The History of Britain Magazine
Welcome to the History of Britain! The home nations share a varied and shared history unlike anywhere else, so we thought it only right to create a section dedicated to our mutual heritage.
Rorke’s Drift – Private Hitch’s Story
Private Frederick Hitch was just 23 years old when he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Battle of Rorke’s Drift. The 1964 epic war film ‘Zulu’ is based on this battle…
Bruce Ismay – Hero or Villain
Chairman of the White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay survived the sinking of the company’s ship Titanic in 1912. He became one of the most hated men in America, deemed to be responsible for giving the ship just 20 lifeboats…
Zulus Victorious at the Battle of Isandlwana
An embarrassing defeat for Great Britain. the Battle of Isandlwana was the first major engagement of the Anglo-Zulu War…
A World War Two Christmas
Britain was at war and supplies were becoming scarce. The ships of the Merchant Navy were under attack from German U-Boats at sea and rationing…
A Victorian Christmas
Christmas trees, carol singers, Christmas cards, Father Christmas and crackers – integral parts of a traditional Christmas, but why? The Victorians…
The Sinking of the Lancastria
On 17th June 1940, the requisitioned Cunard cruise liner Lancastria came under attack from enemy aircraft while evacuating troops from St Nazaire after the fall of Dunkirk…
HMS Warspite – A Personal Account
Chief Petty Officer Fred Jones was in charge of ‘B’ Turret aboard the ‘Grand Old Lady’ HMS Warspite during the Second War War. His memoirs give us an idea of what war was like at sea…
Gertrude Bell
Best remembered for her travel writings on the Middle East and her key role in establishing the modern state of Iraq, Gertrude Bell has been described as the female Lawrence of Arabia…
Thankful Villages
Millions of families throughout the UK suffered the loss of close family relatives in the Great War of 1914 -18. It appears that barely a family or community across the UK escaped World War I untouched, except that is for the “Thankful Villages”…
Lord Liverpool
Lord Liverpool was a better military strategist than Churchill or Lloyd George, ran the economy better than Pitt, Gladstone or Thatcher, dealt with post-war debt and poverty better than Attlee and won more elections than any of them. That is why Lord Liverpool, who beat Napoleon and presided over the Industrial Revolution, was Britain’s Greatest Prime Minister…