Rob Balding

An amazing session! Thank you!

My favourite fact of the evening was there were 180 volunteers associated with York, when the sirens went off to signal the start of nuclear war, the first sixty would he brought into the bunker and then doors would be closed.

A great evening CPD session with @englishheritage.bsky.social at York Cold War bunker preparing for a possible future school trip there. A base for men and women of the Royal Observer Corps in the event of a nuclear war.

Looks sick.

#remembranceday #parachuteregiment #para #kippax #castleford #arnhem #marketgarden #history #storytelling #poppyappeal

As the Paras found themselves surrounded they withdrew to the small town of Oosterbeck where, sadly, on 23 Sep 1944, George was killed. A really engaging narrative that communicated to the pupils the importance of Remembrance and History as a whole.

George Everington was born in Lincoln in 1924, but moved to Kippax, West Yorkshire as a lad. In 1943, he married his sweetheart, Louisa, then joined the fledgling Parachute Regiment. In 1944, he dropped into Arnhem as part of Operation Market Garden.

Day One of my Remembrance Day Assemblies today, aside from the usual messages around the Poppy Appeal and Armistice Day, I’ve tried to include war stories with a local twist to engage the students. Today was a fascinating story from the Second World War.

#firstworldwar #worldwar1 #ajptaylor #history #historyteaching #remembranceday #battleofthesomme #thegreatwar

I also found this photo of Italian troops fighting the Austrians in the Alps really intriguing. A reminder that we must teach the FWW as a global war and ensured our narratives give enough focus to the Western Front, but don’t allow it to dominate.

The first photo that stood out to me was this one of British soldiers preparing to move up to the Battle of the Somme. I stared into this image for about five minutes and will definitely use it in the classroom this year. I think the clarity of the faces of these men really add humanity to the war.

Just read AJP Taylor’s The First World War: an illustrated history, bought from the @oxfamgb.bsky.social Charity Shop in York. A book that was immensely readable and poignant with Remembrance Day approaching. It also highlighted how far the historiography of the FWW has come along since 1963.