent a lot of time also following the history of my own family in WW I. I am the grandson of two soldiers who fought there, one with the Royal Montreal Regiment (DCM, MM-Bar) and the other with the 75th Canadian Artillery. I can only follow history documents to understand what they did or saw, your blog following Harry adds so much human detail that it brings many of my own thoughts to life.
Thank You for doing this,
Jim Shaver - Oakville Ontario
We Shall Remember Them
hi!
last week here in Italy appeared an article about your blog on "corriere della sera" our most important newspaper.
this blog is really interesting and i can't wait to read more about harry's story...
bye!
hi, very interesting letters! Thanks for giving a chance to look at the history
I came to read this wonderful record of remembrance through seeing an article in the media and wanted to thank you so much for making the effort to produce such an honest and considered record of your family history for us all to appreciate.
Things such as this are so powerful and important as 90 years ago young men and their families faced horrors that where so devastating and terrific that future generations still feel awe struck and moved by such sacrifice, as the comments to this blog show.
Like most families rooted in the combatant nations of WWI we (and my wife’s) made a covenant with those left behind that this would not be forgotten, a promise I passionately hold dear but much more importantly reading these personal notes from a simple cog in a huge industrial war machine should be the strongest argument to remind ourselves that we also promised the “never again” sadly an impossible commitment, but one we should always remind ourselves of when we ask young men to stand again.
Wow - what a great idea for a blog! I'm totally fascinated!
my Grandfather fought with the 20th Battalion 2nd Division CEF and survived the war. this blog brings his experiences closer to me. Thanks
Here's the link to Corriere's article.
Thanks for what you're doing.
http://www.corriere.it/cronache/08_gennaio_05/ultime_lettere_Harry_tricee_Blog_Santevecchi_981818a6-bba1-11dc-b478-0003ba99c667.shtml
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