The Gallipoli Landing
Today 25th April 2012 is the 97th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. In the excellent book “Over There” with the Australians by R. Hugh Knyvett, there is a fantastic description of…
Captain Jason W. James
Captain Jason W. James who was a former Quantrill Guerrilla, first cousin of Frank and Jesse James, a Knight of the Golden Circle, and a Texas Ranger stationed in Brown…
Recollections of Lloyd George
Francis W Hirst in his book “In the Golden Days” recalls dinning with the great David Lloyd George and his perplexities with Morley, the leader of the liberal party. “In…
The Army Sportsman
I love this little description in a pre-war book; it conjures up an aroma of a bygone age and values. It reminds me of the excellent 1944 film ‘This Happy…
Crown and Anchor
An Army gambling game I came across in the John Masters book ‘Now God be Thanked’ was Crown and Anchor. After some investigation I found that Crown and Anchor was…
Bank Raid at Comanche, Texas
This is an interesting article about a bank robbery in Comanche, Comanche County, Texas which neighbors Brown County to the west. “M.E. “Boss” Greene Chases Outlaw Joe HornerPosted on June…
Two-up
The Australian Oxford Dictionary defines two-up (or swy) as “a gambling game in which coins are spun in the air and bets placed on a showing of two heads or…
The Wrong Letter
Sometimes in the chaos of war, sad mistakes were made. This article published in the Eastbourne Gazette on 18th September 1918, highlights this. It was fortunate for Mr and Mrs…
The Niespulver Shell
A bizarre episode took place at the battle of Neuve Chapelle in October 1914, it was in fact the first ‘gas’ attack of the war, but not the deadly ‘mustard’…
The Bentley Boys
The Bentley Boys were a group of gentlemen racers who drove Bentley sports cars to victory in the 1920s. In 1925, as the marque foundered, Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato bought…