Category Archives: History

Britain Ceases to be a World Power, December 1943

Posted on April 11, 2019 by odeboyz

The USA entered the European theatre following Hitler’s unbelievable declaration of war in December, 1941. Over the next two years, huge numbers of American troops entered Britain. Dwight D Eisenhower became Supreme Commander in Chief of Allied Forces, December 1943, … Continue reading →

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Books! Do you remember them?

Posted on April 8, 2019 by odeboyz
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Dutch Teenage Resistance Fighters

Posted on March 28, 2019 by odeboyz

She [Freddie Oversteegen] was 14 when she joined the Dutch resistance, though with her long, dark hair in braids she looked at least two years younger. When she rode her bicycle down the streets of Haarlem in North Holland, firearms … Continue reading →

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W. T. Stead: Investigative Journalist

Posted on March 28, 2019 by odeboyz

Stead’s Victorian London was squalid and amoral. He used his editorship of the Pall Mall Gazette to attack moral evil. Prostitution was rampant in London. It was so blatant that there were guides to ‘specialised’ brothels, which were entirely legal.1 … Continue reading →

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Nazi Doctors, Sexism and Lung Cancer

Posted on March 14, 2019 by odeboyz

In Hitler’s opinion women should have focused solely on Kinder, Kuche, Kirche1 . German sexism predated Hitler. This created a beneficial situation for Nazi doctors. Women provided a huge control group for their epidemiological studies into lung cancer.2 They knew … Continue reading →

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The partition of Poland- Autumn 1939

Posted on February 25, 2019 by odeboyz

Chris

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Book Review: Isaac Babel ~ Odessa Stories (Translator Boris Dratyuk) (1910s and 20s)

Posted on February 4, 2019 by odeboyz

Babel writes about Jewish life in Odessa at the beginning of the 20th century. Odessa’s a vibrant multi-cultural seaport with a very large Jewish population. Gangsters fascinate Babel and he creates wonderful pen portraits. He also writes about being an … Continue reading →

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Cicero: he knew a thing or two about treachery

Posted on January 28, 2019 by odeboyz
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Lenin meets a gangster and loses his Rolls-Royce in 1919

Posted on January 24, 2019 by odeboyz

Lenin himself was not immune to the lawlessness of the period. On 6 January 1919, he, his sister Mariya and his sole bodyguard, Ivan Chabanov, were being driven in his official Rolls-Royce when they were flagged down by men in … Continue reading →

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Refurbishing grade one listed buildings in Hackney

Posted on January 23, 2019 by odeboyz

The first two years of my seven year apprenticeship was done at Sir Philip Magnus trade and academic school. Looking back at those two years I’m amazed at how much was covered. Our plumbing teacher was called Tom Freeman and … Continue reading →

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