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The Old Front Line

Paul Reed
First World War
World War I
Great War
Battle Of the Somme
Ypres
Trench Warfare
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
British Army
Royal Flying Corps
Western Front
Hindenburg Line
Menin Gate
Flanders
Somme
Passchendaele
German Army
American Expeditionary Force
Gallipoli
Western Front Association
Somme Battlefields

Walk the battlefields of the First World War with Military Historian, Paul Reed. In these podcasts, Paul brings together over 40 years of studying the Great War, from the stories of veterans he interviewed, to when he spent more than a decade living on the Old Front Line in the heart of the Somme battlefields.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes289Founded6 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
EducationHistory

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Artwork for The Old Front Line

Latest Episodes

With a special edition for ANZAC Day, in this insightful interview, playwright Arthur Meek discusses his project to bring to life the voices of Gallipoli veterans through oral histories and verbatim theatre. The conversation explores the power of per... more

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In this in-depth Questions & Answers episode of The Old Front Line, we tackle four fascinating listener questions exploring the aftermath and realities of the First World War.

We begin in the Ypres Salient, examining how the Commonwealth War Graves ... more

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In this special episode with Professor Mark Connelly we explore the profound connection between landscape, memory, and national identity during the Great War, focusing on the significance of chalk landscapes in Britain and their influence on cultural... more

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We are now 50 Q&As in, and the questions keep getting better, sharper, and more human! This milestone edition of The Old Front Line is built around four listener prompts that take us from the small, intimate scale of one soldier’s photograph to the v... more

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Recent Guests

Arthur Meek
New Zealand playwright and filmmaker, historian
Voices of Gallipoli Project
Episode: The Bad Luck Battalion
Mark Connelly
Professor of History, guest on the episode
[unconfirmed]
Episode: Chalk, Englishness and the Great War
Alex Sotheran
Archaeologist, historian, and war gamer
Storm of Steel YouTube channel
Episode: From The Battlefield to the Tabletop
Jon Gedling
Director of Estates for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Episode: Caring For The Silent Cities
Peter Doyle
Historian, Geologist, and Author
Episode: Battle of Loos with Peter Doyle
Josh Levine
Historian and author, frequent broadcaster
Episode: The Air War in WW1 - with Josh Levine
Andy Saunders
Aviation and military historian, author, former editor of Britain at War and Iron Cross magazines
Episode: The Search for Mick Mannock with Andy Saunders
Rosie Barron
Member of the MoD War Detectives, involved in recovering and identifying First World War soldiers' remains.
MoD War Detectives
Episode: The MOD War Detectives
Nichola Nash
Member of the MoD War Detectives, with a background in archaeology and military history.
MoD War Detectives
Episode: The MOD War Detectives

Host

Paul Reed
Military historian and host of The Old Front Line, with decades of field research and battlefield experience.

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 1.2k ratings
  • High Quality WW1 Podcast

    A high-quality podcast. Highly recommended for people interested in the First World War.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    fwfam3
    United States2 months ago
  • Best podcast for the Great War around

    If you are looking for a podcast on the First World War look no further, Paul is so incredibly knowledgeable and has a way of delivering stories that will always keep you interested

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    harperslj
    United Kingdom3 months ago
  • Fascinating Podcast

    I’ve been listening to to Paul for a good while now on this podcast. I throughly enjoy them. The knowledge I gather from the podcast on so many aspects of the Great War is fantastic. It’s my go to podcast.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Henman312
    United Kingdom3 months ago
  • Excellent

    This is a great podcast

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    GEFtheMongoose
    United States3 months ago
  • Amazing and Fortunate

    The title says it all.

    The amount of detail can take one back to the day and time so eloquently and sensitively described.

    Future generations will better to understand the hell that the population of countries who put themselves through, in listening to these podcasts. Truly a World wide war.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Ex wag
    United Kingdom5 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners praise the host's deep WWII knowledge and accessible, narrative style.
Shows strong respect for memorial sites and the people behind the history.
Listeners highlight the high-quality research and engaging storytelling that makes complex history approachable.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#127
United Kingdom/History
Apple Podcasts
#250
Australia/History
Apple Podcasts
#134
Philippines/History
Apple Podcasts
#206
Belgium/History

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Questions and Answers Episode 51
Q: After the war, how was land and property ownership reestablished given widespread destruction and loss of cadastral records?
Postwar reclamation involved a mix of government rebuilding support, local memory, and, in many cases, mutual consent that allowed land grabs to enlarge plots as villagers returned and rebuilt; cadastral records were reconstructed through surviving documents and government-led programs, with compensation and reconstruction funded by the French state and, later, by reparations from Germany impacting the financing landscape.
Questions and Answers Episode 51
Q: How were environmental concerns about burying large numbers of dead addressed, especially behind the front line where water courses and wells could be affected?
Early burial practices were pragmatic, utilizing existing communal cemeteries and later adding extensions where needed; behind the lines, burial officers negotiated ground with local authorities to select sites that minimized impact on water supplies, and quicklime was used in some battlefield burials to reduce infection and odor, though it could itself raise environmental concerns.
Questions and Answers Episode 51
Q: How many stonemasons were employed by the War Graves Commission to undertake the process? And what period did this take place?
A large cadre of stonemasons worked through the interwar years, including involvement from the Hopton Wood Stone Company and the Monumental Masons Federation, with the headstone work progressing from the early 1920s through the late 1930s as cemeteries were completed, reflecting a sustained, organized effort.
Questions and Answers Episode 51
Q: How was the changeover achieved in replacing all the wooden crosses in the cemeteries with the headstones we see now? Was it completed on a cemetery by cemetery basis or another method?
The process was staged, starting with experimental cemeteries to establish a standard layout, followed by a country-based classification and systematic, cemetery-by-cemetery replacement of crosses with permanent headstones, a practice overseen by the Imperial War Graves Commission and aided by trained British stonemasons who engraved the inscriptions by hand before later shifting to mechanized methods.
Questions and Answers Episode 50
Q: Question number four comes from Ryan Ains in British Columbia, Canada. A question regarding farming. Did farmers have to wait to reclaim their land until the Graze Registration Units had swept the area?
The host explains the complex postwar recovery, including how civilians and farmers reoccupied land, the removal of ordnance, and the long process of clearing graves and rebuilding infrastructure before farming could resume.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Gender Skew
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Frequently Asked Questions About The Old Front Line

What is The Old Front Line about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Listeners tend to engage with thoughtful WWI history focused on places, landscapes, and battlefield archaeology, often presented as walking tours and field trips that bring sites to life. Episodes mix deep archival knowledge with accessible storytelling, personal anecdotes from the host's research, and Q&A segments that tackle both tactical details and memory. The show frequently covers the Western Front, memorials, cemeteries, and the human experiences behind battles, making it appealing to history enthusiasts, veterans' families, and travelers interested in battlefield tourism. A standout trait is the host's long-form, place-centric approach, which creates a strong sense of place and remembrance across episodes without sacrificing rigorou... more

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Which podcasts are similar to The Old Front Line?

These podcasts share a similar audience with The Old Front Line:

1. WW1: Not So Quiet On The Western Front!
2. Footsteps of the fallen
3. WW2: Both Sides of The Wire
4. WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk
5. The WW2 Podcast

How many episodes of The Old Front Line are there?

The Old Front Line launched 6 years ago and published 289 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on The Old Front Line?

Recent guests on The Old Front Line include:

1. Arthur Meek
2. Mark Connelly
3. Alex Sotheran
4. Jon Gedling
5. Peter Doyle
6. Josh Levine
7. Andy Saunders
8. Rosie Barron

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