20th Century
Nostalgia Album, Part Eight
After last week’s Nostalgia Album sadness at hearing great aunt Ernestine lost her husband in the First War, her son in the Second War and spent much of her life in the Lancaster County Mental [more…]
WW II
20th Century
Nostalgia Album, Part Five
Within weeks of the start of the Second World War, a residence survey was taken across the country with the information it provided used to issue identity cards and distribute ration books. On it, we [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – February 1942
January had finished with the Allies on the back foot in Libya, the Axis was advancing. It was all going pear shaped again. Although Tobruk had been relieved, the Axis armour hadn’t been destroyed, merely [more…]
19th Century
Nostalgia Album, Part Four
With there being only 11 years between them both my grandfather, Elihu, and his nephew, John Jr, joined up for the Second War. Last time we looked at my grandfather’s service in the RAOC and [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – March 1942
We reach March 1942 and again, there is not much happening on the ground. It all seems to have ground to a halt and once more Churchill is not amused. The Royal Navy is still [more…]
Arts
Fish & Ships
I’d like to begin by introducing you to a rather special lady. She was born in February 1957, the first of twelve sisters. A real local lass, she lived and worked from the Humber all [more…]
20th Century
Book Review: The Ratline
I don’t read non-fiction books that often, however I’m glad I picked The Ratline up when I was idly browsing suitable reading material for a holiday last year (the holiday got cancelled). For, those (like [more…]
20th Century
A Very British Message to Garcia
Previously, my colleague Fred Brownbill wrote of US Navy SEAL Marine Commander Brian Bourgeois, commanding officer of SEAL Team 8, who was killed in the first week of December 2021 while fast-roping from a helicopter [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – January 1942
The start of 1942 saw the British starting off on the front foot but ending the month retreating eastwards as the Germans and Italians advanced and as usual there was lots of action on the [more…]