Nick Jenkins

The lord mayor of Liverpool met Mussolini, gave a fascist salute, and said he was one of the greatest men she had ever met. Well, I guess we can all be wrong sometimes...
Il Duce never did take her up on her invitation to visit the city.

Revealed: Israel bulldozed part of Gaza war cemetery containing allied graves Satellite images and witness testimony show destruction as IDF claims it was forced to take defensive measures

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Three generations of Welsh miners, 1950, photo by William Eugene Smith, American photojournalist.

Dear Film Industry,
Wouldn't it be nice to have a film version of WUTHERING HEIGHTS that was:
1. Filmed in Yorkshire
2. With actors that one could plausibly believe to be from Yorkshire
3. Of the right age (teens and 20s)
4. Actually scripted by someone who has read the book ALL the way through?

Hero turning villain... another vide-grenier purchase (unframed): Pétain in 1940 explaining to the French people about his meeting with Hitler and why he is happy to collaborate with the Nazis (and everyone else should do too).

4/3/1916 Beeston Gazette and Echo, p. 5 ANOTHER HERO GONE. As previously reported in our columns, Sapper Frederick Simpson, of the Royal Engineers, whose home is at 80, Turton street, Bulwell, was killed in action in France on February 4th. He was only 22 years of age, and formerly worked at the Broxtowe Colliery. he enlisted about six months ago and within a week was sent out to France. he was well-known as a member of the Highbury Vale Football Club. [Portrait photo]

#OTD 4th February 1916, 18 men of 185th Tunnelling Company were killed 70ft beneath no man's land at La Boisselle on the Somme when the Germans detonated a mine charge. A month later, the 'Beeston Gazette and Echo' reported the death of miner Frederick Simpson.

Your regular reminder that First World War munitions are still dangerous. And can be found in unexpected places.

The Battle for Disabled Veterans' Recognition - A Discussion with Dr. Eric Story Podcast Episode · Battles of the First World War Podcast · 02/01/2026 · 41m

Hey Folks,

New episode is out on the battle faced by Canadian disabled veterans:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

Dr. Eric Story of @westernuhistory.bsky.social in Ontario, Canada begins the talk with a broad look at what Canadian veterans faced in the 1920s...

The postcard is of particular interest to me and my wife, because her grandfather, Jack Day, was in the Royal Garrison Artillery on the Somme, in one half of a siege battery (Howitzer).
Wonder why these three signed the card - and how it ended up in a sale in France?

My favourite postcard, bought in a vide grenier (French car boot sale). I still don't know if it's printed or handpainted.
The caption reads "Deutschland uber [crossed out] unter alles, and allies".

Events — The Changing Character of War Centre Upcoming CCW events

Today! If you are in or near Oxford, please come along

www.ccw.ox.ac.uk/events

I was a philosophy professor before I became a librarian. People from my former profession appear in the Epstein files, but none in my current one. As it happens, I’m happier as a librarian.

YouTube video by Old Front Line The Tank Cemetery at Ypres - Passchendaele 1917

The Tank Cemetery at Ypres - Passchendaele 1917: the latest @OldFrontLinePod video out now:

youtu.be/lKb6QdkTQuQ

It's pancake day - maybe not in the UK, but here in France it's Candlemas, and that means pancakes. It's suggested that the golden circles represent the sun of the coming spring.
Of course, the French probably serve them with Nutella.

Patricia Maxwell Sullivan was a member of the Foreign Office and a passenger on an aircraft that crashed en route to the 1945 Yalta Conference, where the “Big Three” were due to meet to discuss the post-war reorganisation of Germany and Europe.

📍Imtarfa Military Cemetery 🇲🇹

There are always signs of hope if you look for them.

A warning from the past (1921). If you find pieces of very hot coke at your local gasworks, do NOT be tempted to take them home in a sack.

NO LIES 👇 DETECTED.......

Let's hope THIS revamp is a bit more successful.

The mysteries of the universe in Lego bricks? Sounds like an irresistible proposition...

PHOTO OF THE DAY. Londoners go about daily life in Fleet Street as smoke rises after the explosion of a German V1 flying bomb (1944). 📷 google images

Home - The Devil's Porridge Museum The Devil's Porridge Museum is a 5 star, family friendly, museum. We tell the story of WW1, muntions factory, H.M. Factory Gretna.

If you’re ever anywhere near Gretna, on the English/Scottish border, I highly recommend this little museum about the munitions factory that used to be there - making “the devil’s porridge”.

www.devilsporridge.org.uk

Very dangerous work, obviously - most munitions factories had fatal explosions (though often unreported at the time for propaganda reasons).
This woman seems to have a key round her neck (on a chain?). Jewellery was usually banned because of the risk of sparks.

Two clips from the amazing film 'A Day in the Life of a Munitions Worker', made in 1917 at the National Shell Filling Factory Chilwell, Nottingham. A massive explosion at the factory in 1918 killed 134 workers. Source: www.iwm.org.uk/collections/... 1/2

Fascinating novel, published in 1934 as the first of a trilogy, about the terrifying effects of the rise of Nazism. Sally Carson, real name Sylvia, spent a lot of time in Bavaria, so was recounting these frightening events contemporaneously, making this all the more important.

The house that chicory built... this extraordinary house, with extravagant interiors, was built for the Williot family in northern France - the first people to industrialise the production of chicory.
What? You didn't realise chicory HAD been industrialised..?

My 73yr old dad, a local newspaper reporter from 1969-2015, was stopped at the door of a beer festival today by the Colchester Gazette and asked to vox pop on difficulties facing local pubs in the current economic climate. In his ELEMENT. Actor on Oscars red carpet excitement. Love this for him.

🏛️ The beautiful mosaic floor of the Roman baths at the sanctuary of Poseidon, Isthmia, Greece. The baths were built in 150 CE on the site of pre-existing ancient Greek baths. 📹 My own.

I'll be at Wigan Local History and Heritage Society talking about 'These Isles: A People's History of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales' on Monday March 9th, 7pm, Real Crafty, 9 Upper Dicconson St. Free entry, all welcome. Book due out Feb 26th, available for preorder.

On this day in 1944, a 15 year old Dutch Jewish girl arrived at Auschwitz along with her parents. They were murdered in the gas chamber after selection. Her name was Marie Brilleslijper

Please support @auschwitzmemorial.bsky.social