Sunday 28 June 1914 was warm and sunny, and most Londoners were enjoying a day of rest. One exception was the resident clerk at the Foreign Office who was on duty to deal with any unexpected crisis that might occur. …
"In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies" - Churchill to Stalin at the Teheran Conference, November 1943
In March 1947, an Alsatian patrol dog with the 13th Parachute Battalion received the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Dickin Medal for service in the Second World War. In addition to patrol duties, Bing, or Brian as he …
Far from its traditional image as the publisher of leisure maps for ramblers and cyclists exploring idyllic countryside, where the only disturbance is the rustle of a cagoule or the whirr of a freewheel, the Ordnance Survey’s origins are associated …
The British Civil Wars has always interested me and International Women's Day prompted me to focus my blog post on a crucial, controversial, yet often overlooked, figure in British history, Henrietta Maria. I came across little, other than biographical histories, …
How the West was won 65 years ago today the North Atlantic Treaty was signed in the State Department auditorium in Washington. An organisation was born—NATO—that remains a cornerstone of Western defence up to the present day. In 1949 there …
Everyone likes the opportunity to travel in their job; especially if you are asked to go overseas, and sometimes you may choose to take your work home with you. This is a long established practice for many occupations. But the …
Clement Attlee bore little resemblance to the contemporary politician. He had no time for the things that are now the stock-in-trade of all serious aspirants for high office: image and public relations. Attlee was so apparently unconcerned with presentation that …
Speaking personally, I love it when BBC Parliament re-shows general election television coverage in order to mark general election anniversaries, and I know I'm not alone with my enthusiasm. You see the story of the election unfold, 'in real time' …
Sir Jeremy Heywood was appointed Cabinet Secretary following the announcement of Sir Gus O’Donnell’s retirement in December 2011. Sir Jeremy Heywood was Permanent Secretary to two successive Prime Ministers at 10 Downing Street. He also spent over three years as …