Welcome

Thank you for visiting my website and hope that you will find it of interest.

I am continuously writing and editing books, or organising battlefield tours so you may wish to visit it from time to time.

I became interested in the First World War as a child and both my grandfathers fought in the war. They served on the Western Front and in Africa. My maternal grandfather, whose photograph looms large on this Home Page, taught me the songs of the war as a child and carried with him shrapnel in his legs until the day he died.

When I first visited the battlefields of the Western Front they were still littered with the paraphernalia of the conflict and many areas remained uncleared. Almost at every turn in a road small, or large, piles of shells were left for collection by the authorities by the local farmers.

Wandering around the cemeteries and memorials that dot the landscape were always fascinating to me and I wondered what was the story below the grave or behind the engraved name. Everyone who gave their life in the war had a past, they had grown up with family and friends, many had careers and their lives were probably mapped out until the First World War changed everything.

My books, in the series ‘In Continuing & Grateful Memory’ are my tribute to all those who served in the war and in particular a tribute to those who died. My first publication, The Menin Gate, contains nearly 1,500 individual cameos on those commemorated and is profusely illustrated with more that 2,000 photographs, illustrations and maps. I am grateful to Major Tonie and Valmai Holt who have kindly written the introduction to the three-volumed publication. I am busily working on the rest of the series and would be interested to hear from you with a contribution.

We think that today a new book on the First World War is produced almost every week. During, and particularly immediately after, the war books were written and published in profusion. My series ‘I Was There’ concentrates on reproducing the books published by families as a tribute to their son who was killed. The books are long out of print and I have written a second section with a commentary on many of those who are referred to in the original text. Each book, with its letters home from the front, give a fascinating insight into the life in the front line and their activities both in and out of the line.

I have been organsing battlefield tours more than thirty years. With my great friend and colleague, Shaun Caveney, we began the Western Front Association Battlefield Tours with John Giles as our guide. I provide a wide range of interesting tours that are excellent value for money and I hope that I will have the opportunity of meeting one of them.

Thank you again for visiting my website.

Paul Foster