My thanks go to David Shillito for providing the transcript of a letter written by his father – Second Lieutenant John Ewart Shillito of 2nd East Yorkshire Regiment (83 Brigade, 28 Division) – to his family describing the fire of August 1917. Continue reading “The Great Fire of 1917 : an eyewitness account”
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Mule Lines : Cypriot Muleteers
My thanks go to Richard Devereux, once again, for alerting me to an article on Cypriot muleteers in the Macedonian campaign. This is a reminder – if one were needed – of what a multinational venture the campaign was (beyond the ‘official’ Allied Nations). Continue reading “Mule Lines : Cypriot Muleteers”
The New Mosquito #16 : September 2007
On the centenary of Salonika’s Great Fire, it seems appropriate to provide details of an issue which contained a major 90th anniversary article on the fire by Nigel Crompton, SCS member and a member of the Fire Brigade Society.
Mule Lines : Working Mules
We talk quite a lot about mules in Salonika (or is it just me?), but I wonder how many of us have actually seen mules at work. There are mules in the UK – there is a British Mule Society after all – but until I met our adopted mule, Muffin, last year, I’m not sure that I had ever knowingly seen one. Whilst Muffin has worked hard for Redwings Horse Sanctuary for nearly thirty, it’s been in a fundraising and public relations, rather than a draught or pack role! Continue reading “Mule Lines : Working Mules”
Death of an airman 100 years ago
My thanks go to Keith Edmonds for bringing this article to my attention. I am pleased to be able to remember British pilot, Joe Bamford, who went missing from the skies over Salonika 100 years ago today: Continue reading “Death of an airman 100 years ago”
The Great Fire remembered by the SRA in 1929
In 1929 the Salonika Reunion Association remembered the great fire of August 1917 with a photograph on the front cover of its publication, The Mosquito.
Continue reading “The Great Fire remembered by the SRA in 1929”
Faces of Salonika : Bill Devereux and the Great Fire
My thanks go to Richard Devereux who provided this photo of his grandfather, Bill, enjoying a cigarette in the ruins of Salonika in the aftermath of the Great Fire, having done his bit to help.
Continue reading “Faces of Salonika : Bill Devereux and the Great Fire”
The Great Fire : I Saw Salonika Burn, 18 August 1917
The author … here gives a magnificently graphic description of the inexorable fire which swept over the city in August 1917. Mr Collinson Owen at this time was editor of the soldier’s newspaper “The Balkan News”, and with the characteristic resource of a keen journalist only missed two days’ publication through the ravage of his office and printing works.
Continue reading “The Great Fire : I Saw Salonika Burn, 18 August 1917”
BBC News : The man who has focused on one word for 23 years
A BBC news item which may be of interest, especially if you’re visiting the region:
George’s War Letters, 1914-1919
My thanks go to Richard Power who has sent me the link to his centenary blog – George’s War Letters – in which he is publishing, in real-time, the war-time letters of his Great Uncle, George Power. Continue reading “George’s War Letters, 1914-1919”
Salonika Campaign Society, 1915-1918 