Authoritarianism
Letter from Tommy
Tommy has had a lot of time to reflect on recent events and the massive rally organised by his friends on the 9th. Before being moved from Hull prison he wrote a letter to thank [more…]
War
Literature
War Crimes Part Twenty-Eight – Edge, Destruction of a Witness
Day Three It was a blustery day and driving rain rattled the windows of the Sennelager Courts Martial Centre. The weather seemed to match Edge’s mood perfectly, anxiety twisting like a nest of vipers in [more…]
Communism
The Berlin Airlift, Soviet Response – Part Three
With the Airlift gathering pace it became apparent that despite the pessimism and misgivings, the Western Powers had shown the political will and the military logistic prowess, to supply one of the largest cities in [more…]
Literature
War Crimes Part Twenty-Seven – Edge, Crime and Punishment
Edge was mooching around the military port at Akrotiri, waiting for the Malcom Club wagon to pitch up for some tea and a bun. He had been helping the RLC guys chisel the rust off [more…]
Communism
The Berlin Airlift Begins – Part Two
Avro York Aircraft lined up in West Germany, Destination Berlin While the road and rail routes into Berlin from the West had never been negotiated, the air routes had specified in writing, that there would [more…]
Literature
War Crimes Part Twenty-Six – Edge, This Sporting Life
The regiment moved from Northern Ireland to Cyprus in 1991 and in the September, an extremely promising fly-half, Lance-Corporal Edge was selected to play for the 3rd Infantry Brigades rugby tour of Germany. The team, [more…]
America
The Berlin Airlift 1948 – 1949, Part One
This is dedicated to a man, the son of a Yorkshire miner, who served his country in Iraq 1936 – 1941, Egypt 1941 – 1943, Canada 1944, Air Bomber Lancaster No 153 Squadron 1944 – [more…]
Literature
War Crimes Part Twenty-five – Edge, First Contact
Lisanelly Barracks in Omagh, County Tyrone was a scattering of old War Department buildings and more modern, but just as dilapidated buildings from the 1960s and 70s. Surrounded by a double security fence and guard [more…]
History
Operation Archery 1941
The Combined Operations Raid on Vaagso and Maaloy, 27th December 1941 During the Second World War Norway had been considered a zone of destiny by both Churchill and Hitler. Its strategic importance lay in the [more…]
Literature
War Crimes Part Twenty-four – Edge, Template for a Life
This is fiction. You know the drill… Billy caught up with Mark in the locker area, opposite the ground floor Lavs. Billy was a slightly plump kid so it was no surprise that he was [more…]
History
Meet Captain Bear – O καπετάν Αρκούδας
Nothing reminds me more of attempting to give a coherent account of even the recent the history of the Balkans than the Monty Python gameshow “Summarise the Works of Proust in 15 seconds” (Prrrowst). It’s [more…]
Literature
War Crimes Part Twenty-Three – The Burning Man
This is fiction. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is coincidental. The events outlined have never to my knowledge occurred. Some of the locations are real. Daz received news from Moira’s father that [more…]
Literature
War Crimes Part Twenty two – Rage
This is fiction. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is coincidental. The events outlined have never to my knowledge occurred. Some of the locations are real. As a warning, there is a brief [more…]
Literature
War Crimes Part Twenty One – The Detective
This is fiction. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is coincidental. The events outlined in this piece of fiction have never to my knowledge occurred. Some of the locations are real. However cases [more…]
History
Secret Agent Selection SOE Training, Ep 1
I approach this review of a TV programme with a little trepidation as there will be GPers more qualified than me to critique it and provide historical context. I’d better read the forthcoming comments! I [more…]
Politics
The Perfidy of Western “Intelligence” Agencies: The A.Q. Khan Case
Preface This article was first published in print nearly ten years ago now, (and under a different name) towards the end of 2008. At the time, Iraq and Afghanistan had clearly become quagmires and there [more…]
Literature
War Crimes Part Twenty – The Detective
This is fiction. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is coincidental. The events outlined have never to my knowledge occurred. Some of the locations are real. Detective Inspector Hope couldn’t park at Banbury [more…]
America
Spheres of Influence
The great irony of 2018 is the world is a more dangerous place than it was before the collapse of the Soviet Union. How can this be so? The amazing paradox is when the West [more…]