The Battle of Gheluvelt 31st October 1914

In October 1914 the British Army found itself fighting for its life at the First Battle of Ypres. Outnumbered, outgunned and under relentless German pressure, the defenders clung grimly to their positions. But a crisis came on 31 October when a massive German assault pierced the front line, capturing the village of Gheluvelt and opening the road to Ypres and then to the Channel Ports.

All that stood between the British Army and disaster was a tiny reserve of just under 500 men of the 1^st Worcestershire Regiment.

Against all odds, this brave band would launch a remarkable counterattack that would turn the tide of battle and become known as ‘the attack that saved the British Empire’. Their heroism is immortalised to this day in Gheluvelt Park in Worcester.

This lecture tells the story of the battle and how a few hundred soldiers from changed the course of the First World War.

Speaker: Dr Spencer Jones

Dr Spencer Jones is an award-winning military historian with a passion for bringing the past to life. He serves as Regimental Historian for the Royal Regiment of Artillery and is Honorary President of the Western Front Association. He also co-hosts the world’s leading First World War podcast, ‘Not So Quiet on the Western Front’, and has written ten books on military history.