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…]
History
History
The Brown Bull Hotel
In the eighties I worked as a Home Office representative in Immigration Tribunal Appeals in London. We were a team of ordinary civil servants and were pitted against solicitors, barristers, silks, practitioners with an agenda. [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…]
Arts
The Northern Ireland Housing Trust & Rathcoole estate (1945-1971)
Between the wars, a big public housing build in other parts of the United Kingdom was not replicated in Northern Ireland. Nor had there been grants for slum clearance. What public housing there was, had [more…]
Engineering
Le Château de Guédelon
Introduction I suppose it is only natural when confronted by an ancient architectural marvel such as a Roman aqueduct or a mediæval cathedral to stare in wonder and to ask oneself, ‘How on earth did [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…]