Saturday 31 March 2018
An idiots guide to an Idiot: March 1918.
An idiots guide to an Idiot: March 1918.: Another one of my periodic looks at what my Grandfathers were doing 100 years ago via regimental war dairies. G2104 L/Cpl Alfred Gower ...
Friday 30 March 2018
March 1918.
Another one of my periodic looks at what my Grandfathers were doing 100 years ago via regimental war dairies.
G2104 L/Cpl Alfred Gower 2nd Bn, The Middlesex Regiment, (my Mum's Dad) had been invalided out of the army in March 1918 and awarded the Silver War Badge, a badge to wear on civvies so he could prove he'd 'done his bit.'
Documents available today state he was invalided out due to 'illness.' Though what this was is not specified, this is strange as he actually told me he'd been invalided out because of a wound. A bullet entered his left wrist and exited through his left elbow! His battalion noted on the Silver War Badge record states the 6th, not the 2nd. The 6/Middlesex was a training battalion, one theory is that he could have been retraining after being wounded and then succumbed to illness, Spanish Flu even which killed millions and could have laid him very low. It's a question I'll never get an answer to .
D1901 Pte William Morgan 1st (Kings) Dragoon Guards.
My Dad's Dad of course has a complicated story. In August 1917 his regiment was ordered back to India, the North West Passage in Afghanistan infact to quell an uprising but my Grandad did not go with them. He too had been wounded and could have been convalescing or it could have been that he'd signed on for 9 years with the colours and these were up ( he joined in 1908 though I thought war time would have negated 9 years with the colours & 5 with the reserve) . Another question I'll never have satisfactorily answered, whatever the case he was compulsorily transferred to the 15th Bn The Royal Warwickshire Regiment. From the cavalry to the infantry seems a very strange move, surely his nine years of horsemanship could have been better used! In November 1917 his battalion part of the 13th Brigade, 5th Division was ordered to the Italian front (along with five other British divisions and seven French) as an Austo-German attack had pushed the Italians back some eighty miles only stopping at the River Piave. Conditions were considerably better than on the Western Front and considerably quieter, the three battalions of Royal Warwick's in Italy from November 1917 to March 1918 only suffered six killed in action between them. The regimental war diary for this period has not been digitised yet so I have been unable to view it and gleaned this information from the excellent book 'Birmingham Pals' by Terry Carter. The battalion had been raised as the 2nd Birmingham Pals in 1914
though by the time my Grandad joined them there was very few of the original Pals left. They had started to be trained in mountain warfare but then sent to the plains of the River Piave on the front line.
No doubt they would have stayed on the Italian front but for Operation Michel launched by the Germans on the Western front on 21st March 1918, a huge assault that pushed and pushed the British back to were they'd started in 1914. The divisions on Italy were rushed back on trains though this took some six days, the battalion arrived back on the Western front with the rest of the 5th Division on 7th April 1918. More of that later!
G2104 L/Cpl Alfred Gower 2nd Bn, The Middlesex Regiment, (my Mum's Dad) had been invalided out of the army in March 1918 and awarded the Silver War Badge, a badge to wear on civvies so he could prove he'd 'done his bit.'
Documents available today state he was invalided out due to 'illness.' Though what this was is not specified, this is strange as he actually told me he'd been invalided out because of a wound. A bullet entered his left wrist and exited through his left elbow! His battalion noted on the Silver War Badge record states the 6th, not the 2nd. The 6/Middlesex was a training battalion, one theory is that he could have been retraining after being wounded and then succumbed to illness, Spanish Flu even which killed millions and could have laid him very low. It's a question I'll never get an answer to .
D1901 Pte William Morgan 1st (Kings) Dragoon Guards.
My Dad's Dad of course has a complicated story. In August 1917 his regiment was ordered back to India, the North West Passage in Afghanistan infact to quell an uprising but my Grandad did not go with them. He too had been wounded and could have been convalescing or it could have been that he'd signed on for 9 years with the colours and these were up ( he joined in 1908 though I thought war time would have negated 9 years with the colours & 5 with the reserve) . Another question I'll never have satisfactorily answered, whatever the case he was compulsorily transferred to the 15th Bn The Royal Warwickshire Regiment. From the cavalry to the infantry seems a very strange move, surely his nine years of horsemanship could have been better used! In November 1917 his battalion part of the 13th Brigade, 5th Division was ordered to the Italian front (along with five other British divisions and seven French) as an Austo-German attack had pushed the Italians back some eighty miles only stopping at the River Piave. Conditions were considerably better than on the Western Front and considerably quieter, the three battalions of Royal Warwick's in Italy from November 1917 to March 1918 only suffered six killed in action between them. The regimental war diary for this period has not been digitised yet so I have been unable to view it and gleaned this information from the excellent book 'Birmingham Pals' by Terry Carter. The battalion had been raised as the 2nd Birmingham Pals in 1914
No doubt they would have stayed on the Italian front but for Operation Michel launched by the Germans on the Western front on 21st March 1918, a huge assault that pushed and pushed the British back to were they'd started in 1914. The divisions on Italy were rushed back on trains though this took some six days, the battalion arrived back on the Western front with the rest of the 5th Division on 7th April 1918. More of that later!
Sunday 25 March 2018
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Norfolk.
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Norfolk.: Had a couple of delightful days in Norfolk, a very nice dinner at the Trowel and Hammer in Norwich, sort of an Italian style menu with Brit...
Norfolk.
Had a couple of delightful days in Norfolk, a very nice dinner at the Trowel and Hammer in Norwich, sort of an Italian style menu with British beer so a very good combination really. Steak for me with a great pile of Rosemary potatoes, very tasty but maybe needed fewer potatoes & a little salad with it and Tara had a veggie risotto which won her seal of approval. All in all a very good meal, had a wander around Norwich with a couple of coffee stops as well. All very pleasant.
Then we went on to stay overnight with our Nephew and his partner near Thetford. Just us staying this time, last time it was with the boys and Ella & Julian as well.They really are making their mark on their house now, it is becoming very homely. After a very good dinner of veggie musaka they took us to the local quiz night. An event that happens five times a year and proceeds go to a local group of some kind. It was very popular and we were shoehorned into the middle of the function room, there was 22 teams of between 4 to 6 people, we were pretty well rammed in! I thought we'd do well in the quiz but ended up coming 10th out of the 22. Not too bad, the points between the teams were just about as close as they could be. It was great fun. After a restful night we went to the local whiskey distillery that also has a café serving a very good full English breakfast, another place that seems to be grasping the idea of gluten free as Tara had some choices as well! We bade farewell here and headed home after a really good weekend, we'll have to try coming over in the summer next time as the weather was freezing!
Then we went on to stay overnight with our Nephew and his partner near Thetford. Just us staying this time, last time it was with the boys and Ella & Julian as well.They really are making their mark on their house now, it is becoming very homely. After a very good dinner of veggie musaka they took us to the local quiz night. An event that happens five times a year and proceeds go to a local group of some kind. It was very popular and we were shoehorned into the middle of the function room, there was 22 teams of between 4 to 6 people, we were pretty well rammed in! I thought we'd do well in the quiz but ended up coming 10th out of the 22. Not too bad, the points between the teams were just about as close as they could be. It was great fun. After a restful night we went to the local whiskey distillery that also has a café serving a very good full English breakfast, another place that seems to be grasping the idea of gluten free as Tara had some choices as well! We bade farewell here and headed home after a really good weekend, we'll have to try coming over in the summer next time as the weather was freezing!
Saturday 24 March 2018
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Magnum: The road to eternity tour and a great week...
An idiots guide to an Idiot: Magnum: The road to eternity tour and a great week...: We have been looking forward to this weekend and all it has to offer for some time now, for starters we were off to see one of our favourit...
Magnum: The road to eternity tour and a great weekend.
We have been looking forward to this weekend and all it has to offer for some time now, for starters we were off to see one of our favourite bands in concert at the Assembly Hall in Islington. Initially just us but also being joined by our friends Gary & Cathie ( I went to school with Gary, did I blog how we met up after some 40 years? No? Well that's a whole blog of its own then!) Gary is a recent convert to Magnum & of course, like me, an old headbanger!
Booked into our hotel and had a little light refreshment, the red liquid variety, and made our way to the pub where I'd booked us for dinner The Vineyard which couldn't have been closer to the gig, just opposite infact. We had dinner, and were joined for a pre gig beer by Gary & Cathie. Over we went to the Assembly Hall itself an interesting building. It was built in 1929 & quickly became a place for dances and variety shows right up to the 1980's when it was closed. Revived and refurbished by Islington Council it reopened in 2010 with as many of the original Art Deco features as could be renovated, even though Magnum's bass player Al Barrow told me in a recent brief FaceBook chat that he thought it was like 'playing inside a wedding cake!' Well at least its a Grade II listed wedding cake! I was looking forward to seeing the support act as well, a singer called Rebecca Downes, a really bluesy singer (she's won awards for it!) very much of the same ilk as Joanne Shaw-Taylor. An excellent support who finished with a great version of the Beatles classic 'With a little help from my friends.' Magnum were of course brilliant. They know their stuff and always give a good show with four tracks played off their new album which the tour is named after ( see my blog entry reviewing this album if you are interested) My own personal fave was probably 'Your dreams won't die' which I was able to bellow out hopefully not spoiling anyone's enjoyment! Thought the sound a little off at times though, I didn't always catch what Bob Catley was saying to the crowd at some points.
Here's the set lists:
Rebecca Downes.
Booked into our hotel and had a little light refreshment, the red liquid variety, and made our way to the pub where I'd booked us for dinner The Vineyard which couldn't have been closer to the gig, just opposite infact. We had dinner, and were joined for a pre gig beer by Gary & Cathie. Over we went to the Assembly Hall itself an interesting building. It was built in 1929 & quickly became a place for dances and variety shows right up to the 1980's when it was closed. Revived and refurbished by Islington Council it reopened in 2010 with as many of the original Art Deco features as could be renovated, even though Magnum's bass player Al Barrow told me in a recent brief FaceBook chat that he thought it was like 'playing inside a wedding cake!' Well at least its a Grade II listed wedding cake! I was looking forward to seeing the support act as well, a singer called Rebecca Downes, a really bluesy singer (she's won awards for it!) very much of the same ilk as Joanne Shaw-Taylor. An excellent support who finished with a great version of the Beatles classic 'With a little help from my friends.' Magnum were of course brilliant. They know their stuff and always give a good show with four tracks played off their new album which the tour is named after ( see my blog entry reviewing this album if you are interested) My own personal fave was probably 'Your dreams won't die' which I was able to bellow out hopefully not spoiling anyone's enjoyment! Thought the sound a little off at times though, I didn't always catch what Bob Catley was saying to the crowd at some points.
Here's the set lists:
Rebecca Downes.
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-
-
-
-
-
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(The Beatles cover)
- Magnum.
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-
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-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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- Encore:
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-
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| At Leighton Buzzard Station waiting for our train. |
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| Pub dinner! |
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| Our room |
The end of the gig came all too soon and we left the Assembly Hall. Gary & Cathie had to catch their train home and Tara & I ambled down Upper Street, passed the church that her ancestors would have known and onward to the Hilton Islington. Couldn't resist a night time snack of chips with mayo en route! A sumptuous breakfast next morning, staff rather over efficient as if you left to get something from the breakfast bar you could come back and find your place cleared!!
Made our way to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane for a behind the scenes tour, a presie from our dear friends Kas & Stan. It was very interesting though different to what we expected. We thought it would be about the running of a West End theatre, how the flies work, where the green room is etc but instead it was all about the history of the place. Its the oldest theatre in London. It was a very interesting tour with two guides who took it in turns to take us round. They were in different characters of playwrights who'd been there and also Nell Gwynne showed us round. Didn't need lunch after our feed at the Hilton but did need a drink, alot of the pubs & clubs round the theatres didn't seem to open up until later, even the 'Be at one' cocktail bar that all the boys recommend didn't open until later in the afternoon, at last we found refuge in The Lyceum Tavern, just in The Strand, I've blogged separately about overheard conversations there if you're interested! Whistles wetted we then went onto our accommodation for Saturday night, the Hilton at Tower Bridge. It was bit of a pain having to cart our case with us all day & maybe I should have booked two nights at one hotel, I just thought that Islington was near the gig but out on a limb from central London. Maybe I'll do it differently next time. On arrival at the Hilton we were greeted with a glass of fizz, just because it was Saturday! We also had a room upgrade! Very posh! Complimentary half bottle of wine and coffee machine as well! Had bit of a doze then, what party animals we are! Not only is London tiring at the best of times but relaxing tires you out as well! Refreshed, a couple of hours later we got a cab back to Covent Garden for our dinner which was a very nice pizza/pasta place and a part of the presie from our friends. They could cater for gluten free which was good so we had a nice dinner, I had pizza and Tara had a pasta dish. We had starters and puds but I forget what they were! Had an amble round Covent Garden and eventually back to the hotel not before walking along the banks of the Thames passed The Kiln etc .Saw a busker who was playing a drum kit that was abit bizarre! Without a backing track he 'd have been pretty dull! Made bit of a mistake at the hotel, we'd walked passed a number of attractive looking pubs but decided to have a drink at the hotel bar........big mistake! A half pint of beer ( London Pride) and a Jack and Coke ( known as a 'Lemmy' of course!) cost us £16.73! Oh my wallet! While we were sitting in the bar I looked out the window & of all things I saw a Fox trotting along the road! Urban Foxes even in central London! Next morning after another great breakfast, we checked out and walked over Tower Bridge and eventually made our way home. Gary & Ellie were out walking Ida with Olly, Laura & her family dog Lexi on our return so we met them in a nearby pub. We'd had a wonderful weekend, the stuff that great memories are made of.
Made our way to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane for a behind the scenes tour, a presie from our dear friends Kas & Stan. It was very interesting though different to what we expected. We thought it would be about the running of a West End theatre, how the flies work, where the green room is etc but instead it was all about the history of the place. Its the oldest theatre in London. It was a very interesting tour with two guides who took it in turns to take us round. They were in different characters of playwrights who'd been there and also Nell Gwynne showed us round. Didn't need lunch after our feed at the Hilton but did need a drink, alot of the pubs & clubs round the theatres didn't seem to open up until later, even the 'Be at one' cocktail bar that all the boys recommend didn't open until later in the afternoon, at last we found refuge in The Lyceum Tavern, just in The Strand, I've blogged separately about overheard conversations there if you're interested! Whistles wetted we then went onto our accommodation for Saturday night, the Hilton at Tower Bridge. It was bit of a pain having to cart our case with us all day & maybe I should have booked two nights at one hotel, I just thought that Islington was near the gig but out on a limb from central London. Maybe I'll do it differently next time. On arrival at the Hilton we were greeted with a glass of fizz, just because it was Saturday! We also had a room upgrade! Very posh! Complimentary half bottle of wine and coffee machine as well! Had bit of a doze then, what party animals we are! Not only is London tiring at the best of times but relaxing tires you out as well! Refreshed, a couple of hours later we got a cab back to Covent Garden for our dinner which was a very nice pizza/pasta place and a part of the presie from our friends. They could cater for gluten free which was good so we had a nice dinner, I had pizza and Tara had a pasta dish. We had starters and puds but I forget what they were! Had an amble round Covent Garden and eventually back to the hotel not before walking along the banks of the Thames passed The Kiln etc .Saw a busker who was playing a drum kit that was abit bizarre! Without a backing track he 'd have been pretty dull! Made bit of a mistake at the hotel, we'd walked passed a number of attractive looking pubs but decided to have a drink at the hotel bar........big mistake! A half pint of beer ( London Pride) and a Jack and Coke ( known as a 'Lemmy' of course!) cost us £16.73! Oh my wallet! While we were sitting in the bar I looked out the window & of all things I saw a Fox trotting along the road! Urban Foxes even in central London! Next morning after another great breakfast, we checked out and walked over Tower Bridge and eventually made our way home. Gary & Ellie were out walking Ida with Olly, Laura & her family dog Lexi on our return so we met them in a nearby pub. We'd had a wonderful weekend, the stuff that great memories are made of.
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| Our room at the Hilton Islington |
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| Dinner in Covent Garden. |
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| The Royal corridor in the Theatre Royal. |
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| HMS Belfast, the pointy end. |
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| HMS Belfast, the blunt end. |
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| The Shard by night |
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| With my Love with London behind us. What could be better? |
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| Our room at the Hilton Tower bridge. |
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| Ticket for a great gig! |
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