by David West | Oct 13, 2025 | News
On the 13th of October, 1307, hundreds of Knights Templar were arrested at dawn by King Philip the Fair. King Philip IV of France, known as Philip the Fair (Philippe le Bel), was born in 1268 and reigned from 1285 until his death in 1314. His moniker, ‘the...
by David West | Oct 12, 2025 | News
On the 12th of October, 1692, the Salem Witch Trials were ended by a letter from William Phipps, the Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. I’ve posted about the Pendle Witch Trial, and Called to Account, the fourth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures,...
by David West | Oct 11, 2025 | News
The events that jump out for me on the 11th of October concern space flight. On this day in 1968 NASA launched Apollo 7, the first successful crewed Apollo mission. Also on the 11th of October, but in 1984, Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first American woman to...
by David West | Oct 10, 2025 | News
On the 10th of October, 1575, Roman Catholic forces under Henry I, Duke of Guise, defeated the Protestants and captured, amongst others, Philippe de Mornay. There are several points at which the stories of Philippe de Mornay and my ancestor, Sir Anthony Standen...
by David West | Oct 9, 2025 | News
On the 9th of October, 1967, Che Guevara was executed for attempting to incite revolution in Bolivia. It’s over forty years since I was a student at Oxford, but I remember that almost every student’s room had the iconic poster of Che Guevara on the wall, and the male...
by David West | Oct 8, 2025 | News
My choice of historical event for the 8th of October is the Siege of Alkmaar, which began on the 21st of August 1573. It was as a pivotal event in the Eighty Years’ War, marking the first decisive defeat of the Spanish forces by the Dutch rebels. This victory...
