20th Century
The Desert War – October 1941
We reach October 80 years ago and it is still fairly quiet on the ground in North Africa but the Royal Navy is still busy. The big news this month is that there is a [more…]
WW II
20th Century
Mystery Album, Part Seven
In part four of Mystery Album, I speculated that the above photograph (taken by our mystery family aboard the wherry Palace) was of a Norfolk Broads maltings. Judging by the order of the photos, it [more…]
20th Century
Mystery Album, Part Six
Last week we took an interest in the Merriment, a Norfolk Broads tourist wherry. The year was 1919, the month August. Its passengers were the young grandparents of a Mr Rob Bruce into whose possession [more…]
20th Century
Book Review: “We Defended Normandy” by Lt Gen Hans Speidel, 1951
Could War In Europe Have Ended in 1944? Was Montgomery right ? Americans said “No”, now Speidel says “Yes” “We Defended Normandy” by Lt-Gen Hans Speidel (Herbert Jenkins, 12. 6d.), 1951 Book review by [more…]
20th Century
The Road Back to Normandy, Part Three
In May 1954 my uncle John Alldridge returned to Normandy. This is his third and final report for the Manchester Evening News. The lines at the end are inspired, I think, by the St. Crispin’s Day speech [more…]
20th Century
The Road Back to Normandy, Part Two
In May 1954 my uncle John Alldridge returned to Normandy. This is his second report for the Manchester Evening News. From Arromanches to Bayeux is only about seven miles. By car you can be there and [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – September 1941
Into September 80 years ago and only one piece of news from the lingering battle for East Africa where the Italian garrison at Wolchefitt Pass in Abyssinia surrendered to the King’s African Rifles. Meanwhile back [more…]
History
The Road Back to Normandy
In May 1954 my uncle John Alldridge returned to Normandy. This is his report for the Manchester Evening News. The lines at the end are by A E Housman They are building a new motor [more…]
20th Century
Behind the Lines
Recently, there have been several articles on the major engagements in World War II, and it occurred to me that some Puffins might be interested in learning about the behind the scenes support of our [more…]