My blog is full of disasters from beer floods in London to Grace Darling – A Victorian Heroine. burning building self-sacrifices to heroic against the odd tales of survival I Am The Army – The Incredible Story of William Brydon Many of them remain well known or at least just buried beneath the surface of public consciousness but… Continue reading The Hartley Colliery Disaster of 1862
Category: history
Posts predominantly history related.
Changing with the tide – how newspapers reported Napoleon’s march on Paris
I was doing a bit of research on some French related history and the following made me smile so I thought I would share it. I don’t often write on French history (except for WW1 or my trips to Paris) because there are people who are so much more knowledgeable than myself. However I thought… Continue reading Changing with the tide – how newspapers reported Napoleon’s march on Paris
HMT Bedfordshire – The Royal Navy ship sank defending the United States.
I’ve written several posts about American servicemen who died in Britain in WW2, most recently on the The Endcliffe Park Memorial in Sheffield & the incredible devotion of Tony Foulds. A few weeks ago I came across a fascinating sad little bit of history from WW2 regarding some British servicemen who died in American waters, securing… Continue reading HMT Bedfordshire – The Royal Navy ship sank defending the United States.
The Fig Tree Tomb of Watford
Last week whilst on a little diversion in my local town, I took the time to visit the beautiful and ancient St Marys Church. It is the oldest building in Watford and in truth following decades of wanton destruction by the local authorities, one of only a handful of interesting buildings in town. Whilst walking… Continue reading The Fig Tree Tomb of Watford
A grisly end for a brave Liddell at St. Botolph’s… Aldgate (Whitechapel).
Whilst doing some research on my new book I got distracted as is so easy to do when you’re into history. Whilst looking up a new garden in the old City of London I came across a dreadful tale with perhaps some family links. In 19th-century London graves were allocated to their occupants only until… Continue reading A grisly end for a brave Liddell at St. Botolph’s… Aldgate (Whitechapel).
Quotable Tennyson
Last week I posted on the birthday of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. It is little known but this Poet Laureate is actually the ninth most quoted literary figure. Whilst not in the same league as Shakespeare or perhaps as entertaining as Dr. Johnson, it is likely we all are familiar with at least some of… Continue reading Quotable Tennyson
Remembering Alfred, Lord Tennyson on bis birthday
This morning as I write this, or yesterday when this is posted, I was giving an all day tour to a family from New York and we went inside the incredible Westminster Abbey. As we were there 15 minutes before opening time, despite 60 or 70 people being ahead of us, there were hundreds behind… Continue reading Remembering Alfred, Lord Tennyson on bis birthday
Remembering a local disaster – The 75th anniversary of the Sandringham Road V1 attack, Watford.
To commemorate the 75th year anniversary of the 37 people killed in Sandringham Road by a German bomb during World War Two, Watford Borough Council is hosting a service of remembrance at North Watford Cemetery for those who died in worst loss of life in Watford during the Blitz. On Sunday 30 July 1944, a… Continue reading Remembering a local disaster – The 75th anniversary of the Sandringham Road V1 attack, Watford.
The West Brompton Time Machine in the heart of London
You can find most things in London but it might not be your first guess as to be the location of what is currently thought to be the most likely candidate for a Time-Machine in the world, if such a thing can really be. And I don’t mean the Tardis from Doctor Who which… Continue reading The West Brompton Time Machine in the heart of London
Brompton Cemetery – Part of The Magnificent Seven
I always love visiting Brompton Cemetery which doubles up as a Royal Park. There is so much to see with the architecture, gothic style tombs and just a vast array of wildlife in this huge open space in the middle of West London. If you want to do some wildlife photography then it offers some… Continue reading Brompton Cemetery – Part of The Magnificent Seven
Stephen Liddell 