History
Who was Will Brereton?
Chances are, if you asked this question (always providing the person had heard of him at all) the answer would be something about a dashing young courtier who was beheaded for having an affair with [more…]
History
Engineering
Invisible Writing
Herbert O Yardley was a a code clerk in the US State Department who took an interest in codes and ciphers. He taught himself as much as he could and he proposed a cryptographic bureau. [more…]
History
Everyone should have a Hero
“Whilst his Brother Harry remained in the Trenches with his South Wales Borders, George Pike had transferred out of the Army & entered the Senior Service. Far from the heat & dust of the Middle [more…]
Arts
A Divided Nation
There seems to be a lack of historical perspective concerning the division of opinion in the country today. The great & the good argue, no doubt for their own benefit, it is unprecedented. The Archbishop [more…]
Engineering
The Gestation Period of the Me 262
The world’s first operational jet powered fighter was the Me 262 , the fighter version was known as the Swallow (Schwalbe) and the fighter-bomber was the Storm Bird (Sturmvogel). We are once again indebted to [more…]
20th Century
Medicine – Part Nine
A great deal of medical progress in the 20th Century, you will be unsurprised to hear, was driven by warfare. In 1900 Karl Landsteiner classified blood in to three groups, O, A and B. Alfred von [more…]
History
The Dieppe Raid 1942 Part Five
The objectives of the air component over Dieppe were relatively straightforward; to throw a protective air umbrella over the amphibious force and to force the Luftwaffe into battle on the RAF’s terms. The RAF fielded [more…]
History
Everyone should have a Hero
My Great Uncle George Pike took the Kings Shilling in 1914, joining the Gloucestershire Yeomanry as a Trooper in 1914, in the initial surge of jingoistic patriotism that convinced many that having dusted off the [more…]
History
Doomed Expedition to the South Pole, 1912
I have always been captivated and fascinated by the Scott Story, The Man, the expedition, and the tragic outcome. We all know the story, but here it is again very briefly. Scott’s Team set out [more…]