WW1 Living History Event at Cannon Hall - August 2017

Over the August bank holiday weekend I went to a WW1 living history event which was took place at Cannon Hall (near Barnsley).

It was very interesting to see the men and women walking around dressed in period accurate uniforms. Nurses, soldiers and doctors were all represented, even the children were dressed in Edwardian style clothing. The tents were set out with replica equipment and weaponry for passersby to view. Of course it wasn't really like being at the front; For both obvious and practical reasons there were no trenches, nor was there any real sense of danger or of being at war. It was hard to imagine these men could have been hours away from battle on this polite and bright Bank holiday Sunday.

However, I was able to build up the courage to speak with one of the the re-enactors who as it turned out was very knowledgeable about both the First World War and military equipment. He was more than happy to answer my questions. I think it helped that they not only had an interest in the history of WW1 but also came from a military background.  I imagine that having actual combat experience makes it easier to relate to what the men of WW1 went through, than someone like myself can. The person I spoke to was an ex soldier, named Stuart. We discussed many things including what type of guns my two uncles might have used during their time with the Machine Gun Corps.

One of the high points of the day was being allowed to handle a (deactivated) Enfield rifle. I had never held a gun before. It allowed me, in a very small way, to connect with my ancestors and experience something they had. The gun I held had been modified so it couldn't be discharged, but demonstrations of other Enfield rifles being fired took place throughout the day. I recorded and uploaded one of the displays to YouTube. It can be viewed below.

Interview with Giles Fraser for Radio 4

Several weeks ago the Barnsley War Memorial Project was given the unique opportunity to take part in the recording of a special memorial program about Passchendaele for Radio 4. On Wednesday 27th September myself and two other members of the group went along to All Saints church at Darfield to pre-record a segment for the show, which will be broadcast at 11am on 10th November 2017 to coincide with the centenary of the end of the battle. Presenter Giles Fraser asked us questions about war memorials and about the Barnsley men who fell at Passchendaele. Mike Smith, co-author of Darfield Remembers, was also interviewed and so were the relatives of  several Darfield men who'd been killed during the Third Battle of Ypres.

Barnsley Chronicle 6th October 2017

Although I was apprehensive about taking part in a radio interview, having never done anything like that before, I'm glad I did. It was a great experience. We recorded about 30 minutes worth of material, however we were told only a small amount of it would make it to air. So I have no idea what part of my interview will be featured (if any of it at all.) And to be honest, I can't remember half of what I said anyway, I was so nervous. I do recall speaking about Frank Pettitt's Death Penny, which was rescued from a scrapyard.

The two war memorials to the left inside All Sain'ts Church, Darfield.

It was also my first visit to All Saint's church at Darfield, which I thought to be beautiful and historic piece of architecture. I took a photograph of the impressive marble war memorial for one of my other WW1 blogs, as several Wombwell men are remembered this particular memorial.