Archive for the ‘History’ Category
The importance of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest
June 7th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I like to attend short courses at further education colleagues in order to continue learning, keep the mind active, and postpone dementia. This weekend, I was at the City Lit college in London to do a one-day course entitled “Making Sense Of The Battle Of Hastings And Its Aftermath”. Our lecturer was the redoubtable Michael […]
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Who was the greatest pilot of all time? I nominate Chuck Yeager.
June 2nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Three of my lifelong interests are aviation, space and cinema. The three topics are brought together in the 1983 film “The Right Stuff”which I recently viewed yet again [see my review here]. This brilliant movie is the story of the first seven American astronauts who were the Mercury team fronting NASA’s efforts to compete with […]
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When did the Second World War end in Europe?
May 27th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
At one level, the answer to this question is obvious. VE Day was 8 May 1945 and we have recently marked the 70th anniversary of this event. At another level, the answer is more complicated. The deaths and destitution went on for much longer. Many Holocaust camp victims contined to die after liberation – they […]
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In the next few weeks, you’ll be hearing a lot about the Duke of Wellington and the Battle of Waterloo
May 24th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The reason, of course, is because we are about to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the battle – one of the most important in European history – which took place on 18 June 1815 when Napoleon was finally defeated. Interestingly the Prussian leader Blücher wanted to call the battle La Belle Alliance after the farmhouse […]
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Why the Battle of Waterloo is wrongly named
May 18th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
In about a month’s time, on 18 June 2015, we shall be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo when the Duke of of Wellington, leading a mixed force of British, Prussian and other nationalities, defeated the French army of Napoleon. I am currently reading a biography of Wellington written by Richard Holmes […]
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Remembering Syria’s suffering people and threatened heritage
May 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
In the spring of 2011, Vee and I had a holiday in Syria and Lebanon [for account of our visit, see here]. We crossed the border from one country to the other on 9 March 2011. Mass protests erupted on 15 March in Damascus and Aleppo, and spread in the following days to more cities, […]
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The 70th anniversary of victory in Europe
May 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This week marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe as the Allies finally smashed the Nazi war machine. All around Europe, there have been various commemorative ceremonies. Today Vee and I attended a small but special ceremony at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey where Czechoslovak airmen, killed during the […]
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Word of the day: hemoclysm
March 25th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The word means a violent and bloody conflict, a bloodbath; specifically (chiefly with capital initial), the period of the mid-twentieth century encompassing both world wars. It was coined in 1998 by Matthew White in his book ‘30 Worst Atrocities of the 20th Century’ when he wrote: ‘It’s very possible, therefore, that future historians will consider […]
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The Great Wall of China: fact and fiction
March 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Only this week did we finally get round to watching a Channel Four television programme recorded three months ago concerning the Great Wall of China. It turns out that there was not one wall but 16 walls originally built some 2,200 years ago. The total length of these walls adds up to 21,000 kms which […]
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How much of China was occupied by Japan in World War Two?
February 4th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I’ve now attended four lectures on my City Lit course on Chinese history. The fourth lecture – which will be my last of the six because I’m off to Ethiopia – covered events during the Second World War. I knew that Japan occupied Manchuria before the war but I did not realise how large that […]
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