This weekend saw the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Mons. I was fortunate enough during the summer of 2012 to go on an in depth recce of not only Mons but also the route of the subsequent retreat. When people remember the Great War it tends to be 1916 onwards (with perhaps the exception of the battle of Loos). I found the recce to be fascinating as we covered such a large distance and such a varied set of engagements, from infantry battles to cavalry clashes to large engagements such as Le Cateau.
Plaque at Nimy Bridge (Authors Collection)
The plaque above is from the location just under Nimy Bridge where Lieutenant Dease and Private Godley won their Victoria Crosses. While these were the first of the war they would not be the last to be earned on the retreat that began after the Battle of Mons (only one day later Captain Grenfell would earn his during the action at Audregnies and Captain Bradbury would earn his during the engagement at Nery).
Mons saw the much smaller BEF come into contact with the German 1st Army, that the BEF were able to put up a fight and extricate themselves shows the professionalism of the regulars and reservists.
The grave of Lieutenant Dease at St Symphorien (Authors Collection)
Lieutenant Dease is buried at St Symphorien which is a remarkable Commonwealth War graves Cemetery. Behind German lines for the vast majority of the war, it is laid out in a very different manor. It also features the first and last BEF and Canadian casualties of the War.
Private Godley survived the action at Mons, was taken prisoner and survived the war being present with his Victoria Cross by the King in 1919.
First blog post of 2014 and after some thought it became
obvious to me what the subject would be.
As many people will have seen Michael Gove entered the
embattled conflict for the nature and purpose of the First World War
Commemorations.
Michael Gove has managed to get quite a debate going on the
cause of the conflict and who was to blame. The debate has been wide ranging
and very interesting covering so many aspects of the final years and months
leading up to the outbreak of hostilities in 1914. Insults have been hurled and
battle lines drawn leading to a feel of the Left vs the Right for the heart and
soul of the commemorations.
Michael Gove took a swipe and the Blackadder Caricatures
that are prevalent when it comes to general knowledge of the First World War
and British involvement. This has drawn in not only Baldrick (Tony Robinson)
himself but Boris Johnson and a host of academics. In many ways I agree with
Michael Gove to a certain extent, although left wing propaganda is perhaps a
tad harsh and antagonistic. I really enjoy Blackadder goes forth and have
watched it many a time and chuckled at the same scenes time and again just like
many other people. However, I remember Blackadder being used at school and also
by a rather clueless college teacher as a teaching aide about the First World
War. Yet the views that Blackadder presented were not challenged or expanded
upon to give a rounded picture.
This is where the real danger lies for the public
understanding British involvement in the First World War. Without knowledge
from the teachers to point out and separate fact from fiction we will regress
back down the tired path of Lions led by Donkeys and war poets being the voice
of history.
BBC News featured a very interesting piece featuring
Professor Gary Sheffield and a London based German TV presenter discussing the
differences between British and German approaches to the First World War.
Professor Sheffield came across very well and made a very good argument as to
why we need to challenge perceptions of lions led by donkeys and why the First
World War anniversary is such an important event to the British public.
The centenary represents a real chance to remember the
sacrifices of all involved, regardless of blame for starting the war and also a
chance to engage another generation of future historians. If by 2018 there is a
better understanding of the First World War, how it was fought and why it was
fought then I think it will have been worth all of the fuss.
