Archive for the ‘History’ Category
“The Night Of The Bayonets” – a World War Two story that you’ve never heard
February 1st, 2020 by Roger Darlington
In the dying days of the Second World War, a group of Georgian soliders rebelled against their German ‘comrades’ on Texel Island off the coast of The Netherlands. It’s an amazing story brought to light by my good friend Eric Lee. In December, he was interviewed by Dan Snow (also known as “The History Guy”) […]
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Last of the RAF’s Battle of Britain fighter aces dies – but the victory was not a wholly British effort
January 30th, 2020 by Roger Darlington
The Battle of Britain in 1940 was a decisive turning point in British history and we owe an immense debt of gratitude to the 3,000 Royal Air Force pilots who defended this country against a proposed German invasion. We have just heard the news that the last of the British aces of that conflict has […]
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How liberal is America’s Democratic Party?
January 21st, 2020 by Roger Darlington
Last weekend, I went on a one-day course at London’s City Literary Institute with the title “Liberalism And The Democratic Party: From FDR To Today”. The course was delivered by Brian Kennedy, a knowledgeable and eloquent American who hails from Boston. We were told that a progressive wing of American politics first developed in the […]
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King William III and “the little gentleman in the black velvet waistcoat”
December 10th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
Today I was passing through St James’s Square in central London and took the opportunity to check out a statute in the middle of the square’s gardens. It is an equestrian statute with some kind of lump underneath one of the horse’s hoofs. What’s it all about? You’ll find the explanation here.
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Please don’t confuse the Jacobites with the Jacobins
December 5th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just finished a six-week evening course at London’s City Literary Institute on the subject of “The Making Of The United Kingdom 1603-1801”. There was frequent reference to the Jacobites. These were people who remained loyal to the Stuart dynasty in exile, headed by the Catholic James, after the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689 which brought […]
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A review of the new bio-pic “Harriet”
November 30th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
Araminta “Minty” Ross was born a slave in the American state of Maryland probably in 1822 but, when she escaped to Philadelphia in 1849, she took the ‘free name’ of Harriet Tubman. As if her own escape was not remarkable enough, she subsequently made some 13 missions back south to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, […]
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Ever heard of the Darien Scheme? Maybe if you’re Scottish …
November 25th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
I’m doing a six-week evening class at London’s City Literary Institute entitled: “The Making Of The United Kingdom 1603-1801: Restoration, Revolution, and Political Unions”. Last week’s session – the fourth – included reference to something that I’d never heard of before: the Darien Scheme. This was a plan for the formation of a Scottish colony […]
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A review of the new blockbuster movie “Midway”
November 17th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
While “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (1970) and “Pearl Harbor” (2001) both portrayed the Japanese attack on the Americans in December 1941, “Midway” is an account of the American defeat of the Japanese in the battle of June 1942. Like “Tora!”, this new movie includes the Japanese point of view with use of Japanese dialogue and sub-titles. […]
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Once upon a time, Britain actually had a revolution …
November 14th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
… but it was a very British revolution. I’m doing a six-week evening class at London’s City Literary Institute entitled: “The Making Of The United Kingdom 1603-1801: Restoration, Revolution, and Political Unions”. This week’s session – the third – was all about the 1688-90 Revolution. It is known as the Glorious Revolution or the Bloodless […]
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A war to end no wars
November 9th, 2019 by Roger Darlington
This evening, I was returning home in the dark when an elderly couple asked me for directions to a location on London’s South Bank and I took them to the place they were seeking to link up with their son. The husband told me that a short animation had been made about his wife’s grandfather […]
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