Talk:First shot memorial

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Theleekycauldron (talk) 07:08, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

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• Comment or view
• Article history

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• ... that 117 years ago today Drummer Edward Thomas fired the first shot by British forces in Europe since the Battle of Waterloo in 1815? "the first shot was fired here by a member of the British Army on the Continent of Europe since the final shot, in 1815, on the battlefield of Waterloo" from: Cooksey, Jon; Murland, Jerry (30 April 2014). The Retreat from Mons 1914: North: Casteau to Le Cateau. Pen and Sword. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4738-3500-9.
  • ALT1:... that the memorial commemorating the first action by British forces on the Western Front of the First World War, on 22 August 1914, stands opposite one marking the furthest advance by a Canadian unit at the 1918 armistice? "directly across the road is a plaque to the 116th Canadian Infantry Battalion, which marks the furthest advance of the Allies on Armistice Day" from McGreevy, Ronan (2016). Wherever the Firing Line Extends: Ireland and the Western Front. Dublin, Ireland: History Press Ireland. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-84588-873-2.

• Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/John M. Franklin
• Comment: Date request for 22 August please

Moved to mainspace by Dumelow (talk). Self-nominated at 08:43, 2 August 2021 (UTC).

• General eligibility:

• New enough:
• Long enough:
• Other problems:

Policy compliance:

• Adequate sourcing:
• Neutral:
• Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:
• Other problems:

Hook eligibility:

• Cited:
• Interesting:
• Other problems:

Image: Image is freely licensed, used in the article, and clear at 100px.
Freely licensed: Used in article: Clear at 100px:

QPQ: Done.

Overall: @Dumelow: Recently moved to mainspace, no apparent sourcing issues, an extremely interesting first hook (who doesn't love firing the first shot), and no obvious problems preventing this from becoming a DYK. Jon698 (talk) 17:38, 2 August 2021 (UTC)

To T:DYK/P7

Dubious claim in the article

Per discussion at WP:ERRORS and WT:DYK, also adding here - I have marked the line "It was the first shot by a British Army soldier in anger since the 1815 Waterloo campaign" as dubious, on the grounds that British forces took part in battle on European soil in the Crimean War. Also, I think the source says "continental Europe", which is a detail the article omits. This line probably therefore needs amending, and I've pulled the DYK hook which said the same thing. (Also, as an aside, I think the term "in anger" could be replaced per WP:Encyclopedic tone, but that's a more minor point!)  — Amakuru (talk) 17:37, 22 August 2021 (UTC)

The Edward Thomas (British Army soldier) is even more in error, stating "that Thomas is reported to have fired the first British shot of the First World War". The first shot fired by British forces was at sea by the destroyer Lance (the gun is preserved) on 5 August, seventeen days prior to Edwards. There had also been confrontations between British forces and German forces in colonial African possessions in the weeks prior to the Thomas engagement.Spokoyni (talk) 18:56, 22 August 2021 (UTC)