In December of last year, we posted about a podcast series that featured an interview with Society member Chris Loader who had travelled with the Society on the September 2023 SCS Battlefield Tour to visit the grave of his great-great-grandfather, Henry Albert Obadiah Loader.
Inspired by a visit to Doiran Military Cemetery during the tour, Chris has now branched out to record his own podcast series: Salonika Secrets.
‘Salonika Secrets’ – a new podcast from Society member Chris Loader
The podcast tells of Chris’s search to identify an unknown British officer commemorated at Doiran. Without giving too much away, Chris has so far managed to narrow down the identity to an officer who served in the 12th Hampshire Regiment. You can listen to the podcast free on Spotify, Amazon and Apple and, no doubt, other podcast providers. Chris also posts updates and extra information on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) here.
It was five o’clock in the morning on the edge of hell. Captain Jimmy Eynon looked up through the goggles of his gas mask at Grande Couronne, cursed savagely, and kicked a rugby ball high into the air. Before it fell, a Welshman had been shot to pieces … and another … and another.
from ‘Now the Agony!’ by Gareth Bowen in ‘The South Wales Echo‘, 1964
Tales from the Battlefields is a free podcast from battlefield guide and researcher Terry Whenham. It focuses on “the unheard stories of men who served on the Western Front during World War 1.”
However, in Episode 68 of the podcast, Terry interviews Chris Loader who travelled with the Society on the SCS Battlefield Tour in September this year. Chris describes the background to the campaign and his visit to the location where his two-times grandfather on his father’s side, Private Henry Loader of the 10th Hampshire’s, was mortally wounded in September 1918. I listened with a lot of interest to the story of Henry – and Chris’s research and visit – and I’m sure you will find it a worthwhile use of your time too. In my humble opinion of course!
You can listen to the podcast for free on Apple, Amazon Music, Spotify and directly from thispage.
Lembet Road Cemetery – final resting place of Henry Loader. Image from CWGC
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.
On this day, May 9th 1916, Lieutenant General George Francis Milne succeeded Lieut-General Bryan Mahon to become overall Commander-in-Chief of British Troops in Macedonia. Five months later, in October 1916, Milne submitted a report (published in The London Gazette of December 6th) summarising “the operations carried out by the British Salonika Army since I assumed command.”
To begin with, Milne states, “…in order to keep the army concentrated, I entered into an agreement with General Sarrail [French general and overall commander of the Allied forces in Salonika] by which the British forces should become responsible for that portion of the allied front which covered Salonika from the east and north-east. By this arrangement a definite and independent area was allotted to the army under my command.”
It’s interesting to read primary sources such as this against a wider background of historical perspective and analysis. In, ‘Under the Devil’s Eye’ Alan Wakefield and Simon Moody provide the context for Milne’s comments, “The new British commander was soon tested by the Frenchman’s brinkmanship when Sarrail stated that he had orders from Paris to launch an offensive and was prepared to do so with or without British assistance. Milne realised that, with his forward troops in close contact with the French, the BSF would either be dragged into an attack, which was beyond his operational remit, or, by holding back, risk accusations of failing to support an ally. He skilfully sidestepped the issue by asking for a separate British zone of operation… Sarrail agreed to the proposal and at a stroke Milne had disengaged his troops from the French.”
That analysis gives another layer of understanding to Milne’s report of how, “…in accordance with the policy laid down in my instructions, and in order to release French troops for employment elsewhere, I began to take over the line south and west of Lake Doiran…” and explains how actions in the area made it possible, “to shorten considerably the allied line between Doiran Lake and the River Vardar and on 29th August, in agreement with General Sarrail, I extended my front as far as the left bank of the river so as to set free more troops for his offensive operations.”
Politics aside, the rest of Milne’s report is a readable account of the first few months of his command in which he gives credit to the sections of his command and the men – and women – involved in the British side of the campaign.
You can download and read Milne’s entire report here. ‘Under the Devil’s Eye’ is available here.
Featured image, General Sarrail, commander of Allied forces in Macedonia (16 January 1916 – 22 December 1917), with General Sir George Milne, commander of the British Salonika Force from 9 May 1916. Source, IWM
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!
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:
… is Sandham Memorial Chapel! That’s the opinion of Rachel Morley, Director of Friends of Friendless Churches. She was a guest of the podcast series, The Rest Is History, presented by historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook on 13 September. Rachel’s task was to list her top ten British churches, which is quite a task given that there are more than 16,000 in England alone!
My thanks go to Lucy London (again!) for bringing to my attention this fascinating set of medals which was offered for sale by Dix Noonan and Webb Ltd of Mayfair in July 2019.
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.
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.
Salonika Campaign Society, 1915-1918 