Oxfordshire museum to hold free event looking at lesser-known WWI battle

A group photograph taken when building POW Camp in Salonika with A Tolley, men with guns. 8th Bn Oxf and Bucks (SOFO Museum).

The event will be streamed for free on the museum’s website alongside a live Q and A with the author of Under the Devil’s Eye: Britain’s Forgotten Army at Salonika 1915-1918 and curator at the Imperial War Museum, Alan Wakefield.

The stream will go live on the museum’s website at 7pm, on Thursday October 27, starting with the talk and then followed by the Q and A session. The event is free to attend but any donations given will go straight to the support of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust.

Often thought of now as a forgotten battle, during the Great War, large numbers of British and allied troops were tied up in the strategically vital Balkans, including many soldiers from the county regiment the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry,

A group photograph taken when building POW Camp in Salonika 8th Bn (SOFO Museum).

Guest speaker Alan Wakefield has researched the lesser-known Salonika Campaign in every detail, from the arrival of the first British troops in 1915 to final victory.

Using first-hand accounts, Alan will paint a vivid picture of life for the British Army while on the Salonika front. Alan will also talk of the disappointments of the British XII Corps offensive in April and May of 1917 and the more successful aggressive raiding in the Struma Valley.

For more information visit the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum website at: https://www.sofo.org.uk/

Like all previous online talks the museum has hosted, an archived feed of the talk and recorded Q and A will also remain available on the museum website after the live event ends.