Category: SCS News

NEW : A Salonika Campaign Bibliography

SCS member Keith Roberts has been compiling a list of books in English about the campaign. At present it is limited to books, so items from regimental journals and the like are not included. He has checked, amongst other things, the bibliographies in the better known books on the campaign and searched some online catalogues using key words.

A first version – with nearly 200 books listed – has been produced for review to make good any omissions. Once this review process is over we will make it available in a searchable format on this website – hopefully before the summer – with the expectation of providing occasional updates to capture further discoveries and new publications. This will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in this neglected campaign of the First World War.

If you think you might be able to add to this bibliography please contact Keith for a draft copy on  scsbiblio@gmail.com.

A photograph of a selection of books about the Salonika campaign

Missing SRA plaque

We have been contacted by Phil, a volunteer on the Imperial War Museum’s War Memorials Register Project.  They have a record of a memorial plaque that was placed in St John’s Church, Hanley, Staffordshire by the Salonika Reunion Association in memory of those who served and died in Salonika.

The church is now an antiques centre and Phil has spoken to the owner who has confirmed that the plaque is no longer there.  He said that a number of plaques were removed during the period when the church was closed.

A quick search of The Mosquito – the publication of the SRA  – has not revealed any mention of the church, the plaque or any dedication ceremony, so it remains a mystery. Does anyone out there know anything about the plaque? Please contact us if you do and we will pass the information onto Phil.

The Doiran Memorial.
The Doiran Memorial serves the dual purpose of a Battle Memorial of the British Salonika Force (for which a large sum of money was subscribed by the officers and men of that force), and a place of commemoration for more than 2,000 Commonwealth servicemen who died in Macedonia and whose graves are not known. The memorial was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer with sculpture by Walter Gilbert. It was unveiled by Sir George Macdonogh on 25 September 1926. It stands on Colonial Hill in northern Greece, overlooking the lake and town of Dojran in Northern Macedonia. Photo by the editor, March 2016.

2019 Field of Remembrance

For the first time ever I visited the Westminster Abbey Field of Remembrance. It was a moving experience to wander around all the plots, actually on the 11th, and a particular pleasure to see the one dedicated to the Salonika campaign. If you would like to remember someone in ‘our’ plot, watch out for the announcements in The New Mosquito, The New Balkan News or online here. Or you can contact us nearer the time.

Continue reading “2019 Field of Remembrance”

Annual meeting and a new patron for the SCS

Members will be pleased to learn that the Honourable Ann Straker – granddaughter of Field Marshal George Milne, 1st Baron Milne – has agreed to become Patron of the Society. This re-establishes the link between the SCS and the family of the BSF’s Commander-in-Chief.

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Alan Wakefield speaking at Great War Conference on Saturday 27th April

SCS Chairman, Alan Wakefield, will be speaking at the Great War Forum Conference in Birmingham on Saturday 27th April. His topic will be “First World War Aerial Photography at the Imperial War Museum”. Find out more online here:

Christmas and New Year Greetings to all our readers!

The SCS Committee wishes all visitors to our website the very best for the Christmas season and 2019. Although the centenary of the First World War is over – but don’t forget that troops were still in Salonika into 1919 –  we hope you will continue to find much of interest here and on Facebook. Of course, the Salonika Campaign Society ‘marches on’ and, if you are not already a member, why not join to ensure that those who served in Salonika continue are not forgotten? Finally, for Christmas 2018 there can only be one image to use (my thanks to Martin Wills for providing this lovely crisp version of a familiar postcard):

Continue reading “Christmas and New Year Greetings to all our readers!”