21 JUNE

MASS EXECUTION OF AFGHANS TO “CELEBRATE” THE BRITISH CAPTURE OF KABUL [ 12 October 1879 ] On this day in 1879 General Roberts led a British army into Kabul, declaring martial law and offering substantial financial rewards for the handing over of all those who were known to have taken up arms against the British….

THE TIMES WARNS FAMINE STRUCK IRELAND TO EXPECT LESS RELIEF [ 30 August 1848 ] Lord Clarendon, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, writing about the political debate over how Britain should respond to the Irish famine of the 1840s, observed that ‘an extraordinary and universal importance attaches to the views of The Times.’1 BOMBING NORTH WEST…

LABOUR GOVERNMENT APPROVES USING DEPLETED URANIUM IN AMMUNITION [ 22 January 1979 ] On 22 January 1979, the Labour Cabinet almost unanimously approved the use of depleted uranium in anti-tank ammunition.  Please feel welcome to post comments below.  If you have any questions please email alisdare@gmail.com © 2020 Alisdare Hickson All rights reserved

“EVERY NATIVE IS SHOT DOWN LIKE A DOG” [ 5 September 1857 ] On this day in 1857, an account appeared in the Illustrated Times of London by a British junior officer stationed at Allahabad. It was just one of many accounts of indiscriminate slaughter during the suppression of the Indian mutiny.  He recalled how…

WHY ARE WE KILLING THE VIETNAMESE AND COLLABORATING WITH THE JAPANESE ? 6 December 1945 – A letter sent to Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, from a group of British soldiers stationed in Vietnam is published at the bottom of page six of the Manchester Guardian under the prosaic headline “British in Indo-China.”.  It disclosed…

REDCOATS SHOOT DEAD FIVE BOSTONIANS WHO HAD BEEN HURLING SNOWBALLS [ 5 March 1770 ] The anniversary is commemorated every year with an annual reenactment in Boston, Massachusetts, but is virtually forgotten in Britain. CABINET ‘MAD KEEN TO LAND BRITISH TROOPS SOMEWHERE’ [ 5 March 1956 ] On 5 March 1956, ministers were briefed at number…