Tag: France

Noor Inayat Khan – Born an Indian Princess, Lived a French writer, Died a British Spy

Every now and then I like to post on great but often overlooked female figures in history. Over the 9 years I have been blogging just some of the notable women I have written about include Khutulun – The Mongolian Wrestling Princess Empress Matilda Edith Cavell – Patriotism Is Not Enough Mary Seacole – The Greatest Black Briton… Continue reading Noor Inayat Khan – Born an Indian Princess, Lived a French writer, Died a British Spy

I wonder what he meant by that!

Everyone likes a good quote don’t they.  I particularly adore historical quotes and admire anyone who as was said of Churchill, mobilised the English language and sent it into battle. I was always quite a fan of Donald Rumsfelds infamous quote about known unknowns.  At the time he was widely lambasted for it but it… Continue reading I wonder what he meant by that!

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

My final Map Medlee!

This is the final posting in my recent collection of motley maps, at least for now.     France is a pretty big country by any going, the only European nation that wouldn’t necessarily be dwarfed by countries on other countinents.   However, incredibly it is the almost the exact same size as Olympus Mons… Continue reading My final Map Medlee!

The Battle of Verdun 100 years on.

France and its military have something of poor reputation amongst many.  Centuries of rivalry with Britain where it increasingly came off second best, its requirement to be rescued in WW1 and quick capitulation in WW2 coupled with  decisions to stay out of recent major wars mean that we all forget that there were many events… Continue reading The Battle of Verdun 100 years on.

The Lochnagar Crater and a relic of war

At the end of September I visited some of the WW1 battlefields in northern France and Belgium and thought in the lead up to Armistice Day on 11th November I would dedicate some of my posts to what I saw. One of the places that we visited was the Lochnagar Crater in The Somme.  This… Continue reading The Lochnagar Crater and a relic of war

My tour around the D-Day beaches

I was lucky enough to visit Normandy a little over 2 years ago and spent a great deal of the time visiting the WW2 related areas.  I thought people might be a little interested in some of the photos which I took. One of the most interesting places we visited was the Azzaville battery.  It… Continue reading My tour around the D-Day beaches

D-Day Commemorations in Pictures

Most of the D-Day veterans are sadly no longer with us but this past weekend has seen commemorations with some of the few more survivors.  All photos from BBC, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Getty Images, AP. A number of events were also held in Portsmouth which was the Headquarters for D-Day planning including a Drumhead… Continue reading D-Day Commemorations in Pictures

70th Anniversary of D-Day

This time 70 years ago on 6th June 1944, the world held its breath as the largest amphibious military operation even seen was under way.  Operation Overlord was the long-awaited Allied invasion of Nazi held Europe that would lead to the liberation of mainland Europe and 70 years of freedom and democracy. D-Day was never… Continue reading 70th Anniversary of D-Day