My Great-Grandfather's War: Lt-Gen Thomas Snow & The Somme
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 18 September 2023
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Dan explores his great-grandfather's part in the First World War. Lieutenant-General Thomas Snow was a senior officer in the British Army who commanded troops on the first day of the Somme. It was a disaster; thousands of men died for almost no strategic gains, and his legacy would be tarnished forever. But Snow's record is more complicated than that, having proved himself a competent defensive commander earlier in the conflict. So how should we remember the men who presided over catastrophes like the Somme? Were these disasters due to a lack of preparation, failures in leadership, or both?
Dan speaks to Paul Reed, a leading historian of the First World War, to find out more about his great-granddad's wartime service and his complex legacy.
Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.
We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | If you're a fan of this podcast, I've got some exciting news for you. |
| 0:03.5 | We're publishing a book, an actual book. |
| 0:06.2 | Have you ever wondered who the third man on the moon was? |
| 0:10.2 | Why a pigeon is a hero of the American army, and whether Napoleon was actually as small |
| 0:16.3 | as people say he was? |
| 0:17.8 | Well, History Hit Misscellanie has got all the answers. |
| 0:20.8 | It's available to pre-order now and will be published on the 28th of September, pre-order |
| 0:25.8 | from your favorite bookshop or visit historyhit.com slash book. |
| 0:33.4 | Hello, Fresh is the UK's favorite recipe box, and one of the reasons is because it's |
| 0:37.6 | very, very easy indeed. |
| 0:38.6 | You can work it into a busy schedule. |
| 0:41.0 | The summer is over. |
| 0:42.0 | I'm trying to get my kids back on the old vegetables, back on some faintly healthy things |
| 0:45.8 | they head back to school. |
| 0:47.2 | I'm working, my wife's working, but we like to cook together, ideally not in a way that |
| 0:51.6 | takes about three hours and destroys every piece of crockery in our kitchen. |
| 0:55.9 | Hello, Fresh has the solution. |
| 0:58.0 | Their quick and easy recipes are quick to prep and taste delicious. |
| 1:01.9 | They have recipes that take from 25 minutes to prepare, and some that take just 15 minutes. |
| 1:07.5 | You can enjoy meals like harissa beef rigatoni with mushrooms and cheese, and butter chicken |
| 1:11.9 | masala with green beans and rice, or chorizo linguine and creamy sauce with peas, rocket |
| 1:16.5 | and balsamic glaze. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.