Welcome to the Long, Long Trail
The Long, Long Trail is all about the British Army in the First World War:
aimed at the family and military researcher,
it is a tribute to the men and women
who fought and won - and to the million who died trying.
Men of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division, temporarily blinded by the effects of Mustard Gas during the
opening phase of the Battles of the Lys in April 1918
Focus on family
There's been an explosion of interest in family history and the part played by British men and women in the Great War since the Long, Long Trail began way back in 1996. You'll find the site packed with useful information for family historians.
Research a soldier:
the basics of what is available and how to find information
Soldier's life:
background information to help you understand the context
Insights:
in-depth information: army law, soldier's numbers, definitions, abbreviations...
Right: the memorial to 41st Division at Flers, Somme, France
Do you need more help researching a soldier?
Connect
If you are just starting out in researching a member of your family; or perhaps something bigger like an entire war memorial, or are just deeply interested in this subject, you'll enjoy connecting up with others. Find out more; see what others are doing; ask those hard-to-answer questions. Our discussion forum Ask Away is developing from an embryonic Q&A area and is ready to greet you.
Join in and Ask Away
Latest book review
The German 1918 offensives: a case study in the operational level of war
This is a terrific piece of academic work that would grip anyone interested in the military strategies of the Great War, the campaigns of 1918 and in particular the German Army. Much has been written with regard to German innovation in field tactics and how their application did much to cause huge losses to British and French opponents in the spring of 1918; even more has covered the German military strategy. That difficult middle ground, the operational level of war where scale of forces, armament, firepower, supply and logistics are determining factors, generally receives much less attention. David Zabecki's book goes a long way to filling the gap.
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Buy this book
The Dugout : the Long, Long Trail's bookstore
For all your WW1 books, browse the Long, Long Trail's own bookstore, The Dugout
Using the Long, Long Trail: a quick tutorial
You can do lots of things on this website. For example, if you know the regiment and unit that a soldier served with, you can see where he went and which battles he took part in. This is how:
[In this example, we are looking at a man who served in the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles]
First, read the page about his unit. To do that, click on Infantry regiments, then on Royal Irish Rifles. You will see a brief history of 2nd Battalion. Make a note of the Divisions with which they served, and when.
Now click on British Divisions. The battalion was in 3rd Division first, so click that. Read their history: it tells you which engagements they were involved in. Then repeat for 25th Division and 36th (Ulster) Division and you have the full picture!
1976 BBC documentary on the Battle of the Somme
Narrated by Leo McKern, this classic documentary was made to mark the 60th anniversary of the Somme.
70 minutes. It is showing its age a little, and perhaps plays up the disenchantment and artistic aspects rather more than would be the case were it made today. Nonetheless it is compelling viewing.
Watch video
Please note that our Hall of Memory is temporarily closed while the contents are migrated to a new system.
The author of this site is also the founder of the GWF
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