Having mentioned it in a conversation last night I realise that I have not updated my blog for over three months. This is in no way due to laziness on my part. In fact, I have never been busier and am working all hours. Just today I have turned down the chance to author a WW1 book and have been presented with the opportunity of working on what looks like a fascinating WW2 TV project. My blog silence is more due to the fact that the majority of work I am doing is related to upcoming projects, either those definitely agreed and commissioned or others in the pipeline and awaiting the final ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ So, simply put, for much of my work I am unable to provide any details.

Being fashionably late (well over a month) I thought it may be instructive to look back upon 2011 and see if things had moved on from the same point twelve months before. Whilst my accountant may not agree, things have stepped up in almost every department. The most startling event last year was the launching of the La Boisselle Study Group. It was in November 2010 when lecturing on the Battle of Arras at Wellington Quarry that Peter Barton and I were approached by Claudie Llewellyn, owner of the Glory Hole who asked if we would be interested in looking at the site. Naturally we jumped at the chance and my work in 2011 was dominated by the project. It was a relief in June when we could, at last, go public. After many nights burning the midnight oil the website was online. Little did we appreciate the interest in the subject with the BBC article receiving over a million hits and the LBSG the recipient of hundreds of emails. Throughout the traditional battlefield tours season I have been able to take guests to the site for a personal tour and it never fails to astound them. One of the earliest of these was writer Vanessa Gebbie, author of the brilliant novel ‘The Coward’s Tale’, who joined me in April for a tour as we followed the 14^th Battalion Welsh Regiment (Swansea Pals) from the Somme to Ypres and back.

One of my favourite spots on the battlefields - early morning in Quarry Cemetery, Montauban

I had many trips to the Somme where I was able to enjoy the beauty of this magnificent and fascinating battlefield. In August, in a deviation from the norm, I headed further south with a client, Roland Parr, to follow in his great uncle’s footsteps. Roland’s Uncle Jack was Corporal John Thomas Davies VC. Amongst the many trips I undertook last year it stood out for me as we diligently traced the retreat of the 11/South Lancs to the point outside Eppeville where Jack performed the heroic action that earned him his Victoria Cross. The latter part of the year was primarily taken up with work at La Boisselle, including our successful week’s archaeological dig in October. Unlike my own site, the LBSG website has continued to grow as we add more and more information.

The year ended well as I was contacted by Wall to Wall Media, producers of the acclaimed ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ series and asked to film on the new series, showing one of the chosen celebrities around the western front battlefields. The recce in December was cold, bleak and wet whilst we were blessed with cold, clear winter days for the three days filming in January. The programme is due for broadcast in the autumn.

With the build-up to the centenary commemorative period gathering pace I am heartened to see the interest from the public. Some of this may be due to Spielberg’s film ‘War Horse’ and the recent BBC adaptation of Sebastian Faulks’ ‘Birdsong’. Whatever the reason, I cannot think of a point in my lifetime when the public consciousness of the Great War has been so high. It will continue to grow as 2014 looms nearer and the plethora of planned books plus TV and radio programmes come to fruition.

Much of my planned research has been put on hold due to other commitments. It will be good to get back into the archives and I look forward to visiting many regimental museums later in the year.  My next talk is a planned 45-50 minute lecture on the Battle of Arras, to take place on 4 April. Having spoken on the subject many times I should have no fear. The twist is that the lecture is to be given in French. Having been invited by the Tourist Office in Arras there was no way I could turn down the opportunity. Sadly, my spoken French is not up to sufficient standard yet so I will be practicing like mad between now and April!