20th Century
The Desert War – April 1942
April 1942, another month where nothing much seemed to be happening in the desert, the same can’t be said of the sea and air campaigns. On the first of the month Churchill spoke with FDR [more…]
Royal Navy
20th Century
Nostalgia Album, Part Nine
At the end of the Second World War, on my father’s side of the family, the generations had passed with both grandparents dying in their sleep at ripe old ages. By VJ Day the cast [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…]
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…]
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…]
20th Century
The Desert War – December 1941
The last month of the year 80 years ago. Still living in infamy the Americans finally got off the pot having spent much of 1941 making preparations for war. The action this month is in [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – November 1941
We reach November 80 years ago. In the 16 or so months since the start of the campaign in June 1940 we have seen us nibble at the Italians in Libya, the Italians attack us [more…]
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…]