The stories of First World War Victoria Cross recipients from overseas.
8th November 2017 Vienna, Austria
Several Austrian friends have asked me recently why I am wearing a small, red flower – a poppy – on my jacket lapel. It’s because the United Kingdom together with other Commonwealth nations will commemorate Remembrance Day on November 11th, the day in 1918 which marked the end of hostilities in the First World War. […]
10th August 2016
As we prepare to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the first of the Arctic Convoys, ‘Dervish’, in Arkhangelsk at the end of August, a visit to remote Rybachiy Peninsula was a reminder of the sacrifice made by so many British, Soviet and Allied sailors, soldiers and airmen during World War Two. The […]
Read more on World War Two Commemoration on Rybachiy Peninsula | Reply (3)
22nd July 2016 London, UK
Mention Australia or New Zealand and the First World War together and the first association is Gallipoli. It is right that we remember the sacrifices made at Gallipoli, but the story of both forces in the First World War did not end there. The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) actually did the majority of its fighting […]
20th June 2016 London, UK
We have launched a remarkable collection of stories from the First World War. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is remembering the stories of 175 men from 11 countries who were awarded Britain’s highest award for bravery, the Victoria Cross. They represent a significant number of the 600 Victoria Crosses awarded during the First World War […]
11th November 2015 London, UK
The small, red flower – a poppy – that I’m currently wearing on my jacket lapel (and my Twitter page) is often a point of curiosity in Turkey and people frequently ask about it. The United Kingdom, together with other Commonwealth nations, commemorates Remembrance Day every year on 11th November when we remember our fallen. […]
10th September 2015
The sun is hot between the shade-trees. In the distance, the sea sparkles. Memorials mark the resting place of 6,000 British soldiers who died at the nearby Scutari Barracks of injuries and illness during the Crimean War of 1854-56, most in unmarked graves; British and Indian soldiers of World Wars I and II; German Jaeger […]
Read more on #AdiosIstanbul 1: a tragic, evocative place | Reply (2)
12th March 2015 Paris, France
In this guest blog, Colonel Geoff Wright, Military Attaché at the British Embassy in Paris, pays tribute to the British and Indian soldiers who died in the battle of Neuve-Chapelle in the North of France.
Read more on Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle | Reply
21st October 2014
The new £40m WW1 galleries at the Imperial War Museum in London are absolutely spectacular. I was fortunate to be given a private tour during my visit to London last week, when I met IWM Director Diane Lees and discussed the museum’s plans to send a WW1 exhibition to Melbourne next year. The path through […]
Read more on WW1 Galleries at the Imperial War Museum | Reply
12th September 2014 Paris, France
Today I represented the UK at the commemoration of the Battle of the Marne, which raged for 5 days from 5 September 1914 and was one of the turning points of WW1. From the start of the War in early August, the German Armies advanced relentlessly across Belgium and into France. The French forces, and […]
4th August 2014
On 3 August 1914, Europe saw the start of the worst human disaster experienced up to that time when the German Empire declared war on France. The subsequent World War (#WW1) cost the lives of at least fourteen million people and shattered the fabric of society. The war set in motion a chain of events […]