history
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This week Prague marks the 82nd anniversary of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich and the massacres which followed. I took these photos on a visit to the site a couple of years ago. On May 27, 1942, Heydrich’s car joined this road turning sharply to follow the main route towards the city centre. But the…
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World War Two was the war in which old gender rules changed, as intelligence agencies created specific training and roles for women. SHADOW WARRIORS is the story of women as undercover combatants: armed with Sten guns and grenades; cutting telecommunication wires, laying mines in roadways; organizing bombing raids; preparing the way for the D-Day invasion…
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Some war movies are adventure films – and we all love them. The Great Escape, Where Eagles Dare, Von Ryan’s Express. Others astound us with the techniques of modern film-making, rendering elements of war viscerally realistic, but remain within the conventions of adventure war films (Saving Private Ryan) or introduce unnecessary parameters apparently to heighten…
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Perce Blackborow is one of the most fascinating Antarctic explorers. An accidental hero. A stowaway who became a key part one of the great stories of survival… “If anyone has to be eaten, then you will be the first!” the expedition leader said. The words might have been a dark joke but, with what was about…
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As time passes we have to grab every opportunity to meet veterans of World War 2. Now, even those who only came of age towards the end of the conflict – from D-Day to VE day – are at least 98 years old. This week I went to a special event with almost a dozen…
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Gaynor Madgwick lost her brother and sister in the Aberfan disaster and was herself pulled from the wreck of the school. She meets survivors, rescuers and members of the community tell her story and Aberfan’s using the voices of the villagers themselves. This programme hasn’t been heard since the 50th anniversary in 2016. I thought…
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D-Day veteran Ted Owens is celebrating winning a Gold award at the New York Festival of TV and Film. The series LEST WE FORGET in which two schoolchildren travelled to France, the Netherlands and Germany with Ted was given the special prize in a documentary category. The Royal Marine Commando was hit by a shell on…
Greg Lewis 