History thread

[Niegs]

[Woddy]

The bombers took a very heavy toll in WW2. The Yanks (not you Niegs) especially. Think they had the worst casualty rate in both UK and US armed services. And were
not particularly appreciated for it. British Bomber Command only had official medal recognition recently, I believe. Not flashy work, and also controversial bombing enemy civilians; controversial even at the time. Not that that diminishes their personal bravery at all; not that of similar German aircrews either.

[C69]

My daughter is looking to do a degree in History.
Current choices, with crazy grade boundaries are
Cambridge Durham York and Lancaster

Any advice etc
I note the mandated personal statement from Oxbridge being wholly subject related nods to the other Unis.
Sorry but I can't think of anywhere else that is as knowledgeable as here.

Advice regarding colleges etc would be good
First visit yesterday to Durham was good

Thanks in advance. Would really appreciated inputq

[salanya]

My daughter is looking to do a degree in History.
Current choices, with crazy grade boundaries are
Cambridge Durham York and Lancaster

Any advice etc
I note the mandated personal statement from Oxbridge being wholly subject related nods to the other Unis.
Sorry but I can't think of anywhere else that is as knowledgeable as here.

Advice regarding colleges etc would be good
First visit yesterday to Durham was good

Thanks in advance. Would really appreciated inputq

Durham and York are both very good. Cambridge is good, obviously, but it is a different lifestyle choice.
Not sure about colleges, sorry.

[C69]

My daughter is looking to do a degree in History.
Current choices, with crazy grade boundaries are
Cambridge Durham York and Lancaster

Any advice etc
I note the mandated personal statement from Oxbridge being wholly subject related nods to the other Unis.
Sorry but I can't think of anywhere else that is as knowledgeable as here.

Advice regarding colleges etc would be good
First visit yesterday to Durham was good

Thanks in advance. Would really appreciated inputq

Durham and York are both very good. Cambridge is good, obviously, but it is a different lifestyle choice.
Not sure about colleges, sorry.

[Niegs]

... with a bigger rack than Bergman or Jovovich suggested.

[epwc]

My daughter is looking to do a degree in History.
Current choices, with crazy grade boundaries are
Cambridge Durham York and Lancaster

Any advice etc
I note the mandated personal statement from Oxbridge being wholly subject related nods to the other Unis.
Sorry but I can't think of anywhere else that is as knowledgeable as here.

Advice regarding colleges etc would be good
First visit yesterday to Durham was good

Thanks in advance. Would really appreciated inputq

Sorry just seen this.

Depends what history she wants to learn, my daughter went to SOAS (where Maro Itoje went) which has a huge range of topics that are covered nowhere else in the UK. She finally got to understand how she and her family were affected by Empire, kind of finally found a sense of who she is in the context of a mixed race kid in the UK. She got to make friends with people from so many different backgrounds and cultures. Got to understand a lot more about how colonialisation still affects vast swathes of the world and the conflicts therein. It's a bit crap, under resourced and not brilliantly run but if she wants to know more about the wider world not just the Euro centric she won't get that at any of the above.

[Biffer]

My daughter is looking to do a degree in History.
Current choices, with crazy grade boundaries are
Cambridge Durham York and Lancaster

Any advice etc
I note the mandated personal statement from Oxbridge being wholly subject related nods to the other Unis.
Sorry but I can't think of anywhere else that is as knowledgeable as here.

Advice regarding colleges etc would be good
First visit yesterday to Durham was good

Thanks in advance. Would really appreciated inputq

I'd echo Durham and York being very good, Cambridge being different. Don't know about Lancaster.

Key thing is to be somewhere she'll be happy, she will get a better degree that way.

[Slick]

My daughter is looking to do a degree in History.
Current choices, with crazy grade boundaries are
Cambridge Durham York and Lancaster

Any advice etc
I note the mandated personal statement from Oxbridge being wholly subject related nods to the other Unis.
Sorry but I can't think of anywhere else that is as knowledgeable as here.

Advice regarding colleges etc would be good
First visit yesterday to Durham was good

Thanks in advance. Would really appreciated inputq

I'd echo Durham and York being very good, Cambridge being different. Don't know about Lancaster.

Key thing is to be somewhere she'll be happy, she will get a better degree that way.

That counts out Lancaster then

[epwc]

That counts out Lancaster then

My neighbours daughter is at Lancaster, she loves it

[C69]

Cheers guys, have visited York and Durham, and it's Cambridge later in the week.
A*AA needed for Durham and Cambridge but Cambridge will need to send 2 pieces of work and sit an exam and probably an interview.

[Slick]

That counts out Lancaster then

My neighbours daughter is at Lancaster, she loves it

I'm sure it used to have the highest suicide rate of any uni

[Sandstorm]

That counts out Lancaster then

My neighbours daughter is at Lancaster, she loves it

I'm sure it used to have the highest suicide rate of any uni

The STD rate will be of more importance to C69

[C69]

My neighbours daughter is at Lancaster, she loves it

I'm sure it used to have the highest suicide rate of any uni

The STD rate will be of more importance to C69

Not really

[Niegs]

[Niegs]

My grandmother told me there was supposed to be a POW camp near where we grew up. A quick search didn't reveal anything (but maybe it was some kind of house attached to the local airfield where I know pilots were trained where just a few trustworthy ones worked out of?). I did, however, find this article on one's adventure from Norway, where he was captured by commandos, to Ontario and Alberta...

Looks like a cool site full of stories!

https://powsincanada.ca/2021/12/27/from ... to-canada/

[fishfoodie]

The Irish "Emergency", as it was officially called, was very Irish !

http://www.curragh.info/klines.htm

While we were of course officially neutral, the reality of what that meant was that we were, nod & wink supportive of the Allies. The Curragh was the central internment camp for Allied & Axis internees, but after an initial period of playing things by the book, the Irish distain for the rules quickly kicked in; but then all sides seem to have reverted to the National defaults.

The camp operated a system of paroles, where internees were allowed out on their oaths, & with a small number of restrictions, which they ignored, & no-one really cared about; (I mean, what Irish man would ever consider it reasonable to ask a man to stay out of Pubs ? Supposedly there was one German who worked a scheduled shift in one of the Pubs ).

There are a lot of stories of how confusing Irish neutrality was for the British; one RAF officer was interned, & left the camp on a parole, & made his way up to NI, & presented himself there to an RAF base up there, & rather than being greeted with congratulations, he found some very pissed off senior officers who told him to turn around & go back to where he came from, as him breaking his parole was just going to make things difficult, & the silent cooperation of the Irish was more important than one RAF officer. On the other hand, there's the story of a bomber crew being picked up by the Army after they crash landed; they were put in the back of a truck, & driven for over an hour right up to border, at which point their guards stopped, & made a point of going off for a smoke, leaving the crew unguarded. They came back a half hour later a discovered ...... the crew still sitting in the back of the truck On discovering them still sat there, the NCO made it clear in industrial language what the crew should do, & their guards went off for another smoke break !

The German & British internees were seperated by a small hedge, & while interned, the hostilites were confined to both sides kicking the shit out of each other in regular soccer matches.

[weegie01]

My grandmother told me there was supposed to be a POW camp near where we grew up. A quick search didn't reveal anything (but maybe it was some kind of house attached to the local airfield where I know pilots were trained where just a few trustworthy ones worked out of?). I did, however, find this article on one's adventure from Norway, where he was captured by commandos, to Ontario and Alberta...

My mother (dob Feb 1930) is adamant there was a POW camp for Italians in the town where I grew up. Given she is Italian herself this is something you'd think she'd notice. I can find nothing listed anywhere.

However, she has talked about how all the Italians worked on local farms and had a high degree of freedom. Which makes me think it wasn't a POW camp per se but a work camp.

There was however a camp at Cultybraggan about 7 miles away that housed some of the most dangerous POWs. It is the most complete POW camp in the UK as it became an army training centre post war and was in continuous use till quite recently whan a local trust took it over to preserve and run as a local asset.



https://www.cultybraggancamp.uk/

[Jock42]

My grandmother told me there was supposed to be a POW camp near where we grew up. A quick search didn't reveal anything (but maybe it was some kind of house attached to the local airfield where I know pilots were trained where just a few trustworthy ones worked out of?). I did, however, find this article on one's adventure from Norway, where he was captured by commandos, to Ontario and Alberta...

My mother (dob Feb 1930) is adamant there was a POW camp for Italians in the town where I grew up. Given she is Italian herself this is something you'd think she'd notice. I can find nothing listed anywhere.

However, she has talked about how all the Italians worked on local farms and had a high degree of freedom. Which makes me think it wasn't a POW camp per se but a work camp.

There was however a camp at Cultybraggan about 7 miles away that housed some of the most dangerous POWs. It is the most complete POW camp in the UK as it became an army training centre post war and was in continuous use till quite recently whan a local trust took it over to preserve and run as a local asset.



https://www.cultybraggancamp.uk/

I'm sure I've read of Italian POWs in Cultybraggan too. I've always assumed it was from there they were sent out on to the farms.

[weegie01]

My grandmother told me there was supposed to be a POW camp near where we grew up. A quick search didn't reveal anything (but maybe it was some kind of house attached to the local airfield where I know pilots were trained where just a few trustworthy ones worked out of?). I did, however, find this article on one's adventure from Norway, where he was captured by commandos, to Ontario and Alberta...

My mother (dob Feb 1930) is adamant there was a POW camp for Italians in the town where I grew up. Given she is Italian herself this is something you'd think she'd notice. I can find nothing listed anywhere.

However, she has talked about how all the Italians worked on local farms and had a high degree of freedom. Which makes me think it wasn't a POW camp per se but a work camp.

There was however a camp at Cultybraggan about 7 miles away that housed some of the most dangerous POWs. It is the most complete POW camp in the UK as it became an army training centre post war and was in continuous use till quite recently whan a local trust took it over to preserve and run as a local asset.



https://www.cultybraggancamp.uk/

I'm sure I've read of Italian POWs in Cultybraggan too. I've always assumed it was from there they were sent out on to the farms.

There were at Cultybraggan as well. I think the Italians were there first with less risky German prisoners, then the hard nuts came later and the camp was divided.

I was in the cadets at school in Crieff. Each year the oldest cohort went to an army camp in the summer. First prize was Germany, my year got Cultybraggan. We were impressed.

[Dogbert]

My mother (dob Feb 1930) is adamant there was a POW camp for Italians in the town where I grew up. Given she is Italian herself this is something you'd think she'd notice. I can find nothing listed anywhere.

However, she has talked about how all the Italians worked on local farms and had a high degree of freedom. Which makes me think it wasn't a POW camp per se but a work camp.

There was however a camp at Cultybraggan about 7 miles away that housed some of the most dangerous POWs. It is the most complete POW camp in the UK as it became an army training centre post war and was in continuous use till quite recently whan a local trust took it over to preserve and run as a local asset.



https://www.cultybraggancamp.uk/

I'm sure I've read of Italian POWs in Cultybraggan too. I've always assumed it was from there they were sent out on to the farms.

There were at Cultybraggan as well. I think the Italians were there first with less risky German prisoners, then the hard nuts came later and the camp was divided.

I was in the cadets at school in Crieff. Each year the oldest cohort went to an army camp in the summer. First prize was Germany, my year got Cultybraggan. We were impressed.

Ah Cadet Summer Camp at Culty , whats not to love.

Getting your hands on SLR's and sticking a 30 round mag from an L4 LMG( we still had Lee Enfields ) & Browning Hi Powers , Thunderflashes , Having a full on punch up with a bunch Nordie Cadets during CQB,
Running up Ben Vorlich , mucking around on Assault boats on Loch Earn

Compo rations - menu A of course with the Bacon Grill / Chicken Curry , all on a Hexi cooker.

Best summers ever ....

[Jock42]

My mother (dob Feb 1930) is adamant there was a POW camp for Italians in the town where I grew up. Given she is Italian herself this is something you'd think she'd notice. I can find nothing listed anywhere.

However, she has talked about how all the Italians worked on local farms and had a high degree of freedom. Which makes me think it wasn't a POW camp per se but a work camp.

There was however a camp at Cultybraggan about 7 miles away that housed some of the most dangerous POWs. It is the most complete POW camp in the UK as it became an army training centre post war and was in continuous use till quite recently whan a local trust took it over to preserve and run as a local asset.



https://www.cultybraggancamp.uk/

I'm sure I've read of Italian POWs in Cultybraggan too. I've always assumed it was from there they were sent out on to the farms.

There were at Cultybraggan as well. I think the Italians were there first with less risky German prisoners, then the hard nuts came later and the camp was divided.

I was in the cadets at school in Crieff. Each year the oldest cohort went to an army camp in the summer. First prize was Germany, my year got Cultybraggan. We were impressed.

[Niegs]

"These Coins Stopped a Bullet and Saved a Soldier’s Life During World War I"

Optatius Buyssens, a Belgian soldier during World War I, was famous for a remarkable incident where coins in his pocket saved his life. During a fierce battle, Buyssens was shot, and the bullet struck the pocket where he kept his coins. Instead of penetrating his body, the bullet was stopped by six coins, which absorbed the impact and spared his life. Three of the coins are from Belgium and three are from France. Today, the coins are in possession of Buyssens’ great-grandson, Vincent Buyssens, who lives in Antwerp.

“Ironically, the coins were the reason why he got shot,” Buyssens told CNN. “It was the noise of them clinging together in his breast pocket which gave his position away.”

Optatius Buyssens was initially barred from the army because of a hip injury but eventually joined as a volunteer. He was shot during a scouting mission in September 1914 near Lebbeke, Belgium. The German soldier who shot him kicked his head and Optatius Buyssens pretended to be dead. Once the soldier walked away, Buyssens and another comrade crawled to safety.

Vincent said it wasn’t until 2018 that he discovered the whole story about the coins in a journal kept by his great-grandfather’s brother, who was an avid archivist. Buyssens said he received photos of the journal from a local museum.

[Uncle fester]

Severus' Wall
https://bsky.app/profile/garius.bsky.so ... a5z5n5wo2h

[Chrysoprase]

My grandmother told me there was supposed to be a POW camp near where we grew up. A quick search didn't reveal anything (but maybe it was some kind of house attached to the local airfield where I know pilots were trained where just a few trustworthy ones worked out of?). I did, however, find this article on one's adventure from Norway, where he was captured by commandos, to Ontario and Alberta...

My mother (dob Feb 1930) is adamant there was a POW camp for Italians in the town where I grew up. Given she is Italian herself this is something you'd think she'd notice. I can find nothing listed anywhere.

However, she has talked about how all the Italians worked on local farms and had a high degree of freedom. Which makes me think it wasn't a POW camp per se but a work camp.

There was however a camp at Cultybraggan about 7 miles away that housed some of the most dangerous POWs. It is the most complete POW camp in the UK as it became an army training centre post war and was in continuous use till quite recently whan a local trust took it over to preserve and run as a local asset.



https://www.cultybraggancamp.uk/

My old man used to go out to Cultybraggan for a summer job peeling tatties in the kitchens when he was a schoolboy back in the 50s.

I never went there myself but a load of kids from my school were in the army cadets and went there every year. Many of them loved it & some ended up joining up when they left school. Was it called HCTC? Can't remember what that stood for - Highland Cadets Training Camp maybe

[Monk]

Interesting review of How the War Was Won by Phillips Payson O’Brien

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-b ... he-war-was

nice fact

During the three most intense months of the Battle of Britain, the German air force landed only 17 bombs that caused “severe” damage to aircraft and aircraft engine production, electricity services, gas supplies, water industry, oil infrastructure, and food service industries combined. This underscores just how ineffective Germany’s campaign was and how little chance there was a of an actual British defeat.

[Calculon]

Interesting review of How the War Was Won by Phillips Payson O’Brien

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-b ... he-war-was

nice fact

During the three most intense months of the Battle of Britain, the German air force landed only 17 bombs that caused “severe” damage to aircraft and aircraft engine production, electricity services, gas supplies, water industry, oil infrastructure, and food service industries combined. This underscores just how ineffective Germany’s campaign was and how little chance there was a of an actual British defeat.

[fishfoodie]

Really happy that people think about the bigger picture & pass on things they find to the National Museum; too much has already been lost to looters.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/0906/14685 ... al-museum/


Some very well made Axe heads



Bog butter

[Biffer]

Interesting review of How the War Was Won by Phillips Payson O’Brien

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-b ... he-war-was

nice fact

During the three most intense months of the Battle of Britain, the German air force landed only 17 bombs that caused “severe” damage to aircraft and aircraft engine production, electricity services, gas supplies, water industry, oil infrastructure, and food service industries combined. This underscores just how ineffective Germany’s campaign was and how little chance there was a of an actual British defeat.

Thread on what the Germans thought of hurricanes v spitfires

https://bsky.app/profile/spitfirefilly. ... dl6m3dsw2i

(ooooohhhhh someone's posted a link to bluesky!!! Is this a first?)

[laurent]

a short video from Saumur Museum with a unique piece



they are going to a Bastogne commemoration

[Biffer]

Think I mentioned the Fall of Civilisations pod earlier in the thread.

Latest episode is out - The Mongols, at a whopping six and three quarter hours!

[Uncle fester]

Think I mentioned the Fall of Civilisations pod earlier in the thread.

Latest episode is out - The Mongols, at a whopping six and three quarter hours!

A remarkable empire and then back to nothing.

[Yeeb]

Interesting review of How the War Was Won by Phillips Payson O’Brien

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-b ... he-war-was

nice fact

During the three most intense months of the Battle of Britain, the German air force landed only 17 bombs that caused “severe” damage to aircraft and aircraft engine production, electricity services, gas supplies, water industry, oil infrastructure, and food service industries combined. This underscores just how ineffective Germany’s campaign was and how little chance there was a of an actual British defeat.

Wonder where those 17 bombs fell, I know supermarine in Southampton got bombed & destroyed the part built 4 engine bomber prototype they had going .

[epwc]

https://www.chelmsfordwarmemorial.co.uk ... oseph.html

[epwc]

One of our neighbours worked here pre war, became a despatch driver for the war office during the war

https://www.chelmsfordwarmemorial.co.uk ... known.html

[C69]

My daughter had her Cambridge History interview this morning. Fingers crossed, will find out the end of Jan if she gets an offer.

[epwc]

Good luck to her

[C69]

Good luck to her

Cheers