About.com

Little Girl to Brit Government: Save My War Pony

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:39:01 +0000

As the world goes crazy for the movie of War Horse (well, the world bar a lot of critics), the Manchester Evening News have run a wonderful story. As the British nation was rounding up men and horses to fight a war on the continent in 1914, a young girl wrote a sweet letter to Lord Kitchener, the man in charge, to ask him to spare her pony:

...

Read Full Post

'Nice Things to Say About Atilla the Hun'

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:38:16 +0000

Atilla the Hun was a highly successful war leader of the fifth century CE. However, because most of our sources for him come from writers allied with the declining Roman Empire, western literature has been left with an overwhelmingly negative impression. There aren't too many people trying to change this, but the Smithsonian recently published a piece by Mike Dash which tries to give the other side of Attila. Obviously it's a tough and not entirely convincing job, but an entertaining read.

Workers Wealthier but More Stressed than 60 Years Ago?

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:37:37 +0000

This article from the BBC on a report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is rather frustrating. Basically, the Institute has published a report comparing the state of the British workforce now compared to 1952, when Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne. But while the title explains that workers are now generally wealthier than their peers two generations ago, albeit more stressed, the article doesn't follow this up.

...

Read Full Post

Also New this Month

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:09:31 +0000

I've just put up some glossary entries relating to my content on Revolutionary and late Imperial Russia : one on the Okhrana, a secret police, one on the peasant villages called Mirs, and the persecuted ( and made up) class of Kulaks, and finally a look at the Zemstovs.

New This Month

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:28:48 +0000

This month we have articles related to some of the events happening this year. First there is an article on the Titanic, because of the centenary commemorations, as well as a biography of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrates sixty years on the throne this year. We also review Andrew Marr's book on Elizabeth II. We look at the ancient Olympic Games, because the modern ones come to London in 2012. There's also an article on Piltdown Man, the hoax Britain's archaeologists would probably prefer to forget, a review of one of my favourite books on the Reformation, and a brief introduction to the Cheka.

Last Known WW1 Service Member Dies

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:53:48 +0000

Florence Green, a British woman, was the last known surviving service member of World War One. She joined the Woman's Royal Air Force aged 17, and worked for them in UK air bases for two months before the war ended. Sadly, she had now died aged 110. While it is possible that other service members of the war might come forward - Green was only recognised in 2010 after a search - she is the last currently known, and represents a break with one of key events of the twentieth century.

Young Archaeologists Raise Money

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:52:47 +0000

Recently I was introduced to the Young Archaeologists Club. Basically, an educational charity in Britain called the Council for British Archaeology runs a society for interested kids called the 'Young Archaeologists Club' (YAC), and it's got branches across the country, allowing regular access to the subject. However, as with most things in credit strapped Britain, the YAC is in danger of funding losses, and recently members of the club dressed as Romans and survived the cold to walk around the walls of York to raise funds. This all sounds like a great cause, and York Press has more details, a picture and donation information.

Recording Found of Bismarck's Voice

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:51:46 +0000

Otto von Bismarck and Helmuth von Moltke were the two men most responsible for the creation of the united German state that was fought and talked into being in the later nineteenth century. Now, thanks to a discovery, we can hear what they sounded like. A box was discovered in the laboratory of inventor Thomas Edison in 1957, and within were a set of wax cylinders for a very early phonograph. Thanks to developments in technology experts were recently able to produce digital images of the speeches and songs and historians were able to work out who the people were.

According to the New York Times - which goes into much more detail - one of Edison's assistants toured Germany in 1889 and made recordings of singers and prominent people who were interested. These included Moltke, and Bismarck, who recited song lyrics including part of the French national anthem. Given that Bismarck had embarrassed France, there is probably a deliberate element of humour there. Bismarck experts knew the cylinder had existed, but after searches concluded it had been destroyed. Mr. Puille, a sound historian at a Berlin university, is quoted as saying "No doubt this find is the culmination of my researcher's life."

Ireland to Pardon Anti-Nazi Deserters

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:51:14 +0000

During the Second World War, as nations in the east and west of Europe fought against Nazi Germany, Ireland stayed neutral. This wasn't ideal for some of Ireland's soldiers, and they deserted to join the allied armies in the defeat of Hitler. Of course, they were still deserters in their home, and many were dishonourably discharged when they returned home, and suffered discrimination. Now the Irish government has voted to pardon the 5,000 troops involved, and are considering an official apology. Irish Central has a quote from Irish Minister Shatter on the issue: "Many who fought in British uniforms during that war returned to Ireland. For too many years, their contribution in preserving European and Irish democracy was ignored."

Archaeologists Search for Missing Cross

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:50:00 +0000

While reading the Irish Central website to look at a different story, I found this brief article about the search for a missing cross. Until around sixty years ago a granite cross stood in Wicklow, when it vanished. Archaeologists are now planning to look for where it might be, believing it been buried. The blame for its movement seems to be on Father Matthew Blake, a local priest, who objected to what he considered obscene carvings, possibly of the folk characters Sheela Na Gig.

...

Read Full Post