As an aspiring historian, perhaps more of an enthusiastic amateur, I appreciate that nothing can beat information from a primary source. The National Archives, at Kew outside London, is the national repository for official documents. The value can’t be understated; war department maps and plans, war diaries from frontline fighting… Read More »A visit to the National Archives
Great Britain found itself occupying Cyprus in the summer of 1878 after a political deal that saw the Mediterranean Island traded for British support against an increasingly aggressive Russian expansion across Europe. Fraught with nuance from the outset, Britain had already refused the offer of Cyprus three times previously and… Read More »A history of the early British military occupation of Troödos Mountain, Cyprus
In 1942 the Second World War was taking on a new, global element. December 1941 saw the attacks on Pearl Harbour that drew the Americans into frontline conflict, while units from Northern Ireland were engaged in Burma, North Africa, Leros, Sicily and Italy. It was written soon after the war… Read More »The most secret ARDS plan; fighting to the end
Always keen to try new technologies, I have recently ventured into the world of 360° cameras. I have experimented in the past with the iPhone and Google Streetview app to capture 360° images, but in March 2022 purchased my first dedicated camera. I took this camera on a road trip… Read More »The use of 360° video and images in recording historic sites
I am going to make a bold statement that may cause some heated discussion. All pillboxes were made of concrete. Concrete is an incredible building material, first used by the Romans and very much still in use today. As a raw material it can be transported relatively easily; it can… Read More »All pillboxes are concrete, but some are more concrete than others
One of many Forest Service forests across Northern Ireland, Randalstown Forest was gifted by the Shanes Castle Estate in 1934. It is open to the public and can be openly visited and explored. What many of the visitors to the forest may not appreciate, is that hiding among the relatively… Read More »Site Visit Part I – Randalstown Forest, First World War Rifle Range
The pillbox is synonymous with the Second World War. Thousands were constructed across the United Kingdom (and Ireland) to defend high-value areas or as part of a National defensive line. Many of them still remain and conjure up the romantic notion of local boys and men bearing arms to defend… Read More »Site Visit Part II – Randalstown Forest, Second World War Defences
A lesser-known British Colonial outpost, Ascension Island could be the secret lair of a Bond villain. It is a dormant volcano, approximately 88 square kilometres in size, 1,000 miles from the coast of Africa; and more often than not these days is surrounded by sharks. There is no indigenous population;… Read More »British Coastal Defences of Ascension Island
A rare military site dating back to the height of the First World War remains virtually untouched on an exposed headland at Burray Ness, on the Isle of Burray, south of Orkney Mainland. Constructed at some stage between 1914 – 1918 (most likely in around 1915 when the scale of… Read More »Interpreting Burray Ness
This article aims to bring together a number of sources of information I have in order to demonstrate the extent of requisitions undertaken by the army, typically for short duration, in support of surges in violence but also for the accommodation of the newly formed Ulster Defence Regiment in the 1970s.