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!
Continue reading “Alles Klar!”Category: Salonika Sites
Images of places associated with the Salonika Campaign, 1915-1918
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.
Continue reading “Remembering Harry Tate’s Cavalry”Remembered at the Tower
The tower most associated with the Salonika campaign is Thessaloniki’s iconic White Tower but, on a recent trip to London, I discovered connections with the campaign at another iconic landmark – The Tower of London. During a visit we took a look in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula which, not surprisingly, remembers significant figures at the Tower over the centuries.
Continue reading “Remembered at the Tower”Heavy Metal History
By SCS member Nick Palmer
Q: What does a Swedish heavy metal group have in common with the Salonika Campaign Society ?
A: A mission to increase awareness of the lesser known events in military history.
Sabaton, a five-piece heavy metal band from Sweden, has been playing its brand of very loud, fast, intense, military-style rock for nearly 20 years. They have built a sizable following of dedicated fans world-wide and have headlined rock festivals throughout Europe. They have released over a dozen albums and their most recent releases, ‘The War to End All Wars’, and ‘The Great War’, have concentrated entirely on recounting specific events and features of the world wars, on a mission to inform as well as entertain. Indeed, the band has its own YouTube channel (Sabaton History) that presents documentary-style shows using their music as the context.
I recently agreed to accompany my teenage son, a keen heavy metal fan, to an upcoming concert by Sabaton, in Cardiff. In addition to securing a good pair of ear plugs, I decided to read up on the band and subsequently ended up being thoroughly immersed in their website. Of particular interest from the SCS perspective is track no.9 on ‘The War to End All Wars’ album which is entitled ‘The Valley Of Death’. As I discovered, it is based on the Battles of Doiran and, interestingly, the story-through-song is told mainly from the perspective of the Bulgarian defenders. In particular it highlights their great skill, resourcefulness and bravery in what are considered great victories in Bulgarian military history against a stronger Allied force.
The detailed information on the Sabaton website is supplemented by a link to, and transcription of, a special edition of the Sabaton History Channel which focuses on the ‘The Valley of Death’ , and the events that it refers to. The fifteen-minute show is presented by an actor/historian called Indy Neidell who has an extensive repertoire in this field. His account seems to be well researched and he presents very enthusiastically with a number of interesting graphics and photos. Towards the end, he is joined by Sabaton’s bass guitarist, Par Sundstrom, and he explains that the song was written partly in response to the demands of their Bulgaria-based fans. Subsequently, the band performed the song live for the first time ever when they headlined the ‘Hills of Rock Festival’ in Plovdiv, Bulgaria on 23 July 2022.
YouTube clips show that the song went down a storm with the partisan crowd, unsurprisingly. The closing lines of “The Valley of Death” summarise what is regarded as a triumph of defence:
For white, green and red,
For the nation they’re fighting for,
The British are done,
Three times the defence of Doiran has been won.
In addition, the Sabaton website and the YouTube video make an appropriate reference to the poetry of Owen Rutter, “Tiadatha”, which was partly based on his experiences at Doiran. The extract used is as follows:
Had you been there when the dawn broke,
Had you looked out from the trenches,
You’d have seen that Serbian hillside,
Seen the aftermath of battle,
Seen the scattered picks and shovels,
Seen the scraps of stray equipment,
Here and there a lonely rifle,
Or a Lewis gun all twisted.
Seen the little heaps of khaki,
Lying huddled on the hillside,
Huddled by the Bulgar trenches,
Very still and very silent.
Nick Palmer
Our thanks go to SCS member Nick Palmer for researching and writing this article. Thanks Nick!
References
- Page on Sabaton web-site.
- YouTube video: ‘The Valley of Death – The Battles of Doiran – Sabaton History 115 [Official]’
- The blurb accompanying the video: “The Bulgarian defences in the Lake Doiran region were pretty much the best defences any country had anywhere in the Great War, which the Entente forces discovered as they tried time and again and failed time and again – to break the front. “
- Hills of Rock Festival, Plovdiv, 23 July 2022, with introduction from the singer about the song:
Another church …
… another memorial. On a recent jaunt to London I found myself in St Mary’s Church, Battersea, for a jazz gig. It’s a fine Georgian Church right by the Thames and is the burial place of Benedict Arnold, general of the American Revolutionary War who had the ‘distinction’ of serving on both sides!
Continue reading “Another church …”Sandham Memorial Chapel (NT) has re-opened to visitors
Given the size of the indoor spaces and in order to keep everyone safe, visits are limited to one ‘bubble’ per hour, so capacity is very limited. All of the slots for the first week were taken within 24 hours of booking opening!
You can find more information on the Sandham Memorial Chapel website and they’ve put together a specific page of information about what to expect from a visit: Sandham Memorial Chapel indoor reopening information | National Trust.
Thanks to Property Operations Manager, Paul Grist, for keeping us informed about developments at Sandham.
Remembering
In June 1932 the front cover of The Mosquito had a photo of the striking memorial on Pip Ridge – now gone – to the dead of the 66th Infantry Brigade. The Brigade suffered 857 casualties in their attack on Pip Ridge on 18 September 1918, during the Second Battle of Doiran.
In Glorious Memory …
… of 418 Officers and 10282 Other Ranks of the British Salonika Force who died in Macedonia and Serbia 1915-1918 and to commemorate 1979 of all ranks who have no known grave but whose names are on the panels
THEY DID THEIR DUTY
“Climb every mountain …”
As it’s UN International Mountain Day I thought I would share with you a photo of some Balkan mountains. Looking through my collection of photos from a trip to the area in spring 2016, these are the most impressive peaks I could find. Although distant, they are satisfyingly snow-capped!
Remembering Herbert Beacock, RAMC
My thanks go to David Redhead who kindly provided a splendid photo of Salonika’s iconic White Tower, following an appeal for information in our email newsletter, The New Balkan News. The photo belonged to his grandfather and I am delighted to be able to remember him here.
Salonika Campaign Society, 1915-1918 