The remarkable occurrences of which I am about to write were related by certain French persons of sound sense and unimpeachable veracity, who happened to be in Berlin a few weeks before the outbreak of the European War. The Kaiser, the most superstitious monarch who ever sat upon the Prussian throne, sternly forbade the circulation of the report of these happenings in his own country, but our gallant Allies across the Channel are, fortunately, not obliged to obey the despotic commands of Wilhelm II, and these persons, therefore, upon their return to France, related, to those interested in such matters, the following story of the great War Lord's three visitations from the dreaded ghost of the Hohenzollerns.
From "Wilhelm II and the White Lady of the Hohenzollerns," by Katharine Cox, as reproduced in S. Mukerji's charmingly digressive
Indian Ghost Stories.
posted by Iridic
on Oct 31, 2011 -
2 comments
The moving finger writes and having writ, moves on. From the Globe and Mail website:
"John Babcock, Canada’s last known First World War veteran, has died, the Prime Minister’s Office said Thursday.
Mr. Babcock was 109.
In a statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he is deeply saddened to learn of Mr. Babcock’s death.
He said that because Mr. Babcock was Canada’s last living link to the First World War, it marks the end of an era.
Mr. Babcock joined the military at the age of 16, but because of his age he wasn’t allowed on the frontlines."
I could link to bazillions of relevancies but really, so can you. It's all over Canadian news websites.
But perhaps just this.
Gone west. Rest in Peace, sir.
Lest We Forget.
posted by Mike D
on Feb 18, 2010 -
42 comments
The Rhode Island School of Design has a set of beautiful designs for
dazzle ship camouflage.
Dazzle Camouflage was a way to confuse submarine operators as to the heading and speed of warships, so that they could not effectively fire torpedoes to sink them. Certainly a lot more colorful than today's camo! (
previously)
posted by that girl
on Feb 8, 2010 -
35 comments
Bonsoir, Monsieur COK! Dans un formidable élan de générosité notre patron adoré nous offre enfin la possibilité de voir son FILM sur la toile!
A short film about efficiencies in bomb manufacturing.
posted by boo_radley
on Jun 15, 2009 -
16 comments
The Department of Veterans Affairs has reported that military scientists tested hundreds of chemical and biological substances on them, including VX, tabun, soman, sarin, cyanide, LSD, PCP, and World War I-era blister agents like phosgene and mustard. The full scope of the tests, however, may never be known. As a CIA official explained to the GAO, referring to the agency's infamous MKULTRA mind-control experiments, "The names of those involved in the tests are not available because names were not recorded or the records were subsequently destroyed." Besides, said the official, some of the tests involving LSD and other psychochemical drugs "were administered to an undetermined number of people without their knowledge."
posted by Joe Beese
on May 19, 2009 -
42 comments
The Vimy Ridge Memorial is a common destination for Canadian travellers in France. As previous visitors have discovered, however, it is not the easiest place to reach once you get off the train. Thankfully, there's been help in the form of the
Welcome Man (Windows Media embedded video --clip starts at 11:30). Over the last 13 years
Georges Devloo has met the train at Vimy every day, where he offers free transportation to the memorial to confused and lost Canadians seeking to pay their respects. In this time, it's been estimated that M. Devloo has given rides other assistance to over 1,200 Canadians. Today, we
said au-revoir to "
le grand-père de Vimy".
posted by aclevername
on Feb 10, 2009 -
25 comments
The Great War Archive goes live today (November 11), the 90th anniversary of the Armistice. Launched by the University of Oxford in March 2008,
the initiative invited members of the general public to submit digital photographs, audio, film, documents, and stories that originated from the Great War. Although the dealine for submissions is past, photos can still be added to
the project's Flickr group.
posted by Abiezer
on Nov 10, 2008 -
19 comments
Gallipoli is one of the most famous battles of World War I. Fought in on a Turkish peninsula in 1915 it was, like most Great War battles, a huge waste of life and largely fruitless. Jul Snelder's site has a wealth of information,
the causes, history and aftermath of Gallipoli,
the slang of the ANZAC forces,
placenames in both English and Turkish,
interesting little factoids,
how Allied troops used subterfuge to hide their evacuation,
the Turkish perspective,
pictures of the battlesite today juxtaposed with old photographs,
a mini-travel guide to Gallipoli and much more. One of the most famous units at Gallipoli was the Australian
12th Light Horse Regiment. To learn more about this type of unit, responsible for the "
last successful great cavalry charge" two years after Gallipoli, I direct you to the excellent website of the
Australian Light Horse Association, where you can learn anything you might reasonably want to know about the subject.
posted by Kattullus
on Sep 15, 2008 -
82 comments
Arthur Mole first developed his technique of collective portraiture in a religious context, photographing fellow church members gathered together in the shape of religious symbols. When the United States entered World War I, Mole and his colleague John Thomas turned to
patriotic themes. They choreographed thousands of soldiers into
formations such as the
Liberty Bell and the
Statue of Liberty. Their largest production was the
U.S. Human Shield, photographed at Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan, which comprised 30,000 men.
Wiki. [more inside]
posted by ColdChef
on Apr 24, 2008 -
10 comments
The story of Sgt Stubby of the 102nd Infantry, the most decorated dog of WWI, is an amazing tale. As a stray he wandered onto a troop barracks in the U.S. & was adopted by one of the young recruits. Barely a pup when he was smuggled aboard a troop transport to the front lines, he served in over 17 battles, providing morale boost up & down the trenches, early warning (through his enhanced sense of smell) for gas attacks, and even uncovering & capturing a german spy in the trenches. Though largely forgotten today, upon his return to the U.S., Stubby was met with a hero's welcome, and went on to become the
original mascot for the Georgetown Hoyas. After his passing in 1926, his preserved remains were
put on display by the Smithsonian, wearing the special coat he was given to hold the large number of medals & awards he received for his service in the Great War.
posted by jonson
on Sep 1, 2007 -
29 comments
Triplane Madness presents photos of a large selection of triplane
(and quad- and quint- and more) experiments in avionics conducted in a wide variety of countries in the early days of aviation.
posted by mwhybark
on Dec 23, 2006 -
8 comments
Etaples, 1917 - The first and last mutiny of the British Army. The story was first told in "The Monocled Mutineer" by William Allison & John Farley which was later made into a BBC drama (script written by
Alan Bleasdale) broadcast in 1986. This program has never been shown since on British terrestrial TV and even resulted in
questions being asked in Parliament about the BBC's left-wing bias. The true facts will be classified until 2017, 100 years after the events. [mi]
posted by longbaugh
on Jan 5, 2006 -
10 comments
