Aspects of History

Welcome to episode 2 of this 6 part special on the Wars of the Roses as today we deal with the fall of Edward Duke of York. Joining me are two historians, Derek Birks, the author of the Guide to the Wars of the Roses, and David Pilling, author of KingBreaker. You’ll get two episodes per week, and so hopefully will emer

Welcome to the first of 6 episodes on the Wars of the Roses. Over the next few weeks we’ll be starting with the Battle of St. Alban’s in 1455, all the way up to the Battle of Bosworth thirty years later in 1485 when Richard definitely said, "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" Joining me are two historians, Dere

On Sunday 23 October 1642, at Edgehill during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Parliament and the Royalists met on the field of battle. In an inconclusive engagement, both sides left the field largely intact, but one man’s name would be known throughout England. Prince Rupert of the Rhine led a stunning cavalry charge o

On 27th February 2022, three days after the Russians invaded Ukraine, President Zelensky sent out the call for volunteers from abroad to join the Ukrainians in resisting Putin’s so called special military operation. Over 20,000 expressed interest, but for those that made it out onto the front lines, combat proved far m

This month’s film club is the Terrence Malick 1998 masterpiece The Thin Red Line starring Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Jim Caviezel, John Cusack, John Travolta and Woody Harrelson, among many others. We talk the Adrien Brody cut, the military elements, comparisons with Saving Private Ryan and much more. It’s me, historian Ro

In 1795 the Admiralty established the Royal Navy’s Hydrography office, which became the world leader in charting the waters of the globe, as ships of the line sailed the oceans, pursuing their traditional enemy, the French. Treacherous waters were navigated with a skill that is quite breathtaking, and laid the groundwo