Archive for the ‘History’ Category
The remarkable story of the Czech wartime politician Ladislav Feierabend
June 9th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Vee and I enjoy having friends of different ages and backgrounds. Everyone has a story but some have very special stories to tell. We recently had lunch with a dear Czech friend of 84 whom we have know for around 30 years. Hana Ludikar is the widow of Marcel Ludikar (1920–2003) who flew with the […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
The 70th anniversary of D-Day: remembering how it happened and the price that was paid
June 6th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
The D-Day landings at Normandy on 6 June 1944 was the largest maritime invasion in world history. It was a success but at a heavy cost in lives. The “Mirror” newspaper has a summary of the timeline of the invasion and a map showing the locations of the attack and the death toll at each […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
The assassination of American presidents
May 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
This Bank Holiday weekend, as well as viewing the movie “X-Men: The Days Of Future Past” [my review here] – which suggested that President Kennedy was shot because he was a mutant (!) – I attended a one-day course at London’s City Lit on the assassination of American presidents. It was led by Dr Dale […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
How in 1945 the American Brigadier General Bonner Fellers was instrumental in saving the Japanese Emperor Hirohito from execution as a war criminal
May 19th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
We all know that, after its defeat in World War Two, the Japanese were allowed to retain their emperor, although merely in a ceremonial role and without his previous god-like status. But who made the decision and why? Although the decision was made by General Douglas MacArthur on pragmatic grounds, a key role was played […]
Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)
Intergenerational tale (2): what I would like to be doing if I reach 100
May 14th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I love life, so I’d like to think that I might one day live to be 100. I love stories and really enjoy telling them or reading them to youngsters. I love children and like the idea of different generations coming together to enthuse each other. So I was fascinated to read of the experience […]
Posted in History, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Remembering those who fought for freedom in World War Two
May 11th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
This afternoon, my wife Vee and I were at Brookwood Military Cemetery, south west of London, for a ceremony to mark the 69th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. It was my first visit, but Vee has been once before. Brookwood is the largest military cemetery in the UK with […]
Posted in History, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Which was the largest empire in world history?
May 7th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Recently I watched a television programme about Genghis Khan and this raised in my mind just how large was the Mongol Empire whose creation he started? I had assumed that the largest empire in history was the British Empire and, on checking out the relevant Wikipedia page, i find that I am not wrong. In […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
The road to democracy in Britain has been long and troubled – and the Great Reform Bill of 1832 was one of the greatest battles
April 27th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Many in Britain take our democracy for granted, not appreciating how hard to was to win and how long the battles took. It is no wonder that countries like Afghanistan and Iraq find that creating a democracy from scratch is exceptionally difficult. I have just finished an immensely readable account of the extended political campaigning […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
The cause of liberty has had many heroes – but you’ve probably never heard of Algernon Sidney
April 24th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I’ve been watching the four-part television series “New Worlds” on Channel Four. It has now concluded but it will soon be available on DVD – see here. It is set in Britain and America at the time of the restoration of the British monarchy with King Charles II on the throne. As always with historical […]
Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)
“War. What is it good for?”
April 12th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
These were the opening words of a song from Edwin Starr in 1969. It is now the title of a new book by Professor Ian Morris. This week, I went to a meeting at the House of Commons, organised by the Henry Jackson Society and chaired by the Conservative MP Julian Lewis, where Morris set […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)