Great Britain
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British politics is probably the most intriguing politics in the world. With all its traditions and even the sometimes humorous debates in the house of commons are often fascinating. However what many people don’t know that in 1812 on the 11th of May the only ever assassination of a British Prime minister took place. Spencer…
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It may sound like a 19th century Gothic novel or the name of an Irish folk singer but neither apply, Penny Black is in fact the name of the first adhesive postage stamp. It was first issued in Great Britain om May 1 ,1840 but was not valid for use until 6 May it showed…
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Before you read this blog, have a close look at the above picture. It is a picture of an SS soldier, and you have probably seen many pictures like it, but there is something special about this one.On the sleeve on the left arm, at the left bottom, you can see part of a flag,…
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The ‘Three Hundred and Thirty-Five Years’ War lasted from 30 March 1651 to 17 April 1986. The “war” between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly is one of those curious historical footnotes that often draw a few chuckles. This conflict, if it can even be called that, occurred in 1651 during the First Anglo-Dutch…
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Vidal Sassoon is a name synonymous with revolutionary hairstyling, but his lesser-known past as an anti-fascist activist with the 43 Group reveals another dimension of his life. Born in 1928 in Hammersmith, London, to Jewish parents of Greek and Ukrainian descent, Sassoon grew up in the impoverished East End. His early life was marked by…
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Among the many operations planned by Nazi Germany, one of the most ambitious was Operation Sealion (Unternehmen Seelöwe), Adolf Hitler’s intended invasion of Great Britain in 1940. While it never materialized, the operation remains one of the most intriguing what-if scenarios of the war. Had it succeeded, the course of history might have taken a…
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“Collar the lot,” is what Churchill said about the citizens of enemy nations living in the UK, it didn’t matter if they were friend or foe,. During the Second World War (1939 – 1945) a number of internment camps for civilians from enemy countries were established on the Isle of Man. These were based at…
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“Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler” is the first line of the theme of the British sitcom Dad’s Army. A truly hilarious show. I remember one episode where Capt Mainwaring is telling a story how he met an Australian soldier. He had asked him “Did you come here to die?” whereupon the…
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Gilbert Bradley was a British man who became known through his poignant love letters from World War II. Drafted into the army in 1939, he met and fell in love with Gordon Bowsher, a wealthy man who worked for his father’s shipping business. Their relationship flourished in secrecy, as homosexuality was illegal in Britain at…
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This is not a scientific fact it is solely based on my own observations. It seems to be that a lot ,if not all, dictators behave like a toddler. The whole world revolves around them and they get very cross if someone doesn’t want to play with them. Hitler was one of these toddler like…
History of Sorts 