Don't forget to carry the one

Via LGF comes this:

LISBON (Reuters) - Iran’s ambassador to Portugal told a Portuguese radio interviewer it would have taken the Nazis 15 years to burn the corpses of 6 million people, a remark reflecting the denials of the Holocaust made by his president.

Someone's been doing some calculations.

What a little trooper

It's fantastic really. Sitting down with the eight year old boy this evening for dinner we got to talking about various famous fighter planes as you do and he brought up the subject of the first world war.

"They had planes in the first world war didn't they daddy?"

"Yes, yes they did. Bi-planes, you know, the ones with two wings. The British had a famous one, oh what was it called. I can't remember."

"I think it was the Sopwith Camel daddy."

"Yes. Yes, that's the one."

For those that missed it the first time around the England Project family outing to the RAF museum at Hendon, London is available here.

...mantained the batle at the verey musels of the Canon

A letter from Robert Sands, a 17-year-old "powder monkey":

Then Victory came under heavy attack: "Our After magesene [magazine] skreens took fire and burnt the Leftanant of mereans [Marines] badley. I had jest left thair wen the exploshon took place. The men Inside the skreens was burnt to deth. . . Then I had to go to the fore magesene for my powder wilst the Victory Engaged the Redoutable on the starboard side. . .

"The Example of the Admerel was universely folowed by the British Captains, they broke into the Enemys Line on Everey side, Engaged 2 or three ships at a time and mantained the batle at the verey musels [muzzles] of the Canon."

Disgrace

I can barely believe my eyes:

BRITISH Muslims are to boycott this week’s commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz because they claim it is not racially inclusive and does not commemorate the victims of the Palestinian conflict.

Sure, it's a legitimate wish that the victims of other conflicts are commemorated but to refuse participation in one commemorative event on the basis that it doesn't include a certain (and self defined) subset of other issues is not a tenable position and is a blatant admission of extreme prejudice.

Luckily one of our political masters wades in with this:

This weekend the boycott by the leaders of Britain’s 1.2m Muslims was condemned by Khalid Mahmood, the MP for Birmingham Perry Barr. “I’m proud to be a Muslim. But if people are boycotting this then I think it’s a mistake. People who were exterminated in the Holocaust were not just Jews. There were Romany gypsies as well. Anybody who is interested in human rights should support this remembrance.

Well, that's alright then.

Hat tip Mark.

The end of the Great War

In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month Germany signed an armistice with the allies. This marked the official end of the First World War.

I’m currently reading Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front by Richard Holmes, a rather large book that I tuck into on occasion, which is full of short accounts of the war written by some of the soldiers who fought in it. It is by no means without the authors commentary but hardly a couple of pages go by without some snippet from a soldiers diary or a letter home, all too often followed up by a note from the author telling us when and in what battle the writer died.

The book also offers us some photographs of the conflict and one set in particular caught my eye. Two photographs that I think capture the devastation that was the hallmark of the Great War. Two photographs that do not require any commentary. They show Passchendaele village before and after the Third Battle of Ypres, more commonly known as the Battle of Passchendaele and, thanks to the wonder of wikipedia we can see what I think are the very same pictures that appear in the book.

France destroys air force

From the Times:

France destroys the West African country's entire air force as it heads towards civil war

THOUSANDS of machete-wielding thugs looted and set fire to French targets in Ivory Coast yesterday after France responded with force to the killing of nine of its peacekeepers and an American missionary.

I hope that France takes this opportunity to reach out and engage with the international community so that a peaceful conclusion to this problem can be reached.

The anti-French feeling among many African citizens is a product of French colonialism and France needs to look more closely at its expansionist agenda so that it may avert an increase in its unpopularity abroad.

Thanks kids

Via Lileks who points us to these WWII images from the US government archives; just look at the children in this image.

The British-American War

Did you know that today, in 1812, the US congress declared war on the UK? In response the British burnt down the White House. What was all that about?.

French families to the rescue

More than 50 D-Day veterans who feared they would miss a trip to Normandy for the 60th anniversary of the landings have been told the trip is back on.

Some French families have offered to put them up. Jolly good show.

Monte Cassino

The Plastic Gangster on Monte Cassino:

The whole sorry saga ended in enormous bitterness and recrimination and even Clark's personal (though rather dubious) triumph was rapidly thrust into obscurity by the evolving situation in France.

It's a terrible shame, really. The veterans of the Italian campaign deserved better at the time and they deserve better now.

Indeed they did and do. Go and have a read.

Once again the EU shows its colours

This post by Kim du Toit got me to thinking about all those EU countries that refused to collaborate with the Turkish Cypriots because of one reason or another prior to the recent NO vote on the UN plan by the Greek Cypriots but now seem happy to do so.

I can’t quite understand the new EU attitude. What is it that the EU didn’t like about the Turkish invasion that they can forget about now?

Is it that they thought just a little too much land was stolen in the invasion but that now the Greek Cypriots have refused an offer to only ever get some of that land back it’s ok to collaborate with those that stole it?

Maybe they objected to the presence of an occupying army which is somehow not a problem for them any more.

What facts about the Turkish invasion have changed?

What is dreadful is that this change in attitude has come after a democratic vote took place and not because of a sudden surge in terrorist violence or some such by the Greek Cypriots. They were asked a simple question and gave an honest answer.

They want all their property back and they want the invading army to remove its forces. Remember, this isn’t about not wanting to live with Turkish Cypriots; that wasn’t what the vote was all about and I have it on good authority that living with their Turkish counterparts is not a particularly insurmountable problem. All Cypriots together, as my source says.

I think this says so much more about the EU than it does about the Greek Cypriots.

No. How could the answer be anything else?

If you present a bunch of people with the questions:

1. Is it ok if the people who stole your property get to keep it?
2. Is it ok if invaders keep a sizable unwelcome army in your country?

you should not be surprised if those people reply with a resounding no.

The Guardian says that the Annan plan, though not particularly fair to the Greek Cypriots, was better than nothing. Most Greek Cypriots failed to agree with the Guardian which apparently makes them dinosaurs.

I've got news for the Guardian (which is more than they have for me). It's called democracy and it rocks!

The Red Baron's last flight

Today is the anniversary of the last flight of Baron Manfred Albrecht von Richthofen; the Red Baron.

He was shot and killed over Morlancourt Ridge, near the Somme River on April 21st 1918 while pursuing a Sopwith Camel piloted by Lieutenant Wilfrid "Wop" May of Canada. The Baron was himself being chased at the time by a plane piloted by another Canadian, Captain Arthur "Roy" Brown.

It's not clear who fired the fatal shot but it is though to have been either Captain Roy Brown or an Australian anti-aircraft battery on the ground.

The Red Baron had at least 80 combat victories to his name, including the shooting down of Lanoe George Hawker, British fighter pilot and Victoria Cross winner.

Italy holds Nazi war crimes trial

Over the years my mother has told me a number of stories about her childhood experience with Nazis in Italy during the war. One which I may blog about one day involved two SS officers, a small supply of ground coffee and a rocking horse tail.

None of her stories are as horrific as the incident that took place in the village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema.

Squadron Leader Mike Cooper-Slipper

What kind of man rams an enemy aircraft when he runs out of ammunition? This kind of man.

Falklands breach

This is the Argentine definition of testing the waters:

Britain has made a formal complaint to Argentina over the activity of one of its naval vessels in waters off the Falkland Islands.

The Argentine ice breaker, the Admiral Irizar, entered Falklands waters in contravention of local shipping rules.

Two weeks ago it challenged trawlers to identify themselves and provide proof of their fishing permits.

This situation is made no less interesting by the recent Blognor Regis posting (I see no ships...) on the decommissioning of the Royal Navy’s Sea Harriers and the follow up by the Plastic Gangster (Messing About In Boats).

Last chance for Cyprus

According to this times article current crucial talks with a possible referendum in both halves of the divided Cyprus could be the Islands last chance before, well, before the World ignores it again.

Without a deal soon, Cyprus will again let the best chance for a fresh start slip through its fingers. The world will then turn its back on such blinkered foolishness.

As a kid I daydreamed of going back to my fathers country to claim back the land that was stolen from us.

I would turn up there and, while ignoring the wails of the invaders, I'd demolish the hotels and other buildings that they would have put up on our orchards; the orchards that my father worked so hard to acquire and maintain.

Needless to say this was an impossible dream. There are no hotels. The invaders have done nothing with the land since the got off their boats and started shooting the place up.

Maybe one day I will be able to return there. I hardly remember it because I was so young when it was taken but I did visit it often in my early carefree years.

The only mementoes we have are a few faded photographs, some old land titles and a fist full of ignored UN resolutions.

Battle of Britain fighter production

I found the following passage interesting and thought that I’d share it with you. It comes from the Roy Jenkins biography on Churchill and provides some interesting figures on the number of fighter aircraft produced during the year in which the Battle of Britain took place.

The battles of that summer never reduced the strength of Fighter Command or of the RAF generally. This was partly due to the success of Beaverbrook in his first months as Minister of Aircraft Production. He inherited a favourable upward swing, but his ruthless improvisation considerably fortified this. The so-called Harrogate Programme of January 1940 provided for a year’s output of 3,602 fighters (very precise). The total achieved was 4,283, which meant that nearly 352 fighters a month were forthcoming over the crucial summer and autumn months. The German output was barely half that. - Roy Jenkins, Churchill, p633.

I was frankly surprised at the numbers and expected them to have been much lower. Never did I imagine them to be so much greater than the German output. Of course the whole picture cannot be gleamed from just the number of aircraft produced as there is much more that needs to be done to get them into the air as part of an active squadron.

Indeed, this is borne out by two more paragraphs from the same chapter.

On the 15th (another Sunday), the most intense day in the Battle of Britain, he [Churchill] drove over from Chequers to visit Air Vice-Marshal Park at his Uxbridge headquarters of II Group of Fighter Command. The Group controlled the fighter squadrons covering the whole of Essex, Kent, Sussex and Hampshire. As they watched the lights on the key indicator boards it became apparent that there were no longer any reserve squadrons left on the board, and Churchill asked Park, ‘What other reserves have we?’ ‘There are none,’ Park answered. Fortunately the German planes almost immediately began to go home. – Roy Jenkins, Churchill, p643.

And:

He [Churchill] was immensely busy. Most of his work was self-generated. It was not that he had to deal with a vast mass of paper which came up to him from subordinates. It was rather that he was constantly initiating, asking why programmes were not fulfilled, why there were so many on headquarter staffs, why so many more aircraft were manufactured than found their way into front-line service, ….. – Roy Jenkins, Churchill, p644.

More on fighter numbers and the Battle of Britain in this posting.

Odd RAF report

This is an odd report from the Battle of Britain archives (11th July 1940):

After 1100 hours considerable activity started with an attack on Portland and a convoy off the coast, some fifty enemy aircraft taking part. These aircraft were plotted from Cap Hague and Jersey. Five of our squadrons intercepted and succeeded in shooting down 8 Me110s for certain and 8 Me110s and 1 Ju87 probable. In addition, one Hurricane which attacked one of our sections and which bore red and blue checked markings on the wings was shot down.

I wonder what was up with that Hurricane. Captured by the Germans and used against us?

Here's an interesting picture from the archive showing a few belts of ammunition which have been laid across the wing of an RAF aircraft (a Hurricane I believe).

Some of the casualty reports show just how low the British were on aircraft. For instance:

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft
as at 0900 hours, 29th October 1940

Blenheim - 40
Spitfire - 211
Hurricane - 403
Defiant - 13
Gladiator - 8
Total - 675

And the next day:

Fighter Command Serviceable Aircraft
as at 0900 hours, 30th October 1940

Blenheim - 39
Spitfire - 213
Hurricane - 391
Defiant - 11
Gladiator - 8
Total - 662

One day I'm going to have to graph out these figures showing their rise and fall for each day of the battle.

Redcaps

Via Kim du Toit we have this telegraph article which reports that the 6 British MP's killed by a mob in Iraq had to hand back their ammo days before they were attacked and killed. If this is true and the current investigation into the incident shows that a shortage of ammo was in any way a contributing factor to the outcome of the incident there is going to be hell to pay. I'm not sure that Hoon can take much more in the way of criticism.

African rumours

A comment by Nathan on the Across the Atlantic blog points to this disturbing rumour:

While former South African President Nelson Mandela, 85, scoffs at rumors of ill health, plans are being made by the nation's Communist Party to slaughter all whites in the country upon his death, G2B sources say.

Now the thing about rumours is that, true or not, it's only the ones that ring true that gather pace.

Does this one ring true? It's Africa, you decide.

How many dead is enough?

It makes me shudder when an organisation called something as affable as Human Rights Watch can say something like this:

"Only mass slaughter might permit the deliberate taking of life in using military force for humanitarian purposes," it said.

"Brutal as Saddam Hussein's reign had been, the scope of the Iraq Government's killing in March 2003, was not of the exceptional and dire magnitude that would justify humanitarian intervention.

What hope is there for the repressed, tortured, vanished and murdered?

Who will rebuild Iraq?

The USA, Iraq, coalition partners and other force contributing nations will rebuild Iraq according to US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. Those who will not be allowed to bid for rebuilding contracts are companies from countries opposed to the conflict that deposed Saddam Hussein.

It's thought that the move is likely to anger France and Germany but they always seem to be angry with the US so I don't suppose it makes much difference.

Let's face it, success in Iraq for the coalition will anger them; failure in Iraq will anger them; failure of the EU project to 'balance imperialistic US power' will anger them; failure of the EU army to compete with NATO will anger them; any failure of Britain to ratify the EU constitution will anger them; Israeli fences that keep out terrorists anger them; new world wine angers them........

The story of a generation

World events can define the story of a generation. My grand parents generation had their own story, and it was predominantly one of conflict. The Second World War and the recovery from it is the theme behind many of their memories.

The story of my generation is not so clear cut but if I had to take the plunge and I would say that the story was one of foreboding. Living through the cold war and under the shadow of the mushroom cloud.

There were other undercurrents like Irish terrorism and the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, in the same way that there were others in my grandparents generation, but I don’t think they were as defining as the cold war and that ever constant threat of total annihilation.

The story for this and a new generation may be the story of the Middle East and the president of the United States seems to think that it will be a story of freedom.

Many Middle Eastern governments now understand that military dictatorship and theocratic rule are a straight, smooth highway to nowhere.

Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe -- because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty. As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export.

We believe that human fulfilment and excellence come in the responsible exercise of liberty. And we believe that freedom -- the freedom we prize -- is not for us alone, it is the right and the capacity of all mankind.

That middle paragraph is the money quote. Freedom in the middle east or the constant threat and realisation of exported violence.

The Victoria Cross: For Valour

I watched a programme last night on BBC2 called The Victoria Cross: For Valour. It was written, directed and presented by that bloke Jeremy Clarkson, which is always a good thing IMHO. The main thrust of the program was to describe how in September 1944, Major Robert Cain won what was described as the finest Victoria Cross of the Second World War. His story is amazing and its telling left me in no doubt that Clarkson was in total awe of not only Major Cain VC but also all the other VC winners, some of who had their stories told in brief during the programme. It’s only at the end of the programme that we discover that Clarkson is married to the Major’s daughter who had no idea that her father was a VC winner until after his death in 1974. They don’t like to talk about their deeds apparently, VC winners.

We also got to see a little bit about the history of the medal itself and how it is, and always has been, manufactured by a small London jeweller Hancocks Ltd, London, from bronze. Not just any old bronze either, but bronze from the melted down breeches of guns captured from the Russians at Sebastopol in the Crimea. We were shown what was, I think, the remaining chunk of this metal; enough to make 80 or so VC’s. It was locked away in a safe in a military storage depot somewhere in England. This amount of bronze itself is worth next to nothing, but because of its history and the use to which it was being put this particular chunk is priceless.

For more on the Victoria Cross see here.

BBC TV at its best.

Remembering

I think now would be an appropriate time to mention the poppy.

Do you have one yet? Here at The England Project we think that this little bit of charity is a mark of respect that should never be allowed to die out.

Do you have kids? Do they know what the Poppy Appeal is all about?

UPDATE: Read some of these requests. They haven't forgotten each other, and we should not forget them.

30-October-03 Lovelock would like meet Bill Wittaker Last Seen: Where: Scotland - When: 1944