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#Deanehistory 202.
It is often said with some force that the only good Nazi is a Grammar Nazi. Those guilty of grammatical errors and typographical solecisms, especially online, may seem – and this will shock you – ungrateful when their mistake is pointed out,
It is often said with some force that the only good Nazi is a Grammar Nazi. Those guilty of grammatical errors and typographical solecisms, especially online, may seem – and this will shock you – ungrateful when their mistake is pointed out,
but plainly providing such helpful feedback is God’s work.
Thus it is with a divided mind that your correspondent relays the story of The Good Typo. For which, hat tip @BlueEarthMngmnt.
Thus it is with a divided mind that your correspondent relays the story of The Good Typo. For which, hat tip @BlueEarthMngmnt.
When the Second World War broke out, British boffins (why should the tabloid media be the only ones to use the term?) began the process of building a codebreaking team at Bletchley Park. Whilst well documented in some ways, their work has been somewhat challenging for historians
#Deanehistory 193 h/t @CoriniumMuseum. The Battle of Caudine Forks.
The Samnites were old rivals of Rome, and did pretty well for a while before they went the way of the rest of Rome’s enemies for the centuries of their pomp - defeat, assimilation, obliteration.
The Samnites were old rivals of Rome, and did pretty well for a while before they went the way of the rest of Rome’s enemies for the centuries of their pomp - defeat, assimilation, obliteration.
This is a story of their success, which was also their failure - with not one but two lessons.
The Samnites were commanded in 321 BC by Gaius Pontius, who learned that the Roman army in the field against him was presently to be found at Calatia.
The Samnites were commanded in 321 BC by Gaius Pontius, who learned that the Roman army in the field against him was presently to be found at Calatia.
He had ten of his men disguised as local herdsmen who, approaching the Romans separately by varying routes at different times, all told them the same thing - that the Samnites were busy laying siege to the town of Lucera.
#Deanehistory 163.
Philip Wareing was 25 years old when his Spitfire exploded.
Flying out of Kenley Aerodrome, at that time in August 1940 mostly a smoking ruin at which the pilots slept under the wings of their planes,
Philip Wareing was 25 years old when his Spitfire exploded.
Flying out of Kenley Aerodrome, at that time in August 1940 mostly a smoking ruin at which the pilots slept under the wings of their planes,
Sergeant Wareing was one of seven British airmen engaging thirty German ME109s in the air over the Channel and – as the combat drifted southwards – above Calais.
He’d shot one German fighter down when, in his words, his “lovely Spitfire was riddled like a sieve.” Hit by flak from the ground as well as by enemy planes, on fire, his propeller having failed, his radiator taken out of action,
#Deanehistory 162. This is the story of the 99 call made during the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1974. if you dislike sporting stories, or robust collective self-defence, don’t read this one, and write a robust letter of complaint to the NATO alliance.
The Lions team is a combined squad of English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish players. Periodically this handpicked group tours another rugby playing nation.
In 1974, the run of play was decisively in the visiting team’s favour. However, in the course of the tour the Lions felt that violent play against them by South African players was not being properly penalised, during or after games.
#Deanehistory 161. Hat tip @LiliLapis30
Lord Arthur Hill was a British soldier, devoted to the Duke of Wellington. Wellington valued his services in return, but had a lot on his plate preparing to fight Napoleon & seemingly forgot to put Arthur’s name to the team sheet.
Lord Arthur Hill was a British soldier, devoted to the Duke of Wellington. Wellington valued his services in return, but had a lot on his plate preparing to fight Napoleon & seemingly forgot to put Arthur’s name to the team sheet.
Thus it was that, a mere two days before the Battle of Waterloo, Arthur received a message to come at once to the Duke's side to serve as his Aide-De-Camp. Being in London when the message reaching him, he sped immediately to Dover.
There were no sailings available – perhaps because the climax of the conflict was looming? – so Arthur hired a rowboat for the then rather large sum of £22, and with the owner to help him, promptly rowed himself across the Channel.
#Deanehistory 157. The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Hat tip SH.
Heligan was the country seat of the Trelawnys for four hundred years.
Buying the Heligan estate outside Mevagissey in Cornwall in the 16th century, they built a new manor house;
Heligan was the country seat of the Trelawnys for four hundred years.
Buying the Heligan estate outside Mevagissey in Cornwall in the 16th century, they built a new manor house;
rebuilt in 1692, although handsome, it is not what we are interested in today.
Henry Hawkins Tremayne, a priest, began work on the gardens in the late 1700s. Thomas Gray was commissioned to create a plan and the gardens were laid out. Succeeding generations of Trelawnys continued his work, adding “The Jungle” with its subtropical plants
#Deanehistory 156. Hat tip FCT.
September, 1956. Thomas Fizpatrick, a veteran of both the Second World War and the Korean War, is getting legless with some kindred spirits in a bar on St Nicholas Avenue, in the area in which he’d grown up, Washington Heights, Upper Manhattan,
September, 1956. Thomas Fizpatrick, a veteran of both the Second World War and the Korean War, is getting legless with some kindred spirits in a bar on St Nicholas Avenue, in the area in which he’d grown up, Washington Heights, Upper Manhattan,
in the hazy period well known to nighthawks that sits somewhere indefinable between late night and early morning.
I, he boasted, could go to New Jersey & get back here in 15 minutes. I could go get a plane & fly it right to this bar if I wanted to.
I, he boasted, could go to New Jersey & get back here in 15 minutes. I could go get a plane & fly it right to this bar if I wanted to.
Er, no – you could not, someone not unnaturally replied.
And so Fitzpatrick got in his car – drink driving laws of the day being more lax than ours, but not THAT lax, we will overlook the obvious point to be made – drove over the Hudson into New Jersey,
And so Fitzpatrick got in his car – drink driving laws of the day being more lax than ours, but not THAT lax, we will overlook the obvious point to be made – drove over the Hudson into New Jersey,
#Deanehistory 155. Hat tip @SilverAlso. The Girl Who Fell From The Sky.
On Christmas Eve 1971, Juliane Koepcke boarded LANSA Flight 508 with her mother. She was seventeen.
On Christmas Eve 1971, Juliane Koepcke boarded LANSA Flight 508 with her mother. She was seventeen.
The flight was from Peru’s capital, Lima, to Pucallpa, a city in the east of the country – they were going to see Julian’s father, a zoologist who worked in the Amazonian Rainforest at Panguana, a research station he had established.
Half an hour into the flight, in deep cloud cover, they experienced increasing turbulence. Luggage compartments flew open. Bags fell out in the aisle and onto passengers. Panic set in… and then lightning struck the engine, and the plane broke up.
#deanehistory 154. The mad – and successful – adventures of Geoffrey Spicer-Simson.
Most of the stories I tell on the @HistoryHrPod #podcast with @denvercunning are from the #deanehistory tweets & book. Today, courtesy of @WillardFoxton, this story is from the podcast.
Most of the stories I tell on the @HistoryHrPod #podcast with @denvercunning are from the #deanehistory tweets & book. Today, courtesy of @WillardFoxton, this story is from the podcast.
Geoffrey Simson was born in Tasmania and took his wife’s name to become Spicer-Simson before embarking on a magnificently lunatic military career. Which had a rather bad start.
Shortly after the First World War broke out, Spicer-Simson was in command of the Royal Navy ship HMS Niger, which was on active service but at the time in question was at anchor just of Deal in Kent. Spicer-Simson took some time away from his ship to enjoy a party at a local
#Deanehistory 153. Hat tip: @HCH_Hill. "The Unluckiest Ship in History..?" or... "Don't shoot! We're Republicans!"
The USS William D. Porter was named after US Civil War Commodore William Porter, who had nothing to deserve this association being inflicted upon his memory.
The USS William D. Porter was named after US Civil War Commodore William Porter, who had nothing to deserve this association being inflicted upon his memory.
Her launch in 1943 was just about the only thing that went right for the Willie Dee, as her crew called her; she was perhaps the unluckiest ship in history, for the following reasons.
Her first task was to serve in a support group for the USS Iowa, which had President Roosevelt aboard as he headed to Cairo for a conference with Winston Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek. As she left dock at Norfolk, her anchor was not retracted properly and tore railings,
This will likely seem a strange question to you, since – from Bugs Bunny snacking on them in your childhood cartoons, to what hits your plate when you’ve been naughty – you are so accustomed to them being orange that you don’t really think of them another way.
But for millennia, pretty much all carrots everywhere were not orange. Instead, they were yellow, white or purple. It was in the 1600s that the orange dominance rapidly occurred, and – as so often – it’s all down to the Dutch.
#Deanehistory 151.
This is the story of the Great Emu War of 1932.
The great generation of men who had fought the First World War returned to challenging prospects in Australia. Many veterans were gifted parcels of land to farm, especially in Western Australia - but times were
This is the story of the Great Emu War of 1932.
The great generation of men who had fought the First World War returned to challenging prospects in Australia. Many veterans were gifted parcels of land to farm, especially in Western Australia - but times were
hard and the Great Depression of 1929 made things worse.
That said, the worst enemy of all for the farmers wasn’t the economy. It was the emu.
This great galumphing flightless bird can go for weeks without eating. But it really prefers not to.
That said, the worst enemy of all for the farmers wasn’t the economy. It was the emu.
This great galumphing flightless bird can go for weeks without eating. But it really prefers not to.
In fact, it turns out that what it really likes to do is get together with a bunch of its mates and eat your crops, crash through fences letting other critters through, and generally ruin your life.
#Deanehistory 150 hat tip: @SilverAlso.
Today, in Flanders fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row. Over a hundred years ago, during the First World War, things were very different.
Today, in Flanders fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row. Over a hundred years ago, during the First World War, things were very different.
Private Percy Buck of the Hertfordshire Regiment was 26 when he was joined the great fallen in 1917, killed on the battlefield at the Third Battle of Ypres.
One amongst his enemies, Corporal Josef Wilczek, found a black and white photograph in his hands as he lay dying. Perhaps, as he might have hoped, it was the last thing Buck ever saw. The picture was of Buck’s family - his wife, Bertha, and his young son, Cyril.
#Deanehistory 148.
Columbo is the best TV detective. This is unarguable. But what may be unknown about our favourite rumpled sleuth is that he was also the cause of, and solution too, one of the biggest problems faced by the Romanian government.
Columbo is the best TV detective. This is unarguable. But what may be unknown about our favourite rumpled sleuth is that he was also the cause of, and solution too, one of the biggest problems faced by the Romanian government.
In the 1970s, few American television programmes were broadcast behind the Iron Curtain. Columbo, with its strong, frequent anti-elitist narratives, a humble servant of justice and the state proving the undoing of evil capitalist wealthy toffs, was an exception.
As a result, much like Norman Wisdom’s black and white movies, it proved even more popular in some Communist countries than it had been at home. In Romania, Columbo was aired twice a week.
But there was a problem.
But there was a problem.
#Deanehistory 147.
Whilst I was not a barrister of any distinction, Bar School can teach some things that are useful in life (even if, admittedly, not always heeded), like when to shut up.
Whilst I was not a barrister of any distinction, Bar School can teach some things that are useful in life (even if, admittedly, not always heeded), like when to shut up.
A particular fear of an advocate is going “one question too far.” You’ve got what you need, you’ve landed some doubt – take it & move on. Don’t, no matter how good that “one more thing” might seem to be, give in to temptation & ask a question to which you don’t know the answer…
Here is a particularly good example of the "question too far" – from cross-examination being conducted by the Australian barrister Don Campbell QC in a personal injury case. (Campbell would go on to tell the story against himself.)
#Deanehistory 146. Hat tip @_RGArmstrong.
Rick Jolly was born in Hong Kong, into a family that knew both conflict and cure. His Polish father had been a prisoner of war held by the Japanese for five years. His mother was an ambulance driver.
Rick Jolly was born in Hong Kong, into a family that knew both conflict and cure. His Polish father had been a prisoner of war held by the Japanese for five years. His mother was an ambulance driver.
It is easy to read things as predetermined when they are not. Some are born into great fortune and squander it; some are born into families of lovingkindness and become monsters.
But it’s impossible to wonder if boisterous Rick Jolly’s lineage did not guide him into a life that was marked by service, by bravery, by kindness towards prisoners and by healing.
#deanehistory 145.
Back in the covidian days of 2021, we told the story of mini-submarines used against the Tirpitz in Operation Source (deanehistory 74).
Here is the story of a precursor, related action: Operation Chariot, the story of the St. Nazaire Raid in 1942.
Back in the covidian days of 2021, we told the story of mini-submarines used against the Tirpitz in Operation Source (deanehistory 74).
Here is the story of a precursor, related action: Operation Chariot, the story of the St. Nazaire Raid in 1942.
HMS Campbeltown was previously USS Buchanan, one of fifty “Town Class” ships transferred to the Royal Navy by the Americans under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement in 1940, a deal that did what it says on the tin.
Having been launched in 1919, and something of a relic by the time she was transferred, Campbeltown’s primary achievement before Operation Chariot was having accidents.
#Deanehistory 112
Given the current tussle for Stamford Bridge, I thought I’d tell the most interesting story to be taken from the original battle. Concentrate, as there are two principal characters with the same name.
Given the current tussle for Stamford Bridge, I thought I’d tell the most interesting story to be taken from the original battle. Concentrate, as there are two principal characters with the same name.
It’s 1066. Edward the Confessor had died & the wise men of England made Harold OF ENGLAND king as Edward recommended.
Harold’s brother Tostig, erstwhile Earl of Northumbria, had been accused of various bits of bad behaviour, like bumping off houseguests…
Harold’s brother Tostig, erstwhile Earl of Northumbria, had been accused of various bits of bad behaviour, like bumping off houseguests…
and was exiled during Edward’s reign, despite being Edward’s brother-in-law. He fomented dissent & plundered the countryside, eventually joining forces with Harold OF NORWAY.
#deanehistory 107 – the first to come with what the kids call a “trigger warning”– could give you nightmares.
Erfurt is the capital of the German state of Thuringia &, by all accounts, a nice place. Still it is indelibly associated with one of the most horrible tales in history.
Erfurt is the capital of the German state of Thuringia &, by all accounts, a nice place. Still it is indelibly associated with one of the most horrible tales in history.
It all had the most unlikely start. Louis the Mild was the Landgrave of Thuringia &, as his nickname suggests, apparently an easygoing sort of chap. He’d inherited a dispute over land with a leading light of the Church, Archbishop Conrad, who ran a neighbouring territory, Mainz.
This rumbled on & escalated to the point that the King of Germany (& later “Holy” “Roman” “Emperor”) Henry VI intervened, even though he was busy fighting the Poles as usual. He called a Diet– not a weightwatchers New Year resolution sort of diet, but a big meeting– in Erfurt.
#Deanehistory 95.
This is one of my favourite anecdotes about leadership.
Jim Mattis is a former US Secretary of “Defense” and a lifelong Marine Corps man.
This is one of my favourite anecdotes about leadership.
Jim Mattis is a former US Secretary of “Defense” and a lifelong Marine Corps man.
The story is told by the former Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Krulak, in part to make a point about how cool he is himself, but we will forgive him for it in the circumstances.
On Christmas Day each year Krulak would drive around the lonely Marine guard posts around the greater Washington DC area and give some cookies and fellowship to the poor Marines who’d pulled guard duty.
#deanehistory 94. Kilts.
Bureaucratic obfuscation in the face of instructions one dislikes is hardly new or novel. Indeed, it is written upon the heart of the modern civil service, it seems.
Likewise, a spot of the old polite passive aggressive is hardly unusual.
Bureaucratic obfuscation in the face of instructions one dislikes is hardly new or novel. Indeed, it is written upon the heart of the modern civil service, it seems.
Likewise, a spot of the old polite passive aggressive is hardly unusual.
But I still enjoy the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders’ rearguard action against plain & direct orders from the War Office.
War Office: active units are not to wear kilts.
QOCH: surely this is sent to us by mistake?
War Office: active units are not to wear kilts.
QOCH: surely this is sent to us by mistake?
This alone is often enough to see off the disliked instruction as the other side has moved on to other things.
Not in this case.
WO: nope, no mistake. You’re not to wear kilts.
QOCH: very good. What should we wear? We’re on deployment you know, can’t just pop to the shops.
Not in this case.
WO: nope, no mistake. You’re not to wear kilts.
QOCH: very good. What should we wear? We’re on deployment you know, can’t just pop to the shops.
#Deanehistory 90. Today is “International Clinical Trials Day.” That which might once have felt rather obscure feels vital & relevant, so here’s the story of James Lind, the British naval surgeon who pioneered the 1st clinical trials on board HMS Salisbury on 20 May 1747.
In those times, scurvy was a huge threat for navies. Indeed, it caused more deaths amongst British sailors than French and Spanish forces combined. We now know that scurvy is caused by vitamin C deficiency, but vitamins were then unknown.
Lind thought scurvy was caused by “putrefaction of the body” and that that could potentially be cured through the introduction of acids. He therefore recruited a dozen men with scurvy for a “fair test.”
(his informed consent process would… not satisfy modern day requirements.)
(his informed consent process would… not satisfy modern day requirements.)
#deanehistory 89. Hat tip – my late father, Paul Deane.
This is the story of a great son of Suffolk, Philip Broke, and of his ship, the Shannon.
This is the story of a great son of Suffolk, Philip Broke, and of his ship, the Shannon.
In 1812 Britain was at war with the United States. Contrary to expectations, the Americans were thumping the Royal Navy at every turn. Bigger ships, heavier guns, larger crews.
Broke was to change things.
Broke was to change things.
The crew of the Shannon drilled tirelessly. Their captain set them challenge after challenge. Gunnery practice. Swordplay. Scenarios: imagine we are being attacked in such and such a way – what do we do? Fire the guns blindfolded, with instructions on your target given orally.
#deanehistory 88 – hat tip @DrBrexit.
Napoleon won the War of the Fourth Coalition, but he lost the celebration after.
Napoleon won the War of the Fourth Coalition, but he lost the celebration after.
Lest this seem obscure, I remind you of the most dangerous enemy faced by Monty Python’s King Arthur, the Legendary Black Beast of Arrrghhh, against which, after heavy losses, the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch had to be deployed.
It was like this. The Treaty had been signed. Success was affirmed. His Chief of Staff, Alexandre Berthier, was confronted with the typical gift challenge – what to get the Emperor who has everything?
Well, he thought, Napoleon does like to hunt.
Well, he thought, Napoleon does like to hunt.
