Jonathan D'Hooghe

Battle of Ctesiphon in World War 1 After a year of successes at Basra, Qurna, Shaiba, Amara, Nasiriyeh, and Kut, British forces suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Ctesiphon, which took place from November 22 – 25, 1915, in the Great War. After occupying Kut in November 1915, British Commander-in-Chief in Mesopotamia, Sir John Nixon, ordered Sir Charles Townshend, commander… Read more: On This Day 22nd November 1915

I had the great pleasure to attend the annual Service of Remembrance at the lonely war memorial sited at Thorpe le Fallows, near Sturton by Stow, Lincolnshire. Despite the inclement weather, there was a record turnout of thirty folk to make this annual event a huge success. The service was most expertly marshalled by Peter… Read more: On This Day 11th November 2025

As the Germans realised the war was lost, they attempted to pursue peace negotiations with the Allies and in particular, with US President Woodrow Wilson. The Kaiser and his Ministers were left in no doubt as to their position when President Wilson spoke, saying; ‘If the Allies have to deal with the present Monarchail autocracy… Read more: On This Day 24th October 1918.

Monday 13th October was the 110th anniversary of the bloody attack made by men of the 5th/Lincolns alongside the 4th/Leics, 5th/N. Staffs and 5th/S. Staffs. The fighting on this day resulted in the 46th Division suffering 3,763 casualties, and for a number of Lincolnshire communities, including Sleaford, it was their bloodiest day of the war,… Read more: On This Day 13th October 2025

Jo Stacey contacted me to say; ‘May I please request a mention in your weekly email, on the Sunday nearest to 4th October. My husband’s great grandfather, Frank Thompson, number 6899, of the 1st Battalion Lincolnshire regiment, died 4/10/1917, and is commemorated at Tyne Cot. We both enjoy your email, and it would be lovely… Read more: On This Day 4th October 1917

September 15th, sees the 109th anniversary of the first tanks in history going in to battle on the Somme. We are all rightly proud of the fact that these first tanks were designed and built in Lincoln, but what did they actually achieve? Commander in Chief, Sir Douglas Haig, made the decision to commit the… Read more: On This Day 15th September 1916

On 1st September 1967 the brave but controversial war poet, Siegfried Sassoon died. Siegfried Sassoon is best remembered for his angry and compassionate poems about World War I, which brought him public and critical acclaim. Avoiding the sentimentality and jingoism of many war poets, Sassoon wrote of the horror and brutality of trench warfare and… Read more: On This Day 1st September 1967

Having declared war with Germany on 4th August 1914 and with Austria on 12th August, the agreed British Expeditionary Force (BEF) of six infantry divisions and two cavalry brigades started to arrive in France at ports like Boulogne and Le Havre. The first divisions to arrive and to start assembling outside of Mons were the… Read more: On This Day 16th August 1914

It is 111 years since Great Britain and its Empire declared war on Germany H H Asquith’s Liberal Government, (he was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1905/08 and Prime Minister from 1908) was more concerned with social reform and Home Rule for Ireland, but was forced into a corner when Germany breached Belgium’s neutrality, and… Read more: On This Day 4th August 1914

20th July

In World War I, German South West Africa (Today Namibia) was captured by troops of the Union of South Africa. This victory was achieved after a campaign that began with the mobilization of South African troops in August 1914 and culminated in the German surrender on July 9, 1915. The campaign was primarily aimed at… Read more: On This Day July 9th 1915

Today, 3rd July 2025, marks the 109th anniversary of the death in battle of my great uncle, 19053 Lance Corporal Henry Taylor (Always known as Jack) D’Hooghe. You can read more about Jack here Thomas Henry (Jack) D’Hooghe – Jonathan D’Hooghe Jack had enlisted with his brother, my grandfather, in September 1914 and both found… Read more: On This Day 3rd July 1916

British tunnelling under the Messines Ridge had commenced in 1915, and on 7th June 1917, 19 of the 22 mines laid, were detonated under the German front line. The devastation to the German lines of resistance was immense and within the morning, the attacking British divisions had captured all of their objectives with relatively few… Read more: On This Day 7th June 1917

When war broke out in August 1914 between the Central Powers (Triple Alliance) of Germany, Austria-Hungary and later Turkey and the Entente of Russia, France, Great Britain and its Empire, Italy, a member of the Triple Alliance, stayed silent. Ostensibly, allied to the Central Powers, Italy played a waiting game more interested in annexing land… Read more: On This Day May 23rd 1915

The RMS Lusitania was torpedoed by the German U-Boat U20 on this day off Kinsale Head, south-west Ireland. There were 1,959 men, women and children on board and 1,198 perished including 128 American citizens. The German authorities defended the decision by claiming that the Lusitania was also carrying ammunition to aid the British war effort,… Read more: On This Day 7th May 1915

It really doesn’t seem like five minutes since I was attending WWI centenary events between 2014 and 2018. All of a sudden the commemorations are now for 110 years and as 1915 was a seminal year for the BEF on the Western Front as it attempted to learn the necessary lessons to fight a modern… Read more: On This Day April 22nd and 25th 1915

As the German Spring Offensive pushed the BEF back over 50 miles to the outskirts of Amiens, The C in C, Sir Douglas Haig issued his Order of the Day, which finished with this stirring paragraph. ‘There is no other course open to us but to fight it out.  Every position must be held to… Read more: On This Day 11th April 1918

Following the German decision to re-start unrestricted submarine warfare, which led to the sinking of neutral American ships, the American government, thanks to British intelligence, had come into possession of the infamous Zimmerman Telegram. The Zimmerman Telegram was a coded signal sent from German High command to the government of Mexico in January 1917 by… Read more: On This Day 4th April 1917

Are you a collector of Great War memorabilia and ephemera? Medals, weapons and uniform items are all eagerly sought by collectors, but for me, it is books (original unit histories and memoirs) and unique items with some provenance. Today, I had the great fortune to win the bidding at an auction for a highly decorated… Read more: On This Day March 26th 2025

Following the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks pursued peace negotiations with the Germans which led to the signing of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk on March 2nd 1918. In anticipation of the peace accord, the Germans had, over the winter of 1917/18, transferred more than 500,000 men from the Eastern Front to the Western Front in… Read more: On This Day 21st March 1918

Russia, having entered the Great War as part of the Triple Alliance with Great Britain and France in August 1914, suffered a catastrophic series of defeats as the war progressed and the first signs of collapse of the Triple Alliance occurred on this day, with the first Russian Revolution. The revolution commenced with widespread strikes… Read more: On This Day 12th March 1917

When Britain went to war in August 1914, there was a huge patriotic rush to join the colours. The addition of Lord Kitchener’s ‘Your Country Needs You’ recruiting campaign, saw some 2.5 million men flock to the flag. However, as the casualty lists mounted through 1915, so voluntary enlistment started to decline. In January 1916,… Read more: On This Day 10th February 1916.

Dating as far back as 1147, English Crusaders helped King Alfonso to capture Lisbon from the Moors. This Anglo-Portuguese alliance was formally ratified by the Treaty of Windsor, signed in 1386 which strengthened an original agreement made by King Edward III and King Ferdinand of Portugal in 1373. Further strengthening of this treaty took place… Read more: On This Day 3rd February 1917.

On May 7th 1915, a German U-Boat sank the RMS Lusitania off the south west coast of Ireland. Although Lusitania was later found to have been carrying military supplies to Britain from America, the loss of some 1,200 civilians, some of them American, forced the US President Woodrow Wilson to send word to the Germans… Read more: On This Day, 31st January 1917.

This week has seen the 108th anniversary of the ramping up of the German ‘Blitz’ on London and the south east of England by Gotha and ‘Giant’ bombers of the German Airforce. On 28th January 1917, some thirteen Gothas and two Giants attacked dropping bombs on many districts of London as well as coastal towns… Read more: On This Day 28th January 1917.

One hundred and ten years ago today the British Royal Navy Cruiser fleet under Admiral Sir David Beatty, intercepted a German High Seas Fleet Cruiser Squadron following the Admiralty deciphering coded German signals on the afternoon of the 23rd. The British cruisers were in two squadrons with HMS Lion, Princess Royal and Tiger making one… Read more: On This Day, 24th January 1915 – The Battle of Dogger Bank