London is the often focus of air defence of the United Kingdom, but this was only one part of the air defence of the United Kingdom in the Second World War. Raids by naval ships and zeppelins and eventually aircraft highlighted the danger that raids could pose to the United Kingdom. The pre-war thinking ofContinue reading "Home Defence of the North East – Part 1 – Air Defence"
Castles
A staple of a British family day out at some point in a child’s life and a staple of a school trip in primary school has to be a castle or a fort or some other defensive structure. This staple has been the same for a long while. Now these castles and structures are oftenContinue reading "Castles"
The War hits Home – The Bombardment of Hartlepool, Scarborough and Whitby.
The general presumption in the years leading up to the First World War, was that those that soldiers left behind in the United Kingdom to go to war, would be far from the conflict and danger. But with the changes in how wars were fought in the First World War and technological innovations before theContinue reading "The War hits Home – The Bombardment of Hartlepool, Scarborough and Whitby."
D-Day – Pegasus Bridge
One of the gliders used in the capture of Pegasus Bridge over the River Orne, 1944 Copyright: NAM 1975-03-63-18-158 Key to the success of the D-Day Landings, and the Battle of Normandy, was denying the enemy bridges, to prevent them from reinforcing the beaches or counterattacking. Equally key to the success, was the Allies breakingContinue reading "D-Day – Pegasus Bridge"
Musings – A Digital Dark Age
In the summer of 2024, I spent a day at a large living museum that has begun opening a 1950’s section. It was brilliant to see, but it made me contemplate what a living museum would look like when they open a 2010’s area. I think these museums will find it hard to display muchContinue reading "Musings – A Digital Dark Age"
The Butt Report – The Technological Response
In the early part of the Second World War, Royal Air Force Bomber Command were attacking targets in Germany by day. These raids were not as successful as the pre-war theorists had expected and the losses were unsustainable, which resulted in a change from majority daylight raids to majority nighttime raids.[1] These nighttime raids wereContinue reading "The Butt Report – The Technological Response "
Welcome
War by nature often feels far away, and as time passes by the stories of these conflicts, some of which have been much closer to home, begin to fade away. The family stories get more distorted with time and for some families these stories fade away completely. Genealogy and the success of sites such asContinue reading "Welcome"
Major History 