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Reposted by Great War Huts

Lucy Betteridge-Dyson @lmbd1418.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

*Ok so it’s a recreation FWW trench but still! Follow @shellshockedanded.bsky.social to stay up to date and find out how Ash and I get on @greatwarhuts.bsky.social ..

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Our popular Trenches by Twilight tours are back on 9th - 12th December! Taff Gillingham tells the story of the 1914 Christmas Truce by lantern light in our trenches. Tickets go on sale tonight at 7pm: greatwarhuts.org/events

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

A little unexpected treasure discovered whilst out walking the dry riverbed at Brook Farm Camp. An ammonite, millions of years old, just sitting there waiting to be found. We can safely say that this is definitely the oldest object we have found so far!

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The crew got out and Captain Alois Bocker ordered them to set it alight. The crew were swiftly captured by a local Policeman when they asked him directions. A baby born that night was Christened Zeppelina to mark the occasion! GWH volunteer Tony Mills was a friend of her daughter and knew her well.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

110 years ago tonight, 24.9.16, the Zeppelin L33 came down intact at Little Wigborough in Essex, after being hit by anti-aircraft fire. Earlier in the year, former Hawstead Parish Council Chairman, and GWH supporter, John West, brought us this superb souvenir of that night!

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Robert St John Smith @chance1234.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The 'Am I Offensive?' cartoon is almost as famous as the Wipers Times itself. It appeared in the May 1916 edition, signed by Sapper Ernest J. Couzens. Over 110 years later, my latest article finally puts a face to the name. #wiperstimes #ww1 #fww robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2026-09...

robertstjohnsmith.com

Wipers Times Exposé - A Picture of Ernest James Couzens Emerges

A sketch of Ernest James Couzens appears.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

On the 10th and Final Day of our #HeritageOpenDays2026 exhibition: #BeyondTheUniform Ten Lives in Ten Days, we tell the story of Sid Whymark. His arm was shattered at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915. We display his diary and the glass bottle of bone fragments he kept.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

On Day 9 of our #HeritageOpenDays2026 exhibition: #BeyondTheUniform Ten Lives in Ten Days, we tell the story of Lieutenant Francis Jermyn Smith. Wounded in the arm in 1918, a bigger splinter misses him by millimetres. We display his Jacket, the sleeve scored by the splinter.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

We are displaying his medals and a remarkable photograph taken of him during the Battle of Poelkapelle in October 1917, taken by his battalion commander.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

On Day 8 of our Heritage Open Days 2026 exhibition: Beyond the Uniform - we tell the story of Corporal Eddie Hazlewood, DCM, MM. Eddie was a shepherd from Littke Saxham who became a Stretcher Bearer with 8/Suffolk for most of the war, and was decorated for bravery twice and Mentioned in Despatches.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

On Day 7 of our #HeritageOpenDays2026 exhibition: #BeyondTheUniform Ten Lives in Ten Days, we tell the story of L/Sergeant Donald Dawes. Captured at Le Cateau, his story of captivity and internment is fascinating. We have a tiny fraction of Don’s incredible archive on display!

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Hut Dog Charlie Chaplin on duty here at Brook Farm Camp welcoming visitors for #HeritageOpenDays Still some tickets left for the next 3 days - you can book here: www.greatwarhuts.org/event-detail...

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The inscription in the Bible reads: "This Bible was carried in my coat pocket by me in the great advance on Loos and Hill 70 when I was awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry in playing my comrades into action, September 25th 1915, and given to my Daughter Peggye as a keepsake.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

On Day 6 of our #HeritageOpenDays exhibition: #BeyondTheUniform Ten Lives in Ten Days, we tell the story of Piper Daniel Laidlaw, VC. He led the hesitant men of 7/KOSB into action by playing their Regimental March. We are displaying the Bible he was carrying on that day.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Excited to see Great War Huts pop up on Channel 4’s Four in a Bed this week! 👀 Today’s episode featured our neighbours, Four Bells Glamping at Pinford End, and we were delighted to host the contestants here at Brook Farm Camp. Fingers crossed for payment day for Alex and Lucy!

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

On Day 5 of our #HeritageOpenDaysv exhibition: #BeyondTheUniform Ten Lives in Ten Days, we tell the story of Will Stevens of 11/Suffolk. He was killed at Rouex in April 1917 and his body wasn’t recovered until the 1990s. The kit he was wearing that day is our display today.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

On Day 4 of our #HeritageOpenDays exhibition: #BeyondTheUniform Ten Lives in Ten Days, we tell the story of Harold Ellis, MM. A pre-war RAMC Territorial, he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery on the first day of the Somme. We are displaying his 1915 Hypo Gas Hood.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It’s Day 3 of our Heritage Open Days 2026 exhibition. Today we are telling the story of Elsie Knocker, MM; one of a pair of remarkable ladies who ran their own hospital in the Belgian village of Pervyse, looking after wounded Belgian soldiers.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

It’s Day 2 of our #HeritageOpenDays exhibition: #BeyondTheUniform Ten Lives in Ten Days. Today we tell the story of Gunner James Channon, whose face was badly damaged by a shell splinter in 1917, but later successfuly rebuilt by surgeon Harold Gillies at Sidcup Hospital.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It’s Day 1 of our #HeritageOpenDays exhibition: #BeyondTheUniform Ten Lives in Ten Days, starting with Colchester Ladies Hairdresser, Hubert Snow, who served with the Tank Corps. He went on to become Tank Corps OCA member No.1 and wore his old Tankie jacket for gardening!

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

We’re open every day of #HeritageOpenDays - 11th-20th September! Come and discover Beyond the Uniform: 10 Lives in Peace and War, an exhibition telling the fascinating true stories of ten people whose lives were shaped by service, in times of both peace and war. 🎟️👇 tinyurl.com/mry7tfmh

tinyurl.com

Beyond the Uniform: 10 Lives in Peace and War | Greatwarhuts

Discover remarkable stories at Great War Huts in Beyond the Uniform – Ten Lives in Peace and War

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Excellent! Tickets on sale from 11th October 😊

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Simon Jones @simonjones.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I seem to recall that the trophy gun in Beamish Museum was also thrown into a river after the First World War. I'm glad @greatwarhuts.bsky.social have rescued this one.

bbc.co.uk

Bury St Edmunds museum saves WW1 howitzer gun from scrapyard

The war relic, pushed into a river by a disgruntled veteran a century ago, is due to be restored.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

…18 hours, 750+ miles and another important piece of First World War history saved. Now the real work begins! If any of you have a photo of the Howitzer in its original spot outside St Boswells village hall, or know the date it was gifted to the village, do let us know! 10/End

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

…We said our thank yous and goodbyes to Ian and his brother, David, then set off back to Suffolk with our trophy… 9/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

…had nearly rusted through, and a lot of the steel will need replacing, but Kev is not in the least perturbed! We got it strapped onto the trailer, with the loose pieces packed in the van… 8/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

…now being sold it looked as if the howitzer would be finally heading off to the scrapyard until, by luck, Mike Taylor’s search for trophy guns took him to Wester Howlaws, head of its impending doom, and called us! It does need a lot of work. The trail had to be cut off as… 7/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

…second time! A pair of wheels from an old farm implement and a crude gun shield replaced those shattered by the drop into the Tweed. One of the recovery team, Ian Rogers, who lived nearby, took it home and it’s been a ‘gate guardian’ at his home ever since. With the site... 6/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

…less problematic spot on the beach and gradually got covered in silt. There it would have stayed until a group of local lads decided to recover the remains in the 1980s. With permission of the village hall committee, and a tractor, it was hauled back up and saved for a… 5/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

…He and his ex-Service pals dragged the Howitzer up to the Brae Heads and tipped it over, all the way down into the River Tweed, ironically saving it from the scrap man in the 1930s, by doing so. It was badly damaged, and a hazard to local fishermen, so it was dragged to a… 4/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

…Great War veterans who didn’t want reminding of the war in their home towns. Our Howitzer was one of those guns. It was gifted to St Boswells, a border village near Melrose, and sat here beneath the village hall clock until local veteran George Oliver took exception to it… 3/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The 10.5cm Howitzers were less common than the 77mm Field Guns during the war, so it’s not surprising so few survive to this day. Of those that became trophy guns only this one and the one at Cranbrook appear to survive. Many were scrapped between the wars, or dumped by… 2/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Mission Accomplished! Yesterday Kev and Taff headed up to Scotland to rescue a First World War Trophy Gun - a German 10.5cm Howitzer. Thanks to a tip-off by Mike Taylor of Tayside Western Front Association, who has been tracking surviving guns down, we were able to save it. 1/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

The Old Contemptibles Association Ipswich & District Branch Standard was dedicated at St Augustine’s Church, Ipswich, on Sunday 12th August 1928 - 98 years ago today. #OldContemptibles #HappyBirthday #Chums

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The Devil's Porridge Museum @devilsporridge.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

On this day, 12th August 1919, a sale of 300 huts from Gretna, Eastriggs & Longtown began. This was held across three days at 11am and was primarily to dispose of smaller buildings. It was not until 22nd July 1924, that Eastriggs and Gretna township and H.M. Factory Gretna itself, was auctioned.

A blue booklet in a glass display case. This booklet reads, "Important Sale of 300 huts, including hostels, sleeping huts, wet and dry canteens, laundries, architects' offices, chauffeurs' shelters, guard huts, recreation and mess rooms, women police barracks, stores, caretakers' huts, bathing huts, school house, wash-houses, cabins, garages, latrines, earth closets, watchmen's boxes, treaties. " "To be sold by action by Messrs, Robert Dalton & Son, On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday August 12th, 13th and 14th 1919.
1st Day's Sale - Gretna Township.
2nd Day's Sale - Eastriggs, Butterdales and Brow Houses.
3rd Day's Sale - Longtown, Mossband and Mill Hill.
Note - On the 3rd Day Transport will be available for purchases between Longtown and Mossband.
Sale at 11am to the minute each day."

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Another Old Contemptibles grave marker plaque rescued thanks to Andrew Thornton. Many thanks to St Peter & St James Hospice, Sussex, who kindly sent it for the cost of the postage. It arrived yesterday - appropriately on August 5th Chum Cottee died March 1954. Buried in Lambeth.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Yes! This is Charlie Chaplin, who came to live with us after his previous owner was no longer able to look after him. He has the job of welcoming visitors and looking after the trenches.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

It’s Minden Day today, so #HutDog Charlie is #MindenDog Charlie, with his red and yellow Suffolk Roses to commemorate the battle in 1759. He has just returned from Doggy Duty at the Suffolk Regiment annual reunion at Gibraltar Barracks! ‘Stabilis’

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Simon Jones @simonjones.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Reminded that yesterday 18 years ago, a Hovis ad was being filmed round the corner from where I lived in Liverpool. It's Falkner Street, where the first A House Through Time was made. The folks from @greatwarhuts.bsky.social were behind this.

a Georgian terrace street, scarlet bandsmen and khaki soldiers march.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

It’s a warm Thursday afternoon here at Brook Farm Camp so Chief Hut Builder Kev is about to repaint a 9.2” BL Howitzer shell (it’s completely empty), originally fired at Serre on the Somme, to go with our recently restored 1904 Royal Navy 9.2” breech.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

That really is stunning! One to acknowledge in the ‘They Shall Grow Not Mould’ talk 😀

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Simon Jones @simonjones.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Possibly the finest decorated Great War ration biscuit I have ever seen. This Women's Auxiliary Army Corps example is in the Huntley & Palmers gallery @readingmuseum.bsky.social. @greatwarhuts.bsky.social

Square biscuit decorated in colour with the badge of the WAAC.

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

That’s right - a member of the family went over it in pen many years ago to preserve it

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

…The Green, Red and Brown colours of The Tank Corps, now The Royal Tank Regiment, represents the Corps motto: “From the Mud, through the Blood, to the Green Fields Beyond”. Remembering Alfred and all of his 9th Tank Battalion comrades today. 6/End

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

…Alfred had previously served in The Cambridgeshire Regiment before transferring to the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps, later renamed The Tank Corps. These are his Heavy Branch identity discs… 5/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

…After the fighting was over, Alfred was taken to a French Field Hospital where he died the next day. He was buried in a French cemetery at Ferme D’Eruse and re-interred in the 1920s to Roye New British Cemetery… 4/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

…In 2018 Kev and his family made a pilgrimage to the site where his tank was knocked out. The Commander of the Tank, 2nd Lt W. Molloy, who lost an eye in the same action, sent this letter to Alfred’s Mother... 3/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

…On 23rd July 1918 the 9th Tank Battalion took part in the Battle of Sauvillers. This little known action was the first time that British tanks took part in a battle exclusively in support of the French Army. 9th Tank Battalion casualties: 20 Killed, 38 Wounded, 7 Missing… 2/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The Green, Red and Brown flag of The Tank Corps flies over Brook Farm Camp today to commemorate the death of Kev’s Grandfather, 92958 Pte Alfred James Tabor, who was mortally wounded 108 years ago today, driving a male MkV Tank, No.9049… 1/

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Great War Huts @greatwarhuts.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

A poignant reminder of the first day of The Somme - Lieutenant Gilbert Hattersley’s blood-stained map showing the planned advance. He was wounded in the leg early on, the 11/Suffolk had the heaviest 34th Division casualties and didn’t reach Contalmaison. Remembering them all today. #Somme110

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