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    Trench Borefare – Four years of Great War tedium in the Front Line, with occasional bursts of action



    Trench Borefare – Four years of Great War tedium in the Front Line, with occasional bursts of action
    With Taff Gillingham
    Hosted by Lucy Betteridge-Dyson

    Taff Gillingham is a military historian and one of the most experienced and sought after historical military advisors for film, television and theatre productions.

    He co-owns Khaki Devil, a company specialising in the hire of uniforms, equipment, weapons and historical advice and is co-director of Great War Huts; a ground-breaking museum and heritage project. He has a background in film and television design, is a former trustee of The Suffolk Regiment Museum and a collector of British and Commonwealth uniforms, equipment and weapons, 1899-1960.

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    31 Comments

    2. dennis cahill on

      Much of this discussion of why, and the kit, and the food was true in WW@. An entire generation of Americans (and Brits as far as I have read and studied) had spent the 1930s (and part of the 1920s) was a life of lack of food, opportunity, and hand-me-downs.

    3. Jay White on

      What I really appreciate is the knocking down of Stereotypical myths surrounding the Great War. Both my grandfathers served, one infantry and one wagoner in the US Army. There's a lot of stereotypical opinion that just aren't true. Excellent presentation today breaking some of that down.👍👍

    4. Susan Yu on

      This was an informative and eye-opening presentation by Taff. Taff reminded us to step outside ourselves and think what life was like back then. I am grateful to have watched and listened to Taff's break down of WWI from the ground level up, instead of those in charge to those below them. As always thank you Lucy and Woody. Thanks to the side-bar crew too.

    7. Paul Scott on

      How dare Taff and his knowledge debunk the rhetoric that we have spewed and want to spew! LOL Luv it, and enjoy hearing truth! Bring Him Back!!!! 🙂

    10. Mark Tuffield on

      Great presentation, wish I could have seen it live. As someone who helps to admin a WW1 aviation facebook group, it often amuses me that people seem to give the Imperialistic, aggressively militaristic WW1 era Germans a free pass whilst happily condoning the actions of the mid-twentieth century Germans of a certain political bent. "MvR (Manfred von Richthofen) wouldn't have become a you know what if he had survived" to paraphrase the typical line of thought, maybe, maybe not, but his cousin Wolfram who served in both wars certainly did!

    12. Max Caravan on

      Again – outstanding. I have really enjoyed your approach to this topic. Thank you for all your hard work. The stats presented were most informative. I think the focus on exceptions is the problem – we miss the wood because the tree is far more interesting.

    14. John Kratch on

      This was another excellent presentation. I agree with Taff that trying to convince someone steeped in the whole "Lost Generation Myth" that there's so much more to the Great War than mud and trench foot is a challenge. I'm a high school history teacher and I love to use the Sainsbury Christmas commercial in class. While I agree with Taff that the BEF ranks at or near the top of the greatest armies to ever march, I would like to put in a plug for the AEF. They had to fight through some of the worst terrain on the Western Front and as Abraham Lincoln once said: "If you can't help skin the mule, you can hold a leg." I think they held that "leg" very well in Muese-Argonne. Thanks again and keep 'em coming.

    18. DigNap15 on

      Hi Taff
      That is amazing that you say there is much footage still to be discovered!
      The movie put together by Peter Jackson showed some of that, and showed the men behind the lines, relaxing, as well as in the front line.

    20. Lisa Loftis on

      What he says about facts-so true! Facts change what we always thought about WW1 I wish history teachers had done a better job with me! Thankful for this channel to help me make up for my shortcomings ❤️❤️❤️

    21. Pale Rider on

      Absolutely brilliant presentation. Really opened my eyes and I’ve come to realise how narrow minded the ‘established’ and propagandised history about WW1 has become and no doubt WW2 is becoming. Context is everything and without it, to PROPERLY understand how and why an event happened, is not possible. Many thanks Lucy and Paul for all your hard work on both your channels.

    23. Terry Downe on

      Sorry I missed this presentation. I am watching today's show about the Doughnut Girls, which is fascinating. I am puzzled, though. Chat is disabled for the presentation and there does not seem to be a comment option either. Is there a technical problem or has there been a change in the channel membership privileges or something? Thanks.

    25. Daryn _Canada on

      This was a FANTASTIC show. I learned a great deal. My grandfather served in the Black Watch in WW1. He never really talked about it. When I was young I would ask him some questions and get some responses. He lived in Scotland and I lived Canada and saw him many times. It is so truthful the words of mud, barbwire and death are prevalent. Taff was an EXCELLENT guest. I could listen to him all day, he really does know a great deal through his passion for WW1. I look forward to listening to him in the future. Thanks again for all three of you for doing this. It's too bad so few people have seen this. Hopefully more people can learn more from these broadcasts.

    26. Steve Robinson on

      Tedium? Both my grandfathers fought in WW1 and I think they might have a far different opinion than the one presented here. One was wounded in France, survived, and the other fought in France, at Gallipoli and in Palestine.

    28. Bobbie on

      Just caught up with this a few weeks later, (I actually visited Taff and the GWH last week!). What a great programme this was. As usual Taff was articulate, thoughtful, and thought provoking, and his assessment and interpretation of the FWW so sharp and intelligent. This should be compulsory viewing. I can listen to him all day. Well done Lucy for developing this site so well and so quickly.

    29. CardboardCockney on

      This was a truly amazing presentation. Taff spoke with such clarity and common sense that I have played this through three times to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Top notch.

    30. R. M. on

      Fantastic talk, thank you so much for that!
      The same issue exists in France, with a very reductive representation of WW1 and trench warfare in documentaries and films/series on the subject. People have a hard time understanding that the armies and warfare of 1914 have nothing to do with that of 1915 and so on up to 1918.

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