In this week's trench chat, we're joined by a military historian Taff Gillingham to talk about his exciting project, Great War Huts.

Welcome to another trench chat. I'm really pleased this week to be joined by a military historian and all-round good egg, Taff Gillingham.

Welcome, Taff. Thank you very much. I'm delighted to be invited.

Well, you and I have a very similar age. We won't say what that age is, but I think we've both

sort of grown up with military history, really, particular the great war where did it really all

start for you oh that's a very good question i mean you know being that as you say that age

growing up making model soldiers it was action men it was uh you know war comics and being

surrounded by people who fought in both world wars i mean even though he died before i was born my dad's dad he's grandfather he'd fought in both world wars. I mean, even though he died before I was

born, my dad's dad, my grandfather, he'd served in the First World War in Palestine and in France.

My mum's dad had been a pattern moulder and a foundry, so he'd had a reserved occupation.

My dad's mum had left school at 14 to work in a munitions factory. So all of these stories were sort of

bumbling around. You look back now and you think all the stories that, yeah, all the questions

I should have asked when I was really young. But yeah, you just, everybody around you just

had these stories, these little snippets, these. And it just, I suppose really just built that

interest. And at quite a young age, I started collecting uniforms and equipment. And that just, I suppose really just built that interest. And at quite a young age, I started collecting

uniforms and equipment. And that whilst it sort of came and went, you know, as an interest,

it would be, you know, I'd go through a phase of it and then I'd sort of get interested in something

else. But it never really went away. And then in the late 80s, I bumped into a bunch of fellas

who went on and eventually became the khaki chums, who were collectors. I mean, amongst them, they were experts on all sorts of aspects of British military history. And the chums, that was really all about a learning experience. You know, the chums weren't really, well, they weren't. They weren't a reenactment group or a living history group, it was a fairly selfish organization which where we would go to france belgium holland or whatever and

dressed in all the kit for you know units of either of the two world wars so that we could have an

understanding how you know how is it worn you know it it says in the manuals that this is how the

kit should be worn you look at the photographs and nobody wears it like that will you, it says in the manuals that this is how the kit should be worn.

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