Mat McLachlan's Living History

07/08/2025

03/03/2025

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! Join Lambis Englezos, the man who discovered the mass grave of Australians at Fromelles, on a tour to the Western Front in July this year! This is a very special group tour, and will commemorate the anniversaries of the Battles of Fromelles and Pozieres on the ground where the Anzacs fought and died. Spaces are extremely limited, so book fast if you wish to join us! Find out more here: https://battlefields.com.au/fromelles-pozieres-anniversary-tour-2025/

10/02/2025

New podcast!: Join me and historian John McManus as we discuss the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, on the latest episode of Living History. Listen for free here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1c5aSeyWYxF4KMPFmP1Amb?si=Y17ybBi7ToKcTdxiAiTnUg

23/01/2025

NEW VIDEO! Join me as I explore the war memorials of Hyde Park Corner in London, telling the stories of their history, design and significance to remembrance. Watch for free by clicking here: https://youtu.be/B5sOtcvHdAQ

23/01/2025

A new episode of my Living History podcast is now live, telling the story of the gruelling Somme winter of 1916/17. It was probably the harshest ordeal faced by Australian troops during the war, and one that those who survived it never forgot. Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/19kJmMWSc2sYacYk1CIXMC?si=52m1RZxmTVme-Kal6LeKyg

02/12/2024

From our historian Pete Smith in the Somme: The road and a garden in the centre of Beaulencourt appear to have fallen into what was almost certainly a large German dugout.
It’s going to be a big engineering job as the subsidence is quite extensive beyond the hole.

11/11/2024

Former private Richard Norden has received the Victoria Cross for gallantry in Vietnam in 1968. Pte Norden had originally received the Distinguished Conduct Medal, but it was upgraded to the VC this week. Richard Norden died in a motorcycle crash in 1972 while serving with the ACT police.

05/11/2024

Planning a trip to Europe? Join one of our Explorer Tours and spend four days visiting the Australian battlefields in France and Belgium. The only Australian tour that begins and ends in Paris! Departs weekly. https://battlefields.com.au/western-front-tours-2025/

12/10/2024

04/10/2024

Controversial history: the 1815 Museum at Waterloo displays the skeleton of a soldier who died during the battle, complete with the musket ball that killed him. What do you think?

25/09/2024

My first visit to Waterloo, and what a place! I thoroughly recommend it!

22/09/2024

The remains of a Mills gr***de that was likely thrown by an Australian into a German dugout in 1916. Found today on the old German front line at Pozieres.