April sees commemorations across the globe of the initial landings in a campaign centred on the Dardanelles Strait and the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. For Turkey, Australia and New Zealand this campaign has a very strong connection with their national …
100 years ago today saw the first German airship raids on Britain when two Zeppelins attacked the coastal towns of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn, Norfolk. In this post, Professor Edgar Jones discusses the effects of air raids over the …
The early years of the First World War brought a large number of casualties to the army of Great Britain and despite the number of volunteers the government was soon in dire need of more troops. On the 2nd March 1916 …
Britain’s involvement in the Second World War began at 11am on 3 September 1939. The declaration came after eleven days of mounting international tension and was just one part of a flurry of governmental activity. Over three million people had …
The centenary year of the outbreak of the First World War has encouraged a variety of reflections. To previous generations, the role played by their prime ministers would have been amongst the first items worthy of comment. In a …
Muirhead Bone was born on the 23rd March 1876 in the suburb of Partick in Glasgow. Born into rather an impoverished family, any talent Bone and his siblings showed was encouraged. Each birthday Bone received artist’s materials and every week …
The instruction to ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ has become one of the most recognisable slogans in British history. The phrase has reinforced a popular view of life in the Second World War and has been reproduced on everything from …
Communities across the United Kingdom are marking the First World War centenary through numerous projects thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Members of the public have been encouraged to come forward with stories which have not previously …
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 …
Soon after taking office a new Prime Minister receives special briefings from the Cabinet Secretary. One is on the ‘letters of last resort’, which give instructions to the commander of the British submarine on patrol with the nuclear deterrent, in the …