New book: Dear Miss Walker. Gallipoli, Egypt & Palestine 1915-1918, Wartime Letters from Distant Fronts

A new book by Toddy Hoare will be published by Helion & Company in early autumn 2018.

Reginald Hoare commanded the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars from 1905 to 1909 and was a senior brigadier-general at the start of the First World War, commanding a brigade of Yeomanry regiments including the Royal North Devon Yeomanry, which his late brother had commanded after leaving the Royal Navy, the Royal Devon Yeomanry, the Somerset Yeomanry, the Ayrshire Yeomanry, and the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, with other attachments. Throughout the war he continued to raise, train and fight this brigade at Gallipoli, in Egypt and Palestine, and finally on the Western Front in France during the second half of 1918, where he was wounded and invalided home in September. Before Gallipoli he wrote to Miss Walker, who was the daughter of a polo friend, and the correspondence continued up to their eventual wedding in October 1918 on his discharge from hospital. Dear Miss Walker includes a background to his pre-war soldiering and exchanges with a bumptious young subaltern, W S Churchill, who was in his winning regimental polo team. Through the social exchanges of the writer and recipient and their backgrounds leading up to their wedding this book provides an interesting social perspective, as well as a vivid insight into the fighting at the respective fronts and the doings of senior ranks on active service. Further insights have been gleaned from the respective Regimental Histories that were written after the First World War, and included where appropriate. Most of the photographs that illustrate this volume were taken by Reginald Hoare himself. Sadly he never spoke about his experiences to his children, so no other record or source relating to his campaigns exist.


Photographs reproduced with permission from Toddy Hoare. Copyright: Toddy Hoare.

CfP: Experiences of the Great War in Africa

5th Great War in Africa Association and 3rd International Network for the Study of the Great War in Africa

Venue: The National Archives, Kew, London
Dates: 3 and 4 May 2016
Deadline for Call for Papers submission: 31 January 2016

1916 was a significant year in the Great War. In Europe it was the year of the Somme and Gallipoli. In Africa it was the year of Salaita and the British allied invasion into German East Africa, the loss of Cameroon to the Allies and the subsequent use of West African forces in East Africa. South African forces detoured via Egypt en route to the Somme and in Ethiopia Menelik was deposed. It therefore seems fitting to explore how those living in Africa experienced the war, both in their own land and elsewhere.

Abstracts and proposals of up to 300 words as well as a short biography should be sent to: greatwarinafrica2014@gmail.com. This email should also be used for any enquiries related to the conference.

Poster submissions must be in English. They should include a 1 page abstract and a draft of the final poster. Please prepare your poster in either portrait or landscape format with the following dimensions: 82cm x 102cm.

Conference fee for the two days: £70 (£35 for one)

Further information here.

MHS, 4 August 2015: Gelibolu, 2005 documentary by Turkish filmmaker Tolga Örnek

Museum of the History of Science, Oxford

4 August 2015 19:00

Revisiting Gallipoli
Special Event

Dr Silke Ackermann shares personal impressions from her recent pilgrimage to Gallipoli, ahead of a screening of Gelibolu, the 2005 documentary by Turkish filmmaker Tolga Örnek. Presenting viewpoints from both sides of the conflict, the film is narrated by Jeremy Irons and Sam Neill.

4 August: MHS – Gallipoli Film Programme: All the King’s Men

4 August 2015, at 7pm

The Museum of the History of Science’s season of Gallipoli films begins with All the King’s Men (1999), a feature-length BBC television drama starring David Jason about the mystery of Sandringham Company of the Norfolk Regiment, which disappeared in action at Gallipoli in 1915. Part of the Dear Harry exhibition programme.

Museum of the History of Science, Broad Street, Oxford.

7 War Memorials that Bear Witness to the Great Loss at Gallipoli

On 25 April 1915, the Allied force launched amphibious landings on the Gallipoli Peninsular. The aim was to control the straits and capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The Allied landings, which included French, Australian and New Zealand troops, were heavily opposed by Turkish forces and a trench warfare stalemate followed in extreme heat and appalling conditions. This eventually ended in a disastrous Allied defeat with over 250,000 casualties, including 58,000 dead. Turkish losses were heavier still.

These seven war memorials, are notable among the tens of thousands in every village, town and city in the country for their association with the Gallipoli campaign. Like all war memorials, they are tangible and poignant reminders of events a century ago.

For more information, see here.

Blog and exhibition: Maori soldiers that served at Gallipoli

A blog from Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand highlights the role of Maori soldies that served at Gallipoli, as an introduction to their exhibition Gallipoli: the scale of our war.