News

Webinar, 22/02/21

Mar 1, 2021

Hedley has given this, or similar, talks on this story many times previously but this was his first by Zoom. About 500 members of the Western Front Association joined this event. Hedley gave a concise summary of the story and concentrated principally on a few main...

Webinar 22/02/21, Join Now!

Feb 19, 2021

On Monday 22nd February 2021 at 20.00, Hedley Malloch*, Chair of the Iron Memorial Fund, will be giving a talk on the story of the Iron 12 to the Western Front Association via a webinar. Join Hedley and hear first hand the fascinating story of the eleven British...

A Voyage of Discovery

Oct 28, 2020

“Alison is the Great Niece of Lance Corporal James Moffatt, 2 RMF, one of the Iron 12 soldiers. Like many of us, she was among the first of the soldiers descendants to discover the truth of what happened to the Iron 12. Both her Grandfather William and her Great Uncle...

The fundraising bike ride

Oct 21, 2020

Back in 2011 we were scratching our heads about how we were going to be able to raise the finance for memorials, plaques, headstones, etc. We had created a charity but no funds were available to us, so we set about fundraising. We needed a major fundraising event and...

Radio Interview about The Killing of the Iron Twelve

Jun 18, 2020

Hedley Interviewed on Radio about his Book As part of the Talking History show on the Newstalk radio programme, Hedley discussed his WW1 book 'The Killing of the Iron Twelve' with Professor Patrick Geoghegan of Trinity College, Dublin. You can hear a podcast of our...

ITV News Item on Fred Innocent

Nov 12, 2019

As part of the build-up to Remembrance Day, November 11th 2019, UK television company, ITV Meridian aired a 2-part regional news programme about Fred Innocent and his involvement in the World War One. Fred was a local boy from Nottingham when he joined the Irish...

SACRED to the MEMORY of Frederick Innocent

Jun 4, 2019

We recently came across this remembrance card to Frederick Innocent n the family "archives". We presume the family had the framed tribute made sometime shortly after they were informed of Fred's death. At this point, it was unlikely that he was in fact dead but hiding...

A Talk, The Killing of the Iron Twelve, by Hedley Malloch

Apr 29, 2019

In November, 2019, the Yorkshire Branch of The Western Front Association welcomes Dr Hedley Malloch whose talk at this monthly meeting concerns a very controversial event which occurred early in the war. On 25 February 1915, the Germans shot eleven British...

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Iron126 months ago

Last week we were back, possibly for the final time, visiting Etreux, Iron and Guise in the Aisne region of France. This was the scene of the BEF rearguard action right at the outset of WW1 and the local aftermath that ensued. We cleaned the monument dedicated to the Iron12, in the village of Iron, and checked out the war graves of the 11 soldiers. Click on the photo of the soldiers’ graves below and high on the horizon, you will see Guise Chateau where they were executed by the Germans. That view always brings lump in my throat. Nearby, also in view of the Chateau, is the newly refurbished gravestone of the mill owner who was executed along with the soldiers. Our website www.Iron12.org has the full story of the Iron12. Our job is done.

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Iron128 months ago

Following on from our last post, the plaque on M. Chaldre’s gravestone has been regilded and reinstated at a slight angle to aid rainwater runoff. His grave in Guise cemetery is just yards from the graves of the soldiers he so gallantly helped in Iron in 1915. His bravery cost him his life. This major restoration work will be one of our last tasks before custody of the monuments is transferred to local organisations. More on this shortly. If you don’t know, arguably the most intriguing story of WW1, I highly recommend reading it here https://iron12.org/the-story-part-1/

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Iron128 months ago

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Iron1211 months ago

M Chalandre, if you know the Iron 12 story, was the mill owner who helped shelter the eleven Allied soldiers trapped behind enemy lines and kept them safe from the occupying Germans. In February 1915, their luck ran out. They were betrayed, tried and the eleven soldiers and M. Chalndre were executed. The soldiers were eventually buried in a Commonwealth War Grave in Guise cemetery. We eventually discovered the unmarked mill owner’s grave, coincidentally nearby to that of the soldiers’ graves. His was a pauper’s grave. This was such an ignominious end for someone who had bravely, and selflessly, given up their life to help others. Some of the Iron Memorial funds we raised paid for a headstone with an inscription which belatedly recognised M. Chalandre for what he did.

The original gravestone plaques are shown below. Twelve years later, the elements have taken their toll and the gold lettering is faded, and in some places, missing. We have decided to spend a further sum to bring back M. Chalandre’s headstone to its former glory. This will be one of the final acts of the Iron Memorial Fund, but more about that in future posts.

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