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.
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and the Foundation of Singapore
Two hundred years ago, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles negotiated an important treaty, leading to the establishment of the British colony of Singapore. Raffles Hotel in Singapore, named after him, is one of the most famous hotels in the world…
Suffragette Outrages – The Women’s Social and Political Union WSPU
The suffragette movement, and in particular the militant Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), should be regarded as violent, a distinction which distances suffragettes from peaceful suffragists. Their ‘outrages’ – escalating to bombings, arson, and chemical attacks – potentially had a detrimental effect on the outcome of the suffrage campaign…
The Fall of Singapore
During the fighting and immediately afterward, civilians were murdered, enemy soldiers decapitated, prisoners burnt alive, hospital patients slaughtered where they lay. Winston Churchill described the fall of Singapore as “the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history.”
Battle of Spion Kop
Fought on 24th January 1900 during the Second Boer War, the Battle of Spion Kop was a disastrous British defeat. Winston Churchill, Louis Botha and Mahatma Gandhi were all present at the battle, and a stand at Liverpool’s football stadium Anfield is named after it…
The Glorious First of June 1794
The Glorious First of June (1794) was the first major naval battle between the French and British fleets during the French Revolutionary Wars…
The White Feather Movement
In Britain during the First World War a white feather was often given to men out of uniform by women to shame them publicly into signing up to fight…
The Bravery of Noor Inayat Khan
The descendant of Indian royalty Noor Inayat Khan, known as Nora Baker, was a British spy who was sent to occupied France in World War Two as a secret agent. After months of carefully avoiding being exposed, she intended to head back to England on 14th October. Sadly, this was not to be, as…
