Category:Compendium

Source material

The following out-of-copyright sources have been used in compiling this compendium:

• Chronology of the War
• Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases
• The War Book-of-Facts
• Odhams' A.B.C. of the Great War

Great War index

Previously known as the Great War Index, or simply the GWI, this listing a large collection of places, people, rivers, ships, battles, events, and supplementary information. GWI pages consist of basic timeline events in easy-to-digest bulleted lists, segmented by individual years. Some are relatively short with only one or two events per year, others are longer with multiple events over multiple years. This is combined with the events of The Great War On This Day, where both projects will eventually become one encompassing transcription from the copyright-expired, three volumed Chronology of the War (1918-1920), compiled by Lord Edward Gleichen KCVO, CB, CMG, DSO, whom served as the Director of the Intelligence Bureau between 1917–18.

The information presented in this contemporaneous publication with the War, was correct at the time of publication, although it should be noted that as with any information compiled from a broad selection of sources, there are bound to be issues with conflicting data. The notes state:

"The Chronology has been compiled with the greatest care from the most reliable authorities — English, French and German — and where these give different dates for the same event every effort has been made to arrive at the right one. At the same time, it cannot be denied that where equally good authorities (even official ones in some cases) differ, it is more than possible that some errors may have crept in. The Editors do not, however, wish to overburden the text by giving the various authorities for conflicting dates; they must therefore content themselves with appealing to their readers to assist them in discovering any errors, fixing the correct dates, and notifying them for correction in a subsequent issue."

Additionally, the reader should be made aware that the spelling of place-names is a particularly convoluted subject, with some names being spelt differently depending on the source. Within Chronology of the War, there are some place-name discrepancies between the table data and the index; subtle differences in spelling that were possibly oversights at the time. All names included within our index have been spelt as they were used in this publication. This has been done for consistency. Where place-names have changed since then, present-day names will may be included in the page introduction.

The naming authority used at the time was the 1:1,000,000 Map (Royal Geographical Society and General Staff). Spelling of the better-known places was done so in the ordinary English way.

For further information and a list of additional sources used to compile this index, see About the Great War 'on this day'.

Words, phrases and trench slang

A collection of words and phrases of the Armed Forces of Great Britain during the Great War. These include slang of the trenches and the Air Force, British and American service terms, expressions in everyday use, nicknames, sobriquets, the titles of British and Commonwealth Regiments and their origins, and warfare in general. These words and phrases are contemporary with the war, which is reflected in the language used, some of which may seem derogatory by today's standards.