Phallic symbol envy
Source: Review of Reviews for Australasia, May 1913, 248 (link; presumably originally from a British publication).
1910s, Aircraft, Art, Australia, Periodicals, Pictures
1910s
1910s, 1940s, Books, Periodicals
Hang ’em high
This is something I’ve been wondering about for ages. In The Impact of Air Power on the British People and their Government, Alfred Gollin notes, but does not explain, a recurring theme: the idea that after a damaging air raid, angry mobs would string up government ministers (or other servants of the public) from lamp-posts
1910s, Periodicals, Phantom airships, mystery aeroplanes, and other panics, Rumours
The enemy within
Last month I touched on the Hidden Hand, an alleged German conspiracy during the First World War, supposedly undermining the British war effort from within. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately!) my sources don’t include some of the more extreme publications pushing this conspiracy theory, but I have looked at the Daily Mail, which has published the
1910s, 1920s, 1930s, Air defence, Blogging, tweeting and podcasting, Film
Holiday reading
The 19th Military History Carnival has been posted at Military History and Warfare. For my pick from this edition I can’t go past the first entry, on the interwar RAF at Thoughts on Military History. It’s part of the first chapter of his thesis, and it’s a very good overview of the financial and operational
1910s, Air defence, Books, Maps, Pictures, Words
Two barrages
One of the things I love about the official history of the RFC and RAF in the First World War is all the maps — multi-panel fold-out jobs showing where bombs fell in London during the Gotha raids, or the Allied front in Macedonia. That’s not to mention the accompanying slip-cases stuffed full of more
1910s, Periodicals, Phantom airships, mystery aeroplanes, and other panics, Rumours
Flight‘s message to the politicians
In contrast to the King’s message to the RAF, Flight‘s reaction to the end of the war, in the same issue of 14 November 1918, seems rather grumpy. It’s true that the editorial section is rounded off, on p. 1274 (source), by a short section which expresses a certain amount of glee at the news
1910s, Periodicals, Pictures
The King’s message to the Royal Air Force
It’s 90 years to the day since the guns fell silent, and the bombs stopped falling. I don’t feel that I have anything particularly insightful to say, so here’s how Flight marked the occasion, by publishing the King’s message to the RAF on its front page, 14 November 1918, p. 1270 (source): THE KING’S MESSAGE
1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, Film, Plays
Screening the knock-out blow
Last year I gave a lecture where I said that Things to Come, the 1936 Alexander Korda production of H. G. Wells’ novel The Shape of Things to Come, was not a very popular film, that not many people would have seen it. I had to retract that, but I then said that I stand
1910s, 1920s, Books, Maps, Pictures
Come friendly bombs and fall on Stonehenge
A few months ago I looked at some visions of how aerial warfare might improve the city by blowing away ugly developments. Here’s a similar fantasy of better planning through bombing, though the site in question is a rather surprising one: Stonehenge. From Clough Williams-Ellis’s diatribe against the debeautification of the countryside, England and the
1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, Air defence, Aircraft, Art, Books, Civil defence, Conferences and talks, Disarmament, Film, International air force, Maps, Nuclear, biological, chemical, Phantom airships, mystery aeroplanes, and other panics, Pictures, Plots and tables, Thesis, Videos
Facing Armageddon
This is the talk I gave at Earth Sciences back in May. It’s long and picture heavy and much of it will be be familiar to regular readers, but some people expressed some interest in it so here it is. I’ve lightly edited it, mainly to correct typos in my written copy. I’ve put in