those
who
served
A free regular podcast about ordinary men and
women who served in extraordinary times.
“Let us die like brothers…” Privates Jim, Simon & Smith, SANLC, SS Mendi
In a small military plot in a cemetery on the south coast, is a single grave bearing three names: Jim, Simon, and Smith, all Privates in the South African Native Labour Corps. They died on the same day – 21st February 1917, and we mark the 107th anniversary of the sinking of their ship, the SS Mendi, off St Catherine’s Head on the Isle Of Wight. It was the largest loss of life for non-combatants in the entire first world war
No podcast this week due to overseas travel and work commitments.
"A kind and generous man…’ W/O Fred Hillyer, RAF
On the night of 30/31 May 1942, O for Orange, a Wellington bomber with five crew took off from RAF Graveley, near Huntingdon. For the crew, including pilot Warrant Officer Fred Hillyer, it would be their first and only mission. Hear more about his experiences as a pilot, POW and post-war in an interview with his daughter Lynda Hillyer.
“My great uncle's Military Medal…” Pte. James Blower, MM, 1st KSLI.
On 18th September 1916, a unit of the 1st Battalion King’s Shropshire Light Infantry formed part of an attack on the Quadrilateral, a heavily defended trench system, north-west of Morval on The Somme. For one Private James Blower, MM, of Shrewsbury, the Battle of Flers-Courcelette would be his final action.
Photographs and links referred to in the podcasts are to be found on the Episode Extras page, under Episodes.