TOP 10

01

Einstein and the Atomic Bomb

Personally, this was one of my most interesting modern facts when I was watching a documentary about the atomic bomb. Einstein was instrumental in facilitating the bomb's development: in 1905, Einstein's Special Theory of relativity was related to the creation of the atomic bomb. The theory meant that a large amount of energy could be released from a small amount of matter (E=mc2). Einstein was described as a pacifist: if a war broke out, he would "unconditionally refuse to do war service, direct or indirect...". However, there was a change in 1933 during Hitler's ascent to power. Einstein's greatest role was signing a letter to President Roosevelt urging the bomb to be built. This resulted to his expression towards his death by summarising "I made one great mistake of my life".

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02

The Raven master

I was intrigued with this topic from the session with Lucy Worsley and Chris Skaife as Chris is supposedly the only Raven master in the world! Where does the legend of the ravens come from? Charles II believed that ravens were a symbol of good fortune. However, the legend actually arose during WWII as it was the first recorded evidence. As German bombing intensified and real fear of invasion loomed, people sought out hope wherever they could find it. The job of the Raven Master is more vital as people believed that as long as ravens still lives at the tower, Britain could never fall.

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03

Garfield Weston Spitfire from the Irish bog

Canadian businessman Garfield Weston gave £100,000 to replace the Spitfires that were shot down in the Battle of Britain. 70 years later, one of the 'Holy Grail of Spitfires' (First Garfield Weston presentation plane) remains have been unearthed in the Peat Bogs of County Dogneal, Ireland. I was shocked with how preserved the Spitfire was when I watched Dan Snow's Dig With WWII: there were 6 Browning 303 machine guns (still in working order), 700 rounds of ammunition and a leather flying helmet. The American born pilot survived the Spitfire crash and was imprisoned twice in a detention camp in Ireland as it was officially neutral during the war.

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04

Fish and Chips were not originally British

Surprise!! I discovered this fact during an open evening with my school and I told the children and parents about the origins of fish and chips. It was originally from Spanish/Portuguese Jews. Fried fish was bought over to Great Britain by Jewish immigrants and chips were from Western Europe.

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05

Gandhi's ideologies was inspired by Martin Luther King

This fact took my interest during my history coursework research about African-American intellectuals. I wanted to analyse how they promoted philosophical methods during Civil Rights. Martin Luther King's parallels with Gandhi's ideologies took my interest. King argued that Gandhian philosophy was "the only morally and practically sound method open to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom". He later remarked that he considered Gandhi to be the "Greatest Christian of the Modern World". William Kelly suggests that the progressive (Martin Luther King) "Looks towards making the modern dream of freedom, equality, and beloved community a reality", similar to Gandhi's views.

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06

Robert Dudley in Quarantine

In August 1563, Dudley was in quarantine, meaning he had to stay away from court for at least 40 days due to the outbreak of the plague. Elizabeth ordered him to quarantine himself.

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07

Alderney Camps

This was a recent fact I discovered from Professor C. Sturdy Collins. During WWII, the Germans had occupation of Alderney and there were around 20 concentration camps with 4 main camps. We focused on the site of Labour and SS concentration camp Sylt. Using different types of forensic archaeology such as Photogrammetry and Geographic survey, they were able to uncover some of the archaelogical site, using a map to draw a site. What was particularly interesting was Sturdy's answer to my question: 'Did anyone in Britain have certain interests with Alderney during and after the German occupation?' Sturdy said that this was the reason she started the project with Alderney. There were maps and plans in 1943 and the British Government knew from aerial photos. but did not acknowledge their details in their report after WWII.

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08

Tiger Tank

When I read the book 'Catch that Tiger', it was extraordinary how Major Doug Lidderdale and his crew transported the Tiger 131 tank to Britain. Churchill sent Doug on this secret mission where he dashed to Tunis when he heard that Doug caught the Tiger and inspected his quarry first hand. When the tank was at Britain, the Tiger tech was used to develop war machines for D-Day landings. The Tiger 131 is now kept at Bovington Tank museum and is the only working tiger in the world.

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09

The Peterloo Massacre  

During the year 1819, unarmed civilians, who were involved in a peaceful pro-democracy rally, were harmed by inexperienced Yeomanry from the Magistrates. The Magistrates feared of an armed rebellion and a social reform. 18 people were killed and almost 700 were injured. This occurred during a period of immense political tension and mass protests. The term 'Peterloo' was intended to mock the soldier who attacked unarmed civilians by echoing the term 'Waterloo'. When I first discovered this event, my first thought was the Battle of Waterloo and this should get equal recognition for an attempt at social and political reform in the 19th Century. 

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10

Elizabeth I's Sea Dogs 

I only discovered this by by a fellow historian @illuminating_history_ that Elizabeth authorised a branch of privateers called the Sea Dogs. This was a way to bridge the gap between the Spanish and English navies. The Role of the Sea Dogs was to sail and attack Spanish fleets, looted ships and significantly reducing the size of the Spanish army.  Elizabeth's most notable Sea Dogs were: Sir John Hawkins, Sir Martin Frobisher, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh.