On this day 18th June…

1667 – Dutch fleet sailed up the River Thames towards London

1815 – Battle of Waterloo ends with Napoleon’s defeat

1817 – London’s Waterloo bridge opens

1918 – Largest Allied counter-attack begins on Western front against Germans

1928 -Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly the Atlantic from Newfoundland to Wales 

and finally today in 1942 Paul McCartney was born and 1952 Isabella Rossellini was born.

Finally, finally – HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!

25 Years on…

It doesnt seem like 25 years since the Falklands War.  I was a 10 yr old school kid who like every other kid was watching the news for the first time due to the conflict.

The amazing fact I think was the lack of knowledge as to where the Falklands were. I remember that people thought the Falklands were off the coast of Scotland and were panicking about the invasion and what it meant  for the people of this country. 

8000miles away the Argentinians had invaded territory belonging to Britain and we were going down to do something about it.  This is stuff 10 yr old boys dream of.  I was an avid reader of Eagle and other boys comics and bought up on RAF bases with a Grandad who served in the army in WWII.  This was amazing – for about 10 minutes then it became scary and then it was suddenly…real.

For the first time in my life the reality of war hit home.  It wasnt a glamorous thing.  It was dirty and hard and dangerous and people were scared and tired and dying.  The soldiers, sailors and airmen who went out there were there to do a job they were trained for and did it well.  All the training in the world couldnt stop people dying or being injured though and as the days went on the count went up.

The view of a 10 yr old changed dramatically and the realisation hit me even at that young age as to what my Grandad had been through and had to do in order to survive WWII.

All those involved in the Falklands are heroes.  Many were decorated for things done but all were heroes.  They were willing as many have done before or since to put their lives on the line in the call of duty to protect this country and its territories.

25 years on it is only fitting that there deeds have been remembered … lest we forget what happened on a small set of islands thousands of miles away in 1982.

 

On this day 15th June…

1215 – King John signs the Magna Carta

1940 – French fortress of Verdun captured by Germans

1958 – Greece severs military ties with Turkey due to Cyprus issue

2003 – A trailer is stolen from NE London containing thousands of copies of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix”.  It is found 2 days later.

…and today is Courtney Cox and Helen Hunt’s birthday!

Today in History…

June 14th in years gone by….

1381 – England. Peasants Revolt under Wat Tyler attacks London and kills the Archbishop of Canterbury

1834 – sandpaper patented

1900 – Hawaii becomes US territory

1940 – Nazi’s open Auschwitz in Poland

1949 – Vietnam founded

and……in 1961 on this day Boy George was born….ahhhh!!!!

On this day 12th June….

1667 – First blood tranfusion.  Dr Jean Baptiste safely transfused the blood of a sheep into a 15yr old boy

1929 – Anne Frank was born in Germany

1931 – Al Capone was indicted on breaking US Prohibition laws

1964 – Nelson Mandela was jailed for life

1979 – John Wayne dies

Lest we forget…

Today, 63 years ago 150,000 men made their way acroos the English channel to bring to an end World War II and nearly 5 years of fighting.

The journey was supported by over 5,000 ships and 11,000 aircraft and saw a massive gamble put into action by the Allied commanders.  If the Germans new they were coming then they would strengthen their defences on the Normandy coastline and it could be a disaster.

The attack swept into 5 beaches on the northern coast of France. The US forces swept into 2 beaches codenamed Omaha and Utah.  The British and other Allied troops hit 3 beaches codenamed Sword, Gold and Juno.

Stage one would be to secure the beaches which would allow the bringing in of men, vehicles and supplies.  From these beaches the troops would fan out into France and then across the other occupied countries heading for Berlin.

The bravery and sacrifice of these men cannot be underestimated or undervalued.  4,000 Allied troops died that day and another 10,000 were injured.  With the beaches taken though the pushing back of the German army had begun and the Allies were ready to breakout and retake Europe.

It was a gamble – all battles in war are.  It relied on the men having complete faith in their commanders and the cause they were fighting for.  Through adversity they triumphed and the war turned decisively. 

Many families have people who were involved in that day in some capacity – I do and I know we still are proud of what they did even though they are no longer with us.

Lest we forget?  Never forget…

  

Reflections on the World Wars

I have always been into history.  The cyclical nature of events within our world which lead people to effectively make the same mistakes again and again whilst justifying them in the name of progress.  The endeavour and drive of people to better themselves and their environment and the breakthroughs that come with hard work, sacrifice and dedication.

 As we settle into this new Millennium it seems amazing that less than a century ago the world was heading towards 30 years of turmoil with the loss of millions of men,women and children. The threat today from terrorist attacks and the referral to military interventions as ‘skirmishes’ or ‘conflicts’ makes the whole idea of a world war seem impossible. Military advances also add to this view as new weapons which can cause destruction across the other side of the world in minutes without leaving your comfortable office have replaced the need for large armies of men in lots of countries.

Yet the early 20th century slipped into a period of hostility that had never been witnessed before or since. The horror of the First World War and the scenes of the trenches and stories of gas attacks, rats, trench foot and other diseases was bad enough. This though was closely followed by a world Pandemic flu virus which accounted for more than the war had. On top of this add in the period of economic depression and the failure of the League of Nations and you can see why the Second World War was almost inevitable.

I could compare figures but the truth is many more died during 1939-45 than did 20years earlier. The impact on civilians was much harder as weapons, vehicles, boats and aircraft had seen massive research and development poured into them between the wars. Whereas the 1914-18 war had seen a few theaters of war this was global. For the first time the USA were hit on their own soil – though mainland USA was still untouched. The far east saw major battles as Japanese leaders sought to move towards the mainland of Asia in one direction and sweep toward the USA in the other.

Across many countries the scars of the war were left as battles, rockets, bombs and other methods of warfare etched their way into the landscape.

Alongside this was the other side of warfare – the persecution of certain groups. The concentration and death camps of the Nazi’s took their toll with millions dying for no other reason that they didn’t fit in. The Russians massive revenge drive against the German people at the end of the war that saw thousands running towards the American and British troops to give up in fear for their lives.

The final actions. The bravery and sacrifice of the Allies drive into mainland Europe and across into Berlin. The courage of those in the Far East as they fought back in unfamiliar territory though the jungles, and the dropping of two devastating bombs onto unarmed Japanese civilians.

‘Revisionist’ history once frowned upon and seen as Communist propaganda has now become the accurate interpretation of history within teaching in this area. The view used to be that the bombs were dropped merely to stop the war. Nowadays the recognized and taught view is that it was necessary to stop the communist threat in its stead and make the Russians think twice about moving any further east or west.

Post war we moved into an uneasy peace. The second ‘war to end all wars’ removed the threat within Europe of a far right victory but replaced it with an uneasy east-west divide. The ‘Iron Curtain’ went up and a hush fell around the World as everyone wondered what would happen next and who would make the first move in a new more terrifying type of war.

In conclusion I have always felt that there were not two world wars – the first one just went on hold. The issues and problems which caused the first conflict were never seriously discussed and an attitude of revenge and making people pay post-1918 did nothing to calm down the emotions. The Second World War was almost an inevitable necessity. Like a re-match after a tied boxing match the two fighters pulled their gloves on and went at it one more time to sort out who was the best. Verdict. Whilst they were so interested in each other they failed to see the rest of the ‘boxers’ moving up the ladders to eventually challenge and replace the established top dogs. 

Many will say that we have progressed so far from the end of WWII that the issues in the World are so much more complcated – but are they? 

People want land – other people have it. 

People dont like what others say, think or believe. 

The rich have it all yet make up the minority of the worlds population.

Are we really so much more advanced than we think we are or are we just fooling ourselves that the problems arent there anymore?