Earlier this month I spent a weekend much like any other during this past year and half, meandering around Edinburgh and exploring its many nooks and crannies. On this occasion, I found myself in Portobello, located in the north east of Edinburgh on the coast. While walking along the beach I recalled seeing peculiar photographs … More Fire in the Skies Above: The Battle of the River Forth, 1939
Scottish history is rich, vibrant and littered with colourful tales of bravery, deceit, violence and lust. It is no surprise that George RR Martin drew some inspiration from it.
There are many tales from Scotland’s past that aren’t immortalised in fantasy fiction, however, yet they are every bit as brutal and harrowing. … More Fact or Fiction? 5 of the Darkest Events in Scottish History
On 9th November 1938, a torrent of state-sponsored violence was unleashed across Germany and Austria in an event that would come to foreshadow the Holocaust. … More On This Day: Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass
Every year on 5th November, the skies above Britain are awash with colour as thousands of fireworks let out their brief, explosive bursts of light. Bonfires burn and Brits young and old recall the rhyme, “Remember, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot”. The Gunpowder Plot reads like your quintessential Hollywood blockbuster; a … More Kings, Queens & Treacherous Schemes: The Gunpowder Plot
On the 26th October 1859, one of the fiercest storms of the 19th century raged in the Irish Sea, leaving behind a trail of destruction stretching from Devon to the west coast of Scotland. The Royal Charter Storm, also known as the Great Storm of 1859, claimed the lives of more than 800 people, twice … More The Royal Charter Storm: The Storm That Transformed Weather Forecasting
Shortly after midnight on 30th April 1975, the final broadcast from the CIA station in Saigon rang out.
“Those who fail to learn from history are forced to repeat it.”
Nearly half-a-century later, it appears little has changed and lessons have not been learned. … More Afghanistan, The Fall of Saigon and the Lessons Never Learned
For a period of around 100 years from the mid-18th century onward, the Scottish Highlands changed dramatically. The Highland Clearances in the wake of the ’45 Jacobite Rebellion prompted vast cultural changes throughout the region. With a rising population toward the end of the 18th century, this (traditionally) sparsely populated area was booming. Although a … More Power to the People: The Battle of the Braes, 1882
Some might assume experimentation with psychedelic drugs during the 1960s was a pastime limited to hippies, trippers and youngsters. However, an operation conducted by the British military would suggest otherwise. … More Operation Moneybags: That Time the British Military Dosed Troops with LSD
The invasion and capture of Singapore by imperial Japanese forces in February 1942 was a failure of cataclysmic proportions. … More The Battle of Singapore: A Nail in the Empire’s Coffin
Julius Caesar is said to have once remarked ‘it is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience’. During its early years, the Roman Republic was forced to endure a recurring cycle of conflict, bloodshed and pain. The Romans were more than … More Rome: Origins of the Empire, Part Two
RAMBLING HISTORY 