On the day Britain declared war on Germany, 3 September 1939, Parliament immediately passed The National Service (Armed Forces) Act. All men aged between 18 and 41 were required to register for service. My grandfather John James Doherty ‘JJ’, a talented linguist,...
History
History and the National Psyche
A couple of years ago at the Chalke History Festival, General Sir Simon Mayall, a popular member of the red trouser brigade, Balliol man, and retired military top brass strode onto stage to rapturous applause. Introducing his recently published memoirs he delivered a...
Graham Turner on The Wars of the Roses
Graham Turner, many congratulations on a quite stunning collection of paintings for the book. What is it about the Wars of the Roses that make such an attractive subject for your art? Thank you. As a child my imagination was captured by seeing armour in places like...
Episode 149
Episode 148
Queen High, by C.J. Carey
Queen High is CJ Carey’s sequel to her much acclaimed novel Widowland, both books are counter factual dystopian novels in a similar vein to 1984, Fatherland and Brave New World. They are set in a 1950s Britain where Lord Halifax became Prime Minister rather than...
Philip W. Blood on Birds of Prey
Philip W. Blood, Birds of Prey is an extraordinary piece of work using groundbreaking research to produce an original book on the Second World War. Not an easy feat. Was this a story you discovered, or one you always wanted to tell? The book is both a narrative I was...
Lesley Yarranton on Saving Munich 1945
Lesley Yarranton, many congratulations on a fascinating story in Saving Munich 1945. What sort of man was Rupprecht Gerngross? American historian John Toland described him as “scholarly, cultured and good-natured – a most unlikely combination for a revolutionist”....
Seizing Eichmann
Seizing Eichmann He was walking down the street clutching a large bouquet of flowers, a smiling family man by the name of Ricardo Klement. He was looking forward to celebrating his silver wedding anniversary that evening. When he reached his house on Garibaldi Street...










