by David West | Apr 22, 2026 | News
On the 22nd of April, 1915, chlorine gas was first used as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres. I have written about The third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele. In ancient times, armies occasionally sought to poison wells, contaminate food...
by David West | Apr 21, 2026 | News
On the 21st of April, 1509, King Henry VII, or Henry Tudor, died and Henry VIII became king. I have written about Henry VIII but I don’t think I have written about Henry VII. That’s a poor omission because he founded the Tudor dynasty through which my ancestor, Sir...
by David West | Apr 20, 2026 | News
On the 20th of April, 1828, René Caillié became the second non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing, and the first to leave alive. Chambers Dictionary defines Timbuktu as a noun meaning any distant place and cites the origin as a town in Mali on the...
by David West | Apr 19, 2026 | News
Belgium was the last country Claire and I visited on our Interrail trip last spring. In Brussels I posted about a connection between Sir Anthony Standen and Snow White. The fact is that when Sir Anthony was caught by the Don John, Duke of Austria, in an inappropriate...
by David West | Apr 18, 2026 | News
Lucrezia Borgia was born on the 18th of April, 1480, in Subiaco near Rome. I don’t know much about Lucrezia Borgia other than she was supposed to be rather inclined to poisoning. She predates Sir Anthony Standen so I haven’t previously researched her. She was the...
