Croisilles - a journey through a cemetery

In today's podcast, we visit Croisilles cemetery near Arras to discover the personal stories of some of the men who lie within.

Many of the men who lie dead in the cemetery were killed in the actions against the formidable German strongpoint of Tunnel Trench which ran just to the east of the village.  We look at the Sassoon poem "The Rear-guard" which documents his experiences of being underground in the troglodyte kingdom the Germans created.  We hear about two British sappers, found dead on a staircase without a scratch on them, and discover the stories behind the "Soldiers Medal" the DCM.

We discover a connection between an officer and the infamous "Bodyline" series between England and Australia, meet a fly-fishing expert who lost his life in a costly raid on the German lines, and hear about an officer, who features in one of the Great War's finest personal narratives, who foresaw his own death.  Our episode concludes at the grave of a British officer whose death provided a stark reminder of the destructive power of artillery.

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