Weapons & The First World War - Gardner Machine Gun

Hello and welcome back to our Weapons & The First World War series, where today we are talking about the Gardner machine gun. Inspired by the Gatling gun design produced in 1861, the Gardner gun was first seen in public in 1879. 

The gun itself consisted of two barrels that would simultaneously fire their round. The gun also had a feeder line where boxes of cartridges could be slid onto and then removed again once empty. This enabled constant firing of the gun, much like the Gatling gun. 

During a public testing, the Gardner gun fired an impressive 10,000 rounds within 27 minutes. Just over a year later, the British Army subsequently put in an order for a large quantity of the guns, which were used in conflicts including the first world war. 

Weapons & The First World War - Bayonet

Welcome back to our Weapons & The First World War series. Today's topics is probably one of the ones that I always used to think of when I thought of the first world war but in actual fact, they weren't used all that much as a fully fledged weapon and that was the Bayonet. 

The Bayonet was designed so that it could be fitted onto the barrel of a gun in less than a minute. Although it had been used to great effect during previous conflicts, it was mainly used as a personal defensive weapon during the first world war. This was mainly because of the use of heavy artillery and machine guns. Despite this, every soldier in the British Army at infantry level was provided with one as part of their kit. 

Weapons & The First World War - Heavy Artillery

Welcome back to our Weapons & The First World War series where today we are thinking about heavy artillery. It is a term that is used often when describing wartime battles. It refers to the large calibre mounted firearms, which are typically in the form of a field gun. 

To be heavy artillery, they had to be movable as well as fire at long range. They were seen as a huge threat to not only infantrymen but tanks and other armoured vehicles as well. When you have the basic design of the field gun, you can then design the ammunition that can be placed inside. Heavy artillery was such a threat because you couldn't necessary see it before it fired at you. 

Weapons & The First World War - Armoured Cars

Welcome back to our Weapons & The First World War with today's topic being all about the armoured car. Now I know it may not sound like a piece of weaponry to some people however it was designed to not only protect its passengers but also to carry a gun when needed to. 

The armoured car mainly consisted of armour plating all around but it had an open top and so made it very easy for the enemy to shoot at the passengers. Although they were used on the Western Front, they found it difficult to manoeuvre on the un-level ground, which would then start the idea off of the tank. When tanks were introduced, the armoured car was used more by officers and for general travel. 

The Last Fighting Tommy

For many years, I have been interested in Harry Patch. Being born and bred in Somerset, I often saw him on the front of the local papers and on local TV, as well as many interview clips talking about various things. What I saw, was a hero, a man who had fought through the first world war and had lived to tell the tale so to speak. What I didn't realise though, was the real Harry Patch, the man behind the story. It was only by coincidence that Harry became the last fighting Tommy, if it hadn't have been him, it would have been someone else. 

I bought Harry's autobiography The Last Fighting Tommy written by Richard Van Emden back in the summer but it took me a little while to read it. I'm not entirely sure, but I think it had something to do with me thinking it would be all about military life and what happened. It might be a surprise to you, considering I write this blog, but I don't actually like reading about the military events or in depth about weaponry and battles. I much prefer reading about how it affected people's lives and how they coped. 

It was a complete surprise when I finally started to read the book because it only touched on the first world war for a little bit, it certainly wasn't the whole book. Once I started reading it, I find I just simply couldn't put it down. One thing that I really didn't expect was how great a sense of humour Harry had. I suppose I had only really seen him talk about a period in his life which he really didn't want to relive and it was certainly a sombre subject. Instead, whilst reading this book, I found myself laughing aloud, probably getting a few funny looks along the way, as Harry's personality really shone throughout the book. 

Being from Somerset, I loved reading about all the little villages in the area and how much both world wars changed Britain in various different ways. I really felt like I was part of the story and could see the transition of how it could change in one lifetime. What I didn't bank on was how some things had stayed the same all of this time. For instance, the train station he is to report to at the beginning of his military service was the same station I used to wait at to board the train to the seaside during my childhood. As he describes it, I could see it in my mind how much of it was still the same underneath all of the technology. His tales of village life had me in stitches and really hit home because it is only down the road from me and is certainly somewhere that I would like to visit and see for myself. 

The book captured my attention so much that when it touched on how he coped with the loss of his friends both immediately and in the years that followed, I found myself crying alongside Harry. After reading about the jolly times they had had and the stories of his friends, I felt I had lost them too! 

Above all, they main thing I took away from the book was that Harry was just an ordinary man. He started as a apprentice, before going off to war, if somewhat reluctantly. He saw and did things that nobody should be expected to and had to cope with the sudden devastation of war. After the war, like many he didn't really want to talk about his experiences - he simply wanted to get back to civilian life and continue on his way. As it turned out, after the rest of his comrades had passed before him and so him became the last surviving soldier of the first world war and so the world focused on him again. 

I remember in 2014 visiting our local museum as they put on their new exhibit to mark the first world war centenary, with various artefacts as well as people's stories and experiences. There was one particular part which showed a lovely painted portrait of Harry Patch, the man, not the soldier. It had a speaker next to it in which it played a recorded message from Harry, talking about his experiences in the trenches. I remember thinking then that he sounded so upset and tired from talking about those experiences and I realised that, if you are asked the same questions over and over for the best part of 90 years, you wouldn't want to talk about it either. 

I realised through reading this book, that many people just wanted to hear about the glory of war and what it was like. They didn't necessary want to get to know Harry as a person and hear about his life, because lets face it, the first world war was just a tiny part in a long life. I now feel like I can truly appreciate that and I feel like I really know the person beyond the uniform. I highly recommend taking the time to read The Last Fighting Tommy by Richard Van Emden  for yourself, I promise you, you won't be disappointed and you will come out the other side a better person, with a completely different perspective on life. 

Weapons & The First World War - Machine Guns

Welcome back to our Weapons & The First World War series where today we are thinking all about machine guns. Now the idea behind the machine gun was to allow a steady stream of constant fire so that you could continually use it against the enemy without having to stop to reload it after each shot was fired. 

The main difference with a machine gun was the self powered coil that was built into the design so that you could concentrate on the firing and keeping clean of the gun rather than the mechanical side of constantly firing a weapon. Again there is different variations of the machine gun which we will look into as the series unfolds. 

Shot For Desertion

The official meaning of desertion in military terms is extremely cold hearted - Abandonment of a duty or post without permission, with the intention of not returning. 

In actual reality, many of those men were more likely suffering from severe shell shock and simply could not face being on the front line with the sounds of guns and shells exploded all around. They were men with unseen injuries that would, in today's terms, have meant that they would have been medically discharged and sent for treatment. 

In total, its recorded that 306 British and Commonwealth soldiers were short for cowardice or desertion. They were usually blindfolded and tied up in front of a firing squad of 12 men.

Post-war, the names of those men were not placed on the war graves alongside those that had fought and died serving their country. Even today, many of the names of those men are still missing and families continue to tirelessly fight to change that. It wasn't until 2006, that the men were giving a blanket pardon, yet it really shouldn't have taken so long.

Today, you can visit the Shot At Dawn memorial situated in Staffordshire, England. It was designed by Andy DeComyn and unveiled in 2000 and depicts a young British soldier blindfolded and tied to a stake like those 306 men were, ready to be shot by a firing squad. It is one of the only memorials of its kind and really makes you think about whether those men really deserved it.