QnA Special: On The Battlefields

QnA Special: On The Battlefields

Author: Paul Reed February 21, 2026 Duration: 52:30
In this special Q&A episode of the Old Front Line podcast, recorded on location at Hooge, near Ypres, we answer questions about the battlefields of the Western Front and the legacy of the First World War. We begin by exploring what happened to the woods and forests on the Western Front during World War One. Were they completely destroyed by shellfire? Did they naturally grow back after the war, or were they replanted? And more than a century later, have these landscapes ever truly recover...

Imagine standing on a quiet French field, the same earth that once shook with the fury of the First World War. The Old Front Line is your guide to that landscape, hosted by military historian Paul Reed. This isn't a dry lecture from a distant studio; it's an audio journey built on a lifetime of dedication. Paul draws from more than forty years of research, weaving together the poignant first-hand accounts of veterans he met with his own unique perspective gained from living for over a decade right in the heart of the Somme battlefields. Each episode of this podcast feels like walking alongside him, tracing the contours of history that are still etched into the land. You'll hear the human stories behind the maps and monuments, understanding the conflict through the very ground where it was fought. It’s a deeply personal and evocative exploration, connecting the peaceful present with the tumultuous past. For anyone fascinated by history, landscape, or the powerful echoes of the Great War, this series offers an unparalleled, grounded perspective that only someone with Paul Reed's intimate experience can provide.
Author: Language: en-gb Episodes: 100

The Old Front Line
Podcast Episodes
Walking Arras: Point du Jour [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:09
We return to the Arras Battlefields of April 1917 and walk from Athies to the high ground at Point du Jour, seeing where men of the 9th (Scottish) Division, including troops from the South African Brigade fought. We visi…
Questions and Answers Episode 18 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:01
This week we look at the subject of Army Pay - how were men paid, who paid them and in what currency when On Active Service? We ask why men changed their names when joining up, answer a question about the Ypres Buglers a…
Somme Winter Walk [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:26
As the seasons change along The Old Front Line we take a winter walk across one part of the Somme battlefields, walking along the tracks from near Courcelette to Thiepval and the Ancre Valley. The WW1 Cemeteries website…
Questions and Answers Episode 17 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:08
We begin at the Battle of Loos in 1915, looking at the casualty figures for the opening stage of the attack and comparing them to the Somme, we then discuss what units formed in WW1 were still part of the Army in WW2, di…
WW1 on Film: Oh What A Lovely War! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:31
The film Oh what A Lovely War! based on Joan Littlewood's play was released in 1969 and influenced a whole generation of people in what the Great War stood for. But what does the film really tell us about the First World…
Questions and Answers Episode 16 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:20
In a wargraves special, we follow up on the recent episode about the new Loos British Cemetery Extension and we take some Questions relating to the work being carried out there, along with the recovery and identification…
Questions and Answers Episode 15 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:58
Our latest questions submitted by podcast listeners lead us to discuss what was a 'British Warm' and how did uniforms change during the Great War, ask if we could go back in time what would we want to see, look at the qu…
Loos: A New WW1 Cemetery [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:43
We take the podcast across to Northern France and visit Loos British Cemetery on the battlefields of 1915, seeing the new Extension that has been constructed here, looking at the initial burials and asking how this brand…
Questions and Answers Episode 14 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:57
In our latest selection of questions from podcast listeners we look at the circumstances of the end of the First World War on the Western Front on 11th November 1918, ask why Albert Ball VC has a private memorial over hi…
Five Weapons of WW1 Trench Warfare [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:13
Trench Warfare saw the use of existing weapons on the battlefield and the development of new ones to cope with the static nature of the Western Front. In this episode we examine five of those weapons from handguns to tre…