Siege of Oxford
I never miss an opportunity to post about my alma mater. The Siege of Oxford in 1142 was one of the most dramatic episodes of the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, a conflict remembered as the Anarchy. It was also a moment when the struggle for the...
Tacitus
On the 25th of September, 275CE, the Roman Senate chose, for the last time, Marcus Claudius Tacitus as emperor. I have written about several Roman Emperors, of whom Octavian was the first. We seem to be approaching the end now. Marcus Claudius Tacitus was Roman...
Routemaster Bus
The iconic Routemaster bus was introduced on the 24th of September, 1954. If it was raining when I was a child I took the 229 bus to school, otherwise I’d walk the two and a half miles. The bus was a Routemaster. I’ve written often enough about aviation, so it’s high...
Serpent’s Teeth
Today I loaded the ebook and paperback formats of Serpent’s Teeth, the fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, onto Kindle Direct Publishing. I have scheduled the publication date for the 1st of November. I have ordered a proof copy of the paperback so that...
Battle of Arnemuiden
The Battle of Arnemuiden, fought on the 23rd of September, 1338, was one of the opening naval engagements of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. Although much smaller than later famous battles such as Sluys (1340), Arnemuiden was historically...
Battle of Zutphen
The Battle of Zutphen was fought on the 22nd of September, 1586, during the Eighty Years’ War. This was the war that my ancestor, the Elizabethan spy, Sir Anthony Standen was involved in. However he was chased out of Flanders in 1577 and was spying in Spain in 1586....
Avitus
On the 21st of September, 455CE, Emperor Avitus entered Italy with a Gallic army and consolidated his power. I have written about several Roman emperors such as Julius Caesar and Marcus Aurelius, but I hadn’t heard of Avitus. Avitus was one of the last emperors of the...
Olympic
On the 20th of September, 1911, RMS Olympic collided with HMS Hawke. As a yachtsman and former officer of the Royal Naval Reserve, I can confirm that collisions between ships are to be avoided if at all possible. However her sister ships in the White Star Line, RMS...
Witold Pilecki
On the 19th of September, 1940, Witold Pilecki was voluntarily captured by by the German army and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in order to gather information and smuggle it out to the resistance group. I’m struggling to get my head around this. The man...
Siege of Oxford
I never miss an opportunity to post about my alma mater. The Siege of Oxford in 1142 was one of the most dramatic episodes of the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, a conflict remembered as the Anarchy. It was also a moment when the struggle for the...
Tacitus
On the 25th of September, 275CE, the Roman Senate chose, for the last time, Marcus Claudius Tacitus as emperor. I have written about several Roman Emperors, of whom Octavian was the first. We seem to be approaching the end now. Marcus Claudius Tacitus was Roman...
Routemaster Bus
The iconic Routemaster bus was introduced on the 24th of September, 1954. If it was raining when I was a child I took the 229 bus to school, otherwise I’d walk the two and a half miles. The bus was a Routemaster. I’ve written often enough about aviation, so it’s high...
Serpent’s Teeth
Today I loaded the ebook and paperback formats of Serpent’s Teeth, the fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, onto Kindle Direct Publishing. I have scheduled the publication date for the 1st of November. I have ordered a proof copy of the paperback so that...
Battle of Arnemuiden
The Battle of Arnemuiden, fought on the 23rd of September, 1338, was one of the opening naval engagements of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. Although much smaller than later famous battles such as Sluys (1340), Arnemuiden was historically...
Battle of Zutphen
The Battle of Zutphen was fought on the 22nd of September, 1586, during the Eighty Years’ War. This was the war that my ancestor, the Elizabethan spy, Sir Anthony Standen was involved in. However he was chased out of Flanders in 1577 and was spying in Spain in 1586....
Avitus
On the 21st of September, 455CE, Emperor Avitus entered Italy with a Gallic army and consolidated his power. I have written about several Roman emperors such as Julius Caesar and Marcus Aurelius, but I hadn’t heard of Avitus. Avitus was one of the last emperors of the...
Olympic
On the 20th of September, 1911, RMS Olympic collided with HMS Hawke. As a yachtsman and former officer of the Royal Naval Reserve, I can confirm that collisions between ships are to be avoided if at all possible. However her sister ships in the White Star Line, RMS...
Witold Pilecki
On the 19th of September, 1940, Witold Pilecki was voluntarily captured by by the German army and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in order to gather information and smuggle it out to the resistance group. I’m struggling to get my head around this. The man...