My grandmother lost a son in WWI. Among her belongings were a pair of black armbands with small gold stars (now tarnished) made of fine wire. They are not pins- they are woven onto the armbands. On close inspection you can see that they are made of very fine wire that has been twisted into heavier wire. I would appreciate any help identifying who made these. Thanks.

Pte. Makin died on 26 January 1916 and is buried in Lillers Communal Cemetery in Pas de Calais, France. I somehow acquired this medal as a kid and had no information about it. It’s amazing what you can find on the internet.

I’m trying to figure out who the men getting the medals pinned are? Any history appreciated!

Can anyone tell me more about him by his uniform? Thank you.

I'm looking to buy a Belgian M1915 uniform but can't seem to find any information about what the webbing set consists of. Could anyone please tell me what the webbing consists of and put down some links where i can buy it? I would greatly appreciate it.

I just finished Dan Carlin’s 6 part series on WW1 and im obsessed. What would be some definitive must reads on the Great War?

What YouTube channels can you recommend, what literature, what movies? I was also thinking about getting into reenactment, if you know of resources for that.

Thanks!

Where would I find casualty record for the 26th devision 103rd machine gun battalion I'm trying to find more information on my second great grandfather who served in the unit he was specifically a private in Company B and he was gassed and that's all I know do you think all could help point me in the right direction please and thank you

Photos from July 2024 including all 68 panels of the Basra War Memorial can be found online at the Facebook Group Friends of Basra War Cemetery. The Monument is the 3rd largest Commonwealth Monument in the world after Ypres and the Menin Gate and the only one in the top 5 outside Europe. The monument commemorates over 40K men and some women who died with no known grave during the disastrous Mesopotamia campaign against the Ottoman Empire. 5 VC holders are listed on the monument.

These are my grandfather's medals. He went through WWI and WWII but only kept his medals from WWI. After my dad passed, I was given the honour to keep them safe. After many years of having them in my safe, I want to have them on display in my office at home. What is the best way to do it?

Photos from Basra War Cemetery from 1952 and 2024 - abandoned by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 2012 and now used as a dump with the graves of almost 5,000 men from the British and Indian Army from WW1 and a few hundred from WW2 unmarked and in a terrible state. The CWGC has no plans to return to Iraq citing cost and security concerns despite the country enjoying the most stability in 30 years. More photos at the Facebook Group Friends of Basra War Cemetry.

"29 October 1914: Midilli and Berk-i Satvet arrive off Novorossiysk after a rough passage during which most of the Ottoman crew are seasick. An officer from Berk-i Satvet is sent ashore to warn the authorities of the intended attack. However, the Russians refuse to recognise the officer's authority and he is promptly arrested. Berk-i Satvet then steams into the harbour and signals that firing will commence if the emissary is not freed. Once this is done, the torpedo cruiser waits until 1050hrs before opening fire on the shore artillery positions. Midilli completes laying a sixty-mine barrage in the Straits of Kerch, then joins Berk-i Satvet in the bombardment. The oil tanks are soon ablaze, so the Ottoman ships concentrate on the merchant vessels in port. Seven ships are damaged, and the Nikolai (1085gt/-) sunk."¹

Regarding the Turkish crew's seasickness, "Sea Lieutenant H. von Mellenthin, while crossing the Black Sea with the "Berk-i Satvet", recorded the adventures experienced on the ship in his war diary as follows: "... As the weather worsened, the crew became increasingly helpless. It would be an exaggeration to say that the ship was moving. In such a situation, those who were completely incapable of working were curled up in the corners and lying as if dead. ..."²

"As for the "torpedo cruiser Peyk-i Şevket", it will be remembered that on October 18 (31) she was ordered to cut the Varna-Sevastopol communication cable in the Bulgarian coastal area, but she was the only ship that did not carry out the order given to her. The chief engineer, noticing a hit in the starboard side transmission shaft due to a fault in the shaft bearing, refused to put to sea; the Turkish commander supported him in this."³

1. Bernd Langensiepen and Ahmet Güleryüz, The Ottoman Steam Navy, 1828–1923 (London: Conway Maritime Press, 1995), 53.
2. Bernd Langensiepen, Dirk Nottelmann, and Jürgen Krüsmann, Halbmond und Kaiseradler: Goeben und Breslau am Bosporus, 1914–1918 (Hamburg: Mittler Verlag, 2001), 25, quoted in D. Yu. Kozlov, Karadeniz'de "Bir Garip Savaş" (Ağustos-Ekim 1914) (Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, 2021), 163.
3. D. Yu. Kozlov, Karadeniz'de "Bir Garip Savaş" (Ağustos-Ekim 1914) (Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, 2021), 172.

Image. TBMM Library Open Access System, Peyk-i Şevket Berk-i Satvet: Torpido Kruvazör-ü Hümayunları, 1325, p. 18, https://acikerisim.tbmm.gov.tr/items/867a304e-0689-4f24-b29f-2e67ad043178 (Accessed December 4, 2024).
Translation: Google Translate