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Thomas Highgate
Private Thomas James Highgate (13 May 1895 – 8 September 1914) was a British Armed Forces, British soldier during the First World War and the first British soldier to be convicted of desertion and executed by firing squad on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front. He was born in Shoreham, Kent, and worked as a farm labourer before joining the army in 1913 as a seaman. When the First World War began, he fought with the First Battalion of the Royal West Kents. Highgate was executed 35 days into the war, on 8 September 1914, after being found hiding in a farmhouse wearing civilian clothes. His death was made as public as possible and used as an example to other soldiers. Highgate's name was not included on the war memorial at Shoreham; from the late 1990s onwards, some local residents fought for his name to be added whilst others disagreed. Posthumous pardons for soldiers who had been executed, including Highgate, were announced in 2006. Early life Thomas Highgate was bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shoreham, Kent
Shoreham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 5.2 miles north of Sevenoaks. The probable derivation of the name is ''estate at the foot of a steep slope''. Steep slope was from the Saxon word ''scor''. pronounced ''shor'', but written ''sore'' by Norman scribes. The village of Shoreham contains three traditional independent pubs: The Samuel Palmer (formally Ye Olde George Inn), The King's Arms and the Crown; with The Rising Sun in nearby Twitton. History The Darent valley was one of the major areas of Stone Age settlement; Shoreham is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. In 1668, cricket was mentioned in a court case as being played at Shoreham, one of the sport's earliest references. It was also known as a smuggling area. Shoreham was the most bombed parish in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. The reasons for this is not clear but more than likely a combination of several factors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horace Smith-Dorrien
General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien, (26 May 1858 – 12 August 1930) was a British Army General. One of the few British survivors of the Battle of Isandlwana as a young officer, he also distinguished himself in the Second Boer War. Smith-Dorrien held senior commands in the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) during the First World War. He commanded II Corps at the Battle of Mons, the first major action fought by the BEF, and the Battle of Le Cateau, where he fought a vigorous and successful defensive action contrary to the wishes of the Commander-in-Chief Sir John French, with whom he had had a personality clash dating back some years. In the spring of 1915 he commanded the Second Army at the Second Battle of Ypres. He was relieved of command by French for requesting permission to retreat from the Ypres Salient to a more defensible position. Early life Horace Smith-Dorrien was born at Haresfoot, a house near Berkhamsted, in the county of Hertfordshire to Colonel Robe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
15th Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 15th Infantry Brigade, later 15 (North East) Brigade, was an infantry brigade of the British Army. It was part of the regular 5th Infantry Division during the First World War and Second World War, and was subsequently part of the 2nd Infantry Division in the north of the United Kingdom, with specific responsibility for the areas of North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber. History Formation The 15th Infantry Brigade was first formed in 1905 at Fermoy and up to the outbreak of the First World War continued to serve in Ireland. The Brigade, which at that time consisted of 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment, 1st Battalion, Dorset Regiment, 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment and 2nd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, was mobilized on 5 August 1914 and crossed to France as part the 5th Division with the British Expeditionary Force. First World War During the opening months of the War, the Brigade had its full share of fighting and saw action at Mons, Le Cateau, at the cross ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedfordshire Regiment
The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars, the regiment was amalgamated with the Essex Regiment in 1958 to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment, 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot). However, this was short-lived and again was amalgamated, in 1964, with the 1st East Anglian Regiment, 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) and 2nd East Anglian Regiment, 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire), and the Royal Leicestershire Regiment to form the present Royal Anglian Regiment. History Formation; 1688 – 1751 The regiment was formed on 9 October 1688 in Reading, Berkshire, in response to a possible invasion by William III of England, William of Orange, later Wil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court-martial
A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment. In addition, courts-martial may be used to try prisoners of war for war crimes. The Geneva Conventions require that POWs who are on trial for war crimes be subject to the same procedures as would be the holding military's own forces. Finally, courts-martial can be convened for other purposes, such as dealing with violations of martial law, and can involve civilian defendants. Most navies have a standard court-martial which convenes whenever a ship is lost; this does not presume that the captain is suspected of wrongdoing, but merely that the circumstances surrounding the loss of the ship be made part of the official record. Most military ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bivouac Shelter
A bivouac shelter or bivvy (alternately ''bivy'', ''bivi'', ''bivvi'') is any of a variety of improvised camp site or shelter that is usually of a temporary nature, used especially by soldiers or people engaged in backpacking, bikepacking, scouting or mountain climbing. It may often refer to sleeping in the open with a bivouac sack, but it may also refer to a shelter constructed of natural materials like a structure of branches to form a frame, which is then covered with leaves, ferns and similar material for waterproofing and duff (leaf litter) for insulation. Modern bivouacs often involve the use of one- or two-person tents but may also be without tents or full cover. In modern mountaineering the nature of the bivouac shelter will depend on the level of preparedness, in particular whether existing camping and outdoor gear may be incorporated into the shelter. Etymology The word ''bivouac'' is French and ultimately derives from an 18th-century Swiss German usage of ''Beiwacht ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gendarmes
A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and some Francophone nations, the gendarmerie is a branch of the armed forces that is responsible for internal security in parts of the territory (primarily in rural areas and small towns in the case of France), with additional duties as military police for the armed forces. It was introduced to several other Western European countries during the Napoleonic conquests. In the mid-twentieth century, a number of former French mandates and colonial possessions (such as Lebanon, Syria, the Ivory Coast and the Republic of the Congo) adopted a gendarmerie after independence. Similar forces exist in most European countries. The European Gendarmerie Force is a structure, aligned with the European Union, that facilitates joint operations. A similar con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julian Putkowski
Julian Putkowski (born 1947) is a British university teacher, military historian, researcher, and broadcaster. He has written extensively on military executions in World War I. Life Putkowski graduated from the University of Essex in 1976. He has since then been researching military discipline and dissent. In 1989, he was co-author, with Julian Sykes, of ''Shot at Dawn: Executions in World War I by Authority of the British Army Act''. The publication of the book led indirectly to renewed public interest in the topic of soldiers executed during the war, culminating in the issue of pardons to 306 men who were shot for various offenses, including cowardice. Later, Putkowski wrote a book entitled ''Murderous Tommies'' with Mark Dunning, a lawyer interested in British Army capital courts martial cases. ''Murderous Tommies'' is also about the First World War, and gives an account of 13 soldiers who committed homicide in France and Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch langua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Evening Standard
The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is printed in tabloid format, and also has an online edition. In October 2009, after being bought by Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, the paper ended a 180-year history of paid circulation and multiple editions every day, and became a free newspaper publishing a single print edition every weekday, doubling its circulation as part of a change in its business plan. On 29 May 2024, the newspaper announced that it would reduce print publication to once weekly, after nearly 200 years of daily publication, as it had become unprofitable. Daily publication ended on 19 September 2024. The first weekly edition was published on 26 September 2024 under the new name of ''The London Standard''. History From 1827 to 2009 The newspaper was founded by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Expeditionary Force (World War I)
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the formation of British army on the Western Front during World War I. They were sent by Britain to France in 1914 to aid in resisting the German invasion. Originally sent as six divisions the British Army to the Western Front during the First World War. Planning for a British Expeditionary Force began with the 1906–1912 Haldane Reforms of the British Army carried out by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The term ''British Expeditionary Force'' is often used to refer only to the forces present in France prior to the end of the First Battle of Ypres on 22 November 1914. By the end of 1914—after the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, the Aisne and Ypres—the existent BEF had been almost exhausted, although it helped stop the German advance.An alternative endpoint of the BEF was 26 December 1914, when it was divided into the First and Second Armies (a Third, Fourth and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throughout the 16th to 20th centuries. After several decades of economic hardship and social deprivation, the area now has several large-scale urban renewal projects. Geography Woolwich is situated from Charing Cross. It has a long frontage to the south bank of the River Thames. From the riverside it rises up quickly along the northern slopes of Shooter's Hill towards the common, at and the ancient London–Dover Road, at . The Woolwich (parish), ancient parish of Woolwich, more or less the present-day Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, wards Woolwich Riverside and Woolwich Common, comprises . This included North Woolwich, which is now part of the London Borough of Newham. The ancient parishes of Plumstead and E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
