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...
Hall of Memory:
leave a commemoration of your family members
Right: the memorial to 41st Division at Flers, Somme, France
Latest addition to the Long, Long Trail
Ever wondered why Britain went to war? How did the army mobilise? Why did it fight where it did? What about the manpower crisis of 1918? You'll enjoy this series of articles on British war strategy.
British war strategy
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
Private Beatson's war : life, death and hope on the Western Front
This is a work that will appeal to those who enjoy First World war memoirs of the men in the trenches and is of special interest to anyone connected with the 1/9th (Highlanders) Battalion, the Royal Scots (the "Dandy Ninth"). At the core of the book - 78 pages - is an edited version of the diary of James Beatson, bought at auction by one of the editors. It covers his war from the first entry, when Beatson crossed the Channel with the battalion, up to December 1915 when he returned home on leave and got married. The editors' introduction explains much of his background, the early months of warfare and the battalion's history and movements. It provides a useful context in which the diary would make more sense to the reader. There is too, a dreadful epilogue, for Beatson was killed in action at High Wood in 1916.
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The Dugout : the Long, Long Trail's bookstore
For all your WW1 books, browse the Long, Long Trail's own bookstore, The Dugout
Do you need more help researching a soldier?
The war-winning army
"Britain had ended the First World War ... with the best-trained, best-equipped and best-commanded army in her history": (Major General Julian Thompson, former commanding officer, 3rd Commando Brigade, 1982 Falklands campaign)
"What was particularly noteworthy in the operation of these last 100 days was the co-ordination between the various elements. Infantry, artillery, machine-guns, tanks, aircraft, and wireless telegraphy all functioned as parts of a single unit. As a result of meticulous planning, each component was integrated with, and provided maximum support for, every other component. Here, more than anywhere else, was the great technical achievement of these climatic battles. It was not that the British had developed a war-winning weapon. What they had produced was a 'weapons system': the melding of the various elements in the military arm into a mutually supporting
whole": (Trevor Wilson, The Myriad Faces of War, 1986)
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.
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