WW1 Digger History Podcast29 Kesä 2016

Episode 1.8 Blinkin' bleedin' mad

This episode covers much of 1917 including The 2nd Battle of Bullecourt and "Passchendaele" or the 3rd Ypres offensive. Len as usual provides great insight into the life of a digger on the western front. His description of signalling during the Battles of Polygon Wood and Broodseinde Ridge are awesome. You'll never forget the "s"es beers!

This episode covers Len's Chapter 8 of his memoirs and is quite long, but that is how he wrote it. Here is some of it:

"In charge of a sergeant, off we went, quite a mob, for Division was also sending up a wireless set. We were loaded with scopes and lamps and we were shelled all the way. Heavy stuff. We missed a lot of congestion going across country, but the ground! It was quite spongy, for underneath were mules, horses, Fritzes and Tommies of 1914 vintage on. And the stench rising from cracked, drying ground was pretty awful. Many of the division chaps, new to this smell, were not looking too good and one chap was promptly very sick over some brand new accumulators he carried. We had some narrow escapes, for we just had to plod on heavily laden. Anyway, he was 'sweeping' all over the place. Looking across to that dreadful Menin Road, I saw mules, men and ammo go up with a roar. Noise everywhere and up aloft scores of planes: Fritz planes, very aggressive. In fact, he seemed definitely to be 'on top', new Fokkers, etc. The dog fights fascinated us but on we went."

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Jaksot(111)

Episode 3.2 The Battle of Bita Paka

Although a minuscule battle by WW1 standards, about 37 men were killed in the Battle of Pita Paka, the fight to take the German colony of New Guinea in September 1914. Bill Lane was amongst the fighti...

23 Syys 201838min

Episode 3.1 Our first man to die

Who were the first Australians to die in World War 1? They were British soldiers, "Old Contemptibles" actually, but what next? Gallipoli? No! Australia fought its first land battle at New Guinea...."I...

31 Elo 201852min

Episode 2.50 The Smythes

In the final 50th episode of Percy Smythe's diary we interview his niece, WW2 WAAAF veteran, Margaret Clarke and great niece and creator of the Smythe Family History website, Jacqui Kennedy. We also h...

28 Heinä 201859min

Episode 2.49 Too-ra-li oo-ra-li addity

At a concert on board the ship home a scene had a "map of Australia depicted by boxes placed together with lights in them. Behind was a tableau, a "digger" just arriving home, met by his mother and hi...

12 Heinä 20181h 4min

Episode 2.48 Everybody loves a parade

Percy contemplates the great peace celebrations at London in 1919, "It marked the end of the years of cruel warfare and dreary hardships. It meant a lot to me. Those gaudy cloths and things expressed ...

26 Kesä 201852min

Episode 2.47 War Bride

An English wedding... On again , off again. Finally after some deceitful behaviour from Dorrie's parents, the young couple have to go to Scotland to be married. A returned Chaplain from a Scottish Inf...

9 Kesä 20181h 1min

Episode 2.46 Occupation

The aftermath of war..... "I saw something in the window of a house which caught my attention. It appeared to be a cut-out poster or picture of a hideous face like the cartoons one sees of mad Bolshev...

26 Touko 20181h 18min

Episode 2.45 Peace

This one is wide and varied. Percy writes something that I have read over an over again in these diaries. To him, Armistice Day was a relief rather than a cause for merriment, and that is not just bec...

11 Touko 20181h 16min