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”
Tag: Salonika
Posts about the city of Salonika (also known as Salonica) during the First World War campaign of 1915-1918.
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”
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.
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”
Salonika watercolours for sale
I keep a regular eye on items for sale on eBay with a Salonika connection. It’s usually just postcards and bits of Zeppelin but, every now and again, something unusual and exciting pops up. Continue reading “Salonika watercolours for sale”
For World Poetry Day : Bill
On UNESCO World Poetry Day it’s good to be able to highlight a book which takes the Salonika campaign as its theme: Bill, by Richard Devereux. Richard is a Bristol based poet who has been widely published in anthologies and magazines. Continue reading “For World Poetry Day : Bill”
The death of Lady Harley
Lady Harley, the sister of Sir John French, was killed in Bitola, Serbia, on 17 March 1917. The New Mosquito issue 17 (April 2008) contained an article – Lady Harley and her Gravestone in Two Languages – by Philp Barnes. This is an extract from the article giving the circumstances of Lady Harley’s death and subsequent burial. Continue reading “The death of Lady Harley”
Faces of Salonika : Refugees
Refugees fleeing conflict are rarely out of the news today, but this is not a new phenomenon. With the Balkans facing its third war since 1912 it is hardly surprising that there were communities of refugees across the region, although they are rarely mentioned. Continue reading “Faces of Salonika : Refugees”