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Review : Daring All Things: The autobiography of George Kendall (1881-1961)

At the end of 2016 we announced the imminent publication of Daring All Things: The autobiography of George Kendall (1881-1961). George Kendall was a hugely experienced war chaplain who briefly served in Salonika with 22nd Division before succumbing to the inevitable malaria and dysentery. In the post-war years he was closely involved in the development of war cemeteries, which culminated in the process to select the body of the ‘Unknown Warrior’. This is a good opportunity to remind you that the book is for sale and to share with you this recent review from Church Times:

The book is published by Helion & Company Ltd and we can expect to hear more about it this year as we approach the centenary of the end of the conflict.

Mule Lines : latest news on Muffin

Photograph of Muffin, Adoption Star of the Redwings Horse Sanctuary, and adopted mule of the Salonika Campaign Society.If you are a regular visitor to this web site, or you read our excellent journal, The New Mosquito, you will know that at the start of the centenary we ‘adopted’ Muffin, a rescued mule at a Norfolk horse sanctuary. This is in recognition of the vital role played by mules in the campaign, by keeping the troops supplied and evacuating casualties. We have received this news about Muffin from Redwings Horse Sanctuary …

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Salonika Battlefield Tour : 23-28 April 2018

The Cultural Experience of Salisbury is running a six day centenary tour in April 2018 entitled, Salonika – War in the Birdcage, led by our very own Alan Wakefield. You will find more details online here:

 

Compliments of the season. With love, George xxxx

1917 was clearly a good year for Christmas cards from Salonika as I have three in my collection. This one wasn’t produced specifically for the BSF, like that in my previous post, but is a commercially produced, seasonal postcard. It’s only that the sender wrote ‘Salonica 1917’ on the front that links it to the campaign.

I will echo the sentiments of George to his family or friends in Leeds, and wish you all  ‘the compliments of the season’. I hope you will continue to visit the SCS website as we enter the final year of the centenary – The Year of Victory.

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Christmas Greetings from Corps Cavalry and Cyclists

Amongst my modest collection of Salonika-campaign-related  ephemera, my favourite item is this 1917 Christmas card produced by or for the Corps Cavalry and Cyclists of the BSF. Sadly not a family heirloom – my grandfather, a cyclist, was on his way home with malaria by Christmas 1917 – but a lucky purchase from eBay.

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SALONIKA CAMPAIGN SOCIETY BATTLEFIELD TOUR: 28 September – 7 October 2018

The SCS Tour Team announces details of the Society’s September 2018 ‘Victory’ battlefield tour. This Centenary tour includes visits to key sites associated with British Salonika Force operations during 1918 as well as attendance at official ceremonies of commemoration in Greece.

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Christmas 1917 : It’s panto time again!

In Christmas 1917 the indefatigable 85th Field Ambulance took to the stage again with their third and final pantomime of the campaign – Bluebeard. This is what 2nd Lt Frank Kenchington, RFA, had to say about it in his introduction to Music from Macedonia by Charles H B Jacques, published after the war.

Continue reading “Christmas 1917 : It’s panto time again!”