19th Century
Holography, Part One
Introduction To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said, “I’ve a sceptre in hand, I’ve a crown on my head. Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be Come dine with the Red Queen, the [more…]
20th Century
20th Century
The Desert War – August 1940
We reach August 1940, eighty years ago. Things still looking bleak for the Brits and it doesn’t really improve this month and we moan about the lockdown, albeit with some justification. The Italians had been [more…]
20th Century
The Spitfire, of course, Part 4
Musings on the development of the Miles M20 prototype Firstly, a reminder of where we started back in part one, I suggested in the first article in this series that the Spitfire was not an [more…]
20th Century
An early airman’s tragic adventure
Early 1930: It had been a depressing English winter – cold, dark and wet for weeks on end. In West Wickham, a young man who had left Australia five years earlier and settled here in [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – July 1940
Now we reach the 80th anniversary of July 1940 in the Desert War. Slim pickings in Libya and Egypt this month, both sides were gearing up for battle but the Navies were kept on their [more…]
20th Century
From Guinea Pigs to CCAST
Part 1 – Joint Doctrine for Medical Support, The Operational Context “If any good can be said to come of war, then the Second War War must go on record as assisting and accelerating one [more…]
20th Century
The Spitfire, of course, Part 3
A look at the Miles M20, the “Emergency Fighter” Design and build us a cheap fighter, knock it up out of wood, shove in this night fighter engine, loads of fuel, plenty of ammo and [more…]
20th Century
Roosevelt’s Disastrous New Deal
Britain’s Keynesian press & public service broadcasters view President Roosevelt’s New Deal as something to ‘put on a pedestal’ (Guardian June27). Sadly the New Deal has gone into main stream academic & political economic archives [more…]
19th Century
Morse Code
Just a few of the umpteen songs I could have chosen! Apparently I’m a bit of a numpty for not making the link between “The Longest Day” and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony! So, with June being [more…]