MINISTERS UNABLE TO SAY IF BRITAIN IS AT WAR AS CAIRO AIRPORT IS BOMBED [ 1 November 1956 ] On 1 November 1956, an editorial in the Daily Mail was headlined ‘Britain at War’, however neither Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd nor Minister of Defence Antony Head were able to confirm whether or not Britain was actually at…
HARROWING ACCOUNT OF THE EXECUTION OF INDIAN MUTINEERS PUBLISHED [ 26 October 1857 ] Today in 1857, a graphic account was published of the bloody aftermath of an execution in which Indian rebels at Ahmedabad were blown apart by cannon. It was one of many instances of exemplary punitive executions carried out during Britain’s suppression…
KURDISH VALLEY OF VILLAGES SET ON FIRE ‘FROM END TO END’ [ 12 September 1921 ] On Monday 12 September 1921, at 0530 hours the first pair of RAF biplane bombers, of Number 55 Squadron, took off from Mosul to take part in a surprise day long assault by mounted troops and aircraft on four…
CROWDED TEA SHOP OBLITERATED AS RAF TARGET REBEL KURDISH CHIEF [ 16 August 1923 ] On 16 August 1923, the RAF conducted a surprise bombing attack on the home of the Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji in the Kurdish town of Sulaymaniyah. He was suspected of conspiring against British rule and of becoming too popular among a…
THE OBSERVER WARNS AGAINST ACCEPTING JEWISH REFUGEES [ 31 July 1938 ] On 31 July 1938, the Observer newspaper warned that if a large number of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and Austria were accepted in Britain it was almost certain to lead to a rise in antisemitism.1 Following Hitler’s annexation of Austria in March, the…
GENERAL AUTHORISES USE OF SMALLPOX TO KILL NATIVE AMERICANS [ 7 July 1763 ] In 1763, Major General Jeffrey Amherst, was the highly respected governor general of British North America and commander-in-chief of British forces. He had led the successful campaign to drive the French from North America in 1760, but three years later he…
SULTAN ASKED TO REDUCE DONATION TO IRISH FAMINE VICTIMS [ 31 March 1847 ] On 31 March 1847, the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecîd sent £1000 to Dublin to help relieve the Irish famine victims. He was moved by the accounts of mass starvation caused by a potato blight and aggravated by the decision of the British…
BRITAIN SECRETLY APPOINTS A LIAISON AGENT TO FRANCO’S FASCIST REBELS [ 17 March 1937 ] On 17 March 1937, the Cabinet agreed to appoint a liaison agent to Franco’s fascist rebels in Spain, but decided to keep the project secret as ministers realised that any acknowledgement of such a move would provoke uproar in the…
