World War I

World War I research at the Cathedral Archives

I have been fortunate to be part of the ongoing project to research collections held in the Cathedral Archives for the commemoration of the centenary of the Great War. I commenced assisting with the project in October 2013. read more...

The Canterbury War Memorial

In 1919, a committee was formed for establishing a memorial to commemorate the men of Canterbury who fell in the Great War. The Dean and the Lord Mayor of Canterbury for the time being would be ex officio President and Chairman of the committee respectively. read more...

WWI through the eyes of a Vicar of St George’s Deal

Introduction The last 100 years have given historians ample opportunity to reflect on the First World War which began in the late summer of 1914. But how was the conflict perceived by people at the time? Parish magazines, an often under-used historical resource, are the pamphlets containing the news and events of local communities. read more...

The diary of Frederic Maxted

Frederic Sanders Maxted was born in 1878 at Ramsgate and was educated at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School, leaving in 1894. Being of an old yeoman family, he became a farmer but he also (somewhat against his father’s wishes) volunteered for the Royal East Kent Yeomanry, a predecessor of the modern Territorial Army. read more...

Nelson Johnson Propeller

Nelson King Johnson was born in Canterbury in 1892 and was educated at the Simon Langton Grammar School. In 1913, he graduated with a BSc from the Royal College of Science in South Kensington. He initially attempted to become an astronomer at Sidmouth but war intervened and in 1915 he joined the Royal Flying Corps. read more...

The Canterbury and District War Work Depot

Even in the first months of the Great War, it had become apparent that the distribution of aid to wounded soldiers or prisoners-of-war, both by voluntary organisations and through official channels, was disorganised and inconsistent, with too much of certain items and too little of others being dispatched irregularly to too few soldiers or to read more...

Cricket and the Canterbury stage in August 1914

The Old Stagers have been in existence, and have performed plays exclusively in Canterbury, since 1842. read more...

HMS Kent

HMS Kent, an armoured cruiser, took part in the Battle of the Falklands on 8th December 1914 where she sank the German light cruiser SMS Nürnberg. During the battle she was hit by 38 shells, causing serious damage and killing eight men. Despite this, she attempted to rescue men from the sinking Nürnberg. read more...

HMS Canterbury and the Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland at the end of May 1916 was perhaps the greatest naval engagement of the First World War. read more...