…to at least 1732 there, or near there, when James Holman was born, my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather (I think that’s the right number of greats!) His grandson, John Holman, emigrated with his wife, Millicent (nee Hodge), and their eight children to the new colony of South Australia in 1839. Six other children had died in Cornwall, which suggests a grinding poverty. Their passage was assisted, so they certainly had few means at the…
…hese examples? Why have I called these posts ‘The superweapon and the Anglo-American imagination’? Actually, the phrase ‘Anglo-American imagination’ is misleading, because I think the British and the American imaginations were significantly different, at least when it comes to technology and war. And the difference is this: at least in the period of the two world wars, Americans found it much easier to imagine that technology could help them win w…
…s to where to stay? Somewhere appropriate to a PhD student doing research, cheapish but not nasty, ideally available over the whole period, has at least some form of net access, and so on. When I’ve traveled within Australia for similar purposes I’ve stayed at university residential colleges, which (obviously) cater for students and are conveniently empty in the summer, but I don’t know if that’s the same over there. Are there any good websites to…
…eavours! Brett Holman Always nice to meet a lurker, Ian! Yes, you’re right — it is quite similar to the DH 77 and DH 53. They’re both from the 1920s — I think I was looking for something from 1934, something up-to-date, which might be why I didn’t consider them. But I guess those wing braces are a bit old-fashioned for 1934. Interesting that you were in the ROC. What was it’s role to be in a nuclear war? Was it just recording and reporting the n…
…[1928]), 130-1: It is also to be hoped that some regard may be paid to pre-existing land-lubber amenities in the actual placing of aerodromes, and that the Stonehenge scandal will not be repeated. There, with all Salisbury Plain to choose from, the R.F.C. (as it then was) elected to plump down its hangars and all their sprawling appurtenances within a few hundred yards of what should be the most hallowed stones in England. Never were venerable re…
…constitute the valid, binding law of air warfare at the present time. Noel-Baker’s own prescription for stopping the war in the Far East along this line of argument was a trade embargo against Japan combined with a loan to the Chinese government for arms. That seems a bit insipid, but when you consider how the oil embargo in 1941 forced Japan into war against the United States, Britain, et al., it’s clear that it had the potential to influence Ja…
…about the Rough Guides and parking my books. And reassuring about English — I know a little German but that’s all. On the statue, yes, I can take one for you if you like! I might even be down that end of town tomorrow — if not then early next week. I’ll email you. Gavin: Yes, Duxford is a must-see, though I’ll also be going to the RAF Museum in Hendon (and quite possibly doing a spot of research there too). I probably won’t have much chance to…
…not a very high-rise city — but I do find that a bit suspicious. This blown-up version from the site making the charge doesn’t seem to show any either. (Click for the full-size version.) What does that site actually claim? It’s about the history of Millwall Football Club, of all things. But the evidence presented by Gazza is potentially persuasive. The connection to Millwall FC is that their former home ground, the Den, is visible in the photo, an…
…l. I don’t know if the Scott case would be as relevant in Australia though — as you can see, the Boer War memorial, which predates Scott, is already very abstract, though certainly more ornate than most of the post-WWI ones. But I can’t really generalise from such a small sample. Chris Williams I’m sure that there were Aussies in Russia in 1919-20. I remember flicking through a book on the topic once. ObMemorials: in this case are two that I noti…
…Check. WAAFs and their plotting tables? Check. Home Guards armed with pitch-forks? Check. Galland asking Goering for a squadron of Spitfires? Check. Over-enthusiastic and unintelligible Poles engaging the enemy against orders? Check. Civilians huddled in Tube stations? Check. ‘Achtung! Spitfire!’ Check. Fresh-faced young pilots rushed into action and to their deaths after only a few hours’ training? Check. I could go on and on, and in fact I will!…
