The Old Front Line: The Centenary of the Western Front in Pictures

Now that the last veterans are gone, the First World War is now a completely historical subject—governed by archaeology and genealogy, battlefield tourism and military history. The anguish and privations are a bit further away, but there is still huge interest in the awful conditions and carnage endured by a generation of youth who sacrificed their lives for their country.

“The Old Front Line” is a phrase first coined by the poet John Masefield when he looked back on the battle of the Somme from a distance of just one year, in 1917, and speculated how the Western Front might look in the future. Stephen Bull’s copiously illustrated work—part travel guide, part popular history—a century on, answers his speculations. The main source material is new and contemporary photographs, as well as some from the intervening century. Taken together these provide a series of exciting vistas and informative details that tell the story of the battles and landscapes. Aerial photography, old and new ground shots—and in a few cases even images taken underground—provide an authoritative summary of the war on the Western Front.

Following an introduction that sets the scene and looks at the early stages of the war, eight chapters examine the Western Front geographically, looking closely at the main areas of fighting and what is visible today: not just the “iron harvest”—the scars left by trench and battle—but also the cemeteries, war memorials and statues that remind the visitor starkly of the loss of a generation.

Dr Stephen Bull is a museum curator and university external examiner who straddles the divide between the 'serious' and what most of the world actually wants to read. Interested in history from an early age he studied at the University of Wales, and has previously worked at the BBC and National Army Museum in London. Now Curator of Military History and Archaeology for Lancashire County Museums, he has curated a number of exhibitions as well as completing an MBA, and been elected to the Institute for Archaeologists. His work is published on both sides of the Atlantic and translated into a variety of languages. Recently he was listed for the Portico Prize for Literature.

Stephen has made many TV and radio appearances, and at time of writing is working with Definition Media on a new UK TV series. In 2011 he collaborated with Impossible Pictures on 'Last War Heroes', writing the book to accompany this well received Channel 4 production which has been broadcast in the UK, US, and Canada. Having been a lecturer or examiner with several North West universities he is now a consultant to the University of Oxford, where he is assisting in the creation of a European database to document the individual experience of the First World War through archives, photographs, and objects. The photograph shows Stephen (right) with Lorenz Andraes at the German National Library, 'DNB', Frankfurt.

Dr Stephen Bull is currently Curator of Military History and Archaeology for Lancashire Museums. He has previously worked at the National Army Museum, and for the BBC in London. He is the author of more than twenty military and historical titles published in Europe and the US, and he has appeared in the TV series Battlefield Detectives. Among his many publications are An Historical Guide to Arms and Armour, Volunteer! The Lancashire Rifle Volunteers 1859-1885, Brassey's History of Uniforms: World War One British Army, World War I Trench Warfare, Encyclopedia of Military Technology and Innovation, World War II Infantry Tactics, World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics and Commando Tactics: The Second World War.