Today, 7th June marks the anniversary of the Battle of Messines Ridge… The Messines Ridge, situated a few thousand yards to the south of the town of Ypres, had been taken by the Germans in 1914 and they had fought tenaciously to keep it ever since. Strategically this ridge was hugely important; although at 260 [...]

Today I stumbled across a group called Gaia3D - they are a UK-based team of artists, developers and animators that are on a bit of a mission to shake up education by using gaming technology to provide interactive and immersive educational 3D experiences. One project of theirs which has captured my imagination is a WW1 virtual trench. The WW1 [...]

I am currently working on a new Kindle publication called ‘Heroes of The Line’. It is a memoir of my 2009 cycle ride across the entire WW1 Western Front trench lines, intermingled with a number of pieces of research on some of the soldiers we came across that were buried in war cemeteries or mentioned [...]

Today we have added 8 big new infographics to our popular ‘The Great War 100′ app. This latest update covers 7 new ‘battle’ graphics covering the decisive battles at Mons, the Marne, Cambrai, Amiens, Neuve Chappelle, Loos, First Ypres, and the Brusilov Offensive. Another graphic covering the Battle of Tannenberg is not quite finished and [...]

Yesterday, 8 new infographics were added to the ever-growing ‘The Great War 100′ app. This latest update covers the Distinguished Flying Cross gallantry award. These new graphics cover a general overview of the award including award criteria, size, material, as well as some facts and figures as to how many were awarded, what they were [...]

I have recently had a small run of my latest kindle book, ‘World War One: A Layman’s Guide’ printed in paperback version primarily to help get some reviews of the book by websites, newspapers, magazines, bloggers etc. The e-book itself is selling beyond my expectations (I don’t really know what ‘success’ is and how many [...]

A new online database covering British War Memorials has been launched  on thegenealogist.co.uk. Currently the database comprises over 100,000 records, providing valuable details about civilians and soldiers killed during conflicts ranging from the Boer War to the more recent clashes in Northern Ireland. Each record  includes details of the memorial with overview images of the [...]

Earlier today I was invited on to the Mike Read radio show on BBC Radio Berkshire to talk about the First World War, tattoos, history books, charity cycle rides, Motorhead and Elvis Presley! As part of Mike’s ‘my favourite things’ session we discussed how my tattoo of soldiers going ‘over the top’ has inspired me [...]

Continuing with a medal theme to The Great War 100 app we have just released 17 new graphics covering the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross gallantry awards. These new graphics cover a general overview of the medals including award criteria, size, material, as well as some facts and figures as to how many were [...]

In early 1915 the Western Front resembled a tag-team wrestling match. No sooner had the French had jumped out of the ring after the disaster at Champagne, they slapped the hand of the British who took up the baton for the Allies and launched their own offensive at Neuve Chapelle. The objective handed to the [...]