The latest talk organised by the Friends of Lydiard Park and Lydiard Archives will be given on Tuesday 16 April.
A scene from the war
It will take place at Lydiard Hotel and Conference Centre from 7pm.
Guest speaker, the military historian and author Christopher Jary, will joi Lydiard Friends’ Chair Sarah Finch-Crisp, to reveal Vernon St.John’s wartime story.
The young aristocrat, whose family home was Lydiard House, fought with the 6th Dorsets at Passchendaele through the grim autumn of 1917 and faced the German spring offensive on the Somme in 1918.
Drawing on Christopher Jary’s expertise alongside photographs and documents in The Lydiard Archives, ‘The Viscount who fought as a Tommy’ will be of particular interest to anyone interested in World War I and social history of the time.
One moment the young Lord Bolingbroke was celebrating his coming of age at Lydiard Park, the next he was set on a path for the battlefields of France.
Vernon’s health paid a price for enduring a year of some of the fiercest battles and harshest conditions ever faced by British infantry.
Evacuated from the battlefield, he was discharged from the Army on 6th November 1918, suffering shell shock.
Ticket prices include a complimentary glass of wine or a soft drink if preferred. The hotel bar will also be open.
Audience members will also be able to purchase signed copies of Christopher Jary’s ‘The Keep in 60 People’ , which features the story of the young Viscount.
The Friends of Lydiard Park is an independent charity which conserves and enhances Lydiard House and Park.
Members have diverse enjoyments and join for many reasons, including family and local connections, an interest for the house, park and church, a fascination with history, and a desire to be part of a thriving community.
Further information and tickets for the talk can be found here.
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