This is one of the most important, but least known historical and archaeological sites in Britain. Gunpowder has played a huge role in modernisation; without it we would not have city states, mining, wars, hunting, and spectacular fireworks. This is from historian Brenda Buchannan: Gunpowder and the explosives and propellants which followed it provided a … Continue reading
Hutton is one of the great unsung heroes who helped save lives of servicemen in world War II and since. He was a pilot in WW1 so was well aware of the dangers of being shot down over enemy territory. He wrote a book called Per Ardua Libertas. Apparently his interest in escapology began when … Continue reading
This is from the i paper : Jane Fawcett was still in her teens when she received a letter from a friend in February 1940 … “I’m at Bletchley and it’s perfectly frightful,” her friend wrote. “We’re so overworked, so desperately busy. You must come and join us.” Fluent in German and driven by curiosity, … Continue reading
This is really spooky – the shadow of a person made by the atomic bomb at Hiroshima. It’s al that is left of a once living breathing human being. http://www.openculture.com/2016/03/the-shadow-of-a-hiroshima-victim-etched-into-stone-steps-is-all-that-remains-after-1945-atomic-blast.html It reminds me of a documentary on land artist Andy Goldsworthy. He was walking down a street when it began to drizzle. Without warning he … Continue reading
A lot of Commonwealth citizens are known to have fought for Britain in various world wars, especially the two Wold Wars, but here’s another way they helped. This comes from the present edition of Current Archaeology, about a Spitfire that crashed over Huntingdonshire in 1940, during the Battle of Britain. The plane had the unusual name … Continue reading
This is from the i newspaper a few weeks ago. “It was the height of the Blitz, and after nearly a year of holding out aginst Nazi Germany’s advance Britain needed all the help it could get fom America. What better way, therefore, to pursuade Washington of London’s geopolitical ardour than to gift it an … Continue reading
texthistory 