History Magazine
The Siege of Yorktown
In 1781, American and French forces under George Washington laid siege to the British army at Yorktown. This would become the most decisive battle of the American Revolutionary War…
Major John André
A British Army intelligence officer, John André was hanged as a spy at Tappan, New York, on Oct. 2nd 1780 on the orders of George Washington..
D-Day Dodgers – Defying Danger in Italy
The campaigns in Italy in 1943 and 1944 were tough and bloody ones, with some of the most brutal engagements of the Second World War. Yet somehow the sacrifice of the troops involved in the Italian campaign came to be overshadowed by the events of the better-known D-Day operation: the Normandy landings.
Sophia Duleep Singh, Suffragette
The daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire and goddaughter of Queen Victoria, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh was also a dedicated campaigner for women’s rights.
The Common Yew
Worshipped by the Druids for its longevity, the Common Yew is typically found in churchyards, its soft wood used over centuries for the longbows that defined medieval warfare. Its Latin name however warns us of its toxicity: ‘Taxus baccata’ translates as ‘toxic tree with berries’…