Links to useful sites

Want some more information on The Great War, something other than The Bedfordshire regiment, or just haven't satisfied your curiosity on the subject?

Below are some of the sites I have found really useful over the years. This is just a tiny proportion of possibilities so always default to Google if in doubt!

Sites specific to the Bedfordshire Regiment

The Bedford County Records office. This will take you to their "search the archives page" but Nigel Lutt and his staff are always happy to help with any enquiries you may have.

The Bedfordshire Yeomanry. A site run by an expert in the regiment, who will be much more capable of helping with your enquiry than I.

Buckinghamshire Remembers includes much information on men from the Regiment who are shown on memorials from around the county, so may well be worth a visit.

The Pride of Pirton, detailed research into those from the Hertfordshire village of Pirton who served during the war, by Tony French, Chris Ryan and Jonty Wild.

Sites specific to other British regiments

The Huntingdonshire Cyclists Battalions. A site devoted to the Hunt's Cyclists including a detailed biography on the famous Hollywood actor and director Charles Laughton.

The Diary of Lionel King, who served in the 6th Essex, 54th Division whilst on Gallipoli and in Egypt and Palestine.

The 1st/5th Gordon Highlanders. Carolyn Morrisey's site devoted to the battalion between 1916 and 1918. Includes casualty databases and War Diaries.

The Swansea Pals (14th Welsh) battalion by Bernard Lewis, author of 'Swansea Pals' by Pen and Sword, 2004.

The 17th (Service) battalion, the Welsh Regiment during the Great War

The 8th East Lancs by Stephen Barker, co-author of the battalion's history book 'Lancashire's Forgotten Heroes'. This battalion served alongside the 6th Bedfords in the 37th Division.

The Gloucestershire Regiment Museum, formerly the 28th and 61st Regiments of Foot and the Royal Glosters

The 2nd Regiment of Foot, later the Queens (Royal) Regiment: re-enactment and living history group

The Museum of the 19th Regiment of Foot, later the Green Howards

Sites specific to other countries

Turkey's War. A fascinating site giving insight into the war from the Turkish perspective.

The South African War graves project, aimed at collecting, indexing and archiving photographs of every single grave associated to the country and its conflicts.

General Great War sites

The National Archives homepage. The home of records relating to the Great War, family history and many other areas. Documents on line can be accessed here.

The Imperial War Museum. Within their collections are films, videos, photographs, documents, sound recordings, art and physical items such as uniforms. Then there are the exhibitions, spread over their sites at London, Duxford, the Churchill Museum, Manchester and HMS Belfast on the River Thames.

The Royal British Legion. PLEASE support this organisation throughout the year, not just on Poppy Day, as the work they do for our veterans is invaluable.

The Western Front Association. An incredibly useful site from the national association devoted to furthering interest in and knowledge of the Great War. The site covers many different aspects of the war, not just the Western Front! And don't forget, they have a very active forum too, in which you are likely to find answers for the most obscure questions.

Regiments.org. A very useful, general knowledge site.

The Great War Forum. An extremely busy forum with experts on every subject within the scope of the Great War that you could wish for! It's free and a mine of information.

The National "Roll of Honour" site. A massive, privately run project intent on recording every name on every war memorial in the country.

The Victoria Cross site. A useful forum for those wishing to find out specific information on this most coveted of bravery awards. The history of the Victoria cross - indexed by names, counties, etc.!

World War One Battlefields, by someone who has been there - a lot! Alan Jennings has put together a really good site that is well worth a look around, especially if you cannot get there yourself.

Western Front photography from award winning photo journalist and Battlefield guide Mike At Maur Sheil. A superb site well worth losing a few hours gazing at!

360 degree cemeteries on the internet. If you are unable to journey see a cemetery, perhaps this site will help you capture the essence of a particular cemetery to some degree.

Battlefield Bed and Breakfast / Tour sites

Just to clarify, Liz (my wife) and I prefer more homely B&B's in quiet rural locations to busy, noisy hotels in the middle of a town with cardboard for walls so our opinions on the B&B's listed below are all based on that assumption. They are all quiet, family run venues with good food, good hosts and an efficient yet friendly and informal atmosphere, so you are not likely to see people in waistcoats and bow ties running around satisfying your needs (although you never know if you don't ask ...!)

Also note that the opinions are just that - personal opinions based on what we like and do not like.

Oh, and we have no 'interest' in or gain anything from you using these venues, so are not acting as agents in any way, shape or form. It is just a (hopefully) helpful list of suggestions that will make your stay a little more pleasant.

Fields of France Bed, breakfast and evening meals, Battlefield Tours and cycle hire from Peter and Hilary Smith at Otage View, Flers on the Somme. Peter, a former Royal Marine Instructor, provides the tours and his wife Hilary takes care of the B&B aspect. Again, personally recommended as we have also stayed here!

B&B De Potyze, 3km east of Ypres centre just off of the Zonnebeke road. Run by Paul & Mimi (a local family) who provide an extremely friendly, personable and helpful location from which to base your travels. The room we stayed in was clean, with 'clean lines' and all amenities you could need. No evening meals are available here but given that Ypres centre is only a matter of minutes away, that causes no problems! Personally recommended, having stayed here also!

Mesothelioma Resource Online, a resource for veterans suffering from asbestos related cancer and illness