The History of Britain Magazine

Four days before Lord Chelmsford’s invading force ended the Anglo-Zulu War by defeating King Cetewayo’s army at the Battle of Ulundi, a Zulu impi killed Louis Napoleon, the heir to the French throne. The Prince Imperial’s death on 1 June 1879 ended the Napoleonic dynasty and dashed French royalists’ hopes of restoring the monarchy to republican France…

It may not be immediately obvious what a caterpillar, a goldfish, a guinea pig and a boot with wings all have in common. However, these are all names of air clubs that were formed before or during World War Two…

The ‘Late Arrivals Club’ or Winged Boot Club was born during the Western Desert Campaign in 1941. During this conflict many airmen were shot down, bailed out of aircraft, or crash landed deep in the desert. They then had to make their way back to safety, often from behind enemy lines…

The main aim of the unique Goldfish Club is ‘to keep alive the spirit of comradeship arising from the mutual experience of members surviving, “coming down in the drink”…

Established in 1941, The Guinea Pig Club was a social and support club for airmen who had sustained catastrophic burn injuries during World War Two and so called in honour of the experimental treatments of pioneering plastic surgeon, Sir Archibald McIndoe…

Twenty-three years in captivity transformed a young boy from Cornwall into an elite fighter in the Moroccan army. His name was Thomas Pellow, a man who would escape from his enslavement and return home to tell his story…

Krystyna Skarbek, better known in England as Christine Granville, was a Polish secret agent who worked for British Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. She was awarded the George Cross for her bravery…

“Life depends on a silken thread”. Formed in 1922 by Lieutenant Harold R. Harris, The Caterpillar Club was for fliers all over the world whose lives had been saved by parachutes…