Photographs of soldiers in Salonika for sale on eBay are not unusual, but to have one with the full name and date of the photo is. Continue reading “Faces of Salonika : Pte Harold Monkman, ASC, Salonika, 20 Oct 1916”
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Sid & Elsie : love across the miles and down the years 1
My thanks go to Wendy Nicholson who has shared with the SCS a set of seven beautifully embroidered postcards sent by Sid in Salonika to his wife Elsie (also known as Chips) in 1917 and 1918.
Continue reading “Sid & Elsie : love across the miles and down the years 1”
Labour units of the BSF
A recent enquiry sent me into the uncharted waters of labour units that served with the British Salonika Force. Our orders of battle for the BSF – including on this website – tend to focus on the fighting units, so the Labour Corps and other supporting corps rarely get a look in. Continue reading “Labour units of the BSF”
SCS Annual Meeting and Wreath Laying, 2017
Saturday 7th October saw the annual gathering of members in London. This commenced with the customary wreath laying at the Cenotaph to remember the men and women of the BSF who served and, in particular, those who died during the campaign or from the results of injury or disease. Continue reading “SCS Annual Meeting and Wreath Laying, 2017”
The New Mosquito #36 : September 2017
Members should have received this latest edition of The New Mosquito, by now. Please contact the Society if you are expecting a copy, but haven’t received it.
Away from the Western Front : latest news
The ‘Away from the Western Front’ project has been running since early 2017 and will continue until the start of 2019. It uses the stories of individual men and women to highlight the First World War campaigns in the Middle East, Italy, Africa and the Balkans. Continue reading “Away from the Western Front : latest news”
Not about Salonika!
If it’s not about Salonika why am I including it here? Well it’s a fascinating first-hand account with great drawings, presented in a very neat website and is connected to my adopted home of Norfolk! Continue reading “Not about Salonika!”
Faces of Salonika : Somerset Miners
This rather small and tatty picture – another eBay purchase – shows a group of men sitting on a quayside, which may be Salonika. The mixture of service dress (as worn in the UK and on the Western Front) with a sun helmet would certainly be appropriate for men of the BSF after about mid-1916. The extremes of the Macedonian climate make all sorts of combinations of dress possible which, for me, is one of the fascinations of the campaign. Continue reading “Faces of Salonika : Somerset Miners”
The Great Fire of 1917 : an eyewitness account
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”
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”
