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The Reluctant Tommy
''The Reluctant Tommy'' is a book compiled by Duncan Barrett from the memoirs of Ronald Skirth, a member of the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War. His experiences during the Battle of Messines, the Battle of Passchendaele and the Second Battle of the Piave River, which Skirth calls the Battle of the Asiago Plateau, were detailed in this book. The book captured attention due to Skirth's actions during the war to avoid enemy casualties. The manuscript was known only by the family for decades before finally being published in 2010. The book received favourable reviews on publication, but was also criticised for significant historical inaccuracies. History After coming home from the war Ronald Skirth entered the teaching profession. When he retired in 1971 he started work writing about his wartime memories of the First World War, and in particular his experience of disillusionment. Although he initially intended to focus on his relationship with his wife Ella, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ronald Skirth
John Ronald Skirth (11 December 1897 – 1977) was a British soldier who served in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War. His experiences during the Battle of Messines and the Battle of Passchendaele, both in 1917, led him to resolve not to take human life, and for the rest of his army service he made deliberate errors in targeting calculations to try to ensure the guns of his battery missed their aiming point on the first attempt, giving the enemy a chance to evacuate. Many years later, after retiring from a career as a teacher, he wrote a memoir of his years in the army, describing his disillusionment with the conduct of the war and his conversion to pacifism. In 2010 the memoir was published as '' The Reluctant Tommy'', edited by Duncan Barrett. Early life and war service Skirth was born in Chelmsford and grew up in Bexhill-on-Sea. In the First World War, having volunteered for the British Army under the Derby Scheme, and having requested that the proces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Channel 4 News
''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' is the name of Channel 4's award-winning flagship evening news programme. The editor is Esme Wren, appointed in 2022. The programme is presented by Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Cathy Newman, Matt Frei and Fatima Manji and is on the air Monday to Thursday from 7:00 to 7:55 pm, Friday from 7:00 to 7:30 pm, and at variable times at weekends. Alex Thomson is the chief correspondent. ''Channel 4 News'' is among the highest-rated television programmes in the United Kingdom, winning a record five Royal Television Society Television Awards in February 2006. These included TV Journalist of the Year for Jon Snow, Home News Award for the Attorney-General leak, and the International News Award for Congo's Tin Soldiers. It won the News Cover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military war effort and sacrifice of Britain and its Empire during the First World War. The museum's remit has since expanded to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces have been involved since 1914. As of 2012, the museum aims "to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and 'wartime experience'." Originally housed in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham Hill, the museum opened to the public in 1920. In 1924, the museum moved to space in the Imperial Institute in South Kensington, and finally in 1936, the museum acquired a permanent home that was previously the Bethlem Royal Hospital in Southwark. The outbreak of the Second World War saw the museum expand both its collections and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, which is owned by News Corp. Times Newspapers also publishes ''The Times''. The two papers were founded independently and have been under common ownership since 1966. They were bought by News International in 1981. ''The Sunday Times'' has a circulation of just over 650,000, which exceeds that of its main rivals, including ''The'' ''Sunday Telegraph'' and ''The'' ''Observer'', combined. While some other national newspapers moved to a tabloid format in the early 2000s, ''The Sunday Times'' has retained the larger broadsheet format and has said that it would continue to do so. As of December 2019, it sells 75% more copies than its sister paper, ''The Times'', which is published from Monday to Saturday. The paper publishes ''The Sunday ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Holmes (military Historian)
Edward Richard Holmes, CBE, TD, JP, VR (29 March 1946 – 30 April 2011), known as Richard Holmes, was a British military historian. He was co-director of Cranfield University's Security and Resilience Group from 1989 to 2009 and became Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield in 1995. Early life and education Holmes was educated at Forest School, Walthamstow, Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Northern Illinois University, and the University of Reading, where he was awarded a PhD in 1975. Military career In 1964, he enlisted in the Territorial Army, the volunteer reserve of the British Army. Two years later he received a commission as a second lieutenant with the Territorial Army, and was promoted to lieutenant on 17 June 1968. He was promoted to acting captain in 1972, substantive captain in 1973, acting major in 1978 and substantive major in 1980. In 1979, he was awarded the Territorial Decoration. Holmes was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1986, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lions Led By Donkeys
"Lions led by donkeys" is a phrase popularly used to describe the United Kingdom, British infantry of the First World War and to blame the generals who led them. The contention is that the brave soldiers (lions) were sent to their deaths by incompetent and indifferent leaders (donkeys). The phrase was the source of the title of one of the most scathing examinations of British First World War generals, ''The Donkeys''—a study of Western Front (World War I), Western Front offensives—by politician and writer of military histories Alan Clark. The book typified the mainstream First World War history of the 1960s, was vetted by Basil Liddell Hart,Ion Trewin, ''Alan Clark: The Biography'' Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2009, p 160. and helped to form a popular view of the First World War (in the English-speaking world) in the decades that followed. However, the work's viewpoint of incompetent military leaders was never accepted by some mainstream historians, and both the book and its viewpoint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Snow (British Army Officer)
Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas D’Oyly Snow, (5 May 1858 – 30 August 1940) was a British Army officer who fought on the Western Front during the First World War. He played an important role in the war, leading the 4th Division in the retreat of August 1914, and commanding VII Corps at the unsuccessful diversion of the Attack on the Gommecourt Salient on the first day on the Somme (1 July 1916) and at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. Early life and military career Snow was born at Newton Valence, Hampshire, on 5 May 1858. He was the eldest son of the Reverend George D'Oyly Snow and his wife Maria Jane Barlow, Snow attended Eton College (1871–1874) and went to St John's College, Cambridge in 1878. Snow obtained a commission in the 13th Regiment of Foot in 1879, taking part in the Anglo-Zulu War in South Africa the same year. In 1884–1885, having transferred to the Mounted Infantry Regiment of the Camel Corps, Snow fought with them in the Nile Expedition of the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a captain general. In modern armies, lieutenant general normally ranks immediately below general and above major general; it is equivalent to the navy rank of vice admiral, and in air forces with a separate rank structure, it is equivalent to air marshal. A lieutenant general commands an army corps, made up of typically three army divisions, and consisting of around 60 000 to 70 000 soldiers (U.S.). The seeming incongruity that a lieutenant general outranks a major general (whereas a major outranks a lieutenant) is due to the derivation of major general from sergeant major general, which was a rank subordinate to lieutenant general (as a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major). In contra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jon Snow (journalist)
Jonathan George Snow HonFRIBA (born 28 September 1947) is an English journalist and television presenter. He is best known as the longest-running presenter of ''Channel 4 News'', which he presented from 1989 to 2021. On 29 April 2021, Snow announced his retirement from the role; his final programme aired on 23 December 2021. Although Channel 4's news programming is produced by ITN, Snow was employed directly by the broadcaster. Snow has held numerous honorary appointments, including Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008. Early life Snow was born in Ardingly, Sussex, the son of George D'Oyly Snow, Bishop of Whitby, and Joan, a pianist who studied at the Royal College of Music. He is a grandson of First World War General Sir Thomas D'Oyly Snow (about whom he writes in his foreword to Ronald Skirth's war memoir ''The Reluctant Tommy'') and is the cousin of retired BBC television news presenter Peter Snow. He grew up at Ardingly College, where his father ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stroke
Stroke (also known as a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or brain attack) is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functioning properly. Signs and symptoms of stroke may include an inability to move or feel on one side of the body, problems understanding or speaking, dizziness, or loss of vision to one side. Signs and symptoms often appear soon after the stroke has occurred. If symptoms last less than one or two hours, the stroke is a transient ischemic attack (TIA), also called a mini-stroke. Hemorrhagic stroke may also be associated with a severe headache. The symptoms of stroke can be permanent. Long-term complications may include pneumonia and loss of bladder control. The biggest risk factor for stroke is high blood pressure. Other risk factors include high blood cholesterol, to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duncan Barrett
Duncan Barrett is a writer and editor who specialises in biography and memoir. After publishing several books in collaboration with other authors, he published his first solo book, '' Men of Letters'', in 2014. Barrett also works as an actor and theatre director. Early life Duncan was born in Islington, London in 1983 and went to City of London School from 1994 to 2001, before studying English at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he served as Film Editor of student newspaper '' Varsity''. He is the author of ''Star Trek: The Human Frontier'', co-written with his mother Michele Barrett and published by Polity Press in 2000. He edited Vitali Vitaliev's travelogue ''Passport to Enclavia'', published by Reportage Press in 2008. Work as writer and editor Barrett was the editor of Ronald Skirth's pacifist First World War memoir ''The Reluctant Tommy'', published by Macmillan in 2010. In it he wrote that, having come across Skirth's memoir through his mother's research, he felt determined ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ring Binder
Ring binders (loose leaf binders, looseleaf binders, or sometimes called files in Britain) are large folders that contain file folders or hole punched papers. These binders come in various sizes and can accommodate an array of paper sizes. These are held in the binder by circular or D-shaped retainers, onto which the contents are threaded. The rings themselves come in a variety of sizes, including , though other sizes are also available. The rings are usually spring-loaded, but can also be secured by lever arch mechanisms or other securing systems. The binders themselves are typically made from plastic with metal rings. Early designs were patented during the early 1890s to the early 1900s. History American Henry Tillinghast Sisson invented the three ring binder, receivinpatent no. 23506on April 5, 1859. German Friedrich Soennecken invented ring binders in 1886 in Bonn. He also registered a patent on November 14, 1886, for his ''Papierlocher für Sammelmappen'' ("paper hole ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
