Part of a groundbreaking First World War visitor centre; Great War Huts is a heritage project preserving a number of original First World War Barrack Huts.
Among the thousands of nameless Great War faces, every now and again one will stand out. Sometimes, once you have noticed them, they will keep popping up, even if you have no idea who they are.
Over 20 years ago Taff noticed one such soldier in a group photo of 2/Suffolk…
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…It’s a fascinating study of one man’s, successful, army career.
We have plenty more research to do, not least as we don’t know when he died, but let us leave you with this entry in his Discharge Book. A great testimony, but pretty much summed up in one entry: ‘Exemplary’
9/End
This framed letter was found in a shed several years ago.
The glass was broken and the frame full of woodwork but, luckily, someone saved the letter itself.
It was written by Captain Maurice A. Turner of 1/4th Suffolk Regiment to the Father of L/Cpl Hardy, telling him of…
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It was quite an afternoon here at Great War Huts.
Today is the 105th Anniversary of the death of L/Sjt Charles Stevens of 11/Suffolk at Roeux.
This afternoon his Grandson, Colin Fakes, and his wife, Sue, donated all of the items found with him when he was discovered in the 1990s.
This pair of Boots were picked up in Trones Wood, on the Somme, in the 1980s, just sitting on the ground where they had presumably been taken off an injured soldier, maybe wounded in the right ankle, 70 years earlier. The size marking is still clear enough to read.
April 9th 1917 was a busy day for the British Armies in France.
At 5.30am thousands of Allied soldiers streamed across No Man’s Land and out of tunnels at the start of the Battle of Arras.
The Canadians swiftly captured Vimy Ridge.
At GHQ, Sir Douglas Haig sat at his desk…
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We now have over 6,000 GWH Followers!
Thank you so much to you all and here, as promised, is a sneak preview of our upcoming 1914
#Outbreak110
Exhibition in our brand new Changing Exhibition Space, which will be opening soon.
106 years ago today, on the 23rd July 1918, 2/Lt John Robson Martin of the 8th (Service) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (attached to 1/6th Battalion) was badly hit at the top of his right leg by a large shell fragment.
The 1/6th Battalion were part of the 51st (Highland)…
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We were having a mooch at the Royal Norfolk Showground antiques fair today, when we spotted a nice Button Stick with a Suffolk Regiment ‘Sk’ stamp, and the number 6944.
The number seemed vaguely familiar so we have just done a quick online search and it turns out that it…
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Something a little different from the GWH Collection today; a set of Officers Private Purchase web equipment.
There were a number of sets of equipment which were commercially available in 1915 before standard 1908 was made available to Officers for free.
This is one of the…
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…belonged to 6944 Sergeant ‘Bertie’ Haylock, of 1/Suffolk, whose uniforms and equipment we were lucky enough to acquire from Great War Huts supporter, Mick King, in October 2022!
It is remarkable how some objects have a way of finding their way ‘home’, isn’t it?!
2/End
100 years ago today, on 14th December 1918, 73868 Private Charles William Holloway of 4th Royal Fusiliers, died of pneumonia aged 18 & was buried at Etaples.
A century later we are proud to announce that Great War Huts will be the permanent home of his original grave marker.
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The wonderful Arthur Halestrap, MBE, a former Great War Royal Engineers Signaller, sums up the 2001 BBC2 series, ‘The Trench’, and thanks the fellas of the ‘Hull Pals’ and ‘Khaki Chums’ who took part.
#TheTrench20
For tickets & details:
108 years ago today,
Lt Col Charles Arthur Hugh Brett, DSO, commanding 2nd Suffolk Regiment, was shot in the head and killed early in the fighting at Le Cateau.
Less than a month earlier life had been very different when ‘Charlie’ slipped this Mess Jacket on for the last time.
We are all thoroughly enjoying The Dig, so here are some items from the Great War Huts Collection with a Sutton Hoo connection -
Edith’s late husband,
Frank Pretty’s
#FWW
1/4th Suffolk Regiment identity disc, rank stars & crowns, buttons & dress sword knot.
#SuttonHoo
#TheDig
Our latest talk is out now!
‘Context for the Complex - the Great War was rarely as simple as it seems’
@Taff_Gillingham
looks at aspects of the Great War, encouraging people to challenge what they see and hear to find a much more interesting history!
We have had an incredibly kind donation this morning - an original 1915 French fundraising poster - “For France Pour Forth Your Gold. Gold Fights For Victory”.
🇫🇷😊👍🏻
🎄DAY 1🎄
Today is 1st December and it’s the start of the 2021
#HutVent
Calendar!
25 days of interesting artefacts from the Great War Huts collection - here’s the first one for you to open!
We acquired this wonderful piece of
#CrestedChina
for the Great Huts Collection today; a 4” bust of Jack Cornwell, VC, with an Ipswich crest, made by Savoy China.
Huge thanks to
@HorrorBiscuits
, who spotted him lurking on the shelf of an antique shop in Woodbridge.
📣 EXCITING NEWS! 📣
Great War Huts has been shortlisted for the public vote in the
@heritageopenday
30th anniversary celebration!
We need your help to make it through to the final. Every vote helps and we really appreciate your support. Thank you! 🙏
It has been a very busy day but, at lunchtime, we had a very pleasant diversion when our 1918 Elswick-made Hotchkiss 6pdr QF gun arrived - a gift from the
@I_W_M
for which we are very grateful. 😊
The gun is the same type as those originally fitted in the Mk1 Male Tanks.
📣 EXCITING NEWS 📣
The wonderful Katja Hoyer will be joining us on Saturday 6th July for a special Hutted Histories fundraiser event!
Katja will be talking about Blood & Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire, 1871-1918.
🎟️ Limited tickets here:
This cigarette case was presented to 2/Lt Donald Charles Wesley Smith by Warrant Officers, NCOs & Men of B Company, 2/5th Suffolk Regiment when he was posted to 1/5th at Gallipoli in August 1915.
A Turkish bullet smashed through both sides, surely causing a fatal wound...
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If you think that you are struggling with self isolating, spare a thought for Trooper Patrick Fowler of the 11th Hussars.
Fowler was left behind during the German advance in 1914, and was discovered near Le Cateau by Louis Basquin on 15th January 1915. Basquin took him to... 1/
It is Day 19 of
#HutVent
.
Our youngest Great War Huts volunteer makes a welcome return to HutVent to tell us all about some Great War Hut Archaeology...
Great War British Soldiers were inveterate souvenir hunters. This small collection was brought home by "Harry", and includes a late war German shoulder strap, a piece of Zeppelin and a tiny piece of fabric from a German aeroplane, shot down at La Bassée.
🎄 DAY 3 🎄
Our youngest Great War Huts volunteer tells us all about War Loans and Saving Schemes today, and shows us a nifty tinplate money box too!
#HutVent
We have recently been lucky enough to fill a gap in the GWH Collection - this lovely Christmas 1914 Queen Alexandra gift tin.
Despite being overshadowed by the Gifts sent to soldiers and sailors by her Grandaughter, Princess Mary, the Queen Mother’s gifts were appreciated…
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…Bandmaster George ‘Bix’ Bixley’s scrapbook is absolutely stuffed with newspaper clippings, photographs, cards, souvenirs from his time with the Rhine Army in 1919, letters from local politicians and dignitaries around the world, thanking Bix for the 2/Worcester Band’s…
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We were immensely proud that our very own Great War Huts team member, Lyndsay, designed these two striking posters for the wonderful
@UCL_FWWCBTP
programme!
If any of you need some design work undertaking, do get in touch.
😊
…of all the participants on a 1922 course. When we unrolled it there was a piece of Post-It note under one Sergeant. On the note it said, “Bix U. George”.
We did a double take and, as you have guessed, it was our previously unknown Bandsman, now identified as ‘Bix’ Bixley…
6/
📣 We have an exciting announcement! 📣
Thanks to your votes, GWH has been selected as one of 30 Heritage Open Days sites for their 30th Anniversary Gallery, from over 5,000 HODs participants.
Here is the link to the 30 for 30 Showcase:
…from a soldier who had served in the Worcestershire Regiment, and originally the Suffolks.
The tin arrived and it was filled with a Scrapbook, Discharge Certificate and papers to a former Bandmaster of 2/Worcesters.
His service stretched from October 1913 to July 1951…
4/
Today is Day 11 of
#HutVent
2022 and it's time for a Guest!
Professor Peter Doyle tells us about some wonderful items which unite two of his passions - geology and Great War artefacts!
We were having a rummage in one of our Great War Huts collection stores yesterday and came across this large bronze plaque commemorating General Sir Walter Pipon Braithwaite, GCB, who had been the Chairman of The League of Remembrance from 1929 until his death in 1945…
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We are very excited to announce that we are hosting
#TwentyYearsAfter
BBC2’s ‘The Trench’ 20th anniversary event here at GWH on 24/9/22.
We will screen all three episodes interspersed with talks by members of the production team & participants:
Details:
🎄 DAY 11 🎄
We have a guest presenter on
#HutVent
today; our great friend and GWH supporter, historian and author
@richardvanemden
, shares a wonderful item from his own collection!
…Stretcher Bearers. He had a cheerful, kindly, face which stood out among his pals.
Like many Stretcher Bearers, he was a Bandsman, with his brass Bandsman’s badge on his right sleeve and his cloth SB armband on his left.
Over the years he continued to crop up in…
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…performances.
His original Army of Occupation pass is among his souvenirs, along with the Rhine Army Military Permit of his wife, Winifred.
His whole career is squeezed into his scrapbook, including the first ATS Band in the Second World War, who he had helped to raise…
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We were very pleased to acquire some wonderful pre-Great War items today of 6944 Sergeant ‘Bertie’ Haylock, who enlisted in 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, in 1904 and, luckily for him, was medically discharged after a stay in Netley Hospital in June 1914.
However, he kept…
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…He had served in The Suffolk Regiment until 1924. In 1925 he attended the Bandmaster’s course at Kneller Hall School of Music, passing with flying colours, and receiving a superb framed certificate (No.634) which was also in the tin!
There was also a long, rolled photo…
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It’s the Fourth Day of
#HutVent
!
Today Taff tells the story of the Memorial Cross of an Officer killed "repulsing a particularly savage German Trench raid" in February 1917.
Selling matches in the street was one way that jobless ex-servicemen were able to make a living after the First World War.
These two boxes - “DUNYERBIT” and “REMEMBER” are two examples sold for the benefit of disabled Soldiers and Sailors.
German shoulder straps, snatched in trench raids, or cut from dead men’s tunics, were a useful means of identifying enemy formations.
Mortimer Osmond Illingworth Griffiths was a Suffolk Regiment Intelligence Officer before transferring to the RAF.
He kept these as souvenirs:
…other photographs, like this one of Captain W.F. Burman, MC, and the 2/Suffolk Drums, taken at Verquin in 1917.
However, in all that time we had no idea who he was.
Then, during the pandemic, Taff spotted an interesting small metal box for sale on eBay. It contained items…
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Excellent work by Chumrade Serjeant ‘Pickles’ Hayward, Lieutenant
@AndInTheMorning
and their Duke of Boots Platoon, who spent their weekend at Brook Farm Camp, including a lengthy overnight stint in flooded trenches.
All the right age to be credible Great War soldiers too. 👍🏻
On the 95th Anniversary of the founding of The Old Contemptibles Association, we remember them & look forward to displaying many Chums’ artefacts, including the original National Standard, paraded by the
#KhakiChums
on the BEF Mobilization Centenary in August 2014
@TheKnotUnites
There are so many men and women to commemorate at this time of year, and collectively, we do remember them all, but this year at Great War Huts we are thinking about 41204 Pte John Edwin Armstrong, from Keighley in West Yorkshire.
John’s story has a number of connections…
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Today’s piece from the GWH Collection is the Wolseley Sun Helmet which belonged to 753 Cpl William Parry of 1/5th Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
A pre-war Territorial, he joined the 1/5th after Gallipoli and were in Egypt.
He was wounded in Palestine but managed to keep his Wolseley.
In October 1914, HRH Princess Mary launched an appeal to give every Soldier & Sailor a Christmas Gift.
£162,591 12s 5d was raised by public subscription; a huge amount of money.
Over the next few days we will share some of those gifts.
Day 1
#TheTwelveDaysOfGiftmas
#HRH1914Gift
Exactly 100 years ago today it was Oxford Hut Day!
The appeal was intended to replace 100 x Church Army Recreation Huts lost in the 1918 German Spring Offensives.
This large original poster will soon be displayed
@GreatWarHuts
Next year we will be hosting our very own
#HutDay
!
It’s the first Wednesday of the moth again so it’s time for another
#HuttedHistory
talk.
This month it’s uniforms and equipment, with help from
@AndInTheMorning
!
108 years ago yesterday, on February 15th 1915, the Daily Mirror published a photograph of a patriotic little lad in Great War uniform at the Old Berkshire Foxhounds meet, captioned ‘Little John Bull’.
Replica uniforms were popular, although some were better made than others…
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Our first Hutted Histories talk of 2021 is here!
Today is a followup to our Whistlestop Guide to British Uniforms and Equipment. This time
@Taff_Gillingham
talks about the kit that British soldiers carried inside their pockets, packs and haversacks.
Major O.K.‘Ossie’Leach of
2/Suffolk reading the Suffolk Regiment Gazette in his foxhole in the Burmese jungle.
Remembering all those who fought in the Far East, and rarely get a mention, on the 77th Anniversary of VJ Day.
#VJDay
From a 1920s Hatfield House photo album; the Mk1 Tank presented to Lord Salisbury by the Army Council, on 2nd April 1919, commemorating the secret Tank trials in the grounds of his home.
It was removed in the 1960s & is now on display
@TankMuseum
It’s the only surviving Mk1 Tank
Our first
@heritageopenday
of
#HODs2023
got off to a flying start with 54 guests on our site tour.
Our special
#CreativeConflict
exhibition has been incredibly well received too.
Curator
@HorrorBiscuits
has chosen some superb items from the Victorian Era to the Falklands War.
We’re looking forward to
@ProfPeterDoyle
’s talk tomorrow and learning all about Princess Mary’s 1914 Christmas Gift! It’s going to be a great talk in an original Great War Hut 😬
To brighten up your Sunday, here is a Gallipoli Ten Shilling note, overprinted in Turkish, stating that the note was worth 60 Turkish Pennies in Silver.
These were issued on May 21, 1915 so men could purchase items from local people on the Gallipoli Peninsular. There was a...
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An experience not to be missed!
On Saturday 10th June we are screening ‘The Battle of the Ancre and Advance of the Tanks’ - the original film, with the inimitable Stephen Horne’s original live piano score, in our original First World War Recreation Hut!
As 2022 draws to a close we have been looking back at what we have been up to during the year.
After we all caught COVID at the beginning of January it has been a year of progress, with building our new trenches starting again in January and continuing throughout the year…
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Introduced in 1915, Leather Jerkins were an incredibly popular piece of kit. In the 1970s it seemed as if every dustman in the country wore the WW2 version, but the Great War jerkins (which are completely different) are extremely hard to find.
This example, from the GWH…
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In 1936 the Cunard White Star cruise ship RMS Lancastria took a large party of First World War veterans on a pilgrimage cruise to their former battlefields and the
#GreatWarHutsCollection
has a number of Lancastria tour artefacts including a cruise poster for the trip...
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We are excited to announce that we have permission to screen the new
#JourneysEnd
film in our original
#FWW
Recreation Hut on Tuesday 20th March - the Centenary of the Eve of the March Offensive. All proceeds to the
#GreatWarHuts
project. For tickets:
We recently spotted this nice photograph of Lieutenant Kenneth Eric Deighton of the Army Service Corps, mounted in a 9” square Morocco leather frame.
He had signed the photograph and dated it, France 18th November 1916.
On the back of the frame is…
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From the GWH Collection:
Engineer Lieutenant George Augustus Prescott of the Royal Naval Reserve was Mentioned in Despatches for conspicuous gallantry on the occasion when the Q-Ship H.M.S. Paxton was torpedoed and sunk by U46 on the 30th May, 1917. Sadly George was one of…
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It is the 25th Day of
#HutVent
.
Happy Christmas!
In our final episode of 2022, Lyndsay tells us about a remarkable Christmas Card, sent from a battlefield long, long ago!
Despite the centenary of the Armistice in 2018, it was not until a century ago today that the Treaty of Versailles was signed and ‘The War To End All Wars’ brought to an end.
For individual soldiers the war dragged on too. Here in Suffolk one such soldier was Eddie Hazlewood.
The bereaved Wives & Mothers of those killed before Christmas 1914 were not forgotten.
They received an empty Tin and the 1914 Christmas Card.
This may account for some of the surviving empty tins - they were not all full when issued.
Day 9
#TheTwelveDaysOfGiftmas
#HRH1914Gift
It’s Christmas Eve - the 24th Day of
#HutVent
2022.
Put the kettle on and settle down as Taff has a remarkable story to tell of luck, chance, coincidence or maybe just fate…
We have always been made very welcome by our friends and neighbours in the village of Hawstead. 9 years ago, we invited the villagers to visit the site so we could explain our plans.
Yesterday, we invited them back to show them our progress so far!
…his Bible,
“…carried in my coat pocket by me in the great advance on Loos and Hill 70 when I was awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry in playing my comrades into action, September 25th 1915…
Piper D. Laidlaw, VC
K.O.S.Bdrs"
…is safe here at Great War Huts
Today in 1915, at the Battle of Loos in northern France, Piper Daniel Laidlaw climbs from his trench and plays his pipes to rally his shaken comrades. For his 'splendid example' he receives the Victoria Cross.
His pipes, displayed at the King's Own Scottish Borderers Museum.
Something a little older than usual for the Battle of Waterloo anniversary:
This Napoleonic Eagle from a French Cavalry cartouche was dropped into the mud during the fighting on the Waterloo battlefield 207 years ago today.
Picked up after the battle & now in the
#GWHCollection
With so many of you enjoying
#TheDig
, we thought we would share another of Frank’s pieces with you; his 1st Volunteer Battalion Suffolk Regiment Home Service Helmet & named tin. The photograph was taken in August 1914 - Frank is at the front. His brother Donald in the back row.
We are all thoroughly enjoying The Dig, so here are some items from the Great War Huts Collection with a Sutton Hoo connection -
Edith’s late husband,
Frank Pretty’s
#FWW
1/4th Suffolk Regiment identity disc, rank stars & crowns, buttons & dress sword knot.
#SuttonHoo
#TheDig
Today’s £6 bargain from an antiques centre - a cigarette case which originally belonged to 171985 Sapper Charles H. Gardiner of the Royal Engineers Signal Service.
🙂
We are very pleased with our latest acquisition for the Great War Huts Collection; a large poster advertising the sale by auction of surplus First World War huts, and ancillary items, at Greenhill Camp, Larkhill, in September 1936.
(Thank you to Will Ward for spotting it!)
As it is
#InternationalBagpipeDay
here is
@HorrorBiscuits
telling us about one very important artefact in the Great War Huts Collection, which was present at the most well known Victoria Cross Bagpipe action of the First World War:
#DanielLaidlawVC
Our first Volunteer Weekend since 2019 has been an absolute belter; good weather, great food and excellent company!
Our merry band of Mad Hutters took on, and completed, a wide range of tasks across the Camp…
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#MadHutters
One of our aims at Great War Huts is to encourage other owners of original buildings to look after them, restore them and not replace them!
The wonderful team
@SLVH_Rutland
have done exactly that. After a visit by us in April 1919 they decided to keep their Hall, rebuilt in...
1/
Happy Christmas to you all, especially those who have supported GWH this year.
We hope you have enjoyed our Tweets, Hutted Histories and, of course, this years HutVent!
There is one final
#HutVent
episode tomorrow morning, featuring an incredibly rare artefact. Don’t miss it!
Following on from the post this morning by
@sommecourt
with the great photograph of a soldier wearing the distinctive Canadian 7-button jacket, here is an example from our collection, badged to a Sergeant of the 44th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Sustainability is important to us. Besides restoring Huts, we recycle fittings & furniture such as these donated chairs.
They sat outside for years and were in a poor state. They have been rubbed down, painted, polished and re-riveted. Good as new!
Just a few more to do... 😁
We had a great visit to the Museum of Lincolnshire Life yesterday to collect some artefacts.
It was lovely to meet Sara and other museum staff, see the Tank, the German Field Gun, and get a peek in the collection store!
We would like to say a huge thank you to the wonderful
@stockotrader
for donating this small Hardy Pick to the GWH Collection.
These were used by the men of the Tunnelling Companies on the Western Front and it’s a nice addition to our Tunnellers collection.
Thanks again, Mike! 😊