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Pearl Harbour…. Welcome to the War, America!
On 7th December 1941, at shortly before 8am, Japan launched an attack on the US Naval fleet based at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. America at that point were maintaining their stance of neutrality, however due to interests of USA, Britain and the Netherlands specifically, in Southeast Asia, Japan had decided that interference from those countries was a high risk at odds with their own aims in the area, specifically their recent invasions of Manchuria in 1931 and China in 1937. Japan had her sights set on further expansion into Malaya and the Dutch controlled area of the East Indies in the hopes of exploiting the natural resources there, particularly rubber and…
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Victoria Cross Recipients – Keeping it in the Family Part 2
Part Two – Brothers in arms So we discussed in part one, father and son awards of the Victoria Cross. Now I’m going to turn your attention to brothers who both received the Cross for their acts of valour. To begin with, I would ask that you cast your mind back to Charles Gough, and his son John, who were both awarded the Victoria Cross. Charles received his in part for an action which saved the life of his brother Sir Hugh Gough during the India Mutiny of 1857/8. But the story doesn’t end there. Just a few months after Charles saved Hugh’s life in the action for which he…
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The White Death and the Winter War
Simo Hayha was born in 1905 in Rautjarvi, Finland, close to the border with Russia. In a time and place where hunting for food was still a necessity, Simo learned how to hunt and handle weapons from an early age. As a result he was an excellent shot and a very capable trapper, knowing his territory well. From his background in farming, he did his military service in 1925 at the age of 20, serving with the Suojeluskunta, the Finnish “White Guard” who were renowned for their success in the Finnish civil war of 1918. Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, Finland had gained independence. When the Socialist party government,…
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The Philadelphia Experiment
Most people have at least heard the name the Philadelphia Experiment but many have no idea what it’s actually pertaining too. It’s was an alleged military experiment that is said to have been carried out by the U.S. Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard around October 1943. The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Eldridge (DE-173) was claimed to have been rendered invisible (or “cloaked”) to enemy devices. I will let you decide for yourself if this in fact is true or is it just an elaborate hoax. Below are some of theories of what the experiment could have been, many contradict each other and there is no substantial proof any…
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Remembering the Last of the Few
Henry Allingham was born in 1896 in Clapton, London to Henry Thomas and Amy Jane (Foster) Allingham. His father died of Tuberculosis when Henry was just 14 months old, and after a period of time spent living with her parents and brother in Walthamstow, Amy remarried and the family moved to Clapham. At the age of six, Henry remembered witnessing the return of Boer War soldiers. After leaving his London Council School, Henry attended a polytechnic then went to work firstly as a trainee surgical instrument maker at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, then for a coachbuilder making bodies for cars. He was extremely interested in all things mechanical and indulged as…
