The Manchester Military History Society

12/07/2019

#WW1 & #WW2 War Memorial in Selva di Val Gardena in the Italian Dolomites. Note the number missing during #WW2

12/07/2019

Map of V1 attack on Manchester

Reading about WW2 and Manchester, I found this fascinating website showing the V1 Doodlebug attack of Christmas eve 1944. I am astonished by the inaccuracy of the V1 as shown on the map. See http://aircrashsites.co.uk/air-raids-bomb-sites/a3/

click on image to zoom in

07/07/2019

Cold War Conversations History Podcast

Cold War Conversations History Podcast

Great to hear one of the North West's iconic #Coldwar locations - Jodrell Bank has gained Unesco World Heritage status

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-48893080

06/07/2019

Cold War Conversations History Podcast

The little known story of Dutch Cold War Submarine Espionage

Listen here: https://coldwarconversations.com/episode70

NEW EPISODE ALERT - Dutch Cold War Submarine Espionage

Listen here: https://coldwarconversations.com/episode70

During the Cold War, six Dutch submarines secretly gathered intelligence about the Soviet Navy. Only a handful of people outside the Royal Netherlands Navy were aware of these operations, as they were not NATO operations.

For the first time, In Deepest Secrecy describes these top-secret deployments in detail. On the basis of interviews and archival research, Jaime Karremann reveals how the Dutch submarines followed, photographed and listened to Soviet ships unnoticed, from the freezing Arctic Ocean to shallow waters near Egypt.

Welcome to Cold War Conversations Jaime Karreman

25/06/2019

Born in 1842 The Oldest Veteran Of The US Civil War Who Lived Until 1953!

I found this an interesting read. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/american-civil-war/private-james-combat-veteran.html

One of Hard’s uncles served in the American Revolutionary War, while some of his grandsons and great-grandsons served in the Second World War. One of the

24/06/2019

Just Amazing: The Abandoned Tank Repair Plant in 63 Pictures - Abandoned Spaces

What a lot of rusty tanks. https://www.abandonedspaces.com/uncategorized/206th-tank-repair-plant.html

The decision to build the plant was made in 1936 by the Military Council of the Automotive-Armored Directorate of the Red Army. The plant was named Repair Base No. 77 and a construction site was chosen in the Russian Far East in Ussuriysk, which used to be called Voroshilov between 1935 and 1957. Th...

18/06/2019

Thoughts on Military History

Thoughts on Military History

Joe Barrett's 100-year-old IRA archive found in attic

17/06/2019

Gamers replay the Battle of Waterloo with 20,000 miniature soldiers

Gamers replay the Battle of Waterloo with 20,000 miniature soldiers

Military enthusiasts more than 100 gamers have taken part in the biggest ever historical table top war game by replaying the Battle of Waterloo - with more than 20,000 miniature soldiers.

11/06/2019

Tim Cockitt talking #Peterloo

11/06/2019

Great turnout for our #Peterloo talk tonight presented by our Chair Tim Cockitt.

08/06/2019

The Heroic Paradogs of World War II

https://abcnews.go.com/International/britains-luftwoofe-heroic-paradogs-world-war-ii/story?id=21344669

Brian was a tough paratrooper. He trained hard for his deployment with the British Army during . During his training, he learned how to identify minefields. Then, on the battlefield, he protected his comrades-in-arms -- though not all of them made it back. On D-Day, he parachuted under heavy...

08/06/2019

The Manchester Military History Society's cover photo

05/06/2019

What Does the ‘D’ in ‘D-Day’ Stand For? Experts Disagree With Eisenhower’s Answer

What Does the ‘D’ in ‘D-Day’ Stand For? Experts Disagree With Eisenhower’s Answer

Here are the origins of the term used to describe the Normandy landings

29/05/2019

Towton Battlefield Archaeology Project

Towton Battlefield Archaeology Project

A copy of the video filmed in 2002 by Simon Richardson and edited by Tim Sutherland as part of the Towton Battlefield Project. It shows the excavation of a skeleton of a man who appears to have died at the Battle of Towton (1461), discovered beneath the foundations of Towton Hall.

28/05/2019

Rifleman Moore

Rifleman Moore

Early access to tomorrow's video...

28/05/2019

The bombs that lurk off the UK coast

Just learned about this today. Let’s hope this does not go off ....

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151027-the-ticking-time-bomb-of-the-thames

The WWII-era SS Richard Montgomery sits just over a mile from shore – and locals fear that its 1,400 tonnes of potent explosives could go off at any time. Jon Excell investigates.

28/04/2019

Great free app only available on Android which has Soviet made #coldwar maps for whole UK

Great free app only available on Android which has Soviet made #coldwar maps for whole UK. Thanks Mark Julian Hanson for sharing his secrets of the Spetsnaz...

Just search Soviet Military Maps.

This Is Macclesfield in Cheshire.

23/04/2019

Cold War Conversations History Podcast

Cold War Conversations History Podcast

#Coldwar would rank as the 9th deadliest “war” in history - what do you think?

https://www.quora.com/How-many-people-died-during-the-Cold-War

22/04/2019

British Commission for Military History » Helion Conferences, Life in the Red Coat, Derby, 27 April 2019

Forthcoming event SAT 27th April in Derby.
From Reason to Revolution Conference 2019
to be run by Helion Publishing in 2019 and with whom the BCMH is collaborating.

Details here:
http://www.bcmh.org.uk/life-in-the-red-coat-conference-in-derby-27-april-2019/

Tickets here:
https://www.helion.co.uk/events/from-reason-to-revolution-conference-2024.html

Members may be interested in a number of Conferences to be run by Helion Publishing in 2019 and with whom the BCMH is collaborating.

22/04/2019

Cuban Missile Crisis ... at Hack Green bunker featuring Tim Cockitt

The launch and first play of our Cuban Missile Crisis Show
All taken 20/4/19 by Zoe Atkinson

22/04/2019

Foreign Field Living History Group

The launch and first play of our Cuban Missile Crisis Show
All taken 20/4/19 by Zoe Atkinson

19/04/2019

The Manchester Military History Society's cover photo

17/04/2019

Berlin Battle Damage

74 years ago today Marshal Georgy Zhukov’s 1st Belorussian Front began its assault on the Seelow Heights, just 90km East of Berlin. Close to one million Soviet troops faced one hundred and ten thousand Germans of the 9th Army, commanded by General Theodor Busse, but it was a tougher nut to crack than Zhukov anticipated and it was not until 19th April that the Seelow Heights were eventually taken and the gateway to Berlin was open, but at a high price. Approximately 30,000 Soviets and 12,000 Germans were killed.
In July 2018 we visited the Soviet memorial in Seelow, overlooking the Oder and the flat marshy ground that proved so difficult for the Soviet tanks to cross before reaching the Seelow Heights. We also visited the shattered village of Rathstock and the Front lines along the Alte Oder, still littered with discarded munitions and equipment and crossed with trenches and bunkers. The first photo shows a view of the battlefield from the Seelow Heights with the Oder in the distance.

13/04/2019

The John Rylands Library

The John Rylands Library

Thanks to Maxine Peake for loaning her historic handbill to us for our Peterloo exhibition! Watch this video to hear Maxine tell the story behind her fascinating find and see our conservation work for the first time. #jrlPeterloo #Peterloo2019 http://man.ac.uk/3mNHc0

09/04/2019

WW1 lecture at MMHS tonight. Great talk by Pen Richardson. Good turnout.

04/04/2019

Predjama Castle

Fascinating story. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/predjama-castle

Castle and secret tunnel withstood a siege until its owner was killed by the Holy Roman Empire, while sitting on the toilet.

04/04/2019

WWII fortification hiding in plain sight at Kingston nail salon

WWII fortification hiding in plain sight at Kingston nail salon

A nail bar in Kingston is home to a remarkable slice of British history, it was revealed recently.

25/03/2019

Regimes Museum

Hot off the presses - the second printing of “Preventing Auschwitz from Happening Again.” The largest multinational Holocaust study to date, spanning over 9 countries, this book analyzes the effectiveness of Holocaust representation of art, film, literature, and poetry in keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. Get your copy today at amazon.com! #holocaust #holocausteducation #wwii #worldwarii #ww2 #worldwar2 #history #academic #books #bookworm #germany

24/03/2019

The Manchester Military History Society's cover photo

24/03/2019

The Manchester Military History Society's cover photo

23/03/2019

On Location - Cine film - Battle of Britain Production

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4WRI0qA-tOg&feature=youtu.be

Never seen before, cine film taken by Viv Bellamy in Spain and then at Bovingdon and Duxford, England during the filming in 1968. Permission for uploading ge...

22/03/2019

National Civil War Centre - Newark Museum

Here's a date for your diary. On Sunday 5th and Monday 6th May, the fantastic Pikes and Plunder Civil War Festival is back for the 5th year running! Expect stunning battle re-enactments, fascinating living history displays, live musket fire and more, throughout the town! Keep an eye on www.nationalcivilwarcentre.com/events for more details.

20/03/2019

Armed monks of Mount Athos to protect their monasteries from gangs during the period of Macedonian Struggle (1903-1908)

20/03/2019

Wacko But True: The Baboon Who Served in WW1

Great Story from WW1. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/jackie-the-baboon-the-mascot.html

Due to the baboon’s superior hearing and night vision, he was able to warn the troops about approaching enemies. Of all the animals likely to serve

20/03/2019

The Peterloo Massacre, 1819 — Peterloo 1819 - Protest. Democracy. Freedom.

Our Peterloo talk for June is being promoted on the official Remembering Peterloo website. See: https://peterloo1819.co.uk/event/the-peterloo-massacre-1819/

Tue 11 Jun 7.30pm – 10pm Tickets: £4 The Manchester Military History society (MMHS) hosts lectures on military history on the 2nd Tuesday of each month in Hyde. On 11th of June our presentation will be on the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. We will take particular interest in the military aspects of P...

15/03/2019

Foreign Field Living History Group

ON THIS DAY 10th March 1945 – the ‘Forgotten Great Escape’ is launched by Waffen SS officers from Island Farm POW Camp in Brigend, Wales.

Some of the techniques used by the inmates were ingenious and not too dissimilar to those in the war film The Great Escape about Allied POWs. Excavating the tunnels was not easy because of the heavy clay soil upon which the camp was built. Cans, meat tins, and even knives from the canteen were used as digging implements. The soil was hauled out of the tunnel on a makeshift skip and put into kit bags.

At first, prisoners carried the soil in their pockets to the long-jump pit or garden plots. Others kneaded clay into balls and dropped them through a hole in a false wall they had constructed in an unused room in one of the huts. To support the tunnel roof, oak benches were stolen from the canteen and bed legs were cut down when supplies of wood were depleted. A ventilation pipeline was made from condensed milk tins; air was forced through by a hand-operated fan. The tunnel even had its own electric lights, tapped off the mains supply. Noise was concealed by chorus singing. At the time of an archaeological dig in 2016, the tunnel was still intact.

The litany of basic security errors makes this escape like something from an Ealing comedy.

A few prisoners stole the local village doctor’s car which broke down in front of the camp. The gate guards helped them restart it.

The train into the camp was a commandeered tourist railway. The maps of the local area had been left up which allowed the prisoners to sketch basic maps of the area on the backs of their shirts.

One of the methods used to disguise the tunnel was to paint naked women on the ceiling of the hut thus the ferrets would look up to the ceiling and not down to the floor.

You can learn more about the Island Farm Escape in our POW presentations.

12/03/2019

Listening to rehearsal

11/03/2019

The Manchester Military History Society's cover photo

10/03/2019

Visiting the Dutch Naval Museum at Den Helder today. They’re rightly proud of their victory over the Royal Navy!

23/02/2019

On this day 1313: Scots forces disguised as cows seize castle from English

On this day 1313: Scots forces disguised as cows seize castle from English

ON THIS day in 1313, Sir James Douglas - or The Black Douglas - struck a heavy blow against the invading English forces by capturing Roxburgh Castle with an army of men who were disguised as cows.

22/02/2019

Tourpreneur: How Joris turned his passion for military history into a thriving tour business.(5)

Ever wanted to start your own battlefield tourism business?

On today's episode of the Tourpreneur Tour Podcast we talk with the tourpreneur behind The Battlefield Explorer Tours. You don't have to be into World War 2 history to enjoy today's conversation. Dutchman Joris Nieuwint has been leading tours of the Operation Market Garden battle sites since 2012. &...

13/02/2019

Cold War Conversations History Podcast

Last night Cold War Conversations History Podcast gave a talk on at The Manchester Military History Society on British Army Intelligence in East Germany during the Cold War. Focusing on the British Military Liaison Units to Soviet Forces in Germany known as #Brixmis

I was honoured have a number of former #Brixmis personnel present - some of whom hadn't met each other since 1990...

It was amazing hear them share their stories...too many to recall here - but stay tuned for some future podcast episodes!

I hope I did #Brixmis proud!

https://coldwarconversations.com/

27/01/2019

General John Frost tour of Arnhem around 1978

General John Frost tour of Arnhem around 1978

Taken from "Gladiators of WW II episode 13" also a BBC news item. General John Frost giving us a tour around Arnhem about 1978. Most of the guys are drum pla...

19/01/2019

The Cold War terror that spawned this iconic Manchester logo

The Cold War terror that spawned this iconic Manchester logo

Everyone knows about the Manchester bee, but in the 80s and 90s the dove was a more common sight on the city's streets

15/01/2019

A Tour Of 82nd Airborne - DZ-N Groesbeek

A Tour Of 82nd Airborne - DZ-N Groesbeek

In this video we are going to look at one of the Drop and Landing zones around Groesbeek! This is where, amongst others, the 505th Parachute Infantry Landed....