The 6th of June 1944 was D-Day. I can’t believe I’m writing this, because I assumed that I’d written about it before, but it seems that I haven’t. I’ve written about D-Day+1 which was when my father landed at Arromanche. So let’s look into Operation Overlord....

On the 5th of June, 1916, the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire broke out. I have posted my review of Seven Pillars of Wisdom which gives a fascinating account of T.E. Lawrence’s role in the Arab Revolt. Let’s now take a wider view. It occured amid the upheaval...

On the 4th of June, 1525, villagers from Kent and Sussex rioted and occupied Bayham Abbey near Lamberhurst. I’m a Kentish man and haven’t been to Bayham Abbey or even heard about it. So, let’s discover. The Bayham Abbey riot of 1525 belongs to a shadowy corner of...

On the 3rd of June, 1941, the German army razed the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground, and murdered 180 of its citizens. During the Battle of Crete resistance fighters had held advancing German troops for two days. The attrocity was German retribution. The small...

The Gordon Riots began on the 2nd of June 1780. The Gordon Riots were among the most destructive episodes of civil disorder in British history. Erupting in London, the riots began as a mass protest against Catholic emancipation but rapidly descended into days of...

Robert Cecil was born on the 1st of June 1563. Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563–1612) was one of the most skilled and calculating statesmen of late Tudor and early Stuart England. The younger son of the formidable chief minister William Cecil, 1st Baron...

On the 31st of May, 455 CE, Emperor Petronius Maximus was stoned to death by an angry mob whilst trying to flee Rome. Petronius Maximus was Western Roman Emperor for a brief and ill-fated reign in the spring of 455 AD. Though he ruled for little more than two months,...

Claire and I both had our second shingles vaccinations this week. Both of us have felt as if we’ve been punched hard in the arm. Thankfully it is beginning to feel a little better. At least we shouldn’t get shingles, which I understand can be very unpleasant. Symptoms...

On the 30th of May, 1574, Henry III became King of France. Henry III of France (1551–1589) was one of the most enigmatic and controversial monarchs of the late Valois dynasty. His reign unfolded during the darkest years of the French Wars of Religion, a prolonged and...

The 6th of June 1944 was D-Day. I can’t believe I’m writing this, because I assumed that I’d written about it before, but it seems that I haven’t. I’ve written about D-Day+1 which was when my father landed at Arromanche. So let’s look into Operation Overlord....

On the 5th of June, 1916, the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire broke out. I have posted my review of Seven Pillars of Wisdom which gives a fascinating account of T.E. Lawrence’s role in the Arab Revolt. Let’s now take a wider view. It occured amid the upheaval...

On the 4th of June, 1525, villagers from Kent and Sussex rioted and occupied Bayham Abbey near Lamberhurst. I’m a Kentish man and haven’t been to Bayham Abbey or even heard about it. So, let’s discover. The Bayham Abbey riot of 1525 belongs to a shadowy corner of...

On the 3rd of June, 1941, the German army razed the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground, and murdered 180 of its citizens. During the Battle of Crete resistance fighters had held advancing German troops for two days. The attrocity was German retribution. The small...

The Gordon Riots began on the 2nd of June 1780. The Gordon Riots were among the most destructive episodes of civil disorder in British history. Erupting in London, the riots began as a mass protest against Catholic emancipation but rapidly descended into days of...

Robert Cecil was born on the 1st of June 1563. Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury (1563–1612) was one of the most skilled and calculating statesmen of late Tudor and early Stuart England. The younger son of the formidable chief minister William Cecil, 1st Baron...

On the 31st of May, 455 CE, Emperor Petronius Maximus was stoned to death by an angry mob whilst trying to flee Rome. Petronius Maximus was Western Roman Emperor for a brief and ill-fated reign in the spring of 455 AD. Though he ruled for little more than two months,...

Claire and I both had our second shingles vaccinations this week. Both of us have felt as if we’ve been punched hard in the arm. Thankfully it is beginning to feel a little better. At least we shouldn’t get shingles, which I understand can be very unpleasant. Symptoms...

On the 30th of May, 1574, Henry III became King of France. Henry III of France (1551–1589) was one of the most enigmatic and controversial monarchs of the late Valois dynasty. His reign unfolded during the darkest years of the French Wars of Religion, a prolonged and...