Battle of Mons Research

[PJGM88]

Hello,

I'm currently doing some extensive research on the Battle of Mons; I was born in SHAPE (NE of Mons), and having joined the British military a few years ago, my interest in this particular battle has grown enormously. During my periods of annual leave, I always go back and visit my family in Mons and try and locate places of interest (in regards to the battle) using extracts from various books as a guide.

I've bought numerous books (and an old 1922 map of the area) to try and piece together as much info as possible, and my next step would be to visit some Regimental Museums and read some of their War Diaries. However due to being based in Devon, and with a busy few months ahead, I don't think this will be easy to pull off.

So..

Would anyone happen to have any extracts from Regimental War Diaries focusing from the 21-24th of August 1914? Or even better; any German Regimental War Diaries? I've read Walter Bloems' book, but would like to see if there are any other German accounts of the battle. I'm not after a particular regiment as such, I would just like to read a more official (and more detailed) view of what happened at any particular place - and if there are sketch maps, then even better!

If anyone can help me out, please PM me and I will send you my email address (unless its possible to attach files to a PM?)

Many thanks.

[Guest]

The volume of Edmonds Official History, that covers Mons is available on archive.org Click

Mike

[battiscombe]

if you have not seen it ...the book 'British Battalions in France and Belgium in 1914' by Westlake provides reasonable summaries of the war diaries of all infantry units so is quite a useful guide.. it would probably be cheapest to download the online versions of diaries for the small fee they charge at the National Archive .. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/war-diaries-ww1.htm if you want see the originals...

Having also lived at SHAPE [well .. Casteau] in the 1970s I too was interested in finding an October 1918 British Army map of the area - they occasionally turn up for sale on ebay ..

[BelgianExile]

Greetings from Mons (well, Casteau in fact!).

I've got a pdf of a battlefield guide to Mons written by a local historian if it helps? I can email it over to you - you won't be able to PM me but you can contact me directly via my website (link below).

If you need any pics of the area, just give me a shout.

Damien

[PJGM88]

Dear all,

Many thanks for your replies, they've been a great help.

Damien, I can't get on to your website (my phone may be the cause of this), but when I'm back at work on Monday, I'll pop you an email.

Again, thank you all very much.

[dickeverard]

I have a copy of the war diaries for the 5th Division Signal Corps which I downloaded from the National Archives. There are a lot more War Diaries available from the National Archives but they haven't scanned them all yet.

[Yorke Scarlett]

...the book 'British Battalions in France and Belgium in 1914' by Westlake provides reasonable summaries of the war diaries of all infantry units so is quite a useful guide..

I used it to track the various battalions involved with 1st Ypres in Oct/Nov 1914 - very useful guide, and good starting point before you delve into the actual war diaries.