Second World War online

Google has just set up another of their virtual exhibitions, this time to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe (or VE Day). Events have been happening across the country, and across the world come to that, but the exhibition can be found by clicking on the link above.

Crowds celebrating VE Day in 1945.
Picture Credit: BBC / Getty

Dan Snow - WW1 videos

A short post to highlight some great short videos by historian Dan Snow about various aspects of World War One.

These are made by the BBC and have been posted on YouTube:

Why trenches:

Breaking the Deadlock:

The Myths:

Tanks:

The soldiers' kit:

Food:

Barbed Wire:

M4 History Project internet resources - WW1

Now that the M4 History Project into aspects of World War One is in full swing, it may be useful to post here some internet resources.

Some British Tommies. Somewhere in France.
Picture Credit: BBC

Use the following imaginatively; don't forget to make a note of what sites you have used and put this information into a bibliography at the end!

Good use of specific contextual knowledge will be crucial for getting a high mark in the project!

Start here:

The BBC has a landing page for all things WW1:

• This includes stories from the Home Front
• A "schools" page all about the experience of teenagers.
• A news item all about photos from the trenches which have recently been discovered.
• A news item about the 1914 Christmas truce.
• Various programmes and clips can be found here.

Magna Carta at 800

2015 is, amongst other things, the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta; arguably the founding document of democracy in Britain.

King John signs the Magna Carta - an 1864 Woodcut.
Picture Credit - The Guardian

You could, of course, argue that it is less important than is sometimes thought.

Either way, the document itself is the result of an argument between a pretty terrible King, John, and his nobles.

The Magna Carta restricted for the first time the power of the King to do what he liked; all of a sudden his power was limited by law.

There is plenty of material out there for the interested:
The Wikipedia page is here. The celebratory 800-anniversary web-page is here.

A close-up of the Magna Carta itself.
Picture Credit - The Guardian.

I'd also suggest checking out a BBC Radio show about the historical events leading up to the Magna Carta.

You'll find the web-page on the BBC site here.

Article Database

As an experiment, the History and Politics dept's database of articles has been imported into Google Docs.

It is viewable (and sortable) by clicking here.

Click on the Filter button:

Picture credit: GCFLearnFree

Then click on the "down arrow" on the top of each column to sort:

Picture Credit: GCFLearnfree

 More information can be found here.

As part of the commemorations and celebrations of the centenary of the start of World War One the History department, under the leadership of the head of department Dr Tod, are hosting a lecture series called "Reflections on World War One". These will be lectures and talks by notable speakers and historians at Epsom College. Videos of these events will be posted on YouTube and the first one is viewable here.

See below for a brief highlights package of the first lecture by noted Historian Saul David. Professor David's history books encompass such epic events as the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and the Zulu War of 1879, while his bestselling novels include Zulu Hart and Hart of Empire. He has also presented history programmes for all major TV channels.

Most recently, he has returned to one of his great interests, the events of World War One, and has just published the outstanding 100 Days To Victory: How The Great War Was Fought and Won.




Here is the complete lecture:

M4 Battlefields Trip 2014

The M4s went to the Battlefields of the Ypres / Somme region of France and Belgium. See below for a video of some of the highlights: