The city itself ended up being in the centre of the Ypres Salient, a part of the front line protruding towards German lines. Historically, the town can certainly be traced back to the 12th century. Notwithstanding centuries of fighting and occupation, Ypres expanded but the outbreak of The First World War, ypres was under German control.

The 1st Battle of Ypres during October and November 1914 saw Allied Forces retake the town from the Germans and in the face of heavy fighting about Ypres until finally the First World War concluded in 1918, the German Army did not recapture Ypres.

Unfortunately, for the duration of the 4 years of The Great War, the city suffered a fearful toll as 4 big battles took place around here. In the 2nd Battle of Ypres in April and May 1915, the Germans retook the high ground off to the east of the town. The area included the village of Passchendaele.

In 1917, undoubtedly one of the bloodiest battles of World War I took place. The Third Battle of Ypres or Passchendaele saw Allied Forces recapture the high ground although with a terrible cost. Through July and November 1917, there was at least 500,000 dead and injured on both sides and the town was nearly wiped off the map by German artillery.

The legendary Cloth Hall and most other buildings were destroyed and ages of history went with them. In 1933, rebuilding started on the Cloth Hall and it was at long last completed in 1967 having been fastidiously rebuilt to restore its historical past. Now, the Cloth Hall in Ypres is home to the In Flanders Fields Museum.

For the duration of World War I, the Menin Gate was no more than an exit cut through the eastern ramparts of Ypres. A large number of British soldiers would’ve made their way through this exit en route to the front . In 1927, the Menin Gate Memorial was unveiled. It commemorates the names of around 54,000 men that are even now missing on the battlefields all around the Ypres Salient and every night, the Last Post ceremony takes place here at 8pm by the grateful citizens of Ypres.

The battle was portrayed in the Stanley Baker movie “Zulu” and one of the leading characters who acted heroically at Rorkes Drift, ultimately did not receive a Victoria Cross. Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne was instead awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal which is ranked second behind the Victoria Cross. On top of that, Bourne was also offered a commission although he declined. As Bourne was the 8th son in their household, there was no money to be had and this would have been a period when money bought commissions for officers while in the British Army.

However, Bourne was a career soldier and a good one as well. Just after South Africa, he served in both India and Burma before eventually earning his commission eleven years after the Battle of Rorkes Drift. He eventually retired from the British Army in 1907. Only 7 years later, World War I started and Bourne rejoined the army. At the end of World War I in 1918, Bourne had risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was made an OBE. He left the army again, this time around permanently.

A result of the actor who played Bourne in the motion picture Zulu, plenty of people presumed Frank Bourne to have been middle aged at the time of the Battle of Rorkes Drift however in truth he was merely twenty four years old. Soon after the finish of The First World War, Bourne lived in retirement in Beckenham, South London and he was the last survivor of the battle to pass away at the age of 91 on 8th May 1945, the very day the Second World War in Europe ended.

Each episode gets under way by interview veterans of Easy Company. They talk about their war time experiences that the episode documents but at this stage, the veterans are not identified. Though the veterans are not identified, the episodes introduce you to the characters early and the actors are well cast making it easy to relate to them from the very commence.

Although the action scenes are filmed superbly, what makes Band of Brothers stand out from a lot of other war movies is that it brings out the personal stories consequently well. For example, in episode 2 merely just before Easy Company are due to jump into Normandy, one of the soldiers, Bill Guarnere, finds out his brother has been killed at Montecassino.

The 10 episodes tell the stories of Easy Company starting with their basic training just before heading into action in Normandy and on to the village of Carentan. Episode 4 sees the introduction of replacements into Easy Company and highlights the difficult they have being accepted by the Normandy veterans as the men are involved in Operation Market Garden.

The next two episodes cover the build up and the action at Bastogne in the course of the Battle of the Bulge. By now a number of the men are at breaking point and this is the subject of episode seven. As the war nears the conclude, there is a final patrol for Easy Company. The horrors of war are highlighted when the men discover a concentration camp. The final episode sees Easy Company head into Austria where they capture the Eagle’s Nest high in the mountains at Berchtesgaden.

The series closes with interviews with veterans and eventually identifies the men that viewers have come to know during the 10 episodes of Band of Brothers.

Planning and training courses was an important component of the plans. Rangers who were to assault Point du Hoc became proficient by climbing cliffs and men made practice beach landings. A main factor of the operation of secrecy and the inhabitants of the UK were counted upon to play their part. In Devon, an area called Slapton Sands was picked as an excellent practice area because of the similarities with the Utah landing beach in Normandy.

Exercises for the landings commenced in late 1943 with the main invasion plotted for June 1944. With 3,000 residents were relocated from the vicinity in and around Slapton Sands. Plenty of exercises were planned and one of the biggest was Operation Tiger with nearly 30,000 men (approximately a 3rd of the current size of the British Army) were to be involved.

Exercise Tiger took place in late April 1944. The first practice landings were executed without any difficulties but during the exercise planned for the early hours of 28th April 1944, catastrophe struck. German E-Boats operating from Cherbourg came across a fleet of 8 LST (Landing ships). They fired torpedoes at the LSTs and desperate men jumped into the freezing seas to get away the sinking ships. A good number of had not been taught how to put on their life preservers and perished.

In addition to the E-Boat attacks, more men died on the beaches themselves. The use of live ammunition had been authorised and along with the deaths in the water, there were further casualties by friendly fire after they strayed into the wrong sections of the beaches.

Overall over 900 men were killed during Exercise Tiger and it was nearly forty years before the facts were made public. Ironically, only approximately 200 men died on Utah Beach throughout the real landings in Normandy on 6th June 1944. These days, a Sherman Tank is on show at Slapton Sands as a memorial to the men who fell for the duration of Exercise Tiger.

He said it is vital that pupils develop a strong understanding of events that have shaped their lives and of others around the world.

Mr Russell made the remarks in Toronto, Canada, as he launched the interactive website which celebrates the “rich historical and cultural” links between the country and Scotland.

The site, which has also been translated into Gaelic, provides a wealth of information to pupils and teachers on both sides of the Atlantic.

With almost five million Canadians claiming Scots ancestry, Mr Russell, who is in Toronto as part of a Scotland Week tour, said the “invaluable teaching tool” is also a treasure trove for amateur historians.

The minister, who unveiled the website at Arrowsmith School in Toronto, said: “There are strong social, cultural and economic connections between Scotland and Canada that date back to the Jacobite risings of the 18th century and the Clearances of the 19th century.

“It is vital that pupils in our schools develop a strong understanding of Scottish history and how it has shaped their lives and the lives of others around the world.

“For too long Scottish history has been neglected in our schools.

“That is why learning about Scotland’s history, heritage and culture is embedded within the curriculum for the first time.”

Bernard McLeary, chief executive of Learning and Teaching Scotland which has developed the website, said it is a “fantastic” way to engage pupils and stimulate their interest in Scottish history.

The Conservatives, however, have accused the SNP of trying to hijack Scottish history to further its political agenda.

Last September the Tories claimed the Scottish Government was using taxpayers’ money to “distort” children’s vision of the past.

It followed an announcement that £180,000 is to be spent on subsidising school trips to the Bannockburn and Culloden battlefields.

The National Trust for Scotland will also use the money to cover trips to the Robert Burns birthplace museum at Alloway, Ayrshire.

Deputy Tory leader Murdo Fraser said that while it is vital that children learn about Scotland’s history, they must be given a broad range of views, not a narrow, blinkered nationalist view of selected periods in time.

Labour accused Mr Russell of “neglecting” the true priorities of Scotland’s education system, however.

Party education spokes-man Des McNulty said his time would be better spent addressing concerns that schools are not ready to introduce curriculum for excellence in August.

Source: Press and Journal (http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1680310?UserKey=)

Lorna Porter, 82, of Seven Hills showed the South-East Advertiser the small worn book her late father Cornelius Reilly carried in his pocket on to the beach at Gallipoli as a fresh faced 18 year-old on September 12, 1915, and then lost several months later.

Mrs Porter and husband Ted, 81, were recently reunited with the bible.

It had been found by another Gallipoli Digger and then spent the next nine and half decades after the war in the care of his family.

The story began when Cornelius (Con) Reilly left the family home on Moreton Island to enlist in the Brisbane-raised 26th battalion on June 16, 1915 at the age of 18.

After three months dodging death in the hell that was Gallipoli, Private Reilly received shrapnel wounds and was evacuated to an Army field hospital in Cairo.

It is here where it is believed he left the bible, inscribed with his surname and first initial, in a bedside table drawer.

Private Reilly spent four months recovering from his wounds and then spent the rest of World War 1 on the French battlefields.

A young Anzac named Corporal Louis Stephen Simpson took over Private Reilly’s hospital bed and discovered the bible which he carried for the remainder of his war service and took home with him to Perth.

After the WA Digger’s death in 1956, the bible was passed down through two generations to his granddaughter, Lora Trafford, 72, from Bunbury in Western Australia. Mrs Trafford had long wondered about the name inscribed in the bible and had made several unsuccessful attempts to find its rightful owner.

Last year Mrs Trafford decided to have one last go at finding Pte Reilly’s descendants and with the help of a friend scoured the internet.

The online search led to a family history web page created by Richard Walding, a Griffith University Nathan Campus research fellow and grandson of Ada Reilly, Con Reilly’s sister.

Dr Walding, of Sheldon, arranged for the return of the bible to his second cousin, Lorna Porter.

“It’s an amazing story. It’s a great credit to her (Mrs Trafford) because she showed great tenacity in finding his (Con Reilly’s) family,” Dr Walding said.

Mrs Trafford said the exact circumstances surrounding the bible’s discovery by her grandfather are still unclear, with another story suggesting he found it on the ground at Gallipoli.

“Whether the bible was dropped on the battlefield or left at the hospital is a bit of a mystery,” she told the South-East Advertiser last week.

“It’s been a long story. One day, we hope to get over there (Queensland) to meet them (Ted and Lorna).”

Con Reilly survived the war and returned to Queensland where he fathered five daughters and worked aboard the ships of the Brisbane Pilot Service before his death in 1970.

Mrs Porter said: “He never said anything about the bible. But I’m sure he would have been happy to know other people have taken the time to return it to us.”

Source: South-East Advertiser (http://south-east-advertiser.whereilive.com.au/news/story/digger-s-gallipolli-bible-finds-its-way-home/)

The miniature emblem of the Plantagenet ruler was discovered by experts from the Battlefields Trust during exhaustive excavations of the Fenn Lane site of the Battle of Bosworth – part of a joint project aided by Leicestershire County Council, English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The King was killed in the field in August 1485 during a bloody countryside battle. The boar was his personal symbol.

“The crucial archaeological evidence came from our systematic metal detecting survey,” explained Trust archaeologist Dr Glenn Ford, who is convinced the evidence “proves exactly” where the battle took place.

“There may be relatively few finds from the battle, each of which has taken the team dozens of hours to locate, but several of the objects are amazing.

“The most important by far is the silver-gilt boar, which was Richard III’s own badge, given in large numbers to his supporters. This one is special, bec

Other revealing gems found at the scene include silver coins belonging to Charles the Bold of Burgundy, a silver-gilt badge found close to where the Duke of Norfolk met his demise, and the largest collection of round shot ever recorded on a Medieval battlefield in Europe.

“Today marks the end of the speculation and a new beginning for Bosworth Battlefield and our understanding of Medieval warfare,” predicted Jon Humble, English Heritage Inspector of Ancient Monuments for the East Midlands.

“This is ample evidence that archaeology can tackle big questions and cases that went cold centuries ago – and still provide magnificent answers.”

The finds will go on display as part of the new Battlefield Heritage Centre, which will include an outdoor trail and a redesigned exhibition gallery with hands-on exhibits.

ause it was almost certainly worn by a knight in King Richard’s own retinue who rode with the King to his death in his last desperate cavalry charge.

“It was found right next to the site of a small medieval marsh, and the King was killed when his horse became stuck in a mire.”

Source: Culture 24 (http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%2526+heritage/archaeology/art76387)

Electricity firm E.ON has formally submitted plans to build seven wind turbines on land owned by Kelmarsh Hall.

The application was received by officers at Daventry District Council on Friday afternoon and a decision is now due to be made later this year.

However, local experts have already voiced their opposition to the construction of the 400-foot tall turbines next to one of Northamptonshire’s most important historical sites.

Martin Marix Evans, a respected local military historian and author of two books on Naseby, said the character of the Naseby site was already being lost.

He said: “The landscape has already changed greatly.

“Any further changes that detract from one being able to visualise the battlefield as it was at the time of the battle would be very regrettable.

“In my opinion, it would minimise what we are trying to present, which is a landscape from the 17th Century.”

The battle of Naseby, fought on Saturday, June 14, 1645, was the turning point of the English Civil War and is therefore regarded one of the most important moments in British history.

Mr Marix Evans said: “It really is a crucial signpost in the history of democracy in this country.

“I say to school children ‘we are looking at the landscape where your right to vote was secured’.

“It is an unspoilt landscape and it is one of the least defiled battlefields in the country.”

E.ON has said the wind farm would produce enough power to meet the annual electricity needs of 7,828 homes.

Daniel Badcock, E.ON project developer, told the Chronicle & Echo careful consideration of the impact of the plans had been carried out before the firm submitted proposals for the new wind farm.

He said: “Before submitting these plans we’ve made sure that we’ve carried out all necessary studies and worked with local stakeholders to ensure that we’ve taken into consideration all possible factors. We firmly believe that this is not only a great place for a wind farm but also that our application reflects that and the work that we’ve carried out.”

He said E.ON will hold two further information days this month.

For more information about the proposal contact E.ON at renewables@eon-uk.com or visit www.eon-uk.com/ generation/kelmarsh.aspx

Source: Northampton Chronicle (http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/Plan-for-turbines-by-battlefield.6061794.jp)

The Menin Gate is an imposing memorial to the fallen of World War I in the Belgium town of Ypres (Iepers). During the conflict, the Ypres Salient was the scene of terrible fighting and was nicknamed “Wipers” by the British Tommies who fought there. More than a quarter of a million men from Britain and the Commonwealth died in the fighting around this historic town. Of those men, around 100,000 have no known grave and around half of those are commemorated on the Menin Gate. This memorial to the missing bears the names of 54,000 men from all over the globe.

Throughout the Western Front battlefields of Belgium and France, there are many memorials but the Menin Gate is significant for more than just its size. The gate stands at the Eastern exit of the town and the road leads straight to the old front line. The memorial was built by the British government and was unveiled in 1927. Its location seems appropriate and many of the men whose names are commemorated on the Menin Gate, will have marched along this very road to the front line, never to return.

The citizens of Ypres were all to aware of the debt of gratitude they owed the fallen that they came up with an idea to honour them. Since 1928, each night at 8pm, traffic is stopped from passing through the Menin Gate and a short ceremony takes place. Buglers from the Last Post Association and local fire brigade gather to play the “Last Post”. The ceremony should not be considered as entertainment, it is a solemn event and although the public are free to attend the ceremony, they should remember the reasons that it takes place.

The ceremony has taken place every night since 2nd July 1928, only interrupted during World War II when the town was occupied by Germany. During the occupation of Ypres, the ceremony took place at Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey, UK. The very day that Ypres was liberated from the Germans in World War II, was once again conducted at the Menin Gate.