Friday July 1st 2016 marks the centerniary of the commencement of The Battle Of The Somme. It is fair to say that July 1st 1916 might possibly the most horrific day in British history and most likely in the top two or three anywhere given the dreadful events of the day. The Battle of The… Continue reading The Battle of The Somme 100 Years On
Tag: WW1
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace – Benedictus
Do you ever have a situation where you hear a piece of music and don’t know what it is? Perhaps you hear a new song on the radio that you like the sound of but miss the introduction at the beginning or annoyingly the presenter doesn’t credit it at the end. It’s hard enough when… Continue reading The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace – Benedictus
The Battle of Jutland
Today marks the centenary anniversary of the single most important naval battle of WW1 and as I have been doing for the last few years, I thought I would write a dedicated post taken from extracts of my WW1 history book, Lest We Forget, published by Endeavour Press of London. For centuries, the Royal Navy… Continue reading The Battle of Jutland
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.
Shot at dawn – Remembering those who bravely died as cowards
November 11th is Armistice Day and I thought I would write about an aspect of WW1 which is often forgotten, the sad stories of those who were shot by their own side. Over 300 Commonwealth soldiers were shot at dawn, a euphamism for being executed by their own side with 291 of them being British, 25… Continue reading Shot at dawn – Remembering those who bravely died as cowards
The tragic story of Sidney Ashcroft & the Guernsey Eight
As we approach Armistice Day, I thought I would write on another history related item, this time from WW2. Not many people know that part of the British Isles was conquered and occupied by Nazi Germany. The Channel Islands, in the English Channel lie around 90 miles south of the British mainland and the small… Continue reading The tragic story of Sidney Ashcroft & the Guernsey Eight
The incredible true tale of Job Maseko – The man who sunk a ship whilst a prisoner.
As today is Remembrance Sunday, I thought I would share a short account of someone who is rarely spoken of outside his homeland but whom I have been a fan of for many years. For most people when they are taken prisoner, their war is pretty much at the end, which is often a good… Continue reading The incredible true tale of Job Maseko – The man who sunk a ship whilst a prisoner.
Edith Cavell – Patriotism Is Not Enough
Many of us are familiar with the phrase “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”, a quote that remains as true today as it was when it was first coined and is still evident by many politicians in particular around the world. Not so many people though are familiar with the equally if not… Continue reading Edith Cavell – Patriotism Is Not Enough
The Greatest Emergency Landings In History
This week many of us have been amazed and horrified in equal measure by the sight of a British Airways Boeing 777 which made an aborted take-off following a catasphrophic engine failure. Thanks to the incredible reactions of the flight crew and most especially Captain Chris Henkey who after 42 years of piloting was performing… Continue reading The Greatest Emergency Landings In History
Gallipoli and ANZAC Day – One of the biggest disasters in history
The Gallipoli campaign in the Dardanelles region of modern day Turkey was a landmark battle of World War One. It is counted as perhaps the greatest Ottoman Turkish victory in the war and set about creating a Turkish nationalism that went on to create a modern country out of the ashes of defeat at the… Continue reading Gallipoli and ANZAC Day – One of the biggest disasters in history
Stephen Liddell 