Category Archives: History

The Times obituary of Lord Carrington says:

Posted on August 31, 2018 by odeboyz

More commonly, he found himself sleeping in a hole beneath his tank with his four crew who came from poor backgrounds and had suffered hardship during the pre-war years. The experience shaped his politics, he said later. “You could not … Continue reading →

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State Sponsored Kidnapping: Britain, Israel and the USA

Posted on August 2, 2018 by odeboyz

1 Britain: Conscientious Objectors1 The British army was a volunteer force in 1914 until the war lost its popularity. The actuality of slaughter reduced the numbers of men volunteering. The government passed the Military Service Act in January 1916 to … Continue reading →

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Bertrand Russell in Brixton prison, 1918

Posted on July 20, 2018 by odeboyz

For the first two months of his sentence, life at Brixton prison suited Russell perfectly. Freed from the demands of both political campaigning and romantic attachments,* he was able to live precisely the kind of cloistered, contemplative life he craved. … Continue reading →

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Henrietta Maria: the Heretic Queen of England 1625-49

Posted on July 20, 2018 by odeboyz

When Henrietta Maria married Charles the First, England’s vicious anti-Catholicism made her a hate figure. She was a child-bride of fifteen when she married the 25 year old Charles. Her brother, Louis XIII, agreed marriage articles with Charles, which were … Continue reading →

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The Anatomy Act, 1832: the Criminal Antecedents

Posted on June 28, 2018 by odeboyz

Prior to 1832, dissection used corpses direct from the gallows. These corpses were the only legal supply of bodies for medical schools. Dissection of executed murderers was uncontroversial as they’d lost all of their rights. Britain’s ferocious penal code provided … Continue reading →

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About the battle of the Somme before it began June 1916

Posted on June 26, 2018 by odeboyz

“The nation must be taught to bear losses. No amount of skill on the part of the higher commanders, no training, however good, on the part of the officers and men, no superiority of arms and ammunition, however great, will … Continue reading →

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Book Review: John Bew ~ Citizen Clem: a biography of Attlee

Posted on June 26, 2018 by odeboyz

Bew hasn’t made this colourless, dour, uncharismatic and secretive man interesting, which is disappointing with 564 pages to read. Endless remarks about Attlee’s shyness, “He was painfully shy and modest and kept up his guard at all times, ‘lest strange … Continue reading →

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Women of the French Resistance 1940-45

Posted on June 15, 2018 by odeboyz

After France was crushed, resistance to the German conquerors came from two principal sources: Communists and the Gaullist Free French. French women were critical to the entire resistance movement as they exploited their femininity. Women moved messages and small arms … Continue reading →

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A Chance Encounter

Posted on May 25, 2018 by odeboyz

I met this old man in Dagnam Park in the London Borough of Havering in the winter of about 1973. He had an old push chair, for transporting his logs, a bow saw to separate them into reasonable sized chunks … Continue reading →

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Every Immigrant is Undesirable: British policy 1905-2018

Posted on May 18, 2018 by odeboyz

British immigration policy isn’t driven by humanitarian principles. Anti-immigrant legislation began in 1905 with the Aliens Act. Mass immigration from Eastern Europe was halted in 1905 because most were destitute and wealth was the sole criterion used for desirability. Nazi … Continue reading →

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