WW1: Unusual Tales from The Great War.

Andy Stuart

Ordinary people, extraordinary times. The war was not just the Western Front, Gallipoli, mud, blood and barbed wire. It was, as described on the tin; a World War. Japan, The White, Black, Red and Baltic Sea's. Siberia, Africa, China, Chile, Siam and Samoa. People, places and events you'll never have heard of. A new approach to what we thought we knew about. The fighting, politics, disasters, intrigues and social history of the time.

Episodes

  1. Aug 3

    9. Perspectives.

    What was the impact of the 1918 Allied Intervention on the United States and British Socialism; at the time and today? I also consider what it means for Putin and the Russian's view of the west today.

  2. Aug 3

    8. Why Volunteer?

    In April 1919 Churchill called for volunteers to go to North Russia. After the years of war, why did so many demobilised men volunteer? Was it the pay, food and uniform? Altruism? Honour or possibly guilt?

  3. Jul 26

    6. Dyer's Battalion: The Mutiny.

    The second part on Dyer's Battalion. Russian men released from the prisons, trained by the Canadian, Royce Dyer, mutinied in July 1919. What happened and why? How did the British respond and what happened to the mutineers.

  4. Jul 26

    7. An Officer's Mutiny.

    He held a VC, was an exceptionally brave man always leading from the front yet was accused of failing to follow orders. In a very public row with Churchill he was Court Martialled in London. But what is the real story? Was Lt. Col. John Sherwood Kelly really a mutineer?

  5. Jul 18

    4. The King of Karelia

    The extraordinary story of Col. Philip Woods appointed to command "The Royal Irish Karelians." wanting independence from the yoke of Imperial Russia.

  6. Jul 18

    5. Dyer's Battalion: Recruitment

    Short of men to achieve their strategic objectives in North Russia, the British under Gen. Ironside, sanction the recruitment of criminals from Russian prisons. What could possibly go wrong?

  7. Jul 8

    3. The Regiments sent.

    The Royal Scots and The Green Howards. Conscripts 'for the duration', recovering wounded, unfit for France? Who were these men in late 1918 sent to an inhospitable land - as the war in the west was coming to an end . We hear from their journals.

  8. Jul 8

    2. The Commanders

    Who were the men in command? Here we explore the background of the three Generals sent in 1918. The challenges they faced on arrival and the one that stood out as an exceptional officer through to WW2.

  9. Jul 8

    1. The Allied Intervention in Northern Russia 1918 - 1920

    The Russian Revolution, collapse of their army in the East and the peace treaty with the Central Powers in March 1918 created huge problems for the Allies - potentially 1m Germans now free to fight in France. The response, a multinational 'intervention' with unclear and changing objectives.

  10. Jul 8

    Introduction: Why this podcast?

    I was 11 when Arthur Walton died in 1972 leaving a host of implausible stories about WW1 and Russia with his son-in-law and grandson; me. This introduction explains how researching his tales led to finding many more forgotten and unusual stories, well away from the Western Front. This first series is on the Allied Intervention in Northern Russia.

  • 10 Episodes

About

Ordinary people, extraordinary times. The war was not just the Western Front, Gallipoli, mud, blood and barbed wire. It was, as described on the tin; a World War. Japan, The White, Black, Red and Baltic Sea's. Siberia, Africa, China, Chile, Siam and Samoa. People, places and events you'll never have heard of. A new approach to what we thought we knew about. The fighting, politics, disasters, intrigues and social history of the time.

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