Rome 2a
After my first day in Rome, I collapsed onto my bed in my little hotel room, watched Italian TV, and got a good night’s sleep. Which was just as well, as I still had a lot to see on my last day …
Pictures, Travel 2007
1910s, Books, Contemporary, Other, Pictures
Mark my words
This will end in tears: Zeppelins to make tourist flights over London. (Via Airshipworld.) Image source: from the front cover of Louis Gastine, War in Space: or, an Air-craft War between France and Germany (London and Felling-on-Tyne: Walter Scott Publishing, 1913). (OK, it’s Paris, not London — so I cheated.) The oldest paperback I own,
1940s, Interviews, Periodicals, Radio
E. H. Carr on the failure of British airmindedness
E. H. Carr in conversation with Collin Brooks, BBC Home Service, 30 September 1940: After 1919 we were always worrying about keeping up our naval supremacy. And, of course, we were right. But what did we do about the Air Force? Hardly anything. We just let it dwindle away. We thought air power of so
1900s, Australia, Blogging, tweeting and podcasting, Television
Rewinding the Breaker
I was remiss in not mentioning the 12th Military History Carnival at Thoughts on Military History when it took place last month. My eye was drawn to ExecutedToday.com’s post about Harry ‘Breaker’ Morant and Peter Handcock, the Australian soldiers executed in 1902 for killing Boer prisoners-of-war. There’s still a debate about whether Kitchener issued an
1910s, Air defence, Books
Happy birthday, RAF
The Royal Air Force is 90 years old today. It was formed from the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 (yes, April Fool’s Day), as the result of an Act of Parliament. This was historic. The RAF may not have been the world’s first independent
Blogging, tweeting and podcasting, Plots and tables
State of the military historioblogosphere, March 2008
[Cross-posted at Revise and Dissent.] It’s time again for my six-monthly look at that portion of the blogosphere devoted to military history, as defined by the ‘Wars and Warriors’ section of Cliopatria’s blogroll. So, let’s begin. Not a lot has changed since September, actually, and this plot shows why: the number of military history blogs
1940s, Australia, Contemporary, Pictures
Out of the depths
This has been all over the news here today, though I suspect interest is somewhat less outside Australia: the wreck of HMAS Sydney has been found. On 19 November 1941, Sydney was returning to Fremantle, Western Australia, after escorting a troopship north to Sunda Strait. It encountered the German commerce raider Kormoran somewhere out in
1930s, Before 1900, Periodicals, Radio
A stern warning of things to come
Prime Minister Lord Salisbury, speech to the Lord Mayor’s banquet, 9 November 1897: Remember this — that the federation of Europe is the only possible structure of Europe which can save civilisation from the desolating effects of a disastrous war. You notice that on all sides the instruments of destruction, the piling up of arms
Pictures, Travel 2007
Rome 1a
Rome, beautiful Rome! Is there anything I can say about the Eternal City that hasn’t been said before? No, but I won’t let that stop me trying. It was fantastic both in the sense of great and in the sense of unbelievable — it’s almost hard to believe I really was there. But I have