Please find below a slide show of photographs taken at the WFA's AGM held on Saturday, 17 April 2010 at the Firepower Museum, London.
Very soon we will be showing videos of the presentations and talks so please call back here soon if you would like to see them.
Please click on the "expand" icon to see a full screen slide show of the photographs.
Photos kindly submitted by David Tattersfield.
Minutes of the AGM are available for download below.
Lecture on Great War Victoria Crosses entitled ‘For Valour' by Mark Smith MA
(we hope to have the video of Prof Gary Sheffield on the website soon)
Presentation to Dr John Bourne, Vice President of the Western Front Association.
Report on 2010 AGM Lecture given by WFA Vice President Professor Gary Sheffield
Gary Sheffield was given a very warm welcome as he took the stage to deliver his lecture ‘1918: Was Douglas Haig ‘The Accidental Victor' of the First World War?'
His introduction addressed the nature of controversy surrounding Haig pointing out in 1928 he was regarded as a hero with more people turning out to his funeral than those who attended that for Princess Diana. Yet by 1935, his reputation had fallen sharply.
To deal with his approach, Gary cited a critical work by Travers who regarded Haig as the ‘accidental victor' compared with work by former WFA President John Terraine who saw the vindication of Haig's strategy.
Gary's own view fell somewhere in between the two, but nearer that of John Terraine.
The meeting were given details of Haig's privileged educational background and his military progression, together with a pointer to his relationship with Haldane as further evidence of the development of his reputation as an ‘educated soldier'.
Characteristics of trench warfare and the challenges posed were explained as reasons for the changed nature of warfare compared with what had been seen before.
Evidence was given to show that far from being a ‘technophobe' Haig showed serious interest in the potential for new initiatives including artillery and machine guns, gas, tanks, aircraft, although his use of them was not always as good as he might have wished.
Haig's command and leadership style has been criticised, but Gary pointed to the need for Haig not to be too close to the front because of communications limitations. Haig's lack of informality with his men (in contrast with Montgomery in the Second World War)) would have been considered appropriate for the time.
With regard to Haig's acceptance of the scale of casualties, Gary referred to a quote by Wavell who said ‘The first essential of a general is the quality of robustness, the ability to stand the shocks of war'. Clearly to be effective Haig could not afford to be diverted from what was needed.
Haig's role at the Somme, Arras and Passchendaele were addressed, to demonstrate that good thinking lay behind the battles (despite the relatively unsuccessful outcomes) and the importance of the ‘learning curve'.
Finally, Gary posed the question ‘If Haig was such a poor general, how did the BEF win the greatest series of victories in British military history under his command?'
Gary concluded that Haig was not a ‘great captain' but neither was he just a battlefield general. Although mistakes were made, Haig himself had a steep learning curve to deal with, which he did successfully. The ‘right man at the right time' was an appropriate description with Haig managing to cope with the huge personal burden and achieve victory having overcome significant setbacks.
Following very many questions, the audience expressed its gratitude with loud applause.
Steve Oram
Honorary Secretary
| File | Description | File size | Last modified |
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 wfa-2010-agm-minutes.pdf | Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the WFA 17 April 2010 | 95 Kb | 24/04/10 22:49 |
