Letter of marque- legal pirates
Legal Pirates: The Story of Privateers and the Legend of Sir Francis Drake Did you know there were legal pirates? Would you believe that there was a time when piracy wasn’t always considered criminal. In the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, governments used to issue a Letter of Marque, this document granted private individuals the […]
Steamboat Willie
“I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.” Walt Disney, Disneyland; October 27, 1954 Do you know that Walt Disney himself was Mickey Mouse’s voice in the the first Disney Cartoon with sound? This is why on November 18, 1928 the Disney company celebrates […]
Odd sayings that come from The 1500s
Do you know where the tradition of the bride carrying a bouquet on her wedding day came from? It was because in the 1500’s people got married in June. They chose June because they took their annual bath in May, so they still smelt pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell a […]
Henry VIII’s daughter takes her mother’s side!
It all happened because a daughter was unhappy because her dad left her mum! The Acts of Supremacy On the 3rd November 1534 the First Act of Supremacy was passed. It was meant to be the only one, but it wasn’t. It was followed in 1537 when the Irish Act of Supremacy was passed by […]
How dangerous was Henry VIII court
It is estimated that 57,000 could have been executed during the reign of Henry VIII. I understand that this was over his 37 years on the throne, however, we must remember this is difficult to prove, but I do think it shows that being part of his court was dangerous. What happened after the Break […]
Singapore, another failure we need to learn about!
Singapore, today is an independent city state, but in 1942 was a jewel in the British Empire, and as shown in the map above, was in a strategically important position. This is because the Strait of Malacca is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. It was, and still is, the main […]
The unknown Battle of Gravelines
Have you ever heard of the Battle of Gravelines, to explain, it was a battle between the English an the Spanish ,which was part of the Spanish Armada, in fact it led to our victory. It took place on July 29th 1558 when the Spanish were routed at the Battle of Gravelines, it led to […]
How old is the shield wall the police use today?
Today when a demonstration that goes nasty, we see the police build a shield wall to defend themselves and then slowly move it forward, but when checking our musical 1066 – The Battle of Hastings I realised that the shield wall as been a policy used by armies for hundreds of years. Harold used it […]
The Combat of the Thirty
On March 26, 1351 – An extraordinary duel of knights occurred Would you believe that in the middle of a brutal and drawn-out conflict in 14th-century France, an unusual and you could even say theatrical event occurred. It was a formal combat between two groups of knights, watched as if it was a football match […]
The Calcutta Light horse and Operation Creek
Do you think Dad’s Army only defended Blighty? Think again. Unbelievably, a group of middle-aged bankers, lawyers, and ex-officers from the Calcutta Light Horse launched a daring covert mission in 1943 Goa, sinking a Nazi radio ship and outwitting German U-boats—all without official recognition. The truth is stranger than fiction. Let me tell you […]