[ 26 September 1854 ]
On this day in 1854, the British army ransacked the small Crimean port of Balaclava. Professor Saul David comments that when they arrived they found “the port was largely deserted.: most of its 1500 inhabitants had already fled… leaving their homes to be ruthlessly pillaged.”[1]
FOOTNOTES
‘HEADS (OF BLACKS) FIXED ON POLES IN VARIOUS PARTS’ OF DEMERARA [ 18 December 1823 ] Following a mostly non-violent slave insurrection in the British colony of Demerara (now Guyana) in August 1823, in which the plantation owners had been locked into their homes, Governor Major General John Murray imposed a savage crackdown, shooting dead…
FAMINE IN BRITISH CONCENTRATION CAMP FOR SOUTH AFRICAN BOERS [ 24 January 1901 ] By January 1901, British troops had been engaged for over a year in a prolonged military campaign in South Africa to quell an insurgency by elusive Boer rebels who were demanding greater independence. Please feel welcome to post comments below. If…
BRITISH SACK THE CRIMEAN CITY OF KERCH [ 24 May 1855 ] On this day in 1855, thousands of terrified citizens of the Crimean city of Kerch had their homes broken into and their possessions looted, while men and even children were slaughtered and hundreds of women raped. The local population had begged general Sir…
BRITAIN SUPPORTS US ASSAULT ON VIETNAM 13 June 1965 – Tony Benn comments in his diary regarding the situation in Vietnam that “the Americans are now deciding to invade in full strength and we are left in the embarrassing position of appearing to support them.”
CYPRIOT BOYS BIRCHED UNDER EMERGENCY REGULATIONS [ 13 January 1956 ] On 13 January 1956, six Greek Cypriot boys from Famagusta were birched under one of several emergency regulations introduced the previous month to stamp out an island wide rebellion against British rule. Please feel welcome to post comments below. If you have any questions…
THE FIRST RAF FIRE BOMBING RAID ON HAMBURG KILLS THOUSANDS [ 25 July 1943 ] At about 00.57 on 25 July 1943, RAF bombers unleashed hundreds of bright red and yellow marker bombs, followed by thousands of incendiary bombs, on the densely populated German city of Hamburg. It was the first of four RAF fire…
