Robin Braysher

The skirl of the pipes!

Last month I was in London with an evening to spare, so I bought myself a ticket to an event on Horse Guards Parade, something I hadn’t done for many years. The last time I went to one of these, I’m sure it was just billed as ‘Beating Retreat’ by the Household Division, but this was a ‘Military Musical Spectacular’! And the name wasn’t the only change – a large digital screen, electric guitars and fireworks were also innovations, but, at least, the bands of the Brigade of Guards hadn’t changed.

The Salonika campaign was, of course, far too unfashionable for the ‘Gentlemen’s Sons’ of the Guards to take part in – so it was left to ‘The Feet’ (i.e. the line infantry) to do the job – but I did find a Salonika connection during the evening.

Wot … no tanks?

A recent holiday in Dorset gave me the opportunity to visit the Tank Museum at Bovington, something I haven’t done for more than 50 years. It was very exciting, although a little alarming to find myself older than some of the exhibits! Although I did have a quick look at the First World War monstrosities (and took a few photos, below), they were not the reason for my visit. What I wanted to see were tanks from the Second World War: Matildas, Valentines, Churchills, Shermans – especially ‘The Funnies’ – and, my all time favourite, Cromwells … but that’s what happens when your formative years were spent with war comics, classic war movies and Airfix kits … lots of Airfix kits! Anyway, I wasn’t disappointed, but this is not the place to discuss my favourite tanks.

Alles Klar!

Have you been to Zeitenlik? Even if the name doesn’t ring any bells, if you’ve been to the CWGC Lembet Road Cemetery – and the neighbouring allied cemeteries – then you have been to Zeitenlik. Don’t laugh, but I’ve often wondered why this part of Salonika has such a Germanic-sounding name – even allowing for the cultural and ethnic mix of the Balkans. It hasn’t kept me awake at night, nor have I been so bothered that I’ve asked Google, but it has crossed my mind more than once. I suppose this shows that a smidgin of half-remembered O’ Level German is – if not actually dangerous – at least unhelpful!

Remembering Harry Tate’s Cavalry

On a recent trip to London I took a stroll through Hyde Park and, for the first time ever, came across the dramatic Cavalry Memorial, unveiled in May 1924. A little under a year later, the first wreath laying ceremony was held at the memorial and, in 1927, the Combined Cavalry Old Comrades Association was formed. The Association has organised an annual parade and memorial service on the second Sunday in May, ever since.

Another Salonika connection … ?

I don’t think I have ever written here on Gallipoli, except in passing about those troops who went on to Salonika. I mean no disrespect to those of all nations who fought and died in the Gallipoli campaign but, with no family connections to the campaign, as with so many other areas of the First World War, I have had no more than a passing interest. I will admit, too, to a little irritation that with the landings in Gallipoli coming so hard on the heels of the start of the Second Battle of Ypres, this latter battle is so often overlooked (see Tuesday’s post). However, I have now had to revise my opinion.

One hundred and ten years ago …

Recently, I had the good fortune to find a reasonably priced copy of Bruce Bairnsfather’s memoir, Bullets & Billets (Grant Richards Ltd, December 1916). This covers his time as a junior officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the Western Front from November 1914. To my knowledge neither he, nor his famous creation ‘Old Bill’, had any connections with the BSF. So why do I mention him here?

World Wetlands Day

Maybe it’s my Fenland heritage, but I have long found wetlands fascinating environments. With the Broads in the east, the Fens in the west and lots of swampy bits in between, Norfolk is an ideal place to live, although on this World Wetlands Day my thoughts go to the Struma Valley. The Struma front, where XVI Corps operated, is the aspect of the Macedonian campaign that interests me most – primarily because it’s where my grandfather, Fred, served – but I don’t often think of it in terms of being a wetland environment.

Happy Year of the Snake!

As today sees the start of the Lunar New Year, I take this opportunity to wish all our readers a happy Year of the Snake. A brief online search suggests that snakes symbolise good luck and rebirth, the pursuit of love and happiness, and wealth and wisdom; so reasons for optimism in 2025! If you were born in a Year of the Snake, heading east is said to be auspicious, so perhaps you should sign-up for a Salonika battlefield tour with the SCS. It’s almost certainly a good idea, even if you were born under another animal!

A Night at the Palace Cinema

Amongst the souvenirs of the campaign collected by Private Herbert Price of the ASC Supply Department is a rather fragile flyer for Salonika’s Palace Cinema for the week beginning Monday 30 October 1916. Two films were on offer, the first a French silent film from the previous year, Strass & Compagnie, described as ‘a grand patriotic and poignant drama … in four long parts’, which doesn’t seem a great choice for men seeking escapism from war. In which case, maybe Herbert’s preference was for the 1912 American short, A Millionaire for A Day. Described by one US paper as ‘a screaming comedy’, this 1912 American silent short – based on a true story – is about a mechanic who goes to New York City and squanders his inheritance in a single day, returning home broke but wiser (Wikipedia). On the coming Friday, the film Pont du Diable (Devil’s Bridge) was promised, although this sounds uncomfortably like a location in the Struma valley!

It was Christmas Day in the Cookhouse …

As you eat your Christmas meal – whether it’s traditional, exotic, vegetarian or vegan – spare a thought for the Mongey Wallahs, the cooks who had to feed large numbers of men everyday of the year during the Macedonian campaign: with no gas or electric hobs and ovens, often unreliable provisions and extremes of temperature to work in, not to mention the activities of the enemy. These unsung heroes of the BSF get little attention so, at this time of year when food plays such an important in the festivities, it’s good to remember them and their vital role.