I am going on a trip to the First World War battlefields of Greece and Macedonia in September.

My great-great-grandfather, Henry Albert Obadiah Loader fought in the First World War and served in the Salonika Campaign.

Unfortunately, he died of his wounds sustained at the Battle of Roche Noire Salient in September 1918 and is buried at Lembet Road Cemetery in modern-day Thessaloniki.

Henry was originally from Egham, Surrey, but moved to Andover around 1912 with his wife and three children and lived on East Street. They later had a daughter in 1915, who was born in Andover.

He joined the 10th Hampshire Regiment after conscription was introduced, and he was based with the British Salonika Force from 1916–1918. Henry is on the Andover Cenotaph as Albert Loader. Some of his descendants still live in Andover to this day, including my sisters, aunts, and cousins.

The story of the Salonika Campaign has been largely forgotten and did not gain any recognition in the centenary commemorations between 2014-2018.

When it comes to the First World War, the general public is only aware of the Western Front, with the possible exception of Gallipoli. I want to try to help correct that where I can by writing a book after my trip on the Salonika Campaign. 

Only a cousin of my granddad has visited Henry's grave in Greece, but they didn't do a battlefield tour. The only organisation that offers a trip to this extraordinary place to explore the battlefields is the Salonika Campaign Society.

The yearly tour they do is led by historian Alan Wakefield, who is head of the First World War Department at the Imperial War Museum and is the leading authority on the subject, but he's looking for a successor to continue the fight. Around 20 people go on these trips every year, and this year, there are people coming from all over the world, including the US, Canada, and Australia.

On the trip, we will be visiting some remote locations where no one goes in rural Greece and Macedonia. These include CWGC cemeteries that hold thousands of Allied soldiers' graves. They also attend a remembrance service because the conflict in Greece ended in September 1918, and representatives from France, Serbia, Greece, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Russia (until recently) all attend. The war in Salonika was between the Allies, which included those countries I named taking on the Bulgarians, who were backed by Germany.

In the British Salonika Force, there were a lot of men from Hampshire, including some from Andover, who were also killed and are on the cenotaph. 

I would like to appeal for records of the veterans association of the Salonika campaign, which was known as the Salonika Reunion Association.

The association ran between 1927-1969, and there were lots of branches all over the UK in most towns and counties. The trouble is that the records have gone missing. The only ones that are archived and known are in Suffolk for that individual branch. I would like to do an appeal to see if anybody knows of the Hampshire or even Andover branch, even though I know it's a longshot.

Email christopherloader2304@gmail.com

Chris Loader 

Adams Mews,

Liphook

Hampshire

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