Christmas in #WW2, 1941

 

 Some more old footage from Youtube, this time Christmas in World War 2. Nowadays we have more than enough, Christmas has become overly commercialised with companies just out to make a profit. Due to hardship in wartime, the majority of people gave & received very little. How would people cope now, especially children if they received just a few small, often handmade presents? Not very well I'd think.

Boyes Anti Tank Rifle #WW2

Stumbled across this excellent cartoon film, made with Disney, about the Boyes anti-tank rifle, used by Allied forces early in Second World War.

The Box Of Delights Was First Broadcast on BBC1 In 1984

Kay Harker, played by Devin Stanfield

One of my favourite children's TV serials was first broadcast in November 1984 in 6 weekly parts. If you haven't read the book or seen the DVD, well, do both. It is completely enchanting and timeless.

The story centres about a boy called Kay, and a box that comes into his possession from a Punch & Judy man called Cole Hawlings. Cole gives the box to Kay for safekeeping, as there is a criminal gang after it headed by a nasty character called Abner Brown, who has a few magical powers up his sleeve. Why do they want the box? Possession of it could reveal the secret of immortality. Also there is a button on the box; turn it one way and it will send you fast, turn it the other way to go small. Kay and his cousins have many adventures with the box, the actors in this series are great and it is really Christmassy, the theme tune contains a few bars of Noel. It might seem a bit old fashioned now, but I love the way it used animation and live acting together. In Christmas 1984 I got the book by John Masefield and I still read the same copy around this time of year.

In 1984 it had a plug on Blue Peter, thanks to Youtube for this clip

There is even a fan's blog here which has tons of stuff about the Box of Delights, have a look here: http://theboxofdelight.blogspot.com/

Some Famous British Explorers Who Made Britain Great #BritainisGreat

Captain Robert Falcon Scott found at:
 http://www.scottslastexpedition.org/content/images/447/1890x800crop/header.jpg

Britain has a long history of explorers, some more successful than others. The first one that springs to mind is Captain Scott who perished so tragically in the race to the South Pole. Without these brave people, the British Empire would not have existed.

Mary Kingsley

Mary Kingsley, niece of the famous author Charles Kingsley, travelled extensively in Africa. She explored Angola and Sierra Leone. Kingsley also had views about Africa and its inhabitants which upset the Church of England, she said Polygamy was a necessity, and also stated that African colonies should be be indirectly ruled by White men, insisting that there was some work that could only be completed by White Men. Mary Kingsley died in 1900 after contracting malaria whilst working as a nurse in the Boer War. What makes her stand out from the rest of the exploring elite is that she is a woman, who dd not toe the line, overcame discrimination and proved she was as good an explorer as anyone else. Kingsley discovered previously unknown species of fish and at least three types were named after her.

Henry Hudson (1565-1611), had the Hudson River and Hudson Bay named after him. His exploration in North America provided more detailed knowledge of the east coast of America.

Henry Hudson

There are many more explorers, Captain Cook, Francis Drake, Stanley Livingston and Ralph Fiennes, just to name a few. Have a look here:http://britainexplorer.com/british-explorers-the-top-ten/




Also there are some good videos on Youtube.

WW2 Survival Training Film AAF - Land and Live in the Desert (full)

Youtube is full of these old training films from the Second World War, enjoy this one about desert survival.