Written by Private Arthur Edward Diggens, the diary was found in a Midlands barn and contains astonishing insights into the author’s experiences.
WWI
War of Words – ‘Hun’
‘Hun’ became an unflattering synonym for Germans during World War I, used by Britons to emphasise their enemy’s brutality.
War Athletes: François Faber and Octave Lapize
On 28 June 1914, the 12th annual Tour de France began in Paris with the blast of a starter’s pistol. The same day, another gun killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, setting in motion World War I.
WWI helmets provided as much protection as modern models, study finds
A new study has revealed that World War I helmets provided as much protection from shockwaves as their modern counterparts.
Back to the Drawing Board: The Supermarine Nighthawk
One of the oddest inventions was the Supermarine Nighthawk, a massive twin-engine quadruplane night fighter designed to fly patrols of anything up to 18 hours at a time, with a fully-enclosed heated cockpit and even a small sleeping berth.
Tank museum appeals for gun information
Guns are an everyday feature of most military museums, but one weapon in particular has attracted a lot of attention. A WWI German Luger was recently handed in to the police in Wiltshire. Now the nearby Tank Museum is appealing for information about the pistol’s history.
German armoured cruiser SMS Scharnhorst located off Falkland Islands
It was one of the most famous armoured cruisers of the First World War, but it had remained lost for a century. Now the wreck of SMS Scharnhorst has been located off the Falkland Islands.
War on Film: 1917 reviewed
Just when you thought there was nothing else to say about the First World War after four years of commemorations, along comes 1917 – a hugely imaginative, totally immersive story set on the Western Front.
Back to the Drawing Board: Tsar Tank
One of the earliest attempts to design an AFV that could cope with First World War battlefields was the bizarre Tsar Tank.
REVIEW – The Fortress: the Great Siege of Przemysl
I had thought I knew a lot about the First World War. Until I read this book. Then I discovered a yawning gap in knowledge and understanding.
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