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.
1919: Riots, Rebellions and Strikes
The Great War had ended. Millions of fighting men had returned home to find much changed, whilst those in camps waiting to be demobbed were bored and chaffed against the discipline they thought obsolete. Mutiny was in the air. At home there was class division, economic hardship and racial tension. In Europe there had been rebellion and the rise of communism in Russia. Feelings were high and spilled over onto the streets of Britain…
The Last Invasion of Britain
Forget 1066; this is the story of how one Welsh lady beat back a French invasion.
Decimalisation in Britain
Whilst there are many Britons who would struggle to recall a ten shilling note and its value today (for the record, it is 50p in today’s money!), in comparison to the rest of the world, Britain lagged behind in the decimalisation stakes.
A Short History of Medicine
In Britain, medicine has drastically changed over the last thousand years, from folk remedies in the early medieval period to the formation of the NHS in the 20th century…
The First Anglo-Afghan War 1839-1842
Concerned that Russia was expanding its influence in the region, Britain invaded Afghanistan in 1839. Initially successful, the campaign ended in disaster with an ignominious and bloody withdrawal from Kabul…
Elizabeth Fry
The “Angel of Prisons”. A Quaker minister, social reformer and mother of 11 children, Elizabeth Fry is perhaps best known for her work on behalf of the women and children in Newgate Prison in London…
Battle of Talana, 1899
Take a pompous general who objects to fighting before breakfast, 200 cavalrymen who disappear into thick mist, Irishmen shooting at one another on opposite sides and British infantrymen shelled by their own artillery – and you have the tragicomic ingredients for the Battle of Talana…
General Charles Gordon: Chinese Gordon, Gordon of Khartoum
In the early hours of Monday, January 26th, 1885, Major-General Charles Gordon was killed by Mahdist forces overrunning Khartoum, Sudan. Also known as Chinese Gordon, he was one of the most admired heroes of Victorian England…
Lord Woolton: Feeding Wartime Britain
As Minister of Food during the Second World War, Lord Woolton kept Britain from starving. He was determined that Britain’s larder remained well-stocked, and that, despite rationing and poverty, everyone had something to put on the table. “We must all be fighting fit,” he declared.
