tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.comments2023-04-06T11:13:19.441+01:00The Olde Curiosity BlogOldeCuriosityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610541664418377583noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-34962854634177643022022-10-11T08:50:05.406+01:002022-10-11T08:50:05.406+01:00He started with the 303 (a Polish volunteer squadr...He started with the 303 (a Polish volunteer squadron) because he arrived with the Polish exiled pilots. However, when a Czech volunteer squadron was later created, he declined to be transferred there because he had already forged solid friendships with their Polish colleagues... and because he was unsure whether he would have the same freedom of going "lone hunting" in his new unit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-5451268756417023692021-12-06T07:14:48.640+00:002021-12-06T07:14:48.640+00:00Amazing piece of writing I never knew of this gent...Amazing piece of writing I never knew of this gentleman. Ily Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17315220378840164688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-15237169147443744782021-12-06T07:14:25.435+00:002021-12-06T07:14:25.435+00:00Amazing piece of writing I never knew of this gent...Amazing piece of writing I never knew of this gentleman. Ily Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17315220378840164688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-84617529730194532912021-10-10T18:55:37.835+01:002021-10-10T18:55:37.835+01:00Thanks very much for tht, Wendy. If a foal cost £3...Thanks very much for tht, Wendy. If a foal cost £32-odd then, you wouldn't have, would you, how much a mature Shire might have fetched? PopPophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02097684906340546618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-55370673262089357112021-10-10T18:47:32.822+01:002021-10-10T18:47:32.822+01:00Thanks very much for that, Wendy. You wouldn't...Thanks very much for that, Wendy. You wouldn't have any idea. would you, what a mature Shire might have cost then, if a foal was £32 7 shillings?Pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02097684906340546618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-59952204025928839482020-07-28T13:48:47.876+01:002020-07-28T13:48:47.876+01:00Found a Friday 03 September 1943 article from the ...Found a Friday 03 September 1943 article from the Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald about a "Highly important Shire horse sale" stating that "last year foals sold to average 32 pounds 7 shillings". WendyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-36796571515772922512020-07-28T13:02:42.963+01:002020-07-28T13:02:42.963+01:00thank you for your blog. i would like to know if t...thank you for your blog. i would like to know if there were subsidies or grants-in-aid for the fuel/electricity for the farmer during WWII. WendyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-34091253360047717662020-05-28T14:14:10.211+01:002020-05-28T14:14:10.211+01:00Thanks very much for this. It really helped me in ...Thanks very much for this. It really helped me in my research into my local town in WW2.Derougethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01141145971194562068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-1540480930611195172020-04-22T14:49:04.857+01:002020-04-22T14:49:04.857+01:00Konigsberg was actually a cruiser, not a destroyet...Konigsberg was actually a cruiser, not a destroyet!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02261301894060672510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-6720051527081850092020-04-04T15:00:24.113+01:002020-04-04T15:00:24.113+01:00Does anyone have any idea what a Shire horse might...Does anyone have any idea what a Shire horse might have cost in about 1943-44--preferably at auction in SE England? (Or where I might find the information?)Pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02097684906340546618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-65989774150477778562019-06-17T13:48:10.522+01:002019-06-17T13:48:10.522+01:00I have known John for many years, only recently si...I have known John for many years, only recently since i have bought my own yacht do i appreciate the adventure he undertook, his book "A Yorkshire Family afloat" is a great read from the times before we had social media, this fly on the wall book takes you with John and his family as they set sail from Scarborough towards the red sea.<br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08970772493624357334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-70375450914574735972015-05-15T20:42:24.946+01:002015-05-15T20:42:24.946+01:00Thanks for reading my blogpost whoever you are?
If...Thanks for reading my blogpost whoever you are?<br />If the Germans had invaded with a decent plan, it would not have been out of the question if they had done it before the RAF had been destroyed or forced to move further north. <br /><br />Horses were used by the Wermacht for transport throughout the war. Only the first wave during a Blitzkrieg attack was fully mechanised. <br /><br />The German navy possessed no bespoke landing craft, they were busy converting barges which would be towed by tugs across the Channel. The tugs would then release the barges which would have to turn round and approach the beach. There are several problems with this.<br />1) Any crossing of the channel would be undertaken during a period of darkness. The wash alone from an RN destroyer would be enough to sink any ad hoc landing fleet the Germans sent across.<br />2) The enemy landing fleet would be vulnerable to ground troops as they disembarked. <br />3) Barges were made for canals, not a sea crossing. there would have been losses from boats being swamped during a rough crossing.<br /><br />Beach defences in Britain were not as robust as what the Allies faced in Normandy on D-Day, true Mr Critic. The British had witnessed how stupid it was to depend on one solid line of defence when the Germans invaded the Ardennes, going past the Maginot Line. Instead, they used one line of defence at the beaches, knowing full well they would not have held out under sustained attack, whilst the bulk of the army retreated. There were a series of these defensive lines built across the country. the plan was to regroup, then counter attack when the Germans had made significant advances inland. ( Surviving German Generals wargamed Operation Sea Lion in the early 1970's and agreed invasion would not have been successful).<br /><br />Yes the BEF left the bulk of the equipment in France, but by July was significantly re-equipped with rifles and machine guns, and yes, Auxilliaries and LDV would have been massacred, but slowed the advance allowing the regular army to retreat, regroup and counter attack.<br /><br />To invade successfully the German forces would have had to invade in June or beginning of July. Like any other army, they had to consolidate their forces in France, re-equip and rest. Then build an invasion fleet of barges, motor boats and tugs. hardly LST's and LSI's?<br />The longer they left it, the stronger the British became. More arms arrived from America, more guns built in Britain, more bunkers built, more lines of defence completed. <br />Thanks for the feedback whoever you are? OldeCuriosityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10610541664418377583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-20072422367120804432015-05-10T11:46:11.280+01:002015-05-10T11:46:11.280+01:00There are a number of problems with this article. ...There are a number of problems with this article. The most fundamental being that it has been written as though invasion would be attempted despite the RAF not being wiped out. A (sensible) pre-requisite of nazi invasion was the removal of the RAF as an effected fighting force. Therefore, all references to RAF opposition to an invasion force should be removed.<br /><br />Whilst the Luftwaffe did not close the channel to allied shipping, they did force a withdrawl of several RN ships. Would it not be safe to assume that in the event of invasion, Luftwaffe units would be assigned to continuing this harassment?<br /><br />Horses? The Wehrmacht panzer units advanced against (charging) Polish Cavalry in 1940. Why reverse that situation when they had already seen that it was heroic but suicidal?<br /><br />Bench defenses: Our beach defenses were far inferior to what the D-Day invasion faced, but most of that was overcome at a fair speed. Fair conclusion: what we had wouldn't slow the Germans down for long.<br /><br />The mentions of using a poorly-equipped Volunteer defense force to "slow them down." Let's be honest... that's a translation for "expendable." They'd have been cut down in their thousands. Heroic, but suicidal.<br /><br />As you say, the B.E.F. left France sans equipment. The British Army was wildly demoralised, tired and depressingly ill-equipped. Their fightback would not have been mighty. Determined, but on the back foot.<br /><br /><br />I could keep going....... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-78136488472235530562015-02-23T18:48:45.595+00:002015-02-23T18:48:45.595+00:00Yes, I just saw it on that forum. Good job.Yes, I just saw it on that forum. Good job.Don Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-17228130564854878312015-02-20T21:33:02.015+00:002015-02-20T21:33:02.015+00:00No worries, send us the link anyway if there are a...No worries, send us the link anyway if there are any WW2 pics please?OldeCuriosityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10610541664418377583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-41274594474046209962015-02-20T16:17:23.966+00:002015-02-20T16:17:23.966+00:00I'm sorry mate, I got confused with so much co...I'm sorry mate, I got confused with so much correspondence and thought your blog was David Walker's. Again, sorry.Don Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-83960727033147901022015-02-20T06:12:20.851+00:002015-02-20T06:12:20.851+00:00'Lightning Strikes: The Story of a B-17 Bomber...'Lightning Strikes: The Story of a B-17 Bomber', Hartles, A, and 'Wing and A Prayer: The Bloody 100th Bomb Group of the U.S. Eighth Air Force in Action Over Europe in World War II', by Crosby are both flying to my house. These were kindly recommended to me by people on the ww2 forum: http://www.ww2f.com/OldeCuriosityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10610541664418377583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-47247403279941220122015-02-20T06:04:05.773+00:002015-02-20T06:04:05.773+00:00Hey Don do you have a link for David Walker's ...Hey Don do you have a link for David Walker's blog please?OldeCuriosityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10610541664418377583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-4711978415714993842015-02-19T23:22:23.011+00:002015-02-19T23:22:23.011+00:00Check out David Walker's blogCheck out David Walker's blogDon Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-22362871559903845772015-02-19T22:22:24.849+00:002015-02-19T22:22:24.849+00:00Thanks very much for taking the time to read this ...Thanks very much for taking the time to read this Don, I am watching 12 o' clock high at the moment and have a couple of books on order re USAAF in Britain. I will have to have a look at your recommendations, thanks again.OldeCuriosityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10610541664418377583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164209189599896495.post-36440957731386606312015-02-19T20:42:26.921+00:002015-02-19T20:42:26.921+00:00Very good start. If I may -- I'd recommend Ber...Very good start. If I may -- I'd recommend Bert Stiles "Serenade to the Big Bird," and Sam Halpert's "A Real Good War," just to see what others have done. Stiles is non-fiction but compelling. And then there's always "12 O'Clock High." But keep going, you're doing well.Don Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com