England

  • Edgar the Ætheling-  The Boy Who Wasn’t King

    England in the 11th century was not always a great place to be if you were royalty. Young Edgar was the grandson of Edmund Ironside, king of England, and great grandson of the infamous Æthelred the Unready, also king of England.  So you would think Edgar would be next in line?  Well, not exactly.  There was a little problem named Cnut the Great. Cnut was the son of Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark.  In the summer of 1015, Cnut mounted an invasion of England and fought with Edmund for the throne of England.  It was a year or so of battles, and ultimately Edmund lost and ceded all of England north…

  • RAF Melton Mowbray

    Melton Mowbray is a small market town nestling on the edge of Leicestershire. Famous for its racehorses, pork pies and stilton cheese, and certain buildings being part of the divorce settlement of Anne of Cleves when she managed to pick her way out of her marriage to Henry VIII with her head intact, Melton Mowbray also has a plethora of prominent military installations in the vicinity, both in use and no longer operational. One such place is RAF Melton Mowbray. Now the site of a small industrial centre, a lorry park and occasional Bank Holiday Market, near to and on the old airfield, RAF Melton Mowbray was opened in 1942…

  • There’s No Such Thing as Dying With Dignity!

    Just a fairly short one tonight. Inspired by a chat with a friend, I thought I would share a few tit-bits on the subject of a famous funeral that endured a couple of mishaps and all things awkward, that did not discriminate on the basis of class or fame. When Winston Churchill died in January 1965 after suffering a stroke some days before, he was given one of the biggest state funerals ever known, particularly for a “commoner”. The ceremony involved somber journeys on a gun carriage through the streets of London to the service at St Paul’s Cathedral, followed by another procession to the Thames where the bearer party…

  • Unsinkable Sam the Cat

    This cat allegedly survived not one or two sinkings but three. I am sure he used up a few of his 9 lives. Originally named Oscar he saw service in both the Kriegsmarine and Royal Navy during the WWII. He was a black and white patched cat and had been owned by an unknown crewman of the German battleship Bismarck. He was on board the ship on May 18, 1941 when it set sail on Operation Rheinübung. Bismarck was sunk after a fierce sea-battle on May 27 , from which only 118 from its crew of over 2,200 survived. Hours later, Oscar was found floating on a board and picked…

  • The Sleeping Spy

    When World War I broke out in Europe, the United States was neutral.  It was considered a fight in Europe, and we were better off staying out of it.  Although President Wilson favored the British, the US officially took no side.  However, Wilson’s preference encouraged American companies to sell to the Allies.  However, not everyone was thrilled with this.  German Ambassador, Count Johann von Bernstorff, protested vigorously that US companies were selling arms and materiel to Britain, France and Russia.  There was a British blockade of Germany, which made it extremely difficult for Germany and Austria to import at the same rate.  However, his protests fell on deaf ears as…