Archives for 2016

Kaisers birthday. Nothing unusual happened. The HRH Prince of Wales visits our Battn. Col Buller is introduced to him. The Prince goes to firing line. Heavy bombardment at 3 PM after Prince had gone.
William Draycot (of West Hallam Derby) dies, Military Funeral.

*Wilhelm II – The last German Kaiser and King of Prussia, crowned in 1888. He notably dismissed Chancellor, Otto von Bismark in 1890. His early support for Austria-Hungary helped lead Germany into the First World War. Wilhelm was known for being impetuous and tactless often ignoring or not consulting with his ministers. He and his top generals dictated wartime policy with little regard for the civilian government. At the end of the war in November of 1918 he abdicated the throne and fled to exile in the Netherlands.

*Edward VIII – Officially became Prince of Wales on his 16th birthday in 1911. During the war Edward was keen to participate and joined the Grenadier Guards in 1914. Lord Kitchener would not allow Edward to fight on the front lines but he did visit them as often as possible and was even awarded the Military Cross in 1916.

* [The Prince of Wales inspects a battalion on the Western Front] AM54-S4-: Mil P281.23 Public domain via Vancouver Archives, http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/prince-of-wales-inspects-battalion-on-western-front