Roger Moorhouse is a prolific historian specialising in the Nazis and World War Two and his recently published Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U-Boat War is a corrective to the common perception that U-Boats were terrifying and effective silent killers from the deep. The reality, as he explained to a hot humid and sweaty morning audience, was a life of filth and futility. Living conditions inside these 50-metre-long deathtraps included body odour, diesel, mould, vomit, and foul smelling soap. The crew carried one spare pair of underpants for an 8-week patrol. And they didn’t really achieve as much as you’d think – 75% of U-Boat crew perished during the war with the average life expectancy no more than 2 or 3 missions, making it the highest death rate of any branch of the military. Moorhouse thinks that Churchill helped establish the U-Boat’s reputation then he wrote they were the only thing that really scared him.
Peter Jones is a medieval historian who found himself questioning his academic vocation and teaching in Siberia. His highly idiosyncratic and brilliant Self Help From the Middle Ages: A Journey Into the Medieval Mind is a deep dive into the seven deadly sins, and the lessons to be drawn from a world view utterly different to today. The ‘preaching texts’ he analysed offer up an “imprint of ordinary people” and the deadly sins a vehicle for self-reflection rather than a dogmatic set of rules for life. Jones has a sparky stage presence and his conversation with Helen Carr well attended despite the rising heat.
The heatwave – 40 C and humid – this week may go down in history as a significant meteorological event. Canny audience members have worked out the best spots in the tents to seek the holy trinity of shade, breeze, and an easy escape route in case it all gets too much. Chalkegoers tend to be healthy and stoic and have put up with the conditions with the equanimity of a U-Boat stoker. I can thoroughly recommend taking an hour for a lunchtime swim, with some of the world’s loveliest chalk streams on the doorstep, to get your core temperature down before the evening’s activities.
Greg Mills spoke to Ugandan opposition leader in exile Bobi Wine, and Zimbabwean politician Tendai Biti, about the challenges faced by opposition movements in Africa. Billed as How to Unseat A Dictator, Wine (he’s also a reggae singer, this is his stage name) hasn’t actually unseated anyone yet. His message to all was ‘don’t fund our oppressor.’
In Tank Command: How the Tank Changed the Face of Battle, former army officer Hamish de Bretton-Gordon talked to James Holland about the evolution of the tank, and offered his views on the trade-offs between ‘mass’ ie. lots of tanks and on the other hand exquisite technology which happens to be extremely expensive. Will 138 Challenger 3 tanks be enough? De Bretton-Gordon thinks so, and he thinks Ajax the new armoured vehicle that has been plagued by delays and teething problems, is great. That is because they are highly technological platforms that can operate alongside unmanned vehicles such as drones, for example taking out an Iranian Shahed drone at 6km range. But defence spending is pitifully low and James Holland received rapturous applause pointing out that the UK spent more on new cars last year than on defence. Holland for PM seemed to be the general mood of the audience, although he struggled to think of a party to stand for.
Friday promises a break in the weather and a welcome drop in temperature. There was lightning and some thunder at around midnight, a lightning strike I’ve been told is at the top of Chalke’s risk register and there’s a plan to evacuate the site in the event of Zeus’ thunderbolt.
Justin Doherty is a classicist, former army officer and advisor to governments on crises and complex situations.
