This is the area to tell us a little about yourself (as much as you like), where you are from, your interests, your favourite area of discussion and possibly what stirred that initial interest in WW1.
Hello Guys, Been hovering for a couple of days. Some of you know me from Chat. My interest is the wartime Merchant Marine/Navy I think it fair to say I know more about the service during WWII than WWI - but we are all learners. I know a little about Merchant Navy records and where to find them so if I can help just make a post. Glad to be here. Regards Hugh
Kitty, if you get to know me I'll tell you the boring tale of how I ended up being called that. Graduated this year as a mature student, been a moderator for WW2 sites for about 3 years now, and got dragged along here to provide support to such a new venture. I know just about nothing about WW1 except how it began and what a massacre it was. So please be gentle with me, or I'll start changing your titles
Like Kitty, I am more knowledgable about WW2, and only have a basic grasp of WW1. But am interested in learning from the other members. My primary interest is the RAF of WW2, in all theatres but in particular the Far East. I am also interested in the "non-white" participants. In the last few months I have also become interested in the activities of the RAF in the inter-war period, so it seems that I am working backwards In the "real" world I work as a freelance constultant, researcher and trainer on disability issues, especially equality opportunities in the workplace. I live in the southwest of England.
I'm the one with the " butterfly mind " ... who loves everything WW1 !! I love topics that are a little " out of the box " ... and I love everything that I have included in my signature ! I love to learn .... I love to help find men that people have been looking for for years .... ( I get a kick out of that !! ) I love to be around people who love to share their knowledge .... and I have the greatest respect for the men who were involved with the war to end all wars ! I'm excited about this site .... it's going to be quite a journey ..... no question will be too "dumb" here ... and I hope we have some fun along the way !! Keep coming back ... it will be fun to see you ! Annie
I am 56 (57 next week), a widower with two daughters 24 & 16 and have had an interest in WW1 from a very young age. My main interest, like a few others here is WW2 however this has matured further than WW1 due to my involvement as a moderator in WW2 forums. I had never been part of any internet forum until May 2005. I had looked at joining a large WW1 forum earlier however I found it a little threatening and did not finally do that until February 2008. My interest in WW1 came from studying the Great War at college, watching Anzac day marches, seeing films like Sqt York on television and documentaries etc. My project is the collection of photos of headstones/memorials of those Australians who died in the AFC/RFC/RNAS/RAF in WW1 and the RAAF/RAF in WW2. In WW1, my present requirement for photos is 324 (182 achieved) with WW2 requirements 11,037 of which 4,500+ have been achieved. WW1 headstones/memorials are located in 12 countries while WW2 photos are located in 65 countries. The aim of WW1talk is to welcome new members young and old, whether knowledgeable or not, to an environment of learning and friendship without being overwhelmed by the enormity of the mechanics of that conflict. Cheers Geoff
I guess we all do stupid things in life but the acronym Bugles came from my having a book called Much Sounding of Bugles - a book about the siege of Chitral in 1895. Most interesting. I am currently trying to find out as much as I can about my relatives that served in the GW. Seem to have lost my way on another GW forum and decided that I would give WorldWar1talk a go. I am sure it will live up to expectations. Boith my grandfathers and my father along with assorted uncles g/uncles 2nd cousinns etc served in that conflict. Fortunately most of them also returned. I am retired, live in Australia. Apart from 15 years in the navy as a communicator have worked with computers most of my life so taking to the internet in 1995 was no trouble. Until a year or so ago was devoting most of my research was on the family from afar but have changed focus somewhat since then. Cheers David
I am interested in female service and associated organisations casualties from all campaigns and I curremtly have profiles of some 4000+ unfortunate ladies from the Crimea to present day Afghanistan sitting on my bookshelves. Most unfortunately have only their name, service, date of death and cemetery recorded but bits and pieces - grave, memorial and image photos turn up every now and then. My interest started with collecting photos of Nurses graves as I have a great respect for them having spent eleven months as a military hospital patient, nothing gallant, doing what thousands of soldiers have done jumpimg out of the back of a three ton lorry but landing awkwardly. However, ladies from other services were knocking on my door and I couldn't refuse them. Also, compared to the interest in the Glory of the Regiments I felt they deserved some attention. At the moment I am attempting to upgrade the details of my 47 sadly negleted Boer War Nursing casualties so if anybody has any info it will be gladly appreciated. Cheers for now Tony
am interested in female service and associated organisations casualties from all campaigns and I curremtly have profiles of some 4000+ unfortunate ladies from the Crimea to present day Afghanistan sitting on my bookshelves. Most unfortunately have only their name, service, date of death and cemetery recorded but bits and pieces - grave, memorial and image photos turn up every now and then. My interest started with collecting photos of Nurses graves as I have a great respect for them having spent eleven months as a military hospital patient, nothing gallant, doing what thousands of soldiers have done jumpimg out of the back of a three ton lorry but landing awkwardly. However, ladies from other services were knocking on my door and I couldn't refuse them. Also, compared to the interest in the Glory of the Regiments I felt they deserved some attention. At the moment I am attempting to upgrade the details of my 47 sadly negleted Boer War Nursing casualties so if anybody has any info it will be gladly appreciated. Cheers for now Tony
Yeah I have a interest in wars from all ages however my major interest is the Korean War however after that comes the 2nd World War. Like many others I have a family that has seen numerous men & women go of to war over past centuries. My Auntie; RIP, has done some remarkable research (esp for computer free research) in the 1980'/90's that trace almost all of my fathers line to fight for Britain, (primarily RN) Australia, and New Zealand. (Primarily Infantry) since the late 17th Century I am Primarily interested in Australian units yet have interest in all armies, like many others I look more at the deeds of parent units from Platoon to Army size, rather than individuals. Though of course some individuals are just so outstanding at this horror movie called war that they demand to be read about.
My initial area of interest was the men of Prescot, Lancashire, who fell in the Great War. The town's civic memorial contains some 140+ names but I have now identified just over 300 men who died. The results of my research can be found at my website http://www.prescot-rollofhonour.info so please feel free to pop in and look around. Much of the research is complete but there are still a few gaps to fill. A key part of my ongoing research is into the lives and service of the "Also Served" men, i.e. those who served and returned. For the dead, we have a "snapshot in time" with resources such as CWGC, SDGW, etc., but for those who returned we have less. I came across a local newspaper report from 1915 listing some 1400 men of the town who were serving with the forces, and this has been my starting point for the "Also Served" pages on the site. I find it especially poignant for these men because they were citizen soldiers, they went through hell, then they simply returned and continued with their normal life as much as possible. Some died in the years soon after the war but mostly they lived into the 1950's and 1960's. They included my grandfather, Thomas Nulty (MM & Bar), who served for four years, returned home and worked as a Gravedigger in the churchyard, burying and then maintaining the graves of his fellow veterans. I have a day job, of course, and I am a contract Business Analyst, currently (Jan 2010) working for Manchester City Council in setting up a new Customer Service Centre, but that's the boring part of my life !
WW1 was never much of an interest , probably a Generation thing , with WW2 only just over when I was born , so grew up with parents and relations who had bee through it and I was surrounded by the evidence of it with the bomb sites we used to play on as kids , only had one grand parent alive who had been at the Front 'Granddad John' In the RFC Balloon section but I was too young then to even know about the 'Great war' and he died in the early fifties , on the maternal side of the family there was Grandmother 'Helen' but the Lady Died when I was just a Toddler , Her Brother 'Great Uncle Dick' served in the 'Manchesters' and being vertically challenged enlisted in the 'Bantams' I remembering him recalling the 'the mud' with a shudder as the only deep mud that I'd come across as a young child was the churned up grass after the fairground had left the local park so I nodded in a knowing fashion as only a nine year old can . My Other Granddad who I never knew Died in the early 30's was in The 1 st South Lancs and that was about all I knew , although a quick 'google' produced 'served in India throughout the Great war' . I found some documents going through my mothers papers aster she died [an awful experience ,I felt like a burglar invading someones privacy , but it had to be done unfortunately ] and amongst the marriage and death certificates , Grave papers was a discharge paper of a soldier , it was a blackened and sooty paper , of a chap called 'Pvt Duckworth , Henry . how odd , and put the paper back in it's shoe box . My curiosity got the better of me and I photo copied it and posted it online to a ww1 forum and was astounded at what people more knowledgeable than myself in the ways of the Interweb turned up . He served 12 years with the 1 south Lancs , under a false name , a Boer war veteran , then served in India until 1910 , discharged under the Special Reserve of 4 years , this caught up with him , as the 'Great War' got off the ground along with many more of those old Boer war boys . So thinking that familly lore was on track and he served happily ever after safe and sound from the Kaisers wrath in India ..... Wrong ... He was shipped out to the '2nd Battallion fighting with the BEF , II corp under Dorrian Smith , and Marched into the the Cauldron that was the Battle of 1st Mons and the retreat to the Aisne , a fighting withdrawal of epic heroism . unfortunately at 'La Bassee' overrun he never made it out , and his story is lost in the fog of war , captured October 1914 and imprisoned until 1919 worked as slave labourer under the most harsh and semi starvation conditions you can imagine ! ... the quest for more info goes on . The History Forums are full of knowledgeable and kind people , who are mostly only too glad to help , and I would like to thank them !
Very interesting, thanks a lot for sharing. But you forgot (probably ...) to mention that how you get this good forum?
