Cambridgeshire WFA

10/06/2026

Charles Hunt

Our Branch’s Old Contemptibles’ Association exhibition last autumn revealed (to us) eighteen sets of descendants of Old Contemptibles. We have been in contact with all of them, and where possible, have met them in person.

Recently Emrys Jones, John England and I met Brian Pearce. We found him thanks to social media – Brian posted a comment below one of the many online pages that we used to more widely promote the exhibition. In that post Brian said that he was the grandson of an Old Contemptible. Contact with Brian was made and his Grandfather – Charles Hunt - was researched by Andrew Grantham and Malcolm Wayland. And we met Brian to show him the results of that work.

Charles Hunt was an active member of the Grimsby and Cleethorpes OCA Branch and for many years he wrote the Branch’s articles that appeared in the Old Contemptible publication.

Charles is pictured on the front cover of the Old Contemptible – thanks for the picture go to Andrew Thornton - and Brian has sent us a picture of Charles in his retirement. His OCA badge is visible on his lapel. Charles would be proud of his grandson who now runs the Railworld Wildlife Haven in Peterborough. A link to their website is below:

https://www.railworldwildlifehaven.org.uk/

Matt Colley

09/06/2026

I recently joined a Western Front Tour organised by the excellent Not So Quiet of the Western Front podcast – if you have not yet found it, then I do commend its content and quality. I was joined by 36 other listeners from across the globe including Australia, USA, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

Over 6 days we travelled from1st Ypres Ghulevelt (1914), through 2nd Ypres (1915), Neuve Chapelle and Loos (1915) to the Somme (1916) , Vimy Ridge and Arras (1917), 3rd Ypres Passendaele (1917) and ended up on the Riqueval Bridge on the Hindenburg Line (1918).

However, the standout moment on this trip (out of many visits to the Western Front) was being invited by the Royal Horse Artillery to participate in a burial of two recently discovered unknown soldiers. A deeply moving experience standing the wind swept slopes of the always impressive Tyne Cot Cemetery as these two fallen soldiers were finally laid to rest.

Stuart Ainsworth

09/06/2026

Trench Art - Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge

As a member of the Western Front Association, I thought local members might be interested in an exhibition of trench art currently on at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. I have lent a number of items from my own collection and will also be giving a talk there in August on souvenir letter openers from the Great War - details of which can be found by following the link below.

Rob Law

War Craft display page

04/06/2026

Yesterday evening saw Maj (Rtd) Phil Watson provide an interesting talk on 'The Lancers - From the Boer War to the Great War'. The talk examined and explained the evolving role of the Lancers during a period of great military and technological change, finishing with the early period of the First World War. Phil a former lancer by profession brought an insight to the talk only available to an individual steeped in cavalry traditions.

Anyone interested in understanding the 'British cavalry journey' through the rest of the First World War should read the book written by David Kenyon, or his Phd thesis (linked below)

https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/bitstream/1826/3032/1/D%20Kenyon%20Thesis%20corrected.pdf

29/05/2026

HMS Timbertown

I recently visited the northern part of the Netherlands to take part in a couple of parkruns. There was a bit of an ulterior motive, as I have always wanted to visit the town of Groningen which was the site of HMS Timbertown. In October 1914, the First Naval Brigade (whose formation had preceded the formation of the Royal Naval Division) were sent to support the Belgians in the Siege of Antwerp. With German forces advancing and threatening encirclement, the order to withdraw via train to Ostend was issued. However, not everyone received the orders and not all promised trains arrived. The Brigade commander Commodore Wilfred Henderson, decided to march his remaining troops northward to neutral Netherlands rather than surrender to the Germans. There they were interned for the duration in an wooden camp (hence its name) and sat out the entire war even taking spells of leave back to the UK! Not much remains except a single brick gate post and a block memorial, at the nearby Southern Groningen Cemetery are 9 burials for men who died in interment (the graves are immaculately presented.

The nearby town of Leeurwarden is famous as being the birthplace of the spy Mata Hari (real name Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod) who was executed by the Germans in 1917 by the French and is commemorated in the local museum and in statue near the town centre! This year is the 150th anniversary of her birth.

Stuart Ainsworth

28/05/2026

Some of you may have missed these programmes on the BBC.

Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the story of how three British artists responded to the cataclysm of World War One. First shown on BBC4, April/May 2026. Now available on iPlayer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04j2bt1

Also the film 1917 is now available to watch on iPlayer for the next 12 days.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001gntn/1917

The story of how three British artists responded to the cataclysm of World War One.

28/05/2026

QUEEN ELIZABETH CLASS BATTLESHIPS AT JUTLAND

I was in N Yorkshire a few months ago and walking my dog came across this unusual memorial in the village of Aislaby. Now the village is less than 5 miles inland from Whitby and I found this interesting as the shell case was given to the villages of Aislaby & Middleton in honour of those who had served in the Royal Navy during the Great War. The names of some of the battleships on the Memorial I remembered from a talk about the Battle of Jutland, so when I got home, I had a dig around. The results took me a little longer than expected but it was an interesting little project. PHOTOS 1 & 2

The Battle of Jutland was fought in the North Sea off the coast of Denmark between 31st May and 1st June 1916. It proved to be the largest sea battle of the Great War and the only time that the massive dreadnoughts of the British & German navy’s engaged. The German Navy had planned to ambush a Battle Cruiser Force, based at Rosyth under Admiral Beatty before Britains Grand Fleet (based in the Orkneys) under Admiral Jellicoe could arrive. However, German Naval signals had been intercepted by Royal Navy wireless listening posts along the East Coast and both British fleets went to sea early. I remember the branch doing a fascinating tour including the development of RN Signals Interception Service. The ensuing battle engaged 250 ships and over 100,00 sailors. There is plenty of information on the internet, YouTube etc about the Battle of Jutland for you to look at, the Western Front Assn produced a number of videos on YouTube ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hTgq99ROxM&t=2s) and it got me to thinking………..every Great War battle I have read about, from Mons, Neuve Chappelle, Ypres, the Somme, Vimy, Cambrai etc involved men of Cambridgeshire. Were there any at Jutland?

The first thing I found though was that the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth was not at Jutland. She was being refitted at Rosyth. Those of the Queen Elizabeth Class at Jutland are listed below, with the Cambridgeshire men on the complement.
HMS BARHAM
CHAPMAN Frederick b/Cambridge. Gunner 4758, Royal Marine Artillery
CROMPTON Edgar b/Cherry Hinton. Chief Yeoman of Signals 167762
TODD Horace, b/Peterborough. Engine Artificer 4th Class M7298
WILKINSON Ernest James b/Peterborough. Able Seaman J3955
HMS VALIANT
BEECH Walter Brewster b/Peterborough. Officers Cook 3rd Class L6029
GLOVER Walter b/Peterborough. Able Seaman J9677.
SMITH Arthur William b/Peterborough. Stoker 2nd Class K27296
HMS WARSPITE
CARLESS John Henry b/Peterborough. Petty Officer 152886
JARVIS Charles b/Cambridge. Private 7159 Royal Marine Light Infantry
HMS MALAYA
ASHMORE George b/Peterborough. Gunner 14607 Royal Marine Artillery
HALLETT Charles Gordon Heys b/Kingston, Cambs. Midshipman
HOUSE Thomas Wheeler b/Peterborough. Gunner 14562 Royal Marine Artillery
I don’t mind admitting that it was difficult to find a Cambridgeshire link with these ships and the Battle of Jutland, but eventually I did, with the help of this site:

https://battleofjutlandcrewlists.miraheze.org/wiki/

Some incredible work has been done compiling these records and I recommend a look at the crew lists.

I have a copy of David Grays excellent book “Peterborough at War 1914-1918”, but none of the names above feature. However, David does identify Peterborough men who served at Jutland on other ships. If there is enough interest perhaps, they can be listed too? I understand David is a WFA member and is also Chair at Peterborough Military History Group. Unfortunately, I don’t know of similar records for other areas of Cambridgeshire, but perhaps you do?
I’m now living in N Yorks, but still follow your activities on Facebook and get the emails.

Thanks,

Chris Jones
Not a WFA member, but a Cambs branch supporter

21/05/2026

Visit to Cambridgeshire Archives, Ely

A Branch visit to the Cambridgeshire Archives at Ely has been organised for 15th July 2026, between 10:00 - 12:00hrs. The cost of the visit will be £5 per person. During the visit a range of Great War related documents, held by the archives, will be available to view. The maximum number of visitors is 20, with places being allocated on a first come first serve basis. If you are interested in attending please contact the Branch Secretary by email; [email protected]

Due to an engineering issue with some of our mobile shelving at Cambridgeshire Archives, we are currently unable to produce certain records from our strongroom. Please contact us in advance of your visit so we can advise as to whether any of the documents you wish to consult are affected. We apologi...

16/05/2026

The Lancers - From the Boer War to the Great War - Maj (Rtd) Phil Watson

The next meeting of the Cambridgeshire branch of the Western Front Association will take place on Wednesday, 3 June 2026, at Great Stukeley Village Hall, Ermine Street, Great Stukeley, Huntingdon, PE28 4AQ.

This talk examines and explains the evolving role of the Lancers during a period of great military and technological change.

You don't have to be a Member of The Western Front Association to attend our meetings as all are equally welcome. Do come along and enjoy a friendly atmosphere and the good company of fellow enthusiasts.

The doors to the venue open only at 7:00pm with the talk starting at 7:30pm. Please note that the speaker and committee members need a short period of time before 7:00pm by themselves to set up the meeting so it would be appreciated if visitors could wait until 7:00 pm before entering the hall.

Photograph: IWM (Q72605)