Articles about British history, or historical events, from prehistoric times to the modern period. Part of the history of Britain.
Which anniversaries were marked in Britain in 2019? Here is a selection of noteworthy events and birthdays for you – each one was on someone’s calendar for 2019 – and each one offers a fascinating insight into Britain’s story. A Bit About Britain has only highlighted significant anniversaries – centenaries, half centuries and quarter centuries. […]
Anniversaries, 2019 Read More »
British Stuff History
For four years, the armies had slugged it out. Millions had died and most people had forgotten what started it all in the first place, or what they were actually fighting for. It took much, much longer to conclude the peace than it did to begin the war; maybe, t’was ever thus. The United States
Which anniversaries were marked in Britain in 2018? The end of public hanging, votes for women, the first traffic light, the Roman invasion and Mick Jagger’s 75th birthday? Have a quick scan through the eclectic list of selected events below: though some may have slipped your mind, each one was on someone’s British calendar for
Anniversaries, 2018 Read More »
British Stuff History
Which anniversaries were marked in Britain in 2017? Have a quick scan through the eclectic list of events below, some of which may have slipped your mind; they were bound to have been on someone’s British calendar for 2017. 1650th anniversary of multiple assaults and near anarchy In 367AD, near simultaneous raids on Roman Britain
Anniversaries, 2017 Read More »
British Stuff History
In the dying moments of 1914 and the opening days of 1915, remarkable stories began to circulate in Britain’s newspapers. The stories came from France and Belgium, where great armies were locked in mighty conflict, and told of a truce between British and German soldiers. At this time of peace and goodwill, it was said
The Christmas Truce of 1914 Read More »
British Stuff Events History
The recent background to our consumer society The Britons that dusted themselves down and emerged on the winning side in 1945 were delirious with joy and relief that it was all over. There was a terrible human price to pay, of course. And if the Britain of those days seems a little drab to more
Shop till you drop – Britain since 1945 Read More »
History
Britain’s role in the worst conflict the world has known, so far The Second World War was the most violent and globally shattering event in history. When it finally ended, at least 60 million people lay dead; some estimates are as high as 79 million. It is part of the tragedy that we’ll never know
Britain and the Second World War 1939-45 Read More »
History
The failure of appeasement This is a question often asked, but it’s academic – rather like saying, “If I’d left the house earlier, I wouldn’t have got caught in the rain.” Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party came to power in Germany in 1933 on a programme of public works, employment and restoring both national and personal
Could Britain have avoided war in 1939? Read More »
History
Inter-war interlude The writer and journalist Andrew Marr points out that, unlike other eras in the story of Britain, we have no name for the period between the first and second world wars. It’s as though it’s a kind of interlude sandwiched between two earth-shattering events during which people were recovering from one whilst waiting
Britain in the 1920s and ’30s Read More »
History
The consequences of the First World War are still with us The First World War transformed the world forever. The conflict itself resonated through the remainder of the 20th century and set events in motion that have informed the world we live in today. Some of the consequences are obvious – the map of the
The legacy of 1914-1918 Read More »
History
A summary of the conflict and Britain’s part in it The 1914-18 war was a global conflict. British forces, and those of her Imperial Dominions – particularly Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and South Africa – fought in Africa, Italy, the Middle East, Salonica (Greece) and Gallipoli (Turkey), as well as on the Western Front
Britain and the First World War Read More »
History
Or – how Europe went mad The First World War, ‘Great War’ or ‘War to end all wars’, was the largest conflict on the planet until the Second World War twenty years’ later. It lasted a little over four years and killed in the region of 16.5 million people, almost half of them civilians. That
How did the First World War happen? Read More »
History