We are also delighted to have the support for Bookworm of Major-General Dair Farrar-Hockley MC. ‘What a marvellous time — during the privations of ‘lockdown’ — to ask us to turn out our family archives and contribute to the BMMHS’s first publication. And no better charity than Blind Veterans UK
Some more of the stories that have come in over the last week…The Wavy Navy, Surrender at Singapore, Falklands – The Battle for Darwin, D-Day Diary, Great Uncles of WW1, Massacre by the Japanese, Surrender of the U-Boats, Royal Naval Patrol Service and Dad’s Story of Dunkirk. Some are very
VE Day 8th May 1945 The British Modern Military History Society salutes all those men and women who fought and contributed to Victory in Europe on 8 May 1945. We all owe a great level of gratitude and thanks for the trials, sacrifices and suffering that generation went through to
A few more in recently including all manner of experiences so far, ranging from heroic deeds in WW1, living through the Blitz in Romford, serving in Iraq in 2003, life as a POW of the Chinese, life on board RN submarines and a nurse serving on the hospital ship Uganda in the
An article by Linda Parker on the air attacks on London in both WW1 and WW2
The range of things we have received have been fascinating… a grandmother who was a nurse in WW1 and was torpedoed in the Channel, an aunt who was in Austria when ‘liberated’ by the Russians in 1945 and even the story of a royal hub cap !. “Helping us all
War & Navy Departments Washington DC During World War II the US War and Navy Departments published an extensive series of pamphlets for use individually by military personnel travelling to Great Britain. These are basically travel guides with a military/World War II twist. Initially (1942) the pamphlets were titles “A
This afternoon talk took place on Tuesday 23rd June. Jerry Cockeram opened with an update on BMMHS during the lockdown and also the progress of Operation Bookworm.
Then Linda Parker gave an interesting talk on Airborne Padres in the Second World War which was well received by the audience of 27 people. It was nice to see some familiar faces and some new ones too and there was also an interesting Q&A session at the end. The talk went well with only a few minor technical glitches, which we are working to overcome. Feedback from members on the “Zoom” was enthusiastic and appreciative, with most people willing to make a donation or contribution towards the cost of future Zoom talks.
Ice Stations to Action Stations by Linda Parker.
This talk tells the story of the “curious little war” that took place on the Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard 1941-1945. The island of Spitsbergen was the site of confrontation between the allies and Germany as the weather stations both sides attempted to maintain there were strategically important for the course of the war in Europe, Including D day.
The men involved on both sides had been prominent polar explorers in the interwar years, and Alexander ‘Sandy’ Glen in particular used the skills he had acquired in his pre-war exploration of the archipelago in the game of cat and mouse that took place as each side sought to obtain the advantage of obtaining regular weather forecasts and knowledge of Atlantic and Arctic conditions.
BCCA Newsletter Autumn 2020
Click on the Halifax to see PDF contents
The BMMHS had a successful visit yesterday to the Battle of Britain Bunker the former underground operations room used by No 11 Group Fighter Command RAF during WW2. Fighter aircraft operations were controlled from here throughout the war but most noteably during the Battle of Britain and on D-Day. There is also a new visitors centre opened in March 2018. The tour guide Chris Leworthy was excellent and the day was enjoyed by all. A highly recommended place to visit.
https://battleofbritainbunker.co.uk
The Main Hall, will be redecorated at the time of this April talk by Gary Sheffield. Gary’s talk will go ahead in the next door Function Room. However this has halved our capacity to 50 people for this one talk and all seats have now been reserved. Apologies to those who had hoped to attend. Normal service in the refurbished Main Hall will resume in May for all future talks.
BMMHS is pleased to announce that we have appointed Linda Parker as our Schools Liaison Officer. Linda’s role now includes a focus on establishing links with local schools and colleges with a view to broadening our audiences into a younger generation.
Please if you can provide us with contacts and advice in this area then contact us via info@bmmhs.org
Our previous talks have been sold out but thanks to the help from both Jenny & the Yoga team, we are now moving into the Larger Main Hall, in Woodcote Village Hall.
In order to secure a seat for future events, please contact us on info@bmmhs.org and we will confirm availability.
On Monday 14th October 2019, Wantage held Two Services of Remembrance commemorating the first casualties of the Second World War from the town .
Watch this space!
BCCA Newsletter Winter 2019
BCAA 71 Spring 2019
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An excellent talk followed by a book signing by naval author, Philip K Allan, author of the Alexander Clay series. Following a lifetime’s love of the wooden warships of the Napoleonic era, Philip took a packed house through a fascinating presentation of what it was like to live and work in the navies of the day.
Last night saw the first event of the BMMHS, with a fascinating talk by local historian Bill King, assisted by his wife Flora, on how Britain intended to repel a German invasion in 1940 through the use of ‘underground’ resistance fighters.
Click on Unit Badge for meeting details
BCCA Newsletter Winter 2019
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On 31 March 1921, the RAAF was formed as an independent service from the Army, making it the second-oldest air force in the world.
The RAAF has its origins in the Australian Flying Corps, which served in the Middle East and European theatres during the First World War.
Thank you to Barbara Taylor of The Western Front Association for kindly announcing the formation of the British Modern Military History Society to members at the Thames Valley Branch meeting on Thursday 28th March 2019.
