FO MEMO – DON’T CONSULT ARABS – ZIONISM IS ‘OF FAR PROFOUNDER IMPORT.’ [ 11 August 1919 ] Today in 1919, Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour addressed a secret memo to Lord Curzon, Leader of the House of Lords, for circulation among cabinet ministers. It explained that ‘in Palestine we do not propose even to go…
HEATH – ‘USE MONEY FREELY’ ON BRIBES AND PROPAGANDA On 7 August 1972, Prime Minister Edward Heath instructed his principal private secretary, Robert Armstrong, to inform the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) that they must do far more to win the propaganda war against the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its political wing Sinn Fein. 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…
CHURCHILL PRAISES MUSSOLINI AND FASCISM [ 3 July 1937 ] Today in 1937, during a speech to his constituents at Wanstead, Winston Churchill reminded the crowd of his admiration for fascism. ‘If I had been an Italian,’ he confessed, ‘I should have been on Mussolini’s side fifteen years ago when he rescued his country from…
WORKHOUSE TURNS AWAY 260 STARVING IRISH FAMINE VICTIMS [ 12 June 1847 ] An incident occurred today in 1847 which was typical of many similar during the Irish potato famine which claimed at least a million lives. BRITISH ARMY URGES TOLERANT APPROACH TO LOYALIST PARAMILITARIES IN ITS RANKS [ 12 June 1972 ] On 12…
BOBBY SANDS MP DIES AFTER 66 DAYS ON HUNGER STRIKE [ 5 May 1981 ] On 5 May 1981, the Sinn Fein MP and Irish Republican prisoner Bobby Sands died on the 66th day of his hunger strike at the H-Block Prison hospital at Long Kesh. At the age of ten, Sands and his family…
LORD PALMERSTON JUSTIFIES MILITARY PROTECTION FOR BRITAIN’S OPIUM TRADERS [ 9 April 1840 ] Today in 1840, Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, justifying Britain’s determination to defend its opium traders from any interference from Chinese officials, told parliament that it was not Britian’s responsibility to protect ‘the morals of the Chinese people who were disposed to…
NO QUARTER GIVEN AS REDCOATS SACK THE INDIAN CITY OF JHANSI [ 3 April 1858 ] Today in 1858, Redcoats, under the command of General Hugh Rose, stormed the Indian city of Jhansi, where Lakshmibai, the legendary rani (queen), was leading a rebellion against British rule. Rose later proudly acknowledged that he had avenged an earlier…
OFFICER RECOUNTS SAVAGERY OF HUNTING INDIAN MUTINEERS LIKE ‘VERMIN’ [ 18 January 1859 ] Today in 1859, Major Pemberton Campbell wrote to his mother describing the British military campaign against the last pockets of resistance from Indian mutineers. ‘Our men were very savage,’ he recalled, ‘treating these poor wretches like vermin. Some carried ropes on…
