Category Archives: London history

Fears, Smears and Volunteers: Kingston and the General Strike of May, 1926

Ninety-eight years ago this month, in May, 1926, Britain experienced a General Strike, called by the Trades Union Congress (T.U.C.), and – for a few days at least – ‘normal’ life in the country was put on temporary hold and … Continue reading

Posted in British history, British politics, Kingston, Local History, London history, Media history, Public History, Research, Surbiton, Surrey, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

For a few days in May: Surbiton and the General Strike of 1926

In May, 1926, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) called a General Strike in Britain and, for about nine days (from 3rd-12th May), it appeared to many people that the country’s industrial relations had reached a new low-point. The Armed Forces … Continue reading

Posted in British history, British politics, Gender History, Kingston, Local History, London history, Media history, Public History, Research, Surbiton, Surrey, Uncategorized, Women's history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Racist Revisionism: Arnold Leese and early Holocaust Denial in Britain

Some brief exploration of the extent to which crude and racist historical revisionism has moved from the margins into the cultural mainstream of society can be a truly shocking experience. It is no exaggeration to say that conspiracy theory and … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-fascism, British history, British politics, Conspiracy theory, European History, Extremism, Fascism, German History, History of war, London history, Media history, Public History, Research, Surrey, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Radicalism in Richmond-on-Thames: The influence of the Left Book Club of the 1930s

Back in 2018-2019, using a variety of sources, I conducted some research into the local impact of the famous Left Book Club (LBC) of the 1930s, focusing in particular on the town of Richmond-on-Thames in the outer suburbs of London. … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-fascism, Archives, British history, British politics, Local History, London history, Public History, Research, Richmond history, Secret State, Surbiton, Surrey, Teaching, The National Archives, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazons against the Nazis: Women’s Home Defence in Wartime Britain

At the height of invasion fears in the summer of 1940, the British government asked for civilian volunteers ‘to go on duty against airborne invasion’ and be ‘entrusted with certain vital duties’ for which a knowledge of firearms would be necessary. Many … Continue reading

Posted in Anti-fascism, Archives, British history, Fascism, Gender History, German History, Historiography, History of war, Local History, London history, Museums, Nazism, Public History, Research, Women's history | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Decadence and Decline: Looking back on the gloomy world of Dean Inge

There has been some interesting coverage on social media in recent months of the views of William Ralph Inge (1860-1954), who was known as the ‘Gloomy Dean’ or the ‘Gloomy Philosopher’, and was Dean of St. Pauls Cathedral in London … Continue reading

Posted in British history, British politics, European History, Extremism, Fascism, History of war, London history, Media history, Nazism, Public History, Research, Uncategorized, World History | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Notorious in Northampton: The anti-Semitic career of Walter Crick

When historians dig deeply, many towns and cities often have at least some notorious skeletons in their historical cupboards, individuals who represent the darker side of the past, usually people who current-day citizens would rather forget. In March, 1925, a … Continue reading

Posted in British Empire, British history, British politics, Conspiracy theory, European History, Extremism, Fascism, German History, Local History, London history, Nazism, Public History, Research, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment