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THE BRITISH SPY WHO TRIED TO KILL LENIN
2017
BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE ISSUE 47 // OCTOBER 2017 // £4.99
THE ATOMIC AGE
Living in the shadow of the bomb
The The forgotten
forgotten Queen Queen Elizabeth Elizabeth A Lancastrian torn between love and loyalty
From raiders to invaders: how King cnu*t stole the Anglo-Saxon throne HITLER’S SECRETS OF LAST Carnage GAMBLE STONEHENGE at the What was Britain’s most Battle of the Bulge
famous landmark built for?
THE QUIET REVOLUTIONARY How Martin Luther changed the world
A free exhibition exploring the impact of the Reformation on London
Shattered World, New Beginnings Free Exhibition 26.06.17 15.12.17
In Conversation with Philippa Gregory 28 September, 7:00pm Beveridge Hall, Senate House Bestselling author Philippa Gregory will join Professor Christopher Cook to discuss her work across the period of the Reformation, with particular focus on women’s experiences. Tickets: £20/£15 To book: ref500.uk/philippagregory
FROM THE EDITOR The Anglo-Saxons depicted Vikings as a violent mob, but was there a meeker side to these medieval pirates?
ON THE COVER ON THE COVER: ILLUSTRATION: JEAN-MICHEL GIRARD/WWW.THE-ART-AGENCY.CO.UK, BRIDGEMAN IMAGES X1, GETTY X3, REX/SHUTTERSTOCK X1, COVER IMAGE ENHANCEMENT - CHRIS STOCKERDESIGN.CO.UK/ON THIS PAHE: GETTY X1
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Your key to the big stories…
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Who were the Vikings? For many of us, the Vikings were a bunch of horned invaders, who raped and pillaged their way across our green and pleasant lands, taking all they could in lightning raids, before returning to their homes in Scandinavia. But the reality is less straightforward (they didn’t wear horned helmets for starters!). Ryan Lavelle’s tour of Viking Britain (p24 demonstrates a wholly different people, whose influence can still be felt all around us. And it is this idea of the past creating our present that remains one of the strongest reasons for our fascination with history. Take, for example, events of 500 years ago, when Martin Luther may (or may not!) have nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a German church (p71, which has seen Catholic and Protestant pitted against one another ever since. This issue is crammed with loads more great features – we have spies in revolutionary Russia (p35, pioneers of the Pan-American Highway (p44, and the foods that have shaped history (p42. Enjoy – and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!
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Subscription enquiries: Phone: 03330 162 116 Email: [emailprotected] Post: History Revealed, PO Box 3320, 3 Queensbridge, Northampton, NN4 7BF Editorial enquiries: 0117 314 7354
THIS MONTH WE’VE LEARNED...
25
Total yards driven in one day of the PanAmerican Highway expedition of 1940-41. See page 44.
3
Number of years after the publication of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express that there was an actual homicide aboard the luxury long-distance train. See page 16.
10
Months of the reign of Romulus Augustus (Augustulus), the last emperor of Rome. See page 79.
GET YOUR DIGITAL COPY Digital versions of History Revealed are available for iOS, Kindle Fire, PC and Mac. Visit iTunes, Amazon or zinio.com to find out more. OCTOBER 2017
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VIKINGS INVADE BRITAIN
r: Three men, one ca an ric me n-A Pa A adventure
From plundering pirates to ruthless warriors: How cnu*t’s Great Army claimed the crown
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ing: Edgar Æthel fore The King be or the Conquer
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Russian Roulette: Inside the plot to kill Lenin
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“Let them eat cake”: The food that changed the world
OCTOBER 2017
TIME CAPSULE Snapshots Take a look at the big picture .......................... p6
I Read the News Today October through the ages..................................p12
Yesterday’s Papers The tragedy at Aberfan......................................... p14
Graphic History On board the Orient Express......................... p16
QUESTION TIME The history of the wristwatch and the instrument that’s sure to baffle on p77
What Happened Next… ‘Talkies’ mark a new age for movies..... p18
The Extraordinary Tale of… Edgar Ætheling, the boy king ..................... p20
Q&A
Ask the Experts
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Martin Luther’s war against the Pope
Viking Attack Looters from the north set their sights on a new prize: the English throne ........p24
Russian Roulette Meet the British spies who tried to assassinate Lenin................................................................p35
LIKE IT? SUBSCRIBE! GET 5 ISSUES FOR JUST £5 More subscription details on page 22
Top Ten: Food That Changed the World Tea parties to banana republics ................ p42
Great Adventures: The PanAmerican Highway
In a Nutshell How did the Roman Empire fall? .............p79
How Did They Do That? Find out why the mysterious Stonehenge was really built ................................................................ p80
HERE & NOW On our Radar Our pick of what’s on this month .......... p84
Britain’s Treasures
How three “fools” defied their critics and traversed the continent............................................p44
Discover the picturesque Inveraray, on the edge of Loch Fyne ......................................... p86
Battlefield: Bulge
Books
Hitler’s last-ditch attempt on the Western Front ........................................................................ p50
A look at the new releases.............................. p88
The History Makers: Elizabeth Woodville Inside her rise to queenship............................... p57
In Pictures: Atomic Age The craze for all things nuclear ................... p63
Luther’s Reformation
EVERY ISSUE Crossword...................................................................p93 Next Issue................................................................... p95 Letters ................................................................................ p96 Photo Finish ........................................................ p98
How one monk tore Europe apart ............p71 OCTOBER 2017
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FEATURES
Your questions answered................................... p77
TIME CAPSULE THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
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SNAPSHOT
1960 A SORE POINT
OCTOBER 2017
TOPFOTO
A crowd of photographers got more than they bargained for after pursuing Swedish film star, Anita Ekberg, one night in Rome. Emerging from her villa, the actress used a bow to fire arrows at the paparazzi. She managed to destroy a camera and a flash gun, before grabbing one cameraman by the hair and attempting to knee him. At noon the following day, her maid informed the press that Ekberg was unvailable for comment as she was “still asleep”.
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SNAPSHOT
1959 CLEAN SWEEP
TOPFOTO
A workman sweeps a stretch of the M1 ahead of its grand opening. It was the first intercity motorway completed in the UK, initially connecting London to Birmingham. The 193mile stretch was built in four phases, with the latest extension in 1999. During its early years, the M1 had no speed limits, central reservation or crash barriers, and no lighting. When the 70mph rule was introduced in 1965, it reduced fatalities by 20 per cent.
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SNAPSHOT
1945 SPOILS OF WAR
OCTOBER 2017
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A US soldier inspects one of hundreds of artworks found in the home of Adolf Hitler’s right-hand man, Hermann Göring. The Third Reich plundered many treasures from the countries under its occupation during World War II. Hitler planned to concentrate all of Europe’s most significant art in a single museum based in his hometown, the Austrian city of Linz. Göring’s collection alone accounted for 50 per cent of the works “confiscated” from the Reich’s enemies.
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LAST WORDS A photograph of the missing Frederick is shown by his father. His last recorded words were, “It’s not an aircraft…”
“I READ THE NEWS TODAY...” Weird and wonderful, it all happened in October
SPACE CADET POETRY IN MOTION
1667 PARADISE LOST IS PUBLISHED John Milton, an ageing and blind ex-civil servant, spent five years completing his masterpiece, Paradise Lost, with the help of friends and scribes. Milton then sold the publishing rights for a mere £5. However, the poem became one of the most popular of the day, making the publishers a pretty penny.
1978 FRED VALENTICH DISAPPEARS Twenty-year-old pilot and UFO enthusiast Frederick Valentich mysteriously disappeared after seeing “four bright lights”, just off the coast of Melbourne Australia. It was speculated that he had been abducted by aliens. Though the case remains unsolved, a likely explanation is that the young pilot became disoriented and spiralled to his death.
IN A SPIN
1091 TORNADO STRIKES LONDON A powerful whirlwind, travelling at speeds up to 240mph, crashed through the English capital on 17 October 1091. London Bridge (made from wood) was annihilated, as well as St Mary-le-Bow church and a number of timber houses. Surprisingly, the devastating freak weather only claimed two victims.
TOO MUCH, TOO YOUNG
1032 BENEDICT IX IS INAUGURATED
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Usually, one stint in the Vatican is enough, but the notorious Benedict IX was pope three times. Known for his profligacy, he was given the papacy perhaps as young as 12. The locals tired of him, and drove him out in 1045. He then sold his position to his godfather. However, he would be the leader of the Catholic Church twice more. HISTORYREVEALED.COM
BREWING UP A STORM
1706 TWINING OPENS HIS FIRST TEAROOM Tea merchant Thomas Twining purchased an old coffee shop at 216 Strand, London and turned it into Britain’s first tearoom. The ornate (but unusually narrow) establishment sold teas from around the world, as it does today, and was one of the few public spaces open to women. Tea lovers can still visit the premises and sample some delicious blends.
Tea became a popular drink of the wealthy after it was introduced by Charles II’s queen, Catherine of Braganza
“…OH BOY”
October events that changed the world OCTOBER AD 732 FOREIGN EVASION The attempted Muslim conquest of France by the Umayyads of Al-Andalus (Spain) is halted by Frankish military leader Charles Martel.
12 OCTOBER 1810 THE FIRST OKTOBERFEST When King Ludwig I gets married, the citizens of Munich are invited to join the celebrations, becoming the first ever Oktoberfest.
THIRD TIME’S A CHARM
1406 WHITTINGTON RE-ELECTED LORD MAYOR OF LONDON
10 OCTOBER 1903 WOMEN CHANGE THE WORLD Emmeline Pankhurst creates the Women’s Social and Political Union from her home in Manchester, along with five other women.
Gloucester native Dick Whittington, of folk tale fame, was sworn in as Mayor of London for the third time. He had originally gone to the city to find work, but became a rich merchant and moved into politics. However, the existence of his lucky cat is debated.
21 OCTOBER 1905 DEATH OF NELSON Vice-Admiral Nelson is mortally wounded at the Battle of Trafalgar, after being shot in the shoulder by a musket.
17 OCTOBER 1912 BALKAN WARS
1824 MACINTOSH SELLS HIS FIRST RAINCOAT By happy lab accident, Glaswegian chemist Charles Macintosh discovered a waterproof paste. Sandwiching it between fabric to create a rainproof material, he set up his own company and produced his first coats later that year. The iconic Mac was born.
Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, marking the start of the First Balkan War.
1 OCTOBER 1949 THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC Mao Zedong founds the communist People’s Republic of China on the Chinese mainland, after a bloody civil war with Taiwan.
12 OCTOBER 1984 BRIGHTON HOTEL BOMBING Aiming to assassinate Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet, the IRA bomb the Grand Brighton Hotel. It kills five people, including an MP, but does not injure the Prime Minister.
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RAIN CHEQUE
AND FINALLY... In 1914, Henry Ford shocked the world by doubling his male Detroit workers’ salary to $5 a day. In October 1916, he surprised his staff again by paying the female workers an equal wage.
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RESCUE ATTEMPT
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Villagers desperately searched the school for survivors. Many collieries and factories shut down for the day to help the search. About half the children in the school had perished.
NO REST Two thousand villagers and emergency services workers continued to tirelessly dig through the rubble. People came from all over to help.
YESTERDAY’S PAPERS On 21 October 1966, a man-made disaster in the Welsh mining village of Aberfan claims a generation of village children
“THERE CAN BE NO GREATER TRAGEDY”
SUFFOCATED
Much of the school was completely buried
CLEDWYN HUGHES
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he Welsh Valleys were once a heartland for coal mining, creating a visible blot on the verdant landscape: heaps of shale and rock built up to hundreds of metres high, towering over small communities. Aberfan was such a place. With no regulations to stop collieries from dumping wherever they liked, waste piled atop unstable sandstone, with a spring spouting from it. The residents had concerns, but these went ignored, as they threatened the mine’s closure. On the misty morning of 21 October 1966 – the last day before half term – the children of Pantglas Junior School were having the register called out. Though it had been raining for the past fortnight, nothing could dampen the children’s spirits, so excited were they for the holidays. But at 9.20am, an ominous roar came from the hills just behind the school. The water-saturated heap was fit to burst, and began to slide towards the village, reaching speeds of 50mph. Before those inside could react, the school was engulfed in up to ten metres of sludge, which quickly re-solidified. In the tragedy that ensued, 116 pupils and 28 adults died. People rushed to the scene to retrieve survivors. A few were found, but there was not much that could be done. Though donations to the Aberfan Disaster Fund poured in from around the world, victims and their families had to fight long and hard to access the money. It would be years before an inquest found the National Coal Board was to blame for negligence, before justice could properly be served. However, the villagers – many of whom experienced severe psychological trauma – would be forever haunted by the preventable disaster. d
TRAUMATISED Two young survivors console each other. Some children grew up feeling guilty that they had survived, and not their friends.
MASS GRAVE A temporary mortuary was set up in a tiny village chapel. It was so small that only two lots of relatives could go in at one time to identify their dead children. Some grieving parents queued for hours. The bodies that were found were interred in the village cemetery.
1966 ALSO IN THE NEWS… 4 OCTOBER The Kingdom of
16 OCTOBER Bobby Seale and
29 OCTOBER In television, Dr Who
Lesotho, a nation entirely surrounded by South Africa, is granted its independence from Britain. Its new government is based upon a British model.
Huey P Newton create the Black Panther Party. They draft a ten-point plan, outlining their demands to immediately end the inequality suffered by African-Americans.
experiences his first regeneration. Patrick Troughton took over from William Hartnell after the latter said, “This old body of mine is wearing a bit thin”.
OCTOBER 2017
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GRAPHIC HISTORY How a rail service steamed to fame
1883 BIRTH OF THE ORIENT EXPRESS Its name has become synonymous with luxury travel – and, as the setting for dozens of fictional thrillers – intrigue and mystery. The Orient Express was a rail service that ran from Paris to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), created in the Belle Époque by Belgian businessman Georges Nagelmackers. After touring the USA in one of George Pullman’s famous ‘sleeper’ trains, Nagelmackers realised that there was an opportunity to bring luxury rail
-board menu A 19th-century on Oysters *** pasta Soup with Italian *** sauce Turbot with green seur Chicken à la chas potatoes au âte ch th Fillet of beef wi an me imals Chaud-froid of ga *** Lettuce *** Buffet of desserts
travel to Europe, and so he founded his Compagnie Internationale des WagonsLits in 1872. Its most famous service was the Orient Express, which made its maiden journey in October 1883. Nagelmackers, wishing to outshine his American competitor, arranged to have rusting old Pullman cars stand adjacent to his train as it left the Paris station. With its deluxe interior and silver service, the Orient Express soon became popular among the rich and famous.
70 HOURS
The time it took for the train to complete its 3,000-kilometre journey from Paris to Constantinople in 1888
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS In December 1931, crime novelist Agatha Christie found herself stranded on an Orient Express train following heavy rainfall and flooding. The incident inspired her 1934 murder-mystery, Murder on the Orient Express. In fact, a murder did take place on the train, but not until three years after the book was published. Maria Fareasanu, director of a Bucharest fashion school, was robbed by her compartment companion before being pushed out of an open window to her death. When her fox scarf was spotted around the neck of a Swiss lady, police were informed that it had come from 23-year-old student Karl Strasser. He was imprisoned for life.
£25 Cost of a single journey in 1936, equivalent to £1,500 today
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During World War I, the train stopped running. Afterwards, a route was created that bypassed Germany, known as the Simplon Orient Express.
Before 1889, the last leg of the journey to Constantinople had to be made by steamer across the Black Sea from Varna, Bulgaria as the railway wasn’t yet completed.
KEY Orient Express 1883-1914, 1919-1939, 1945-1962 with connection over water in the Black Sea until 1889 Simplon Orient Express 1919-1939, 1945-1962, Direct Orient Express until 1977 Arlberg Orient Express 1930-1939, 1945-1962 Venice Simplon Orient Express 1982-2005 OBB EN 262/263 Orient Express Paris-Budapest 1977-2001; Paris-Vienna 20012007; Strasbourg-Vienna 2007-2009
The original Orient Express ran from Paris to Constantinople, but the origins, destinations and route changed over the years Sleeping coach (16 beds)
Baggage car
Restaurant coach
Sleeping coach (14 beds)
Sleeping coach (14 beds)
Sleeping coach (14 beds)
Baggage car
TRAIN OF KINGS
THE SITE OF TWO SURRENDERS
The Orient Express was known as the ‘King of Trains and Train of Kings’. Passengers included Leopold II of Belgium, Tsar Nicholas II and Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, who – being an amateur engineer – insisted on driving the train through his own kingdom. French President Paul Deschanel was also on board – at least for part of his journey. He accidentally fell from his carriage after taking some sleeping pills, and was discovered wandering the tracks in his pyjamas. He resigned shortly after.
Both the Armistice of 1918 and the surrender of France in 1940 were signed in a Compagnie des Wagons-Lits carriage. During World War I, the former dining car served as the office of French general Ferdinand Foch, and German officers had signed their surrender document inside. Following the armistice, the car was proudly exhibited in Paris, but when Hitler invaded France over two decades later, he ordered that in turn the French surrender be signed in that same carriage.
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Engine
DECEMBER 2009 The date that the very last Orient Express service departed – a victim of high-speed railways and budget airlines
APRIL 2014
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WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
As shocking as it may appear today, blackface was a common feature in 20th-century entertainment. It allowed white performers to emulate the sensuality and emotion of black performers without being scorned by audiences.
Using the innovative new ‘Vitaphone’ system, sound-on-disc comes to life
1927 THE FIRST ‘TALKIE’ IS RELEASED Al Jolson shocks and delights the world with the first feature-length ‘talkie’, featuring a full two minutes of dialogue
A
t a New York City cinema on 6 October 1927, filmgoers gathered to watch the premiere of a new Hollywood movie, The Jazz Singer. The plot revolved around young Jewish singer Jakie Rabinowitz, torn between his orthodox family and his love of jazz. When Jakie (played by singer Al Jolson) exclaimed, “Wait a minute, wait a minute! You ain’t heard nothing yet”, viewers gasped with surprise and joy. After all, this was the very first motion picture to feature dialogue and spoken word, otherwise known as a ‘talkie’.
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METHOD ACTING Today, few are aware that the story was in fact inspired by Jolson’s own life – like Jakie, his father was a cantor (a leader of hymns in synagogues). After seeing Jolson singing in concert, playwright Samson Raphaelson was inspired to write a play about him, which proved a hit on Broadway. Warner Brothers acquired the movie rights, and it was only right that Jolson play the lead. But to appreciate his dazzling vocals, the audience would have to hear his voice. In the era of silent movies, this would be a challenge. In 1926, the company had introduced a pioneering sound system that would change the
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industry forever – Vitaphone. Sound would be recorded on a disc, and it was the job of the cinema projectionist to sync the audio to the picture. Crucially, it meant both dialogue and song could be used in filmmaking. Though Warner Bros had already released two productions using this system, neither contained actual speech. The Jazz Singer cost a monumental $422,000 to make ($5.7 million today), and almost bankrupted the studio. Harry Warner even sold his wife’s jewellery and moved to a smaller home, just to save his beloved studio. Sadly, Sam Warner – Harry’s brother and the film’s co-creator – died the day before the premiere. Filmgoers who flocked to Warners’ Theatre soon realised that something magical was happening to the movies, and the public and critics alike raved about the new technology. Although only around 100 cinemas in the US were equipped to show the film with its soundtrack, there was a mad rush soon after The Jazz Singer’s release for Vitaphone audio equipment. Ever since Jolson’s moving songs brought audiences to tears, the film industry hasn’t looked back. d
MUM’S THE WORD This poster features a famous dialogue scene between Jakie and his mother. In it, he joyfully sings jazz music to her, but his father walks in and stumbles upon Jakie’s secret…
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CLUNKY EQUIPMENT Vitaphone worked by recording live sound onto a separate disc as the actors were performing. The whirring of the camera was so loud that it had to be encased in a soundproof box to prevent that sound also being recorded.
“I for one suddenly realised that the end of silent drama is in sight” Robert E Sherwood, playwright
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THE EXTRAORDINARY TALE OF… Edgar Ætheling, a reluctant teenage boy thrust into the top job after the Battle of Hastings
1066 EDGAR ÆTHELING IS PROCLAIMED KING The tale of a Saxon teen, used as a pawn in the post-1066 power vacuum – England’s treacherous game of thrones
E
ngland was in disarray after the dramatic Battle of Hastings. The Norman invaders, led by William the Conqueror, were ploughing their way through the country, using brute force to establish their power. The Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwinson, had been slain on the battlefield. In a lastditch attempt to maintain English power, a teenager named Edgar Ætheling was elected as king. The grandson of legendary Wessex ruler Edmund Ironside, Edgar Ætheling (literally meaning ‘prince’) spent his early years in exile in Hungary. His father had
SAINTLY LADY
ret later Edgar’s sister Marga ret of rga Ma int Sa e cam be in 1250 d ise on can d, Scotlan
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fled there after cnu*t’s takeover of England, but in 1057, Edward the Confessor – the ruler of the Anglo-Saxon dynasty, whose prospects in the male line were dwindling – invited the family to come back and for six-year-old Edgar to take his place as the rightful heir. As the Confessor lay dying, the Witanagemot (early Parliament) selected Harold Godwinson as his successor, since Edgar was just a child. However, the new ruler was killed just ten months after his coronation. While William was consolidating his power, England was left without a king.
Norman Duke. One of his contemporaries, chronicler Orderic Vitalis, described him as “handsome… eloquent, generous and nobly born – but indolent too”. Despite having the support of the Archbishop of York and Londoners, he failed to convince regional powerholders. Soon, the unwitting young man would find himself a figurehead of the national rebellion against William the Conqueror, but not for long. When the bastard Duke reached London in December
ELUSIVE YOUTH One of the only surviving images of Edgar comes from a medieval manuscript, depicting his family tree
on him. When the Conqueror returned home to Normandy in 1067, he took Edgar along with him, primarily as a show of power and dominance. The following year, however, the Ætheling and his family fled William’s grasp and found refuge with Malcolm, the King of Scotland, who was pleased to have any excuse to get under the Conqueror’s skin. The family and the Scottish king soon became fast friends. They were afforded a high place in his court, and Malcolm even married Edgar’s sister, Margaret. However, this tranquil existence was disrupted when a large-scale revolt against William in the north of England began. Edgar, keen on glory, swiftly returned to act as the rebellion’s figurehead. It even achieved some early successes, such as in Durham, where they captured the town and burned
“Chronicler Orderic Vitalis described Edgar as ‘Handsome… eloquent, generous and nobly born – but indolent, too’”
POWER PLAY It seemed that Edgar was the last hope for the Anglo-Saxon rulers. Despite being only around 14 years old, the Witan and supportive Londoners elected the Ætheling as king, in a futile effort to maintain the status quo. But not everyone was a fan. His age meant many were doubtful of his political credentials, which were essential if he was to represent resistance to the
1066, having laid waste to much of the country and forced its support, Edgar and the Witan met him and wilfully submitted to the invader. William took pity on Edgar and not only spared his life, but granted him land, according to the Domesday Book. The teenage pretender was even part of William’s coronation procession. However, William didn’t fully trust Edgar, and kept a close eye
ARROW TO THE EYE Edgar took the reign as an emergency measure after Harold Godwinson was killed violently in the Battle of Hastings. Debate rages over whether he was really killed by an arrow to the eye, or if this story was apocryphal.
SURREND
ER Edgar giv es the Conqu the crown to William eror follow Anglo-Sax ing the on defeat at Hasting s
A PRINCE SPURNED In 1072, the unlucky young man was forced to find a new home again. William, realising that Scotland would continue to be a thorn in his side, marched into the country and demanded Malcolm’s complete submission. The Scottish ruler, intimidated by the size of his army, agreed. They declared the Treaty of Abernethy, in which Malcolm became William’s client king. Edgar the Ætheling was forced
out of Malcolm’s court, as a token gesture of goodwill to William. Seeing nowhere else to turn, Edgar befriended the Count of Flanders, a sympathetic ruler who was equally hostile to the Normans. According to Vitalis, the two bonded as they had similar, youthful personalities. He lived here for a while, before returning to Scotland briefly. Though William the Conqueror had quashed most of his enemies, Ætheling still attracted support from those few bearing a grudge. Philip I of France was one such person, who in 1074 offered the Ætheling a pleasant castle near Montreuil, which he could use as a base for reclaiming England. Alas, the Prince never got there,
and instead was persuaded by his old friend Malcolm to stop resisting the inevitable dominance of William the Conqueror. A disgruntled Edgar went to Italy, where he stayed for a few years. However, once William’s son William Rufus ascended, Edgar was once again a political pawn. To settle the score between Rufus and his brother Robert Curthose, Ætheling’s land in Hertfordshire was taken away from him in 1091. Thinking Malcolm could help, he returned to Scotland, where he ended up actually negotiating peace between him and Rufus (but not before encouraging Malcolm to rebel first). The Normans were here to stay.
Edgar settled in Scotland, where he acted as a diplomat on William Rufus’s behalf. The later details of his life are a little hazy, but historians believe that Edgar travelled to the Mediterranean in the first decades of the 12th century – either as part of the First Crusade or a pious pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The teenage prince lived a long life, dying in his 70s. His death marked the end of an era – and the beginning of a new one. d
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its Norman overlord alive inside the Bishop’s house. However, William’s wrath eventually won out. While Edgar fled back to Scotland, the Conqueror initiated his brutal Harrying of the North.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Know of any other extraordinary tales from the medieval era? Get in touch! email: [emailprotected]
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COVER STORY VIKING ATTACK
RAIDERS TO KINGS
ILLUSTRATION: JEAN-MICHEL GIRARD/WWW.THE-ART-AGENCY.CO.UK, ALAMY X1
What began as small raids on British coastal towns soon developed into all-out war, as a Great Viking Army arrived with a very different aim: to conquer
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Ryan Lavelle uncovers the story of Vikings in Britain, and how a Danish prince came to take the Anglo-Saxon crown
COVER STORY VIKING ATTACK
T
his year marks the millenary of the acclamation of a prince of Denmark as king of England. The victor of a long and bloody campaign, marrying the widow of his conquered predecessor, cnu*t stepped up to the controls of one of the most powerful kingdoms in 11th-century Europe. Remembered in Denmark and much of Scandinavia, but curiously not in England, as Knud den Store – ‘cnu*t the Great’ – the new Anglo-Danish King would wield power effectively for some two decades until his death in 1035. cnu*t’s transformation from Viking sea lord to Christian king is a perfect example of the way in which the Vikings themselves had changed. The journey from seasonal raiders and pirates to highly respected rulers had taken a little over two centuries, but it was one of the most important developments in Western Europe. Not only had Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Sweden come of age, but the English and Scottish
kingdoms had emerged in the white heat of the Viking wars.
This ninth-century grave marker found at Lindisfarne depicts Vikings brandishing swords and axes
SLOW START In Britain and Ireland, the age of Norsem*n had begun gradually. The first Viking activities were surprisingly small, but they were deadly and had an impact far beyond their size. Flotillas made their way across the North Sea to raid coastal and estuarine sites, particularly monasteries, chocked full of treasures as a result of an eighth-century economic boom. Those who embarked on the raids were the happy beneficiaries of developments in maritime technology, which allowed them to set out from Scandinavia confident of being able to return safely again. Though, like other ships of the age, they could be rowed, Viking ships enjoyed beautifully rigged square sails; they had strong keels and well-designed hulls. It has even been argued that Vikings had developed their navigation skills well in advance of other European peoples. While many early
WHO WERE THE VIKINGS? The Vikings were notorious for plundering gold and jewels
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When scholars write about Vikings, they often refer to groups of people from the Scandinavian lands of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. While much of Europe was Christian by the eighth century, these areas were not. However, not everyone went ‘Viking’ – many continued to farm the land or might return to farming after a few years of raiding, while others such as Anglo-Saxons and Franks might also ‘go Viking’. This was not about belonging to a ‘race’ or even a religion. Being a Viking was an activity. This became possible because of the development of ship technology, and it was encouraged by the growing strength of Scandinavian chieftains. What better way to enhance a reputation than by taking followers on raids to acquire greater riches? This rather dodgy redistribution of wealth stimulated an international exchange network, meaning that a living could be made by mixing trading and raiding. Vikings might be raiders one day and then sell their ill-gotten gains elsewhere the next.
medieval ships used coastal routes to travel between lands, the new longships could dominate sea roads across open water, perhaps even as early as the 780s and 790s. Writing of the earliest datable Viking raid on the famous monastery of Lindisfarne in June 793, one churchman wrote of surprise “that such an inroad from the sea could be made.” The writer was Alcuin, formerly a deacon of York Minster, who had risen to become Charlemagne’s right-hand man. Although he was some 500 miles away in the court of Charlemagne, Alcuin conveys some of the sense of the shock of hearing the news of pagan raiders’ actions. To many Christians, the Vikings heralded the apocalypse. The AngloSaxon Chronicle, a year-by-year record of events associated with the kingdom of Wessex, reported that the Vikings’ arrival was preceded by freak atmospheric conditions – “dragons” were seen flying across the sky – and indeed one gravestone found at Lindisfarne (above) shows heathen barbarians in apocalyptic terms: the Sun and the Moon, portents of the End of Days when the Sun would turn to darkness and the Moon turn a blood red, are juxtaposed by an image of seven warriors, most of whom brandish surprisingly realistic contemporary weapons. Whoever buried that member of the Lindisfarne community evidently thought that a message had been sent and had to be heeded.
To the average Anglo-Saxon, the tall, bearded Viking warriors would have seemed like giants, and their physique allowed them to swing an axe with great force
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The length of the longest Viking ship yet discovered at Roskilde, Denmark. This is the length of four double-decker buses laid end to end.
HERE TO STAY In Britain, it all changed when Vikings stopped being summer raiders and
The first Vikings struck Britain in small raiding parties, but by the mid-850s, they had grouped together to form a Great Army
stayed for longer, a strategy they had already been adopting in Ireland. Up until around the 850s, a local population could expect Viking war bands to go away at the end of the summer once the raiding season was over; now, the people were stuck with the enemy at large. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to a “Great Viking Army”. The Vikings were showing that they were more than bunches of bearded marauders, but could adapt to learn lessons. Viking forces banded together, tied up their ships and dug ditches and even ramparts to protect themselves. That way they could range further and even take over territory. The defence of the kingdom of Wessex by Alfred the Great is perhaps the best remembered and most celebrated moment of this period. The other three Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Northumbria,
Mercia and East Anglia, had lost their native rulers, only for them to be replaced by either puppet rulers or by Vikings themselves, but Wessex remained unconquered. The peace treaty that Alfred had negotiated in 871 was exchanged for silver, suggesting that Alfred survived the 870s only by the skin of his teeth. In 878, the kingdom was briefly taken over by Vikings, but Alfred’s return to power showed an iron will. There were enough lords in England willing to choose him rather than a Scandinavian lord, and Alfred evidently worked hard to retain their support. But this was no mean feat. The presence of powerful Scandinavian warlords in the south of England deepened the fissures of political rivalries. A charter from around this time records the confiscation of OCTOBER 2017
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In these early raids, it was speed and surprise that brought success. Where Vikings are known to have faced opposition, such as down the coast from Lindisfarne, perhaps after a raid on the monastery at Jarrow in 794, local forces could match them effectively. Anglo-Saxon kingdoms themselves had their own share of hardened warriors, whose whole lifestyle was organised towards the defeat of their enemies, and so they were no pushover. But with armies organised for battles fought according to rituals and expectations (at particular places and perhaps even at particular times of the year), they were rarely able to catch more mobile enemies. As one historian aptly put it, the Vikings did not “play by the rules”.
“The Vikings were showing that they were more than bunches of bearded marauders”
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1. Lindisfarne, Northumberland
4. Repton, Derbyshire St Wynstan’s, a Mercian royal minster church, was used as a winter base by the Great Viking Army in 873. The Vikings' control of this site showed their dominance over the region.
The Holy Island founded in the seventh century by St Cuthbert was subject to an attack by a group of northern raiders in 793, . which shocked the Christian world
3. Maeshowe, Orkney The far north of Scotland, including Orkney and Shetland, was an area of extensive Scandinavian settlement. Perhaps the most touching monument to their existence is the graffiti carved in a Neolithic tomb by the settlers' descendants in the 12th century, which records some remarkably everyday thoughts.
2. York, North Yorkshire A Viking city of the tenth century. Taken over from the Northumbrian kings in 866 and ruled as the heart of an independent kingdom until 954, York retained links with Scandinavia until after 1066.
5. Ridgeway, near Weymouth Vikings could also be victims. Here, a group of Norsem*n were beheaded around the time of the reign of Æthelred the Unready (r.978-1016) and buried in a mass grave.
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VIKING BRITAIN
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ave h o t s r a e p p a n a “The Isle of M ntly e n a m r e p d n a y ll been who ings” ik V e h t y b r e v o taken
A coin minted in the Viking kingdom of York in the 920s shows the importance of the sword as a symbol of power in the region
land from an ealdorman (governor) of Wiltshire, who had “deserted” both “his lord King Alfred” and his “country”, while Alfred’s own nephew, the son of his predecessor King Æthelred I (d.871, made common cause with Vikings following Alfred’s death.
A POLITICAL FORCE Alfred had held Wessex for his direct descendants to ensure that it would be the heartland of the English kingdom that was to develop during the tenth century. In Scotland, a similar pattern emerged for the descendants of the famed Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Alpín), whose kingdom of Alba was established in the vacuum created by the destruction of the power base of the western kingdom of Strathclyde in a particularly vicious Viking attack in 870. But if more powerful kingdoms developed, they had to contend with Vikings as a political force in Britain and Ireland. A large part of what is now England and much of northern and western Scotland, as well as the Isle of Man and land around the coast of Ireland (Dublin being one of the key examples), became home to Scandinavian settlers, with new Viking lords taking the resources of the local people, which had once been enjoyed by Anglo-Saxon, Pictish and other native rulers. Political control was now the name of the game, and though Wessex had survived with a native dynasty, Scandinavian interests provided a fierce rivalry. The kingdom of York, controlled for generations in the midtenth century by competing dynasties with links to Norway, Denmark and OCTOBER 2017
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The clearest ‘Viking’ division in Britain is along a line from north of 3 London, running north-west along Watling Street across England, following a treaty made between Alfred the Great and the Viking leader King Guthrum in the wake of the Battle of Edington (878). To the north and east of that line, Viking place-names (ending in the likes of ‘-by’ and ‘-thorpe’) appear every few miles, suggesting that some settlements 1 were dominated by Norse-speaking lords and perhaps even settled by migrants from 2 Scandinavia, who settled in the wake of the Great Army’s campaigns in the middle of the ninth century. York, which was taken over by the Great Army in 866, was an early centre of power, whose hinterland seems to have been settled quickly by new Viking lords who took over (and may have re-named) Anglo-Saxon 4 estates. Elsewhere in England, Lincolnshire and Al f re East Anglia – whose connections across the North tre d at -G Sea played an important role in their prosperity u y bo thr – were key areas of Viking settlement. In the northrd u m er west, particularly in Cumbria, it has been argued that the settlements of Vikings were from Norway 5 and Ireland. Along the coast of South Wales, a few Scandinavian place-names can be found (the best example being Swansea, ‘Sweyn’s Island’) suggesting settlements there, in the Irish Sea world dominated by the Vikings of Dublin, were associated with coastal navigation, though there is no clear evidence of permanent settlement in this area. Recent excavations on the island of Anglesey, on the coast of North Wales, have revealed what has been suggested as a fortified Viking encampment at Llanbedrgoch, complete with the skeletons of victims of some violent activity (perhaps even Vikings themselves). Further north, in the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man appears to have been wholly and permanently taken over by Vikings, perhaps by the early tenth century; there the Viking legacy is deep-rooted. The annual parliament, the Tynwald, has its origins in the The number of silver pennies that would have been needed to Viking thing (assembly), and its claim to be the provide the £192,000 recorded longest continuous parliamentary assembly in in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle the world is a good one. In the north of Scotland, as geld payments between 991 and 1018. an area subject to kings of Norway (Orkney and Shetland were only ceded to the Scottish crown in 1468 and 1469 respectively), the types of boat burial in the area suggest cultural links with the northern Scandinavian world.
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TIMELINE The Vikings From the very first raids to the rising of the Great Viking Army, uncover the history of the Norsem*n in Britain and beyond AD 792: THREATENED COAST
AD 838: MY ENEMY’S ENEMY
AD 840: OUTSTAYED WELCOME
A charter of the Mercian king Offa records the need to prepare defences in Kent against the ‘pagan sailors’.
At Hingston Down, Cornwall, Vikings and Cornishmen make common cause and fight the Wessex Saxons.
A Viking fleet overwinters on the shores of Lough Neagh, Ireland.
AD 793: THE END IS NIGH The first known Viking raid, on the island monastery of Lindisfarne, Northumbria, is viewed by Christians in Apocalyptic terms.
AD 954: THE END OF ERIK BLOODAXE The last independent Viking king of York is driven out and killed by his own people; Erik’s former kingdom becomes part of a larger English realm.
AD 921–2: DIPLOMATIC MISSION Ahmad ibn Fadlān travels from Baghdad to meet the King of the Volga Bulgars. The record of his journey provides a colourful account of the lives of some of the Viking Rūs he meets along the way.
AD 991: HEROIC DEFEAT An English force is defeated by a large Viking force at Maldon (Essex). The event is marked by a famous Old English poem and the first of many ‘Danegeld’ payments.
CIRCA AD 965: WRITTEN IN STONE Harald ‘Bluetooth’, ruler of Denmark, orders a runestone declaring that he “won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian.”
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CIRCA AD 911: LAND OF NORTHMEN Rollo, leader of a band of Vikings, makes a treaty with the French king; the territory ceded to the Normanni becomes Normandy.
AD 878: ANOTHER CRISIS FOR WESSEX Wessex is taken over by a group of Vikings; following Wessex victory, the Viking leader Guthrum is converted to Christianity with Alfred standing sponsor.
CIRCA 1000: NEW WORLD Leif Eriksson lands in North America, naming it Vínland because of wild grapes growing there. Facing hostility from the Native Americans, this westernmost settlement is abandoned after just a few years.
Æthelstan, King of the Anglo-Saxons and later King of the English, married his sister to the Viking king of Denmark after his conversion to Christianity
The first overwintering of a Viking army on mainland Britain, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent.
CIRCA AD 862: TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE Rurik, a Viking leader, establishes his rule over the territory of Novgorod, western Russia, allegedly (a chronicler recalls much later) at the invitation of its inhabitants.
AD 869: A RIGHT ROYAL PROBLEM Vikings overthrow and execute King Edmund of East Anglia, taking over his kingdom.
AD 871: CRISIS FOR WESSEX
AD 870: VIKING SIEGE
A ‘Year of Nine Battles’ against the Vikings for the kingdom of Wessex. Alfred the Great comes to the throne.
Ingólfur Arnarsson and his foster-brother Hjorleif arrive in Iceland from Norway, setting up the island’s first permanent settlement.
1035: END OF AN EMPIRE cnu*t dies in Shaftesbury, Dorset. His two sons, born of different mothers, squabble over the control of England.
cnu*t is crowned king of the English.
FINDING GOD
The Strathclyde royal stronghold of Dumbarton is besieged by Irish Vikings.
AD 874: THE FRONTIER MOVES WEST
1017: VIKING CONQUEROR
Ireland, is the best example of the change, and the kingdom’s importance in the tenth century determined the way in which the kingdom of England developed during the course of that century. Until York and its hinterland were finally pulled into the orbit of Wessex dominance following the death of the infamous Erik ‘Bloodaxe’ in 954, Dublin, York and Scandinavia were part of an archipelago of trade and cultural connections that stretched from the Irish Sea across the North Sea and indeed further, with the Vikings’ connections to the Baltic, Eastern Europe and Russia.
1066: END OF AN ERA The last great Viking king, Harald of Norway, dies at Stamford Bridge near York.
During this time, many Vikings became converts to Christianity. Though pagan beliefs lingered, and indeed in some places Christ became just one of the many deities to whom one might turn, the adoption of Christianity across the Viking world was what laid the path to political and social change. The change wasn’t instant, but importantly, conversion was what allowed such things as a Christian king in England to marry his sister to the ruler of the Viking kingdom. Æthelstan, ruler of Wessex and Mercia, did just this in 926, while his other sisters were married to rulers across Europe. The Vikings were plugging into the Christian world. In this manner, new invasions of England, spearheaded by the Danish king Sweyn ‘Forkbeard’, who was active in England in the 990s and the early years of the 11th century, were the work of a Christian prince – more like the invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066 than the depredations of the Great Viking Army in 866. Sweyn was king DID in Denmark, with a fleet YOU KNOW? of royal vessels and an Antiquarians thought that army he could call on Bronze Age helmets were from the Viking Age, like the ‘feudal’ armies giving rise to the myth of later generations. But that Vikings wore horned helmets. something of the Viking remained. William of OCTOBER 2017
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AD 855: STILL NOT GONE
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RELIGION Pagan Viking beliefs, whose origins seem to lie in a period long before the Viking Age, include a pantheon of gods, from Odin ‘the All-Father’ through to the thunder-god Thor, and Freyja, a powerful female deity, whose coat of falcon feathers gave her the ability to fly. Stories were told about the gods inhabiting the stronghold of Ásgard, whose world was linked with the earthly realm by the rainbow-bridge or Bifröst. Gods fought giants and each other, tricked and stole, fell in and out of love, and the world would end in a pre-ordained final battle at the ‘Twilight of the Gods’ – Ragnarök. Vikings were able to adapt some of these myths to the Christian views of Doomsday, and Viking art, particularly in the tenth century, reflects the mixture of Christianity and pagan beliefs. However, we should bear in mind that much of what is written about pagan Viking beliefs comes from the 13thcentury pen of Snorri Sturluson, a Christian Icelander who was interested in making sense of the beliefs of his pagan ancestors in a way that played down what must have been many local variations in religious beliefs and practice. He says little about the influences of the Sami people (indigenous Scandinavians) DID and the shamanic practices, which YOU KNOW? specialists have only begun to The word ‘Viking’ (‘wicenga’) first appreciate in the last 30 years, appears in an English chronicle entry for 879. This is a rare and the similarity between Viking appearance, and ‘Dane’ or cosmology may be the result of ‘Heathen’ is more often used by Christian writers to describe contact with Christianity or even Vikings, which is a term that the adaptations of stories by really became popular in Snorri himself. the 19th century.
Odin was the Norse god of war and death, a figure shared with Germanic mythology
cnu*t (right) married Queen Emma (above), the widow of Æthelred the Unready, helping to legitimise his claim to the English throne
Normandy had a legitimate claim to the English kingdom, however shaky. If Sweyn had any claim to England, it was a poor one and no contemporaries made anything of it, even if only to deny it. Those who came to England with Sweyn might answer a royal call, but they also came as Vikings because of the opportunities offered by belonging to a massive Viking fleet. Æthelred was taxing his subjects heavily in response to new Viking raids. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded the amounts increasing in response to each new outrage, from £10,000 pounds (an enormous amount for 991 to £16,000, to £24,000, then to £36,000. Some of the money was given Much of what we know about Norse religion comes from Snorri Sturluson’s ‘Edda’
to Vikings to go away; other sums were paid to groups of mercenaries to take service with the English king. Such amounts were unsustainable. In 1013, Æthelred was driven from his kingdom and Sweyn acclaimed king by his men. It looked as though he would be the first Viking king of England, as many in the south of England had already surrendered to him, handing over hostages that were then entrusted to his son cnu*t, who had accompanied Sweyn from Denmark. The crowning was not to be. Sweyn died in February 1014. Æthelred was recalled from exile by his nobles and cnu*t departed for Denmark, pausing only to brutally mutilate the hostages whose care he had been charged with. This was Viking politics at its most savage.
REVENGE OF THE VIKING It was also typical of early medieval politics that a brutal act was called for in difficult circ*mstances. cnu*t was in a tight spot, and he had to respond in a fashion that sent a message to those who he saw as betraying him. When cnu*t returned to England with a vengeance in 1015, he took full advantage of the messy politics of Viking-Age England. He had a
order. We can only imagine the eyebrows raised at the news that though cnu*t had married Queen Emma, he had not given up his relationship with Ælfgifu. But if Ælfgifu was in Scandinavia and helped cnu*t to keep connections there, where new Viking threats might arise from, an English audience might be willing to overlook a few transgressions. Sweyn’s kingdom of Denmark was in the hands of cnu*t’s brother Harald, but cnu*t still had a fleet behind him, which he maintained in England for two years after the death of Edmund. Much of the fleet was dismissed in 1018, again with a massive payment of geld, but cnu*t retained the services of forty ships. Following Harald’s death around 1018, the kingdom was now cnu*t’s for the taking and these ships seem to have been important in the campaign. The tables had turned. As king of England, cnu*t could now be a Danish king. From that Danish base, cnu*t reclaimed the Norwegian territory that had been subject to his father. Though control of Norway remained a problem for cnu*t just as it had been for Sweyn, cnu*t was able to make good his claim, ruling Norway through his wife Ælfgifu and their son until 1034. The Scandinavian empire broke up, but the control of this empire was to play a
Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, was defeated by Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Stamford Bridge
key role in the downfall of the English kingdom in 1066. Harald Hardrada (‘hard ruler’) of Norway presented himself as the heir to the Danish possessions of cnu*t’s son Harthacnu*t, making claim to England in the aftermath of the death of Edward the Confessor with an invasion of the north of England in September 1066. After an initial victory at the gates of the great Viking city of York, Harald’s Viking strategy was decisively beaten by his namesake, Harold II of England. The last great battle of the Viking age had been won by an English kingdom that had spent so long fighting the Viking threat, but it was a very different kingdom from that of Alfred, given that the king who fought that battle was part of cnu*t’s family through marriage. A final twist of fate was that the kingdom was lost as a result, with the Norman Conquest a few days later. Though noone knew it at the time, Britain’s Viking Age was over. d
GET HOOKED BOOK Ryan Lavelle’s cnu*t: The North Sea King is released in December as part of the Penguin Monarchs series. Pre-order your copy for £12.99 at www.amazon.co.uk/d/cka/cnu*t-penguinmonarchs/0141979879, or get it on Kindle for £3.99.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Is the Viking influence still visible where you live? Write in and let us know! email: [emailprotected]
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fleet with him once more, but he was also linked by marriage to the powerful family of the midland noblewoman Ælfgifu of Northampton. To such groups, King cnu*t would have been more a native lord than an invading newcomer. When cnu*t was crowned in 1017, he must have seemed like the only ‘strong and stable’ option for the English nobility. There was an irony here, as his father had caused so much of the upheaval and cnu*t had played no small part, but this was not alien to the 11thcentury game of thrones. cnu*t was not some pagan newcomer to Christianity, freshly converted. He was part of a royal family that had been Christian for three generations. Following the death of Æthelred’s warlike son Edmund ‘Ironside’, and the exile to Normandy of other sons of Æthelred, cnu*t was able to present himself as a legitimate English king. He married Queen Emma, widow of Æthelred and sister of the Norman duke, which gave cnu*t the opportunity to whitewash himself with a sense of legitimacy, keeping the ambitions of the exiled princes in check, to boot. Behind this, however, was the naked reality of power as well as pragmatism, not just on cnu*t’s part but on those who accepted him as king, such as the powerful Archbishop of York, Wulfstan, who, like Alcuin, had seen the end of days coming with renewed Viking attacks. Unlike Alcuin, Wulfstan was now accommodating himself to the new
“King cnu*t would have been more a native lord than an invading newcomer”
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THE SPIES WHO TRIED TO KILL LENIN
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As the curtain fell on World War I, Giles Milton uncovers the British spies who attempted to bring down the West’s newest enemy: Lenin
In the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution, communism now posed the greatest threat to European political stability, spearheaded by leader of the Russian Republic, Vladimir Lenin
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he night was thick with frost and the Moon hung low in the sky. On the banks of the River Sestra – the frontier between Finland and Russia – a lone figure could be seen crouching in the shadows. When he was sure that no one was watching, he slipped into a boat and rowed in silence across the fast-flowing water. It was November 1918, and that shadowy figure was a British spy named Paul Dukes. His codename was ‘ST 25’, and he was to prove one of the most effective undercover agents ever to work inside an enemy country. In successfully smuggling himself inside Soviet Russia, Dukes was placing himself in the greatest possible danger. He had come to spy on Lenin’s Bolsheviks, working in disguise under a variety of aliases. He had fake identity papers, a list of safe houses, and a network of contacts that he would need if he were to stay one step ahead of the Cheka, Lenin’s dreaded secret police. Dukes had no illusions as to what would happen to him if he were to be caught: there would be a show trial and
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Bolshevik soldiers march through the Red Square in Moscow, shortly after the 1917 revolution
then he would be summarily executed. The stakes could scarcely have been higher, but Dukes thrived on danger. In slipping into enemy Russia, he was embarking on a highly dangerous game of Russian roulette.
HOUSE OF CARDS Paul Dukes was one of a small band of British spies smuggled into Moscow in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution. Their task was to infiltrate every branch of Lenin’s revolutionary government and subvert the Bolshevik cause wherever possible. It was work of the utmost importance. Lenin’s avowed aim was global revolution. He wanted to topple all the Western democracies – governments still reeling from the slaughter of World War I. Revolution was in the air, with violent unrest in Germany and political agitation in Britain. It was felt that one push might bring the whole house down. Lenin sought to exploit the unrest by founding the Comintern, an organisation whose avowed goal was to spread the gospel of revolution. Paul Dukes and his fellow spies were sent into Russia to
ensure that Lenin failed in his ambition. Not everything went to plan. There were mishaps, violent shoot-outs and gruesome torture for agents who fell into the hands of the Cheka. But the biggest disaster of all
“After welcoming him into their circle, he was permitted to attend all their most secret meetings” was home-born. One of the British spies – Sidney Reilly – was to ‘go rogue’ and wildly exceed his brief. Reilly was not content with stopping Lenin: he vowed to assassinate him. Reilly’s story, along with that of his fellow spies, is more colourful than any James Bond movie. And the plot to kill
THE SPYMASTER AND HIS SPIES
Key figures of espionage CAPTAIN SIR MANSFIELD SMITH CUMMING Cumming was the founding father of the Secret Intelligence Service, later MI6. Gruff and avuncular, he was known as ‘C’ and always signed his documents in green ink. He allegedly cut off his own leg with a penknife after being trapped under a car.
PAUL DUKES eople’s Leon Trotsky, ‘P ary and lit Mi of ar iss m Com makes a Naval Affairs’, of the rs ie ld so speech to 1918 y, m Ar d Re
Lenin is so outlandish as to be almost unbelievable. Even 007’s creator, Ian Fleming, admitted that the story of MI6’s spies in Russia was better than any fictional offering: “James Bond is just a piece of nonsense I dreamed up. He’s not a Sidney Reilly, you know!”
OUTSIDE THE LAW MI6 was less than a decade old at the time of Lenin’s revolution, and professional espionage was in its infancy. That the spies were so successful was due, in large part, to one individual – an avuncular retired sea captain with a wooden leg, a theatrical monocle and a devilish sense of humour. Captain Sir Mansfield Smith Cumming had been appointed head of the newly established Secret Intelligence Service (later MI6 in 1909. He cut his teeth as a spymaster during World War I, when his network of agents gathered reports of German troop movements. Shortly after Lenin’s October Revolution, which swept the Bolsheviks to power in 1917,
Members of the Ch eka, the Soviet Union’s notorious sec urity service, receive an assignment
Cumming began selecting agents to be smuggled into Russia. Most of his recruits shared a common skill: a fluency in Russian that would allow them to pose as natives of the country. They had lived among the ex-patriot community of St Petersburg before the war and knew the country intimately. One of Cumming’s early recruits was Arthur Ransome, the only British spy who chose not to live undercover. Nowadays, he is best known as the author of Swallows and Amazons, but in 1918, Ransome was working as a foreign correspondent. It gave him the perfect excuse for collecting information about the communist regime. Ransome soon got to know all the key players of the government, including Lenin, Dzerzhinsky (head of the Cheka) and Trotsky (head of the Red Army). They all believed his claim that he was a revolutionary sympathiser, one who wished to put a positive gloss on the actions of the new regime. After welcoming him into their circle, he was permitted to attend all their most secret meetings. Ransome gained the particular trust of Trotsky, who never imagined he was passing information back to Mansfield Cumming in London Ransome soon fell in love with Trotsky’s secretary, Evgenia Shelepina, who typed up Trotsky’s correspondence and planned his meetings. Suddenly, Ransome found himself with access to highly secretive documents. More flamboyant than Ransome was his spy-colleague, George Hill, who
Knighted for his services to espionage, Dukes was known as ‘The Man with a Hundred Faces’ on account of his multiple disguises. Operating undercover in Russia throughout 1919, he infiltrated the Red Army and Comintern. His codename was ST 25.
SIDNEY REILLY Known as the ‘Ace of Spies’, Reilly operated as an agent inside Russia throughout the early years of the revolution. He was a key figure behind the plot to assassinate Lenin. In 1925, he was caught by the OGPU, successor to the Cheka, and executed. His codename was ST 1.
GEORGE HILL Hill played a vital role in establishing safe houses for the British spies in Moscow, as well as building an effective courier network. He would return to Russia during World War II, helping with the Soviet war effort. His previous work as a spy was never revealed.
ARTHUR RANSOME Foreign correspondent for the Daily News, Ransome covered events before and after the Bolshevik revolution. On close terms with both Lenin and Trotsky, he began an affair with the latter’s secretary, Evgenia Shelepina. MI5 wrongly suspected him of being a double-agent.
AT A GLANCE In autumn 1917, the second revolution within a year gripped Russia. Where the February Revolution had overthrown Tsar Nicholas II, the October Revolution toppled his successor, the Provisional Government. At Lenin’s urging, the Bolshevik Party captured key buildings in the capital, Petrograd. Their audacious coup laid the foundations of the world’s first communist state and changed the course of Russian history.
TIMELINE OF THE REVOLUTION 24-25 OCTOBER 1917 (O.S.)
Beginning of the Bolshevik Revolution that will sweep Lenin to power. Within 24 hours, the Bolsheviks seize control of the Winter Palace, the last holdout of the Provisional Government.
23 FEBRUARY 1917 (0.S.*)
The first violent revolution of 1917 leads to Tsar Nicholas II being toppled. A new Provisional Government comes to power.
15 JANUARY 1918 (0.S.) The Bolshevik Council of People’s Commissars issues a decree forming the Red Army.
17 JULY 1918
Tsar Nicholas II and family are executed by the Bolsheviks.
3 MARCH 1918
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk marks the end of Russia’s participation in World War I.
3 APRIL 1917 (O.S.)
Lenin returns to Russia when the Provisional Government declares an amnesty for political exiles.
2 DECEMBER 1917 (0.S.) The new revolutionary government signs an armistice with the Central Powers, the first step to Russia withdrawing from World War I.
LENIN
The life and death of a revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was an unlikely revolutionary hero. Bald, intellectual and dressed in shabby clothes, his gospel of revolution had long been ridiculed by mandarins in the British Foreign Office. “They pooh-poohed the idea of Lenin having any significance”, said Paul Dukes. But those who heard Lenin speak were amazed by his ability to electrify an audience. One English ex-patriot who watched his famous arrival at Finland Station in April 1917 was spellbound: “He seemed both superhuman and inhuman,
ready to bathe in blood to gain the glorious realisation of his mighty dream.” People scoffed when he vowed to sweep away the old order in Russia. Yet he did that within months of returning to the country from exile. Few believed he would pull Russian forces out of World War I, yet he signed the Treaty of BrestLitovsk within five months of sweeping to power. Even fewer believed that he would have Tsar Nicholas II and his family executed, yet he did this in the summer that followed the revolution.
Lenin oversaw some of the worst excesses of the revolution, notably the Red Terror that led to the brutal deaths of perhaps 100,000 people. He also carries much of the blame for the Great Famine of 1921, which led to the deaths of a further five million people. Lenin died in January 1924. His wife begged for him to be buried, but the communist hierarchy saw political gain in preserving his corpse and placing it on display in a special mausoleum in Red Square, where it remains to this day.
THE SPIES WHO TRIED TO KILL LENIN
Lenin at a meeting of the n Comintern, the organisatio ld wor ted oca adv t tha communism, Moscow 1919
MARCH 1919
The Comintern (or Third International) is formed in Moscow. Its aim is to spread global revolution.
30 AUGUST 1918
An attempt to assassinate Lenin by the socialist revolutionary, Fanny Kaplan, leaves him seriously wounded. It sparks mass executions known as the ‘Red Terror’. It also coincides with Reilly’s doomed coup.
21 JANUARY 1924 Lenin dies, leading to a divisive power struggle within the party. Stalin eventually emerges as the USSR’s leader. His rival, Leon Trotsky, is dismissed and exiled.
entered the country in the guise of a Baltic merchant named George Bergmann. Hill-Bergmann was all too aware of the dangers of living undercover. On the day he adopted his Bergmann persona, he had what he described as “a first-class attack of nerves”. He knew that if he was unmasked, he would be “outside the law, with no redress if caught - just a summary trial and then up against a wall.” Hill was an expert in invisible inks, codes and bribing his way into the confidence of others. “I always found the value of including in my kit a certain amount of good plain chocolate, half a dozen pairs of ladies’ silk stockings and two or three boxes of the more expensive kind of Parisian toilet soap. Presented at the psychological moment, they would unlock doors which neither wine nor gold would open.” These unlocked doors enabled him to obtain documents containing priceless information about Lenin’s plans to stoke unrest in Europe. Hill was not only adept at acquiring secret information, but also at getting it back to London. He established a network of couriers who would transport documents from Moscow to Murmansk, from where they would be forwarded to Stockholm and then London. Less than a week after being filched from Bolshevik commissariats, they would be on Mansfield Cumming’s desk in London. After several couriers were caught and executed, Hill changed the system. Henceforth, secret information was typed onto strips of linen and sewn into the collars of the couriers’ coats. Hill had initially based his secret headquarters in the house of a Moscow prostitute. “What was more natural,” he reasoned, “than that unknown men should constantly be coming and going in and out of her flat.” But he later established a network of safe houses in and around Moscow, including a dacha (cottage) in the countryside. It could be used whenever Cheka agents got too close for comfort.
ACE OF SPIES Lenin was considered the people’s hero, who had saved Russia from the injustice of imperial rule *These dates are given in the Old Style (Julian) calendar. Russia changed over to the new calandar (Gregorian) in February 1918.
George Hill worked in tandem with Sidney Reilly, a masteragent of such consummate skill that he would earn himself the moniker of ‘Ace of Spies’. Yet Reilly was a controversial figure, who showed such lack of scruples that even Mansfield Cumming hesitated before employing him. Reilly loved to wrap himself in mystery, and invented countless stories about OCTOBER 2017
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ALAMY X3, GETTY X6, ©ARTHUR RANSOME LITERARY ESTATE X1
Arthur Ransom e (centre), now famous fo r writing Swallows and Am azons, served as a spy fo British governm r the ent
THE SPIES WHO TRIED TO KILL LENIN his origins. He claimed at various times to have been fathered by an Irish sea captain, at others by an Irish clergyman, and even by a Russian aristocrat. His mastery of languages amazed all who met him, as did his ability to change identity at the flick of a switch. He could pass himself off as both a native Russian and a native German. But what struck everyone was Reilly’s vaunting ambition. He detested the Bolsheviks, and was dreaming of toppling Lenin’s government long before he arrived in the country. When he came to consider who might replace Lenin, he looked no further than the mirror.
“Reilly managed to slip out of Russia by the skin of his teeth”
MAIN: Soviet spycatcher Felix Dzerzhinsky is best known for establishing and developing the Russian secret services RIGHT: MI6 agent George Hill may have been the inspiration behind James Bond
SEDUCTION, SEX AND DANGER
BRIDGEMAN IMAGES X2, GETTY X2, MOVIE STILLS X1, TOPFOTO X1
The real James Bond Which of Mansfield Cumming’s spies was the model for James Bond? Ian Fleming would never reveal the source for his fictional hero: “James Bond is just a piece of nonsense I dreamed up,” he told inquisitive journalists. But when pressed further about the man behind the spy, he admitted that “Everything I write has a precedent in truth.” In the absence of any hard facts, Bond fans have long searched for the real 007. Some claim that Fleming himself was the model, even though he ridiculed such a suggestion. “I couldn’t possibly be James Bond,” he said. “He’s got more guts than I have.” One of the more plausible candidates is George Hill – aka IK8 – whose outlandish memoir, Go Spy the Land, was known to Fleming. Like Bond, Hill dined on champagne and caviar. And like Bond, he enjoyed seduction, sex and danger. When James Bond was in Russia, he was tracked by the anti-intelligence organisation SMERSH (a Russian portmanteau of ‘death to spies’). Hill had an even more sinister enemy in the form of Felix Dzerzhinsky, head of the Cheka, whose task was to capture British spies. James Bond delighted in gadgets supplied by London. Tear-gas cartridges, tape-recorder cameras and a garrotte watch were among his favourites. Where did Fleming find the inspiration for such tools? Once again, Hill fits the bill. He wrote extensively about spy-craft and hightech gadgets. And he shared one other trait with his fictional alter ego: he was an inveterate womaniser.
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Reilly entered Russia with two assumed identities. The first was Konstantine Massino, a Levantine merchant dealing in import-export. The second was Mr Constantine, a successful Greek businessman. He kept one step ahead of the Cheka by switching constantly between the two. In the third week of August 1918, Reilly met with George Hill and confided some sensational news. There was a plot to assassinate the entire Bolshevik leadership and he, Reilly, stood at its epicentre. The extraordinary events that followed were to involve spies, disgruntled army officers and at least one traitor, all of whom conducted themselves with maximum duplicity. The plot had been conceived in the private apartment of Robert Bruce Lockhart, a young Scottish diplomat sent to Russia by the Foreign Office. His ostensible task was to keep open a channel of communication with Lenin’s revolutionary government. But Lockhart was to play a far more devious role, helping to co-ordinate the activities of Cumming’s agents inside the country.
Members of the Red Army stand guard outside the Bolshoi Theatre, the host of the 1918 Congress of Soviets
The plot to assassinate Lenin hinged upon two military officials serving in the Latvian regiments that had been hired to protect the Bolshevik leadership. In the summer of 1918, they revealed to Lockhart that these regiments had lost all enthusiasm for their work. They no longer wished to protect the Bolsheviks, but to topple them.
HEART OF THE ENEMY Reilly, Lockhart and Hill were to play a key role in plotting this coup. It was to take place in the first week of September 1918, during the Congress of Soviets, when all the leading commissars would be assembled under one roof and guarded by the Latvian regiments. “At a given signal, the soldiers were to close the doors and cover all the people in the theatre with their rifles,” Reilly later explained, “while a selected detachment was to secure the persons of Lenin and Trotsky.” But nothing went to plan, and the entire coup was to unravel in quite spectacular fashion. The first person to feel the danger was Lockhart. At 3.30am on Saturday 31 August, he was woken by a rough voice ordering him out of his Moscow bed. “As I opened my eyes, I looked up into the steely barrel of a revolver. Some ten men were in my room.” He was led away to the Kremlin for interrogation, unaware of what had gone wrong. Reilly was in Petrograd when events turned sour. He first realised something was awry when he witnessed Red Army soldiers storming the British Embassy. Lesser men might have made their escape, but not Reilly. He reached
Robert Bruce Lockhart, a British diplomat and secret agent, helped to conceive the plot to kill Lenin
inside his pocket and felt for the forged Cheka papers of Sigmund Relinsky, his latest assumed identity. Then, with characteristic bravado, he approached an agent standing guard at the embassy gates and asked for information. He was told that the Cheka “were endeavouring to find one Sidney Reilly and had actually raided the British Embassy in the hope that he would be there.” It quickly transpired that Reilly and Lockhart had been betrayed, quite possibly by a Frenchman named René Marchand. He was the correspondent of Le Figaro newspaper and had come to hear of the plot. He was also a Bolshevik sympathiser who was on good terms with Dzerzhinsky. The Cheka were certainly well informed, for they raided dozens of flats and arrested anyone suspected of involvement. Reilly managed to slip out of Russia by the skin of his teeth, as did Hill. His role in the coup d’état was never discovered by the Cheka. But Lockhart found himself in real danger, held for weeks in solitary confinement and threatened with execution. He was eventually expelled from the country and would never return. At a spectacular show trial held eight weeks after his expulsion, both he and Reilly were sentenced to death in absentia. This catastrophic setback might have spelled the end for Cumming’s operations in Russia. But within months, Reilly and Hill were back inside the country, once again working undercover. This time, they were joined by Paul Dukes, a master of disguise who proved so brilliant at infiltrating the Bolshevik commissariats that he would become the only person ever to be knighted for services to espionage. Dukes infiltrated both the Bolshevik Party and the Red Army; he even attended closed meetings of the Petrograd Soviet. His greatest coup came when he obtained vital information about Lenin’s plot for global revolution from the very heart of the Comintern.
ABOVE LEFT: British spy Paul Dukes’ fake identity papers, passing him off as a member of the Red Army ABOVE: Dukes in his various disguises
The work of Cumming’s agents was to prove of such value to the British government that it was to guarantee the future of MI6, an agency threatened with closure after World War I. It had begun life as a ramshackle network of what Mansfield Cumming referred to as “rascals and scallywags” – agents who could not always be trusted. In little more than a decade, it had become a slick organization that could penetrate to the very heart of enemy governments. Mansfield Cumming had successfully overseen the creation of the world’s first professional secret service. There would always be rogue agents – men like Reilly whose plot to assassinate Lenin was never sanctioned by London. Yet there would be others, such as Paul Dukes, who would live undercover for months on end at great danger to their own lives. Spies continued to work in Russia during the worst of Stalin’s purges, and they are almost certainly there to this day. d
GET HOOKED BOOK To read the full story of the first global plot and the British spies who were sent to thwart it, pick up a copy of Giles Milton’s book, Russian Roulette. Published by John Murray (2013), RRP £20. OCTOBER 2017
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TOP TEN… FOODSTUFFS
Food that changed the world Those who suffer from ‘hangriness’ will be aware of the power that food can have over us, but these examples take the biscuit…
The tax was imposed in an effort to aid the struggling East India Company, who imported the tea
CORN THE REAL GOLD OF THE NEW WORLD
ALAMY X5, GETTY X8, MARY EVANS X1
The soaring price of bread was partly responsible for the French Revolution
When the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620, they struggled to survive. They found the land inhospitable, and the climate bitter cold. Perhaps they would have perished altogether, had Native Americans not taught them how to cultivate corn, a staple crop in the New World. To celebrate their survival, the settlers and some indigenous people held a joint feast in 1621, which is now believed to be the first thanksgiving. Sadly, the harmony would not last.
BREAD
SALT
THE CARB THAT SPARKED A REVOLUTION
SO VALUABLE IT WAS USED AS CURRENCY
French peasants longingly looked on as the royal family dined lavishly every night, while they starved to death. That all changed one October morning in 1789, when the markets of Paris turned into scenes of riots and mob rule. Women erupted over the outrageous bread price rises. To the beat of the drum, they marched on the Palace of Versailles, gathering more supporters on the way. Upon arrival, they ransacked the grand palace and forced the cowardly King to come back to Paris – a key event in the French Revolution.
There’s more to humble table salt than meets the eye. Not only does it add flavour to food, it can also be used as a preservative or even as an antiseptic. It was so prized by ancient peoples that it could be used as payment – this is where the Latin word ‘salary’ originates. The Romans had other uses for it, too, including as a weapon of war – they would put salt on the soil of conquered towns to spitefully prevent any plant growth.
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Corn was fir domesticatedst in Mexico arou nd 10,0 years ago 00
The word ‘salad’ als o has its origins in salt, as Romans sprinkled it over leafy greens
SUGAR NOT AS SWEET AS IT SOUNDS The saying goes “sugar, spice, and all things nice”, but this tasty treat has a rather unsavoury history. When European imperialists realised they could grow it largescale in the American colonies and gain vast profits, they needed cheap labour to produce it. So began the brutal slave trade.
TEA
BANANAS
THE HERB PERMANENTLY INFUSED IN BOSTON HARBOUR
A POLITICAL TOOL?
Nothing says British Imperialism like a steaming hot brew. In 1773, some Bostonians took issue with the taxes imposed on tea, coining the famous slogan “no taxation without representation”. In protest, they threw hundreds of chests of tea into the harbour, an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. The conflict developed into the American Revolutionary War.
There’s a reason why some nations are called “banana republics”. When Northern American farmers grew tired of trying to grow the tropical fruit in their own chilly climes, they realised that it would be easier (and cheaper) to grow it in Latin America instead. US fruit companies moved in to countries like Honduras and built infrastructure in exchange for land, gaining themselves a great deal of political power. In 1911, when the Cuyamel Fruit Company fell out with the Honduran government, it helped to arrange a coup that eventually overthrew the president.
Head of the Cuyamel Fruit Company, Sam Zemurray
SPAM SPICE
MYSTERY MEAT THAT FED THE WORLD This cheap blend of salty luncheon meat, invented in 1927, helped the US keep troops well-fed in wartime. Known affectionately as “ham that didn’t pass its physical”, the canned meat was easy to distribute as rations, and soon, nearly 50 million tonnes of the stuff was shipped to Europe as part of the Lend-Lease agreement. Khrushchev himself even said, “Without Spam we wouldn’t have been able to feed our armies”.
HEATING UP GLOBAL POLITICS Ever since antiquity, Europeans and Arabs had been travelling to Asia in search of seasoning, creating powerful trading kingdoms along the way. So when the Ottomans blockaded the traditional land route, the Portuguese had to find a way around. Vasco da Gama (left) volunteered for the job, and became the first European to reach India by sea, ushering in widespread European influence in the region.
HONEY MAKER OF STICKY SITUATIONS
POTATOES FILLING, BUT FRAGILE Introduced to Europe from South America in the 16th century, poor folks loved the starchy and cheap spud. In Ireland, the potato came to form the basis of a peasant’s diet, as a result of harsh British laws. Sadly, blight swept through the island and destroyed the potato crop, killing about a million people. Millions more migrated from Ireland to the Americas – creating a large Irish disapora.
The sweet concoction carefully crafted by bees was loved in the pre-sugarcane world, including by the Romans, who had made a number of enemies. In Turkey, a tribe decided to get its own back on the legions by placing honeycombs made from poisonous rhododendrons along the route. The Romans lapped it up, suffered hysterical fits, and were easily defeated by the locals.
The Romans were like bees to honey when Turkish tribes played a mean trick
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Know any other foods that have really made a meal of things? Let us know! Email: [emailprotected]
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GREAT ADVENTURES PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY NO ROAD? NO PROBLEM!
COURTESY OF THE JIM BENJAMINSON COLLECTION X2
The team forced their motor vehicle along brutally rugged mule routes across much of Mexico, including one 50-mile stretch that took 25 days to cross
One car. Two continents. Three men.
Pat Kinsella traces the tortured tyre tracks of a trio of adventurers on the Richardson Pan-American Highway Expedition, as they adventure south from Detroit to Cape Horn 44
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“We give you here the realistic story of men trying to follow by automobile, the route that will one day be the greatest highway in the world” Sullivan C Richardson introduces the film Adventure South
GREAT ADVENTURES PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY
J
ust before midnight on Monday 18 November 1940, three men steered a heavily laden sedan car out of Detroit and began driving south-west across the US. They would keep rolling south, through Mexico, Central and South America, until terra firma (or their luck) ran out. In an era when roads were mere rumours across much of the sub-Arizona Americas, the intrepid trio intended to prove the conjoinedtwin continents could potentially be culturally connected by a tarmac umbilicus. They were evangelists of the Pan-American dream, writ large on the door of their car: ¡Viva el Panamericanismo!
COURTESY OF THE JIM BENJAMINSON COLLECTION X6, ILLUSTRATION: SUE GENT
THREE UNWISE MEN Dismissed as fools at the outset, Richardson, Whitaker and Van Hee ultimately proved the Pan-American Highway was more than a pipedream. Following their expedition, sealed surfaces swiftly snaked along the tyre tracks left in the mud by these three pioneers, from Mexico to the Panama Canal. As expedition leader, journalist Sullivan Richardson’s vision extended well beyond Panama, but in 1940, he had no idea what he would achieve as he motored off the map with his two companions, a typewriter and a 16mm Kodachrome movie camera. “We were off on the great adventure,” he wrote. “We were happily ignorant. It was enough that we were started.” They seemed almost to revel in their newfound reputation as Pan-American mavericks when such accusations were leveled at them by commentators, incredulous at the scale of their ill-advised undertaking. “‘You're three damn fools,’ we were told, too often to fight about it,” Richardson said later. Yet Richardson’s employers at The Detroit News were willing to take a punt on their roving reporter’s ability to endure the horror, heat and hardships he would encounter en route to Cape Horn; he found two teammates to accompany him through deserts, jungles and mountain ranges; and the Chrysler Corporation was sufficiently convinced about the value of the adventure to provide a new 1941 Plymouth car. Mexico-born Richardson spoke some Spanish, was comfortable with the customs and diet, and clued up about the country they were traversing – but even he was shocked at the state of the roads they encountered after leaving the US. The expedition could have stayed on good US roads longer, and made use of better tracks along the east coast of Mexico to the capital, but Richardson stubbornly stuck to his plan of hugging the Pacific, where he’d been warned the going would be tough. Immediately they had to tackle 1,000 miles of rude, muddy trails, turned to gloop by a six-day rainstorm that swept through just before they began. Repeatedly, the Plymouth skidded into deep holes and became stuck in quagmires. Many times, locals hauled them from the mud with mules and bulls, and rafted their heavy car
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THE MAIN PLAYERS
SULLIVAN C RICHARDSON Born to a poor family in Mexico, close to the border with the US, ‘Sullie’ was the 17th child of 20 children. A journalist and filmmaker, he led the expedition, acted as navigator and translator, and meticulously recorded its progress on paper and film.
ARNOLD WHITAKER The youngest of the group, Whitaker was the expedition mechanic who kept the Plymouth purring through the toughest imaginable conditions. In 1943-44, he drove through Mexico and Central America with Sullivan a second time in a four-wheel-drive weapons carrier, on a scouting mission for the future US vicepresident Nelson Rockefeller.
“MEXICO MUD IS HELL” The three mavericks set off along the sodden Pan-American Highway in a heavily laden Chryser Plymouth
GEOGRAPHY
The Convention on the Pan-American Highway was signed in 1936, yet four years later, the route was ill-defined and extremely rough. Richardson relied on gut instinct and local directions to navigate, and the expedition was dependent on good will throughout, from locals, farmers, fellow travellers and businesses.
118 NOVEMBER 1940
Detroit, United States
The trio sets off on the easy leg of the expedition, from Detroit to the Mexico border, enjoying good-quality roads across the US.
30 NOVEMBER
KENNETH VAN HEE A friend of Whitaker’s, Van Hee was the expedition cook. He spent most of World War II in Trinidad, before returning to the US to work for the America Automobile Association (AAA) as a field and road reporter, driving around 90,000 miles per year. In the 1950s, Van Hee and Whitaker returned to Mexico to chart the country’s roads for the AAA.
2
Nogales, US–Mexico border
The expedition crosses into Mexico and drives toward Guaymas, making 54 miles during the first afternoon. Soon, however, everything changes, as infrastructure and sealed surfaces evaporate and the adventure proper begins.
10 DECEMBER
3
Mazatlán, Mexico
Having spent ten days dragging the Plymouth through the mud, the three celebrate Mazatlán’s paved streets, ice cream, Coca-Cola and ocean views. To save money, they sleep rough on a rock by the sea.
15-25 DECEMBER
4
Mexico City
A fraction of the size of the modern megatropolis, the trio find Mexico City a pleasant place with good roads and enjoy a meeting with the future president, Miguel Alemán, impressing on him the
importance of the highway. They depart on Christmas Day, passing Popocatépetl, an active volcano just south of the city, taking treacherous mountain tracks towards Oaxaca.
5FEBRUARY 1941
Talisman Bridge, Guatemala
After three months on the road, and with Sullivan having just flown back to the US for spare parts, the car enters Central America by crossing the Talisman Bridge from Mexico into Guatemala.
6MARCH-APRIL
Guatemala City – Managua
Racing (in vain) against the approaching rains, the trio thunder along the good roads of Guatemala and El Salvador, before coming unstuck in the muck of Honduras and Nicaragua, where their progress slows.
7APRIL-MAY
San Jose, Costa Rica – Panama City
After five months on the road, the Plymouth is placed on a train to Puntarenas to circumvent Cerro de la Muerte (the Mountain of Death), and then another train to David, Panama’s second city, from where they drive to Panama City.
Main Route Other means of travel
1
Boat
2 Nogales
USA
Train
2
Guaymas
MEX ICO
3
Mazatlán
Mexico City 4
Monte Albán
Puebla Oaxaca
A Lake Atitlán MAL TE A 5 GU RAS Tapachula DU N Guatemala City HO GUA ARA San Salvador NIC
Pacifi c Oce a n
Managua
6
Atlan Oceantic
Panama
STA Canal CO CA I R vid Panama City Da
San Jose
7
Darién Gap VENEZ UEL A
Puerto 8 Bogatá Armuelles Buenaventura Cali COLOMBIA Quito Tulcan Cajabamba ECUADOR Guayaquil
BRAZ IL
Talara
9 Lima
U PER
BOLIVIA Arica
827 MAY
Bogotá, Colombia
Having arrived in Colombia at Buenaventura, aboard the Elliot Line ship, the gang travels to Bogotá. They leave the Colombian capital six months and nine days after departing Detroit, not yet having travelled even half way to Cape Horn.
9JUNE
Ecuador – Peru – Chile
After a train journey through Canyon Diablo to Guayaquil in Ecuador, and a boat trip to Talara in Peru, the team drives to Lima. On Monday 23 June, they leave the Peruvian capital to motor 560 washboard miles through the desert, between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, to Chile, where the arid Atacama Desert awaits them. The car loses a wheel twice during this section.
10JULY
Patagonia, Argentina
From Santiago, with the mountain roads rendered impassable by winter conditions, the trio load the Plymouth onto a Trans-Andean Railroad train and travel into Argentina. Driving via Mendoza and Bahía Blanca into Patagonia, they’re joined by Valdemar Melton in a Chrysler car, but the extra
man, traumatised by the driving conditions, flees the expedition in Río Gallegos.
11MONDAY 28 JULY
Atacama Desert
ILE CH
Magallanes (Punta Arenas), Chile
Narrowly escaping the clinging mud of El Distrito Chocolate, the travellers arrive in Magallanes. Sullivan cables The Detroit News: “After two weeks of mud, the expedition pulled into Magallanes, world's southernmost city, at 10:15 this morning. Stop. Fifteen thousand seven hundred and forty-five miles by our speedometer.”
ARGENTINA Los Andes
Santiago 10 Punta De Vacas Mendoza
Bahía Blanca
1219 AUGUST Cape Horn
The Fools depart Magallanes pier on the Galvarino, headed for the true end of the continent. “So we made Cape Horn,” Richardson writes, when he’s recovered from the battering the subsequent storm served up. “Approximately sixteen thousand miles south from Michigan's Great Lakes; home of the automotive industry which will one day make cars again instead of tanks. And those cars will travel rapidly and comfortably over ribbons of pavement through those thousands of miles over the great Pan-American Highway, spanning two continents.”
Río Magallanes 11 Gallegos
12 Strait of Magallan
Cape Horn
Beagle Channel
560 antinc l t milesa A ce O
The non-stop length of washboard gravel road driven across between Peru and Chile
GREAT ADVENTURES PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY COMIC RELIEF Despite crossing treacherous rivers in Mexico (left) and rough sleeping in Chile (right), the expedition members still found time for frivolity as they posed at the equator monument in Ecuador
across unbridged rivers. “In all the southern Although the US was yet to wade in, World Republics we have yet to see a Latin American War II was raging and a reliable road route to pass someone who might be in trouble without the Panama Canal was now an issue of high stopping to see if help is needed,” wrote importance. Richardson met with top brass in Richardson. “The practice is as fundamental as the State Department, and based on his reports, a cross above their churches.” development money began to flow along the Around Río Hondo, conditions were Pan-American Highway. especially brutal. “One day we drove only 25 Meanwhile, Whitaker and Van Hee managed yards,” Richardson says on the film he made to keep the Plymouth purring, motoring around during the expedition. “It’s heartbreaking toil, mountains and jolting through jungles towards but we’re determined not to turn back.” Tapachula near the Guatemalan border, where It took ten terrible days to reach Mazatlán, Richardson rejoined them. where they camped on a rock by the sea, watching locals risk their lives leaping from the SMOOTH RIDE cliffs. “These Mexican daredevils would After three mad months in Mexico, the think nothing of doing a swan dive gang drove into Central America where angels would fear to fly,” across the Talisman Bridge. gasped Richardson. Richardson enthused about After enduring another 600 Guatemala’s colourfully costumed miles of rough road to Mexico ‘Indians’, beautiful villages and The number of times City, across desert and scrub, the perfectly shaped volcanoes, but wheels literally fell trio met lawyer Miguel Alemán most of all he went in raptures off the car Valdés, who would become about the driving conditions. president. Inspired by their PanThe “all-weather road” owed American passion, Alemán later poured its quality to General Jorge Ubico, millions into the highway. Guatemala’s repressive president, whose prize The expedition battled onwards to possession was a Harley Davidson. “We enjoyed Oaxaca, diverting to visit the 2,000-year-old those roads built for Mr Ubico's motorcycle,” gold-sodden Zapotec city of Monte Albán. Richardson wryly noted. Excavations of these ruins had only begun nine Lapping up the luxurious under-tyre terrain, years earlier, and Richardson was eager to reveal the expedition visited the Mayan settlement the extraordinary site to an American audience, of Lake Atitlán, before spending three days complete with its stone carvings depicting travelling to Antigua, the ornate (albeit public castrations. By now, mangled by two earthquake-battered) former capital of Spain’s months of travel along terrible tracks, the Central American empire, which Richardson Plymouth too was half castrated. The exhaust was eager to film for a western audience. was irreparably damaged, and Richardson flew Continuing into El Salvador, they found a back to Detroit for spare parts. small, pretty and progressive republic, with
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mostly paved roads, where their arrival was eagerly anticipated by the press and the public. It couldn’t last long, however, and in Honduras the road turned to dust, despite the country having received a big cash injection from the US specifically for the highway. Nicaragua, in the grip of US-supported dictatorship led by Anastasio Samoza Garcia, was no better, but they kept going, several times resorting to driving along railway lines, without permission or knowledge of when a train might turn the corner. Rain and mud greeted the expedition in Costa Rica, and they were regularly forced to rely on the assistance of sabaneros to continue. Beyond San José, however, a major obstacle loomed that even the cowboys couldn’t help them conquer. Cerro de la Muerte (the Mountain of Death) had earned its name, and was completely impassable in the wet, so for the first time since departing Detroit, the Plymouth’s wheels left the ground and it was loaded onto a train to Puntarenas. From here, the explorers sensibly took a boat around southern Costa Rica’s impenetrable jungle to Puerto Armuelles in Panama, and then another train to David, from where the road was just about drive-able to the Panama Canal. They happily celebrated reaching the banks of the canal by filling a bucket from the waterway and tossing it over the longsuffering car. It had taken them five full months to get here – twice as long as predicted. South of the Panama Canal, the Plymouth was loaded onto a boat to leapfrog the untamed wilderness of the Darién Gap – the only place where the Pan-American Highway still falters, unable to push through the lawless jungle and murky swampland.
WE’LL MEET AGAIN…
The team pose for one last photo with the Plymouth at a reunion in 1975, before it is sent to the scrapyard. An effort by Richardson’s sons to locate the vehicle has so far proved futile
“A major obstacle loomed that even the cowboys couldn’t help them conquer” Arriving in Colombia at Buenaventura, the threesome took a train to Cali, then drove to Bogotá, where they learned the locomotive they’d just left had crashed during its return route, with several fatalities. Leaving the Colombian capital, the expedition shivered back across the Andes, passing through Popayán, Pasto, Ipiales and into Ecuador at Tulcán, from where a series of valleys took them to Quito. More non-driving sections followed, including a train trip from Cajabamba through Canyon Diablo to the affluent but sweaty Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil, followed by a ride on a steamer to Talara in Peru, from where they motored along to Lima. Five hundred miles of driving along a ribbon of rubble between the Pacific and the Andes, through an apparently infinite desert, delivered the adventurers into the arms of Chile, a country that would please, tease and torture the trio in equal measure. From Arica they encountered the ultra-arid Atacama Desert, travelling over 100 miles without seeing a living thing or a drop of moisture, and losing a wheel while driving, thanks to the perpetual jarring of the wicked washboard roads. Incredibly, the accident happened within 30 miles of a Nitrate Company with a fleet of Plymouths they were able to access for spare parts. A second wheel sheared clean in a less serendipitous spot, and Richardson was forced to hitch to Santiago to buy a spare spindle and
send a mechanic out to find Whitaker and Van Hee in the stricken Plymouth. Reunited in the Chilean capital, the men discovered the mountain passes ahead were all snowbound. Instead, they loaded the car onto the Trans-Andean Railroad and “crossed into Argentina through the long tunnel at the top of the universe,” to arrive at Punta de Vacas. Travelling via Mendoza and Bahía Blanca, they avoided Buenos Aires and branched south through Patagonia, twice blowing the Plymouth’s head gasket en route. In Argentina, they were joined by another driver in a second car. Valdemar Melton had been sent to accompany the expedition by the country’s Chrysler importers, but soon the reasonable roads ran out, and within four weeks his nerves were shot to pieces by the harrowing driving conditions. “You boys go ahead,” he said, while bailing out at Río Gallegos, having been forced to abandon his car some distance before. “You fellows have got guts… I wouldn't try that road tomorrow for fifty thousand dollars.” Passing back into Chile in southern Patagonia, with the end almost in sight, the Plymouth became stuck fast in the filth of El Distrito Chocolate. Briefly, it looked like they were going to be thwarted at the final hurdle, but a freak overnight freeze rendered the mud solid just long enough for them to escape and reach Magallanes (modern-day Punta Arenas).
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But they were not yet at Cape Horn, and the crew wouldn’t be satisfied until they’d rounded it. They appealed to Comandante Arroyo, Vice Admiral of the Chilean Navy, who eventually relented to their request and allowed them passage on a steamer heading west through the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel. Even then, the elements attempted to intervene. With a storm bearing down on them, the ship’s captain announced his intention to turn around just shy of the Cape, but the disappointment on the faces of his guests persuaded him to risk the full route around the Horn. The gale left them petrified, but at 3pm on 19 August 1941, nine months and one day after leaving Detroit, the three mavericks of the Richardson Pan-American Highway Expedition rounded the tip of South America. d
GET HOOKED WATCH Dara and Ed’s Big Adventure – Two Irish comedians, Dara Ó Briain and Ed Byrne, recreate the expedition from the Mexico border to the Panama Canal.
READ Adventure South, by Sullivan C Richardson (if you can find a rare copy). For something a little different, try Road Fever by Tim Cahill, a lively account of the adventure writer’s record-breaking drive along the Pan-American Highway.
VISIT www.plymouthbulletin.com/adventure01
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Once on dry land, the travellers had to negotiate their way back to Detroit. The car and everything in it – including all Richardson’s notes and film footage – was very nearly lost when the Plymouth almost rolled overboard while being loaded onto a boat, but disaster was narrowly avoided (at the expense of much damage to the vehicle). After sailing to Buenos Aires, they drove 3,500 miles through Bolivia and Peru, and from Lima took the Santa Clara to New York. The book Adventure South was published in 1942, and Richardson toured almost every state in the US screening the film and lecturing about the Pan-American Highway, which bit-by-bit was paved all the way to the Panama Canal.
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BATTLEFIELD THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE CHRISTMAS CHEER The Battle of the Bulge was Germany’s last great tank offensive in World War II. Despite an Allied victory, it incurred the largest number of American casualties of any other WWII operation
American C-47 transport planes deliver much-needed supplies to their hard-pressed comrades in Bastogne.
BATTLE CONTEXT Where Ardennes Forest, Belgium and Luxembourg
When
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16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945
Who Germans (von Rundstedt, von Manteuffel, Dietrich) 250,000 men rising to 400,000 Allies (Eisenhower, Montgomery, Bradley, Patton)
Hitler’s last gamble
85,000 men rising to 600,000
Why German attempt to break through to the Channel ports
Result Allied victory
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The German attack in the Ardennes in December 1944 caught the Americans by surprise and caused a major ‘bulge’ in the front line. Julian Humphrys tells the story
BATTLEFIELD XXXXXXX
A captured Nazi film revealed footage of German sol diers advancing into Belgiu m in 1944
military ted) and Nazi Adolf Hitler (sea ring (left) pore over Gö n leader Herman e that would winter offensiv the plans for a of the Bulge e ttl as the Ba become known
MASTERMIND OR MADMAN? Hitler considered himself a master strategist, and frequently ignored the advice of his generals.
T
roy Middleton, the American commander in the Ardennes in late 1944, was worried. He only had four divisions to hold an 88-mile front and of these, two had been sent there for a rest after some heavy fighting and two more were completely inexperienced. But when he shared his concerns with Omar Bradley, his army commander, Bradley brushed them aside. Even though the Germans had attacked through the Ardennes in 1940, he was confident that the Germans were far too weak to mount a major offensive there now. “Don’t worry, Troy,” he said, “they won’t come through here.” But Hitler had other ideas.
FRIEND OR FOE?
A key component of the German plans for the Ardennes offensive was a German corporal secret mission codenamed Wilhelm Schmidt Operation Greif. Acting on the was captured in American uniform direct orders of Adolf Hitler, and executed veteran SS Commando Otto Skorzeny kitted out English-speaking German soldiers in American uniforms and equipped them with captured weapons and jeeps. Then, posing as GIs, they slipped through American lines. It was hoped that they would be able to seize an important bridge across the river Meuse. They didn’t manage to do this but, even so, they drove around cutting telephone lines, switching road signs and generally causing as much havoc as they could. When a rumour spread that they were planning to kidnap General Eisenhower, the Allied Commander found himself confined in his headquarters for security reasons. Suspicious US troops set up checkpoints and quizzed passers-by on the names of state capitals and American popular culture to confirm they were who they said they were. British Field Marshal Montgomery had the tyres shot out from his jeep when his driver drove through such a road block, while General Omar Bradley recalled having to confirm his identity on three occasions: “The first time by identifying Springfield as the capital of Illinois; the second by locating the guard between the centre and the tackle civilians were killed on a line of scrimmage; the third time by naming the during the battle then-current spouse of a blonde named Betty Grable.”
3,000
As 1944 drew to a close and enemy forces converged on the Reich from both east and west, the German leader had come up with an ambitious plan that he believed would restore his faltering fortunes. His armies would do as they had done in May 1940 and smash through the lightly defended hills and woods of the Ardennes. Then, after crossing the river Meuse, they would push north and seize the port of Antwerp, separating the Americans from their British and Canadian allies who would be cut off and destroyed. Hitler believed that the western alliance would then collapse, freeing Germany to deal with the Red Army on the Eastern
Front. But when he unveiled his plan to his senior commanders, they were utterly dismayed. Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, his Commander-in-Chief in the west, later wrote: “It was obvious to me that the available forces were far too small – in fact, no soldier really believed that the aim of reaching Antwerp was really practicable. But I knew by now that it was useless to protest to Hitler about the possibility of anything.” Even the fanatically loyal SS General Sepp Dietrich was
pessimistic, complaining that “All Hitler wants me to do is to cross a river, capture Brussels and then go on and take Antwerp. And all this in the worst time of the year… when the snow is waist deep.” Von Rundstedt’s appeals for a more limited attack were dismissed, and when he received Hitler’s orders for the operation, the words “Not to be altered” were scrawled across them in the Führer’s handwriting. Operating under strict radio silence, the Germans secretly moved 18 OCTOBER 2017
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BATTLEFIELD THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE
d vance, protecte Allied troops ad e failed th r by a tank, afte es offensive German Ardenn
divisions into their assault soldiers were positions. Even the hooves of their taken prisoner. 50,000 transport horses were Gradually, muffled with straw to ensure that American no sound would give the game resistance away. Then, just before dawn on stiffened. The elite 16 December, all hell broke loose. SS divisions of After unleashing a devastating Sepp Dietrich’s artillery barrage, the Germans 6th Panzer Army pushed forward to attack the found that the American lines. To help their narrow bridges and troops advance, the Germans used winding roads in ‘artificial moonlight’, bouncing the the northern part beams of their searchlights off the of the Ardennes clouds overhead, and in the were a major obstacle. eerie light they looked like Hampered by wider and ghost soldiers as they heavier tanks, the advanced through the Germans were unable snow-covered woods to move through wearing their white the area anything winter camouflage. like as speedily as tanks were lost by each side in the The Americans were they had during the fighting taken completely by blitzkrieg of May 1940. surprise, and it wasn’t Dietrich’s men were until later that afternoon further delayed by determined that they realised that this was resistance around the important something more than a minor local road junction at St Vith and the attack. By that time, many of their ridge at Elsenborn, and when forward units had been overrun, the Americans were forced to fall and others were streaming back back, their engineers frustrated in full retreat. In the confusion, the German battle groups by the inexperienced 106th Division blowing up bridges to block their stood its ground instead of falling advance. Further south, where back to a more secure position. the going was easier, General von Two of its three infantry regiments Manteuffel’s 5th Army made were surrounded and forced better progress, and it was the 60 to surrender. More than 6,500 miles he eventually advanced that
CHECKING THE ROUTE Men from the 1st SS Panzer Division are photographed reading a map at the Kaiserbaracke crossroads between Malmédy and St Vith. They’re driving an amphibious VW Schwimmwagen – the most mass-produced car of its kind in history.
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WEATHER WOES Because the Germans had waited until snow and thick fog had grounded the Allies’ aircraft before launching their attack, troops on both sides had to contend with near-Arctic conditions as well as enemy gunfire and shelling. Blizzards often reduced visibility to almost zero, digging foxholes in the rock-hard earth was an exhausting task, and tanks often had to be chiselled out of the ice after freezing to the ground overnight. Many wounded soldiers froze to death before they could be rescued, and thousands of American GIs had to be treated for cases of frostbite and trench foot. The American defenders of Bastogne suffered particularly badly. Priority had been given to the supply of fuel and ammunition, with the result that most of them were still in their summer uniforms. They could not light fires as that would give away their position, and there was no opportunity to wash, shave or put on dry socks.
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hey t t h g i l e i r “In the ee ike ghost looked l soldiers” NO WAY THROUGH Thick sloping armour made the tank virtually impervious to a frontal attack.
American infantrymen of the 290th Regiment crouch in the snow near Amonines, Belgium
Liége Spa
Meuse
Werbomont
BELGIUM
Malmédy Stavelot Trois Ponts
Dinant
1
St Vith Laroche
MONTY TAKES A HAND
HARD GOING
F Elite Waffen-SS troops spearheaded the German advance in the north, but they found the going tough.
TANK BUSTER The Royal Tiger’s powerful 88mm gun was a force to be reckoned with.
German advance Houffalize
GERMANY
US counter-attacks from 25 Dec
Bastogne 3
2
Bitburg
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LUXEMBOURG Meuse
G To prevent the German advance from severing communications between American troops on the northern and southern sides of the bulge, Eisenhower (left) gave Field Marshal Montgomery (right), Commander of the British 21st Army Group, operational control in the north. ‘Monty’ handled things competently and capably, but his exaggeration of his own role in the defeat of the German offensive did nothing to foster Anglo-American harmony.
US front line 16 Dec US front line 25 Dec
FRANCE 0
5
10
15
20
Luxembourg 25
Miles
THE GAMBLE THAT FAILED Hitler hoped his troops would reach the Channel ports, but faced with declining fuel reserves and growing Allied resistance, they never even crossed the Meuse river… 1. Fighting in difficult terrain, Dietrich’s 6th Panzer Army makes slow progress.
ROYAL TIGER
2. Von Manteuffel’s 5th Army makes better progress and eventually advances 60 miles. 3. American troops, including the 101st Airborne Division, hold out in Bastogne. 4. Patton’s 3rd US Army counter-attacks from the south.
H Germany’s Panzer VI Mark II, or Royal Tiger, was the most powerful tank of the entire war. Its thick sloping frontal armour was normally impervious to anything an Allied tank could fire at it, while its own long 88mm gun could knock out an Allied Sherman tank at a range of more than a mile. But its massive weight – more than 67 tons – caused it real problems when trying to cross small bridges. If it broke down, it could block a road for hours, as the only thing that was powerful enough to shift it was another Tiger. Orders for 1,500 of these behemoths were placed, but Allied bombing ensured that fewer than 500 had been produced by the end of the war.
BATTLEFIELD THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE
Eighty-four American soldiers were massacred following their surrender
opportunity for us… caused the salient, or ‘bulge’, in There will be only the front line that gave the battle cheerful faces at its name. this table.” By 20 December, his forces had General Patton, reached Bastogne, a small town who was in command where several important roads of the US 3rd Army met. Despite being surrounded, south of the bulge, the soldiers of the 101st Airborne agreed. Indeed, he Division who had been rushed in was all for letting the to defend it refused to surrender, Germans advance and drove back all attempts even further before to dislodge them. Many wore cutting them off and destroying white bed sheets supplied by them. Eisenhower wasn’t prepared local residents as camouflage. to go that far, but he did instruct Manteuffel’s soldiers pushed on Patton to swing north and towards the Meuse, but the attack the southern flank American defence proved of the bulge. It was a thorn in their side, an order that Patton disrupting their supply had anticipated; his routes and forcing American artillery troops were quickly them to divert troops rounds were fired in on the move and on to continue the siege. the battle by 4,155 guns 26 December, they By now, the Allied relieved the hard-pressed commanders were defenders of Bastogne. getting a grip on the battle. The German attack was rapidly Realising that it would be much running out of steam, and on easier to destroy the Germans 23 December, the weather turned when they were out in the open against them as well. That day, the rather than when they were dug thick cloud and heavy fog that had in on the defensive, Eisenhower shrouded the Ardennes since the (the Allied Supreme Commander) start of the offensive finally lifted. told his generals that “the present situation is to be regarded as one of Allied aircraft, which had been
1,255,000
“One German tank after another ground to a halt”
MASSACRE AT MALMEDY On 17 December 1944, a Waffen-SS battle group under the command of the charismatic and ruthless Obersturmführer Joachim Peiper overran an American convoy near the town of Malmédy. The Germans marched approximately 100 prisoners into a field and, in just one of a series of atrocities associated with the battle group, shot and killed 84 of them. Peiper and 72 others were later tried and convicted by an American tribunal and 43, including Peiper, were sentenced to death by hanging. The death sentences were later commuted, and none of the convicted served a full prison sentence. Peiper was paroled after ten years and later went to live in France. In July 1976, his home was attacked by unknown assailants, and Peiper’s charred body was later discovered in the burnt-out remains of his house.
grounded for a week, were finally able to take to the air and the German ground forces now found themselves under attack from the hundreds of fighters and bombers that swarmed above them. And the Germans had another problem: they were running out of fuel for their gas-guzzling tanks. Even though they’d set aside nearly five million gallons for the battle, their plans still revolved around
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NUTS On 22 December, a group of four German soldiers, two officers in jackboots and long overcoats and two enlisted men, approached Bastogne under a flag of truce. One of them was carrying a long, carefully typed letter from their commander, General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz, calling on the American defenders of the town to surrender and threatening their annihilation if they failed to do so. Eventually, the letter was brought before the American commander in Bastogne, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, who took one look at it and tossed it to the ground muttering “Aw, Nuts”. When it General Anthon was later pointed out to him that the Germans were still y McAuliffe (righ t) ta waiting for a reply, McAuliffe mused, “Well, I don’t to General Patto lks n in know what to tell them.” At this point, Harry Kinnard, the division’s Bastogne Operations Officer, said, “What you said initially would be hard to beat.” All members of the staff enthusiastically agreed, so McAuliffe wrote it down on a message pad and said, “Have it typed up.” The reply, which read “December 22, 1944. To the German Commander, NUTS! The American Commander”, was duly delivered to the waiting Germans. Not being familiar with American slang, they asked for an explanation. It was given to them in no uncertain terms and they were sent on their way.
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the need to seize American fuel depots during the advance. The Germans managed to capture some but it was never enough, and the Allies evacuated or burned millions of gallons to prevent it falling into enemy hands. Eventually, one German tank after another ground to a halt as their fuel tanks ran dry. The German counter-attack crumbled and by mid-January 1945, the Allies had successfully pushed the Germans back to their original positions. Both sides had lost about 80,000 men killed, wounded and taken prisoner in the fighting, together with about 800 tanks, but whereas the Americans had the resources to replace such losses, the Germans did not. On 29 January, the Americans launched a new offensive of their own into Germany, which eventually surrendered on 7 May. d
GET HOOKED Find out more about the battle and those involved
READ Snow and Steel: The Battle of the Bulge 1944-45 by Peter Caddick-Adams (Arrow, 2015) provides a reassessment of Hitler’s last throw of the dice.
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THE HISTORY MAKERS ELIZABETH WOODVILLE Elizabeth is perhaps best remembered for being the mother of the ill-fated Princes in the Tower
Elizabeth Woodville:
AN UNLIKELY
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QUEEN The marriage of a Lancastrian widow to a Yorkist king left the country reeling, and was one that ended – perhaps inevitably – in tragedy. Lottie Goldfinch explains OCTOBER 2017
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THE HISTORY MAKERS ELIZABETH WOODVILLE
Elizabeth was widowed young, around the age of just 24. She married King Edward IV three years later
family Both Woodville’s were d an sb hu st fir and her e of us Ho e th supporters of ng’s rivals Ki e th – ter as nc La
I
n early 1464, so legend has it, a young woman stood patiently beneath the branches of an oak tree near the royal hunting ground of Whittlewood Forest, Northamptonshire. A widow with two young sons to provide for, she was willing to wait as long as it took to win back the inheritance that was being denied them. The lady in question was Elizabeth Woodville, the beautiful widow of Sir John Grey and daughter of Sir Richard Woodville, a local landowner. The man she was waiting for was the handsome 22-year-old King, Edward IV. Sure enough, Edward and his party eventually approached Elizabeth, whereupon she pleaded with him to return lands seized after her husband’s death in battle three years earlier. The young King is said to have been instantly smitten with Elizabeth, who is described by contemporaries as “the most beautiful woman in the Island of Britain” with “heavy-lidded eyes like those of a dragon”. Whether in lust (Elizabeth allegedly refused to become Edward’s mistress) or love, the pair were secretly married at some point before September 1464. The following year, on 26 May 1465, Elizabeth was crowned at Westminster Abbey in a lavish coronation, cementing her rise from commoner to Queen Consort.
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EARLY LIFE Elizabeth’s meteoric rise to queenship was by no means a foregone conclusion. Born in c1437, she was the product of another socially unequal marriage. Her mother, wealthy widow Jacquetta of Luxembourg, had married Elizabeth’s father in secret without the permission of the King.
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The marriage caused a scandal at court but, aided by Jacquetta’s wealth and connections, the Woodvilles prospered and Elizabeth’s birth was followed by 13 siblings. Elizabeth herself made a good match in c1452, when she married Sir John Grey of Groby. The union resulted in two sons, Thomas and Richard, born in 1455 and 1457 respectively. Elizabeth and Sir John’s marriage took place at a time when the two great houses of England – Lancaster and York – were at war. Blood had already been shed in what would later become known as the Wars of the Roses, and in 1461, Sir John, too, was killed while fighting for the Lancastrian cause. Given her Lancastrian roots, it is even more incredible, then, that Edward IV, the Yorkist ruler who had seized the throne, would consider taking Elizabeth as his wife and queen.
revealed, Warwick was furious, as was the Privy Council, which declared “he [King Edward] must know that she was no wife for a prince such as himself”. Elizabeth was entering the lion’s den when she arrived at court as Edward’s wife, and within days, whispers of seduction and even witchcraft to explain her rise to power were circulating. But for all her perceived faults as a worthy queen, Elizabeth quickly proved herself a fertile wife, producing three children within four years of marriage – Elizabeth 1466, Mary 1467 and Cecily 1469. Although daughters, their births, and that of her existing sons, proved Elizabeth could at least bear healthy children. Edward was delighted with his growing family, and presented his wife with a jewelled ornament after their daughter Elizabeth’s birth.
“The Woodvilles were fast becoming the most powerful family in the country” Astonishment and anger at Edward’s choice echoed across the country. To make matters worse, Richard Neville, the powerful Earl of Warwick, was midway through negotiating an alliance with France, which was to be sealed with Edward’s marriage to a French princess. When the King’s ‘common’ marriage was
But Queen Elizabeth had a dangerous enemy in the shape of Warwick, who felt publicly humiliated by the whole affair. Adding insult to injury, large numbers of the Woodville family had accompanied her to court, and were making advantageous marriages into some of the most notable families in England. The
IN CONTEXT
WARS OF THE ROSES Fought between 1455 and 1485, the Wars of the Roses were a series of battles between the two major houses of medieval England: Lancaster and York. Both ’s astrian, Elizabeth families claimed the right to Originially a Lanc ce ian swore his alleg rule England through the brother Anthony e after their marriag to Edward of York sons of a mutual ancestor, King Edward III, who ruled from 1327 to 1377. Although the Lancastrians had Woodvilles were fast becoming the most occupied the throne since 1399, the reign powerful family in the country, and Warwick of Henry VI had caused instability in the could not stand it. country. Henry’s father, Henry V, had died when his son was just a baby, and for 15 WARWICK’S REVENGE years England had been under minority Furious with Edward’s behaviour, Warwick rule, managed by the King’s council. This travelled to France to carry out negotiations for in turn had created many factions, all the marriage of the King’s sister, but by autumn desperate for power and boasting private 1467, rumours were circulating that he had in armies of their own. fact switched allegiances and was plotting to Richard, Duke of York, became leader oust Edward from the throne. Sensing an ally of one such faction between 1450-60 and in Edward’s younger brother George, Duke of Clarence, Warwick persuaded the young Duke to abandon his brother and sail to France where, he promised, he would help him take the throne of England. Playing on widespread discontent in England, Warwick led a rebellion in the north. Edward set out to face down the rebels, but his army was intercepted en route and defeated in the Battle of Edgecote Moor in July 1469. Elizabeth’s father and brother John were taken prisoner and beheaded, and the King himself was taken “into protective custody” by George. Edward was held against his will for several months while Warwick sought to rule in his name. Elizabeth, who had not long given birth to the couple’s third daughter, Cecily, had travelled to Norwich to fulfil royal obligations in her husband’s absence. It was here she learned The Wars of the Roses of the deaths of her brother and father, as raged for over 30 years well as the news that her husband had been taken prisoner. Elizabeth’s exact thoughts are unknown, but it isn’t hard to imagine the terror and anger she must have felt at the news. to publicly receive the Neville family at court, Without Edward’s protection, she and her despite their actions towards her family. children were in a vulnerable position, and she But Warwick was far from finished, and surely must have feared that Edward could be in 1470, realising that he would never again forced to reject her in return for keeping the throne. To make matters worse, her own mother influence the King’s choice of ministers or policies again, raised another rebellion, this had been accused of witchcraft and was being time in Lincolnshire. When their role in the held at Warwick Castle. Elizabeth was alone. uprising was discovered, George and Warwick Warwick was eventually forced to release refused to accept the King’s pardon and fled to Edward after it became clear that few would France, where they were reconciled with the accept royal orders unless from the King former Lancastrian queen Margaret of Anjou himself. But rather than punish his brother and and planned to restore Henry VI to the throne. former ally, Edward instead sought to placate The threat of a French invasion was serious, Warwick, betrothing his eldest daughter to and in summer 1470, Elizabeth – pregnant the Earl’s nephew. Elizabeth, too, returned to with the future King – gathered her family and London, where she would have been forced
when, in 1453, Henry VI suffered what would become one of many bouts of insanity, York was installed as protector of the realm. Henry recovered in 1455 and, with the help of his wife, Margaret of Anjou, set about restoring his authority – a move that would see York take up arms against him. York and Lancaster clashed for the first time at the Battle of St Albans in May 1455, with York claiming victory. A truce prevailed for four years, until Henry began making moves to oust York once and for all. Goaded into action, York drew arms, winning a battle at Blore Heath in September 1459, but losing to the King the following month at Ludford Bridge. York fled to Ireland and the Lancastrians carried out a number of executions. From that moment, the battle lines had been drawn and the war became ever bloodier, with each side fighting for its claim to the throne.
moved to the Tower of London for protection. Edward, meanwhile, attempted to raise an army to see off the French threat, but the might of the invading army meant he was forced to flee to the Netherlands. With Edward in flight, a triumphant Warwick entered London, and restored Henry VI to the throne in what became known as the Readeption. On hearing of Warwick’s arrival in the capital, Elizabeth, eight months pregnant and alone again, decided to leave the Tower with her mother and family, and claim sanctuary in Westminster Abbey. There, on 2 November, a month after her arrival, Elizabeth gave birth to a much-longed-for son and heir, Prince Edward. OCTOBER 2017
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THE HISTORY MAKERS ELIZABETH WOODVILLE
MAIN: Edward V, the eldest son of Elizabeth and Edward, and his younger brother Richard, are taken from their mother RIGHT: Elizabeth’s eldest daughter’s marriage to Henry Tudor united the houses of York and Lancaster, finally bringing the Wars of the Roses to an end
FAMILY TREE SISTERHOOD
Elizabeth Woodville c1437–1492
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset 1455–1501
Edward IV 1442–83
Five of Elizabeth and Edward’s daughters survived to adulthood; pictured here with their mother (far left) are Elizabeth, Cecily and Anne (second left to right)
Richard Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset 1457–83
Elizabeth of York 1466–1503
Mary of York 1467–82
Despite having a strong claim to the throne in her own right, Elizabeth became Queen Consort to Henry VII in 1486, following his defeat of Richard III at Bosworth Field the previous year. She is known as the mother of the Tudor dynasty.
Little is known of Mary, who died a year before her father, aged 14. She is buried at Windsor Castle.
Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles 1469–1507 Cecily’s first marriage was to Richard IIIsupporter Ralph Scrope of Upsall, but the marriage was eventually annulled by Henry VII. Her second marriage was to John Welles, 1st Viscount Welles, in 1487, with whom she had two daughters.
Edward V 1470–c1483
Margaret of York Apr–Dec 1472
Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York 1473–c1483
Known later as one Named after of the Princes in the Edward IV’s sister Tower, 12-year-old Margaret of York, Edward and Edward became duch*ess of Burgundy, Elizabeth’s King on the death young Margaret second son, of his father, but he was born in eight-year-old was never crowned. Winchester Castle but Richard, His short reign died aged eight joined his brother of 86 days was months. She is in the Tower in dominated by his buried in 1483, supposedly uncle Richard III, Westminster Abbey. to prepare for the and he disappeared coronation. He was from the Tower of never seen again. London in mysterious circ*mstances shortly after.
Henry VI’s second reign did not last long, and in April 1471, Edward returned to England where, with Burgundian support, he defeated the Lancastrians. On the night of Edward’s reentry to London, Henry VI mysteriously died, probably on the King’s orders.
THE DEATH OF THE KING With the Lancastrian line virtually extinguished and Warwick dead in battle, the royal family returned to court, where Elizabeth bore the king another six children, securing the York dynasty and fulfilling her role as Queen. But tragedy was just around the corner.
Anne of York 1475–1511
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford 1477–79
Aged nine, Anne was betrothed to Thomas Howard and finally married Born at Windsor him in 1495. Their Castle, George was one known son, made Duke of Bedford Thomas, died aged as a baby. His about 12. death at age two was probably due to an outbreak of the plague.
As England entered 1483 a country at peace, Elizabeth and Edward may well have been reflecting on their 19-year marriage and anticipating many more to come. Edward was approaching his 41st birthday, but despite middle age (by contemporary standards), was fit and healthy. The couple were still very much in love; the future seemed bright. It was a tremendous shock to all, then, when Edward was taken ill and died in April that year, possibly from pneumonia. Before his death, Edward had noted in his will that he wished his youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, to act as Lord Protector of England until 12-year-old Prince Edward was old enough to rule. But despite his previous loyalty to Edward, Richard was no fan of the Woodvilles and, keen to prevent Elizabeth and her family from gaining influence over the young King-to-be, Richard moved quickly, arresting Elizabeth’s brother Anthony on charges of treason towards the Lord Protector. Richard himself then escorted the young Prince Edward to the Tower of London in anticipation of his coronation. When news of Anthony’s imminent execution reached her, Elizabeth and her children sought sanctuary in Westminster Abbey once more. There, although suspicious of her brother-inlaw’s motives, Elizabeth had no choice but to allow her second son, Richard, to join his brother in the Tower to attend the coronation. Whether Elizabeth truly believed Richard would take care of his nephews – the sons of his beloved brother, Edward – or whether she felt she had no choice, is unknown. But she never saw either son again. Shortly after the two
Catherine of York 1479–1527 Several men were proposed as husbands for Catherine, including John, Prince of Asturias, eldest son of Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella. She was eventually married to William Courtenay in 1495, with whom she had three children.
Bridget of York 1480–1517 Born just three years before her father’s death, Bridget may have been intended for a religious life from birth. She was entrusted to Dartford Priory in Kent at some point between 1486 and 1492, and later became a nun.
princes entered the Tower, Richard declared Elizabeth’s marriage to Edward to be illegal, stating that the King had already been married at the time of their wedding. Young Edward was declared illegitimate and the throne was instead offered to the Lord Protector who, on 26 June 1483, was crowned King Richard III. The two Princes in the Tower were never seen alive again, with some believing them to have been murdered on the orders of their uncle. On 1 March 1484, Elizabeth came out of sanctuary after a public promise by Richard III that neither she nor her daughters would be harmed or imprisoned. The family returned to court, where they remained until Richard’s defeat by Henry Tudor in 1485. Elizabeth, having married for love, had seen her family torn apart by the power struggles of two ruling houses. Her father and brothers had been killed, and her sons were gone, but through it all she remained a strong wife and mother, committed to her role as Queen and to restoring the legitimacy of her family. Her daughter, Elizabeth of York became mother of the House of Tudor, a royal dynasty that gave five sovereigns to England and ruled for more than a century. Two years after seeing her daughter crowned Queen, Elizabeth retired to Bermondsey Abbey, where she remained until her death on 8 June 1492. d
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Were Elizabeth’s sons murdered in the Tower of London? Email: [emailprotected]
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Sir John Grey c1432–61
CHARGE! The Story of England’s Northern Cavalry
A new gallery at Discovery Museum telling the story of the Light Dragoons and the Northumberland Hussars over the last 300 years.
Opens 21 October 2017
.FOBOEXPNFOPGUIF3PZBM/BWZBOE3PZBM.BSJOFT TFSWFUIFJSDPVOUSZ PîFOBUUJNFTPGEBOHFS&TUBCMJTIFE JO UIF3/#5IFMQTOPODPNNJTTJPOFE4BJMPST .BSJOFTBOEUIFJSGBNJMJFT 5IF3/#5'BNJMZ UISPVHIPVUUIFJSMJWFT :PVSEPOBUJPOXJMMIFMQVTUPIFMQUIFN
Free entry, donations welcome Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4JA
discoverymuseum.org.uk
The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust, Castaway House, 311 Twyford Avenue, PORTSMOUTH, Hampshire, PO2 8RN T: 02392 690112 F: 02392 660852 E: [emailprotected] www.rnbt.org.uk
The Waterloo Association The Waterloo Association is the key UK charity dedicated to the history of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) in general and the Battle of Waterloo in particular. Founded in 1973 we also campaign to preserve the battle sites and memorials of the era. We have over 500 active members worldwide who enjoy a range of events and activities including: • Three issues a year of the informative and beautifully produced Waterloo Journal • Visits to sites of interest in the UK and of course Waterloo • Free study days run regionally for all levels of knowledge and an annual symposium in the Lake District • Spring and autumn meetings in London with free refreshments and presentations by leading historians • Access to an active website with an archive of 35 years of Journal articles • A range of other social events. All of this for just £20 per year! Join us to develop your knowledge and interests further. For more information visit our website or contact Paul Brunyee
[emailprotected] www.waterlooassociation.org.uk
IN PICTURES THE ATOMIC AGE
the age As Earth teetered on the brink of nuclear war, Americans still managed to see the fun side of the A-Bomb
The world’s obsession with atomic energy began with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when the public saw the unprecedented destruction unleashed by a nuclear weapon. The USA found itself in a race with the USSR to build the most devastating bomb to date, and tests were carried out in the Nevada desert. When the results were shown on TV, a mix of paranoia and awe gripped the nation.
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IN CONTEXT
IN PICTURES THE ATOMIC AGE
VIVA LAS VEGAS The resort city of Las Vegas was located just 65 miles away from a major testing site, and quickly capitalised on its prime location.
GOGGLE-EYED
BRIDGEMAN IMAGES X1, GETTY X7, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY X1
Officials, journalists and photographers all gaze at an explosion in wonderment through their specially designed glasses, to protect them from bright light – but not much else.
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FATAL ATTRACTION Nuclear tests became something of a tourist attraction, after above-ground testing was introduced in 1951. People drove dangerously close to the nuclear ground zero to watch. The bomb in this image measured a hefty ten kilotons.
ST INSIDE THE BLA up to Each test site was carefully set resemble an average American suburb. One was aptly nicknamed ‘Survival Town’. Here’s how that panned out…
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
A family of plastic mannequins sits down to dinner, complete with table settings to make the test extra realistic. However, a terrifying atom bomb is about to make landfall just 1.75 miles away.
ATOMIC BOMBS FOR DUMMIES TOP: Mannequins display injuries from a blast in 1955, over a mile away from the centre. Models wearing white were often less seriously injured, as it reflected some heat. MIDDLE: Atomic blasts caused severe injuries, such as fatal burns and impactrelated injuries. This ‘casualty’ is gently carried away from the scene. BOTTOM: Some injuries were more severe than others. This mannequin may have ‘survived’ the blast, albeit with bad facial blistering.
TOTAL WIPEOUT
In the test above, two suburban, wood-framed houses were constructed. Within seconds of detonation, immense heat and a massive shockwave tears through both houses in the blast zone.
DAMAGE CONTROL
Scientists and journalists move in on the stricken town to inspect the impact of the bomb. This test was nationally televised, and even managed to record the sound an A-bomb makes when it explodes. OCTOBER 2017
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PRODUCT TEST
HIDE AND SHRIEK Schoolchildren are taught to ‘duck and cover’ in the event of a nuclear attack. Drills were held regularly.
The Californian family of a nuclear bunker salesman does a practice run to their shelter, to see how quickly customers could reach safety.
HOME FROM HOME
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A family try out their personal bomb shelter, stocked up with canned food and a first-aid kit, which might keep them safe from the fallout.
“THE 20TH CENTURY WAS A TEST BED FOR BIG IDEAS – FASCISM, COMMUNISM AND THE ATOMIC BOMB” P J O’ROURKE, AMERICAN JOURNALIST
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HOT COUTURE A woman laughs at a man wearing a ‘fallout-proof’ Italian silk suit, equipped with frilly face mask
IN PICTURES THE BERLIN WALL so deeply The fear of nuclear war was
JUST IN CASE
ingrained in society that some splashed out on their own shelters, complete with mod cons
GOING UNDERGROUND
This demonstration shelter, built in the 1950s, came with its own television, library and even exercise bicycle to keep its occupants entertained.
ACTION STATION MAIN: In Nevada, 99 volunteers spent two weeks sampling life in an underground shelter, evidently doodling on their vests to stave off boredom. INSET: ‘Civil Defense’ were a group of civilians hoping to train others to survive.
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
Of course, buying a bunker meant housewives had to stock up on emergency supplies, alongside their usual shops. Drinking water, first-aid kits and torches were staples of bunker life.
ON THE DEFENSIVE Female Civil Defense volunteers recreate a pose they used to survive in a trench located close to a nuclear test site.
PRACTICAL LANDSCAPING
Preferring to do it themselves, the Heldt family digs up their lawn to make room for a concrete fallout shelter, which was partially subsidised by the United States government.
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IN PICTURES THE ATOMIC AGE
IN PICTURES THE BERLIN WA The craze for all things nuclea LLe r gav
ATOMIC BOOM
companies some unique inspiratio n for their latest products
BOOM OR BUST?
This comic was set in an America ravaged by a nuclear World War III, prec ipitated by Soviet communists. However, It only lasted four issues before it went bust .
ON CLOUD NINE
ALAMY X2, THE ADVERTISING ARCHIVES X1, GETTY X2
ABOVE: This diner in Paducah, Kentucky took advantage of the nuclear power plant being built in the town, and underwent an atomic makeover. RIGHT: ‘Miss Atomic Bomb’ pageants, such as this one in 1957, were an extremely popular Vegas event. Contestants such as Lee Merlin (right) paraded up and down the Las Vegas strip dressed as mushroom clouds, vying for the coveted title.
“THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO LAS VEGAS WAS THE ATOMIC BOMB” BENNY BINION, CASINO OWNER
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BOX-OFFICE BOMB
B-movies thrived on concerns about the effects of atomic radiation. In this 1955 film, a radioactive man goes on a quest to destroy his evil clone.
EARLY LEARNING
Toymakers got in on the act. This lab kit contained real radioactive materials, but was apparently harmless and stressed the peaceful uses of atomic energy.
Royal Society of Marine Artists CELEBRATING THE SEA
400 works by some of the most celebrated marine artists at work today - from the deep sea to quiet harbours, from supertankers to sailing dinghies, from all that is beside the sea to what lies under it.
Annual Exhibition 5 to 14 October 2017
The Mall, London SW1 www.mallgalleries.org.uk | www.rsma-web.co.uk
Image: Peter Wileman RSMA Fastnet #1 (detail)
Free entry for 2 with this voucher
2 Coffee Yard | York | YO1 8AR Coppergate, York, YO1 9WT www.barleyhall.co.uk/wolfhall
www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk
JORVIK is owned by York Archaeological Trust, a registered charity in England & Wales (No. 509060) and Scotland (No. SCO42846)
Barley Hall is owned by York Archaeological Trust, a registered charity in England & Wales (No. 509060) and Scotland (No. SCO42846)
ROME'S MOST WANTED MARTIN LUTHER
OCTOBER 2017
BRIDGEMAN IMAGES X1, GETTY X3
It took just one monk to bring down the most powerful institution in Medieval Europe. Alicea Francis tells the story of the man who dared defy the Catholic Church 500 years ago this month
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s darkness descended on the Thuringian Forest, only the cracking of fallen branches under hoof disturbed the silence. Had you been there that night, you might have crossed paths with a man on horseback, following the winding path through the trees. From his dark robes and shaved scalp, you may well have guessed that this was a holy man; what you may not have guessed was that he was an outlaw: the most wanted man in all the Holy Roman Empire. What came next happened so quickly that, had you briefly looked away, you would have missed it completely; a rustling of leaves was the only warning. Three hooded horsem*n emerged from the shadows of the forest, swords raised and glinting in the moonlight, blocking the solitary rider’s path. The monk lowered his head to the ground, clutched the cross that hung from his neck, and prayed for salvation.
Did Luther really nail his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of All Saints’ Church? We may never know
ROOT OF EVIL Medieval Germany was a place of desolation and disease. Since the mid-14th century, the Black Death had ravaged much of Europe, and in just 100 years the German population almost halved. For many, there was only one comfort: the promise of heaven. The Catholic Church had grown more powerful than any monarch – and also richer. Not only did it own around a third of the land in Europe, it had also begun to sell ‘indulgences’, which promised to reduce the amount of time the recipient would spend in purgatory (that half-way house between heaven and hell). These indulgences could redeem for anything, and could cost half the annual wage of the average citizen. Those who had dared to question the morality of this practice had been smeared heretics, the punishment for which was a slow and painful death. When a baby boy was born in Eisleben, Saxony on 10 November 1483, no one could ever have predicted that he would one day defy the odds and revolutionise Christianity forever.
There were, however, high expectations for the child who would be baptised Martin Luther. His father, Hans, was the son of a farmer, and had broken free from the chains of serfdom to become a successful copper smelter. For his own son, he had even higher ambitions, and he sent Martin to the best Catholic schools in Saxony. But what Hans abounded in ambition, he lacked in affection. Both he and his wife Margarethe were strict disciplinarians, and as an adult Martin recalled how his mother, “for the sake of stealing a nut… beat me until the blood flowed”. It was a pious, but unhappy, upbringing. In 1501, Hans enrolled Martin at the University of Erfurt; his son, he had decided, was to become a lawyer. Martin, however, did not share his father’s ambitions. He described his school days as “hell and purgatory”; Erfurt, meanwhile, was a “whor*house and a beer house”. In July 1505, inevitably, some might argue, he dropped out of university. His father was furious, but Martin insisted that he had a good explanation. While
PAYING FOR YOUR SINS ALAMY X1, AKG IMAGES X1, BRIDGEMAN IMAGES X1, GETTY X1
MEDIEVAL INDULGENCES It was the selling of ‘indulgences’ – which reduced the amount of time the purchaser spent in purgatory for their sins – that so riled Martin Luther into taking action against the Catholic Church. Here’s what forgiveness cost in 17th-century France…
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For the crime of apostasy ) (abandonment of belief): 24 livres (£140 today Bigamy: £1,050 livres (£6,150 today) Murder in self-defence: 95 livres (£556) Intentional sexual relations with a cousin: 880 livres (£5,154) n: Unintentional sexual relations with a cousi 145 livres (£850) Reading a forbidden book: 25 livres (£146)
travelling back to Erfurt after a trip home, he had found himself in the midst of a thunderstorm. A lightning bolt struck the ground near to him and, fearing for his life, Martin cried out “Help me, Saint Anne, I shall become a monk”. He survived the journey and two weeks later, he joined the local monastery. But the inner peace he sought was not to be found there, either. The silence and solitude gave him too much time to think, and he descended into religious turmoil, believing that he would never be able to redeem for his sins and achieve salvation. It was as though Martin had exchanged one unforgiving father for another, even more impossible to please. Martin spent hour after hour in confession to his superior, Johann von Staupitz, who became concerned for the young monk. He decided that rather than allow him to indulge in constant internal reflection, he would send him away to Wittenberg. There, Martin
THE GUTENBERG PRINTING PRESS Martin Luther was not the first person to speak openly about corruption within the Catholic Church. But those before him had failed to rally the public support needed for reformation, and their stories had often ended tragically – with death at the stake. What made Luther’s campaign so successful was timing. Seventy years before he published his Ninety-Five Theses, a German named Johannes Gutenberg had invented the printing press. For the first time in history, information could be printed and disseminated en masse. Luther took advantage of this new technology to broadcast his message across the German states, producing pamphlets not in the scholarly language of Latin, but in the language of the common people. So that his word could reach even the illiterate, he joined forces with a local artist – Lucas Cranach – who produced satirical woodcuts depicting the Pope as the spawn of the devil.
Gutenberg’s hand mould made it possible to rapidly produce thousands of copies
LEFT: In the pamplet on the left, the Pope is portrayed as a donkey, while on the right a demon excretes a pontiff
“I feel much freer now that I am certain the Pope is the Antichrist” Martin Luther, in a letter dated 1520 would teach theology at the newly founded university, focusing on the spiritual needs of others rather than this own. By 1512, he had been promoted to Dean and in 1515, he was made provincial vicar of Saxony and Thuringia.
DEVIL'S ADVOCATE A pilgrimage to Rome in 1510 led the new professor Luther to become increasingly concerned about corruption within the Church. He had seen the riches that were showered upon the Pope, and witnessed starving peasants handing over every penny of their earnings in exchange for indulgences. Surely this was not God’s will? It was while preparing for a lecture that Professor Luther stumbled upon a passage from Romans: “The righteous shall live by faith”. It was as though the gates of paradise had swung open. Finally he understood that it was only through faith that salvation is achieved, not through confession or fasting or indulgences. So when, in 1517, a Dominican friar arrived in the vicinity of Wittenberg selling indulgences to fund Pope Leo X’s latest building project, Luther decided that he had had enough. Sitting down at his desk, he began to pen his ‘Ninety-Five Theses’, containing stinging critiques on the Church’s system of repentance.
The first stated: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’, he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” It went on to deny the power of the Pope over people in purgatory, and argued that in fact indulgences make true repentance more difficult. The story goes that he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, although the accepted truth is a lot less dramatic: he posted them in a letter to the Archbishop of Mainz on, or soon after, 31 October 1517. His private thoughts had been unleashed into the world, and within two weeks, copies were being circulated around Germany. Within two months, they had spread through Europe. The Archbishop did not send a reply to Luther’s letter. Instead, he forwarded it on to Pope Leo. A heresy case was made against Luther, and he was summoned to meet with the papal legate Cardinal Cajetan at the next ‘parliament’, the Diet of Augsburg, in October 1518. The cardinal, rather than directly accusing him of heresy, expressed some sympathy with Luther’s criticisms, but insisted that he recant them. However, throughout 1519 and 1520, Luther continued to attack the Church, becoming more and more popular among the people. In June 1520, the Pope issued a papal bull
(public decree) that threatened the monk with excommunication if he did not recant. Again, Luther refused, and threw the bull onto a bonfire in a public display of defiance. Shortly after, he published his ‘Assertion of All the Articles Condemned by the Last Bull of the Antichrist’. This time, Luther had gone too far – he was to be excommunicated with immediate effect. But Luther had an ally. At the time, Germany was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and was divided into states, seven of which were ruled by a prince-elector. The elector of Saxony was Frederick III – known as ‘the wise’ – who had founded the university where Luther taught and had previously attempted to reform the constitutional order of the empire. No one is quite sure why he took such a liking to Luther – perhaps it was in appreciation for putting Saxony on the map, perhaps he too felt that the Church had grown too powerful. Whatever the reason, Frederick managed to persuade the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V that Luther should not be condemned without a hearing. The date was set for 17 April 1521, at the Imperial Diet of Worms. Before the Emperor, Luther declared: “I neither can nor will revoke anything, for it is neither safe nor honest to act against one’s conscience.” After a month of deliberation, Charles presented the final edict, which stated: “We forbid anyone from this time forward to dare, either by words or by deeds, to receive, sustain or favour the said Martin Luther. On the contrary, we want him to be captured and punished as a notorious heretic.” OCTOBER 2017
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ROME'S MOST WANTED MARTIN LUTHER But Luther was nowhere to be found. He had disappeared the previous month on his return to Wittenberg, assumed dead. Little did they know that in fact, this devious monk was safe and sound. Knowing the fate that awaited him, Prince Frederick had arranged for Luther to be ‘kidnapped’ by horsem*n, and hid the monk at Wartburg Castle – a fortress perched on a rocky precipice deep in the heart of the Thuringian Forest. For the next ten months, this castle would be his home. He was given a room on the top floor, accessible only by a narrow staircase. He rid himself of his monk’s vestments, grew his hair long and assumed the name ‘Junker George’. Here, Luther embarked on his greatest project yet: translating the New Testament into German. No longer would the common people have to rely on Latin-speaking priests to relay God’s message, now they could read the Bible themselves. He did this in just three months. But the isolation once again took its toll. He became convinced that the bats and owls who lived in the eaves were messengers of the devil, and that the strange noises he heard at night were demons throwing walnuts at the ceiling. “I can tell you in this idle solitude there are a thousand battles with Satan… It is much easier to fight against the incarnate Devil – that is, against men – than against spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places.” Meanwhile, Saxony had descended into chaos. Parishioners had taken it upon themselves to
Wartburg Castle proved a safe haven for the outlaw
It was in this room that Martin Luther translated the Bible
continue Luther’s work, but rather than do it through sermons and letter-writing, violence had become their medium. Peasants refused to pay dues to the church, clerical houses were sacked, statues of the Virgin Mary were torn down and
“If they say that I am very hard and merciless, mercy be damned” Luther, quoted in Erlangen Volume 24
priests were pelted with mud balls. Luther, hearing of the trouble, wrote an open letter to the rebels: “You have gone about the business in a way of which I cannot approve, using your fists, and if this happens again I shall not take your part.” Wittenberg parish council soon realised that Luther was the only one who could restore order, and, ignoring the Edict of Worms, in spring 1522 they requested that he return. For a while, there was peace. Luther settled back into his old quarters and began preaching again, his popularity only continuing to rise.
A NEW STATUS QUO
THE NUNS AND THE HERRING BARRELS It’s not often that a man’s reasons for marriage are to “please his father, rile the Pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep”, but this was the case for Martin Luther. Arguably, the circ*mstances in which he met his wife were even more bizarre. In 1923, he received a letter from a nun in Grimma, Saxony, begging for him to rescue her and several other women from the convent there. They had become disillusioned with monastic life and, having heard about the reform movement, believed that Luther could help them. He arranged for a local merchant to smuggle the nuns out in his covered wagon, hidden among the herring barrels, but when they returned home to their families they were rejected. They had broken their monastic vows and were nothing better than criminals. Instead, Luther found them suitable husbands and new homes – all except for one: Katharina von Bora. This particular nun said that she would marry only Luther himself. But what of his own vow of celibacy that he had made upon joining the monastery? His colleagues urged him to refuse, warning that marriage would damage his reputation, but – ever the rebel – this monk had other ideas. The pair were wed on 13 June 1525, giving the seal of approval to clerical marriage within the Protestant church.
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Katharina von Bora vowed to wed only the Reformer himself
At the Diet of Worms, Luther supposedly declared: "Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God"
JUST THE BEGINNING
War in France had the Pope and the Emperor distracted, and the authorities dared not arrest him for fear of further revolt. But in 1524, an even greater rebellion broke out. German peasants, believing that Luther’s pamphlets against the Church and hierarchy were an attack against the upper classes in general, gathered their pitchforks and waged an all-out war against their feudal overlords. Luther’s revolution had never intended to promote equality, and instead, he called for the rebels to be put down: “Let everyone who can smite, slay and stab, secretly or openly, remembering that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful or devilish than a rebel. It is just as when one might kill a mad dog; if you do not strike him, he will strike you.” The German Peasants’ War ended in tragedy. Between 100,000 and 300,000 peasants were slaughtered, but the fuse of what would become known as the Reformation had been well and truly lit. Revolution spread through Europe like wildfire, the old order brought crashing down by Luther’s refusal to recant those Ninety-Five Theses. Before his death in 1546, he gave one final warning to the Church: “When I die, I want to be a ghost… So I can continue to pester the bishops, priests and godless monks until that they have more trouble with a dead Luther than they could have had before with a thousand living ones.” d
GET HOOKED 1517: Martin Luther and the Invention of the Reformation by Peter Marshall (Oxford University Press, 2017) provides an in-depth analysis of the events of October 1517, separating fact from fiction.
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION It was six German princes who were the first to be called ‘protestants’, thanks to a letter of protestation they signed opposing the ban on Luther’s reformation. From then on, the movement that this monk had sparked was known as Protestantism. This new form of Christianity placed all emphasis on Scripture rather than the clergy, and preached that it was only through faith, not deeds, that an individual would achieve salvation. Despite the Holy Roman Emperor’s attempts to extinguish the flames of change, Luther’s teachings continued to spread across the continent. Throughout the 16th century, Lutheranism blazed through all of Scandinavia as well as Estonia and Latvia. In 1541, a Frenchman named John Calvin – who had also been exiled for his condemnation of the Catholic Church – was invited to settle in Geneva, Switzerland. It became a hotbed for Protestants, and his doctrines soon reached Scotland, France and the Low Countries. Meanwhile, in England, a man named Henry had also rejected the supremacy of the Pope. When Rome refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the King of England declared himself the head of a new church – the Church of England – and from 1536, proceeded to dissolve the monasteries. In 1555, the Peace of Augsberg was passed, which allowed the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Catholicism or Lutheranism as their official religion. The majority chose the latter. However, when Ferdinand II, King of Bohemia, tried to enforce Catholicism on his domains, the largely Protestant nobility rebelled, triggering the devastating Thirty Years’ War that saw almost all of central, western and northern Europe taking arms between 1618 and 1648. Over the following centuries, conflict between Catholics and Protestants continued, with the British civil wars resulting largely from King Charles I’s perceived Catholic-ness. These clashes remain in the collective memory to this day, with the Northern Irish Troubles – a war between mostly Catholic republicans and mostly Protestant unionists – only drawing to an end in 1998. Henry VIII was responsible for bringing the Reformation to England and Wales
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While in hiding, Luther grew his beard and assumed a new identty
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OUR EXPERTS
ient divided the Egyptians day cycles of 12 into two hours. Sundials w ere daytime an used at dw clocks at ni ater ght.
EMILY BRAND Social historian, genealogist and author of Mr Darcy’s Guide to Courtship (2013)
JULIAN HUMPHRYS Development Officer for The Battlefields Trust and author
ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD Author and journalist, worked on the BBC panel show QI
Writer and columnist with a specialist interest in British heritage subjects
RUPERT MATTHEWS Author on a range of historical subjects, from ancient to modern
MILES RUSSELL Author and senior lecturer in prehistoric and Roman archaeology at Bournemouth University
NOW SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS Fascinated by Sacagawea? Did the Glorious Revolution live up to its name? Whatever your thoughts, send them in.
@Historyrevmag #askhistrevmag www.facebook.com/ HistoryRevealed editor@history revealed.com
When did the wristwatch become popular? Bracelets and pendants containing mechanical clocks were worn as jewellery by the wealthy as early as the 16th century - Elizabeth I reportedly received one as a gift from Robert Dudley. As late as 1916, however, the ‘bracelet watch’ was thought not only a feminine trinket but a “silly-ass fad” by the New York Times. However, by the 1880s, the British military had recognised its practical uses in favour of the unwieldy pocket watch and it became an essential strategic tool during World War I. By peacetime, the ‘wristlet watch’ was a common component of male attire. EB
QUALITY TIME Glamorous marketing led to wristwatches becoming must-have accessories during the 20th century
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GETTY X1
SANDRA LAWRENCE
Which ships were the first and last U-boat victims of World War II? WORDPLAY ‘Typewriter’ is the longest word you can type using just the top row of a QWERTY keyboard
Who invented the typewriter? In 1575, Francesco Rampazetto the Elder, an Italian typographer and publisher, invented a machine called the scrittura tattile, which impressed letters on pages and, in 1714, British engineer Henry Mill patented a ‘Machine for Transcribing Letters’. Early prototypes took weird and wonderful forms, from ‘writing balls’ covered in letters to cumbersome frames, but none captured the public imagination. The first commercially successful ‘type-writer’ was patented in 1868 by Christopher Latham Sholes and friends Carlos Glidden and Samuel Soule. Sholes later came up with the QWERTY keyboard, though it’s unlikely it was based on the frequency of use of individual letters; rather, it was arranged in a way that minimised key-jams. However, Sholes ran into financial difficulties and, in 1873, sold the patent to the Remington Arms Company for $12,000. The Remington Typewriter’s success later established QWERTY as the standard keyboard layout for Western typewriters. SL
WHAT CONNECTS...
Both the first and last ships to be sunk by U-boats proved to be controversial. At 9pm on 3 September 1939, just ten hours after war was declared, HORROR U-30 – commanded by Fritz-Julius The sinking offered an early glimpse into Na Lemp – sank the 13,500-ton liner, zi Germany’s aggressio Athenia, 250 miles off the Irish n coast. In all, 98 passengers and 19 crew died. The sinking of an unarmed passenger ship brought international condemnation. The last ship sunk was the 2,800-ton merchant ship, Avondale Park, sunk off Scotland by U-2336 on 7 May 1945, two days after the German U-boat surrender. U-2336’s commander, Emil Klusmeier, said he was unaware of the truce due to a faulty radio. RM
WHO IS THE
E SAY FIRST BRITON FOR WHY DO W “TO BURY ONE’S HEAD IN THE SAND” Derived from the mistaken belief that ostriches do this to evade danger. In reality, they bend their necks parallel to the ground to listen intently for nearby predators.
THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR AND THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO?
WHOM WE HAVE A PORTRAIT?
Coins with a realistic portrait were produced in the early years of the first century AD by Cunobelinus, a king who ruled over much of what is now Hertfordshire and Essex. Many show a clean-shaven male face with a neat Roman haircut. Alternatively, they could, just as easily, be a native representation of the Emperor, intended to honour the Roman ‘overlord’. Some of Cunobelinus’s coins, however, carry a more striking face, complete with beard and moustache. If these did not depict a native god, then it is possible that they are the first true portrait of a British face. MR
HIGH PROFILE Coins may provide the earliest depictions of Britons
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In 1805, Spain, allied with France at the time, provided part of the fleet that was crushingly defeated by Lord Nelson at Trafalgar.
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Vittoria-born Don Miguel-Ricardo de Álava, served on-board one of the largest Spanish ships during the battle, the Santa Ana.
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When Spain allied itself with Britain against France in 1808, Álava served on the Duke of Wellington’s staff as a liaison officer.
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In 1815, Álava joined the Waterloo campaign, and is the only person known to have been present at both Trafalgar and Waterloo.
Q&A
THE FALL OF ROME
Lottie Goldfinch explains why the ancient empire waned When did Rome actually fall? The fall of the Roman empire is one of the most debated questions among historians of the ancient world. Its collapse has been blamed on a number of different reasons, but even the exact date of its end is still questioned. Some historians give AD 476 as the date the empire ended. Other historians say that the Roman empire never actually ended at all, claiming that its eastern half continued in the form of the Byzantine Empire. Who was Rome’s last emperor? The last Roman emperor is generally accepted as being Romulus Augustus (aka Augustulus). A teenager when he took the imperial throne, he ruled for just over ten months before being deposed by the Germanic leader Odoacer. When did the cracks first begin to show in the empire? Again, this is a heavily debated question. Many date the beginning of Rome’s end to about AD 190, when the empire started to come under attack from various tribes, including the fierce Germanic tribes known as the Goths and the Vandals.
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Was it purely outside factors that caused the empire’s fall? No. There are several contributing factors, some of which were taking place within the empire itself. Severe financial crisis caused by
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The great buildings of the empire crumble in this Renaissance alle gory
of times The number me was the city of Ro uity. tiq an in sacked 410 AD The sack of k ar m nd la a was e decline th in t en om m rn Empire of the Weste
wars and overspending had led to over-taxation and inflation. This in turn saw Romans fleeing to the countryside as a way of avoiding the taxman. In addition, the empire’s expansion had slowed down considerably by the second century, meaning that the steady stream of labour provided by slaves brought in from conquered lands had also halted, causing a major labour deficit. Agricultural and commercial production declined as a result, which in turn affected trade. Government corruption and political instability were also contributing factors to the empire’s eventual fall. A series of
Praetorian Guard – bodyguards to the emperor – which was using its power to decide to promote, or kill off, would-be emperors. The Senate, too, was rife with corruption and was unable, or unwilling, to rein in the excesses of its rulers. The people began to lose faith in its leaders. Civil war also weakened the empire. The third century had
“All that is human must retrograde if it does not advance” Edward Gibbon, 18th-century historian weak emperors from the second century had seen more than 20 men on the imperial throne in just 75 years, thanks in part to the
seen emperor Alexander Severus murdered by his own troops while on campaign – the ensuing political instability launched the empire into a crippling civil war, which saw dozens of emperors come and go. This period of conflict was exacerbated by external threats from outside forces and continued well into the fourth century. Rome’s famous legions also began to falter, and it became increasingly difficult
OUSTED Deposed in AD 476, Romulus Augustus is believed to have been the last emperor of the Western Empire
to recruit men to its army. Foreign mercenaries who were recruited – including the Goths and barbarians who were trying to take the Romans’ land – failed to have the same loyalty to the empire and often turned against their employers. What other factors are thought to have contributed to the empire’s fall? Rome’s influence was reduced significantly in the third century when Emperor Diocletian took the decision to divide the empire into two halves: the Western Empire had its capital in Milan, while the Eastern Empire would have its capital in Byzantium, later known as Constantinople. Although the move made the empire easier to govern, the two halves drifted apart and failed to work in unison to see off external threats. The eastern half continued to grow in wealth, but the western part, which saw economic decline and continued barbarian attacks, eventually fell in the fifth century. Some historians also cite Christianity as a factor in Rome’s fall. The religion was legalised in AD 313 and became a state religion in AD 380. Although this decree saw an end to the persecution of Christians, it also saw the decline of the Roman religion, which worshipped many gods and viewed the emperor as a divine being.
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ALAMY X1, AKG IMAGES X1, BRIDGEMAN IMAGES X1, GETTY X1
IN A NUTSHELL
COLOSSAL BLOW
Q&A SARSEN STONE
HOW DID THEY DO THAT?
STONEHENGE
The larger stones are a type of sandstone common across southern England.
The mystery of the prehistoric site continues to capture the world’s imagination
Construction of Stonehenge is believed to have started about 5,000 years ago. Initially, a timber circle was erected, which was replaced with stones around 2600 BC during the late Neolithic period. The monument sits at the centre of an ancient ritual landscape, and is joined to another nearby henge via both an earthwork avenue and the River Avon. During the Bronze Age, depictions of axe-heads and daggers were carved into its stones – a prehistoric display of power. Debate rages over who exactly built it and for what purpose. Most experts believe its chief function was as a temple for solar worship.
THE LAYOUT
INNER RING
SECOND RING
The central monument was built to align with key celestial events and natural phenomena.
ALTAR STONE
THIRD RING
NEOLITHIC CALENDAR
FIRST RING
The monument’s orientation frames the rising Sun during the summer solstice and the setting Sun during the winter solstice. These predictable events were clearly of tremendous significance to Stonehenge’s creators.
ILLUSTRATION: SOL 90 IMAGES, GETTY X2
The course of the Sun The course of the Moon NEOLITHIC ART Several stones feature carvings of prehistoric tools and weaponry.
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SOLAR POWER
SACRED SITE Stonehenge remains important to neopagans
At the winter and summer solstices, the Sun aligns with the stones
PREHISTORIC ENGINEERING TRILITHON A horseshoe shape of sarsen stones, weighing up to 50 tons each.
The scale and origin of the stones on Salisbury Plain have baffled archaeologists for centuries. How a seemingly primitive civilisation might have moved and lifted them is illustrated by this most commonly-held theory: 1. The stones came from miles away and were likely hurled across land on wooden rollers. 2. A large hole lined with wooden stakes enabled the stones to be anchored. 3. The stone was then pulled upright by dozens of people. 4. The upright and horizontal stones were shaped to allow protruding tenons to slot comfortably into mortice holes. 5. A timber frame was erected to enable the builders to reach the top of the stones.
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STONE CIRCLE This artistic rendering depicts Stonehenge around 2500 BC. Today, much of the outer sarsen circle is no longer standing.
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Q&A
WE ATE WHAT?!
ANCIENT ADULTERANTS Ever since rogue Ancient Greek and Roman chefs added honey, salt water and lead to wine, dodgy vendors have tampered with food for profit. In the Middle Ages, spices were made to go further by adding dried berries, nuts, seed, gravel, sand and TS POISONED SWEEple even dust. Flour and milk spent centuries In 1858, over 200 peo being bulked out or watered down, then were poisoned by sweets made with arsenic. This made to look halfway decent with alum, inspired legislation to chalk, plaster and white lead. Cheese was regulate adulteration in the UK. coloured with red lead, while flour and arrowroot were added to cream to thicken it. In 1820, Frederick Accum, a German-born chemist, made a study of food adulteration. Published simultaneously in Britain and the USA, A Treatise on Adulterations of Food and Culinary Poisons helped to raise public awareness of a problem we still face. SL
DOMESTIC GODDESSES Greek women had little power outside the home
ILLUSTRATION: JONTY CLARK, ALAMY X2, GETTY X4
What did women do in Ancient Greek society? Given the patriarchal nature of Ancient Greek society, we hear very little about the lives, thoughts and daily activities of women. Despite the fact that the people of Athens prided themselves on being democratic and free, women couldn’t vote nor had any real say in the running of society, being under the control of fathers, guardians or husbands. Childbirth and the keeping
of house and home were considered essential civic duties, inheritance passing down through the male side of the family. While the women of Athens had very little freedom, those of Sparta were able to own land and participate in athletic games and warrior training. Spartan society was, needless to say, looked down on as ‘deviant’ by the rest of the Ancient Greek world. MR
MYTH BUSTING
When was England last invaded by a foreign power?
DUTCH COURAGE
d the William’s victory lai UK’s foundations of the rchy na mo l na tio itu const
Not 1066, but 1688. We like to portray the overthrow of James II in that year as a ‘Glorious Revolution’, but when the Dutch ruler William of Orange landed at Torbay on 5 November to replace him, it was at the head of a large professional foreign army. He initially received little assistance from James’s English opponents, and when he marched into London in December, he did so after ordering all the English troops that remained there to leave the capital. Dutch guards replaced English ones and, for 18 months, London was effectively under Dutch military occupation.
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HIDDEN HISTORICA
CAN YOU WORK OUT WHO IS HIDDEN IN THE SYMBOLS?
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This explorer made his name during the reign of Elizabeth I
THIS ART DID WHAT P NT PLAY IN ME Y? INSTRU HISTOR IC S U M
The earliest known poem by the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was penned around 1803-05, when he was aged between 11 and 13, and survived only because it was later transcribed by his sister. His chosen topic was a hungry cat, and he charmingly explained to his readers: “Good folks I must faithfully tell ye / As I am a sinner / It wants for some dinner / To stuff out its own little belly”. He didn’t begin his serious writing career for another decade, with the nine-canto philosophical poem Queen Mab, published in 1813. EB
What are Quit Rents? RITUAL DUES
The Quit Rents Ceremony in action
One of the City of London’s more arcane rituals, the Quit Rents Ceremony dates back to 1211. It sees a token – or ‘quit’ – rental paid by the City to the Crown for two parcels of land (‘quit’ rents originally meaning a payment in lieu of other feudal obligations). There’s just one problem: no one knows exactly where either of the two plots actually are. One is near Bridgenorth in Shropshire; the other was a forge in the Strand area. The Shropshire rent is two
knives, one sharp and one blunt, their cutting capabilities tested against a hazel rod in full view of the court. The City plot’s annual ‘fee’ is six horseshoes and 61 nails. Two knives are forged new each year by the Worshipful Company of Cutlers, but the horseshoes and nails are antiques, dating back to 1361 – gigantic iron crescents lent to the City by the Crown so they can use them in ‘payment’. Presiding over this scene at the Royal Courts of Justice every October sits the Queen’s Remembrancer, resplendent in black robes, lace cravat, shiny shoes and an 18th-century wig with a tricorn hat perched on top. SL
SEE ANSWERS BELOW
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The age at which child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his first symphony
NOW SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS Want to know more about your favourite historical monarch, or uncover the origin of a peculiar saying? Get in touch!
@Historyrevmag#askhistrevmag www.facebook.com/HistoryRevealed [emailprotected]
Answers: Hidden Historicals Surf France Hiss Drake (Sir Francis Drake) What is it? This was Ludwig van Beethoven’s ear trumpet. The composer was completely deaf by 1816.
What was Percy Shelley’s first poem?
? WHAT IS IT
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Want to enjoy more history? Our monthly guide to activities and resources is a great place to start
BRITAIN’S TREASURES p86 • BOOKS p88
© 2017 THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS, INC./ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK AND DACS, LONDON X1, COURTESY OF CAROLYN MIMS LAWRENCE X1
ON OUR RADAR
What’s caught our attention this month… EXHIBITION
Soul of a Nation: Art in the age of Black Power Ends 22 October, Tate Modern, London www.bit.ly/2kvk4f5 Now a world-renowned gallery, Tate Modern’s latest exhibition showcases the vital work of artists and designers during the American Civil Rights Movement. The experiences of black people in terms of oppression, systematic racism and segregation all inform the masterpieces on show here, but the works express an optimism for the revolutionary times in which they were produced. Highlights include sculptures made with Afro hair, inspirational murals and photographs, like this one of Muhammad Ali (right), by Andy Warhol.
The story of America’s Civil Rights Movement is told through paintings, sculpture, photography and fashion
EVENT Fright Fest 22-31 October, Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire www.bit.ly/2vosSJW
EVENT
October Half Term 30 October – 3 November, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon www.bit.ly/2wrRIpd Keep the children entertained and head to the National Roman Legion Museum, where they can create their very own mosaic tile out of clay and decorate it with a freaky face! They can also download the special app to find the ‘Spookemons’.
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Constructed on the site of a pagan graveyard, the creepy castle will be opening after dark this Halloween. Some visitors have described scary supernatural experiences, but will you have a close encounter with a ghoul? Enjoy a guided tour of the Stuart mansion and sample a special Halloweenthemed drink.
ENGLISH HERITAGE X1, CROWN COPYRIGHT HES X1, HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES/KIT OATES X1, BARRY WETCHER/OPEN ROAD FILMS X1
TALK Inglis’ Amazons 7-8 October, Edinburgh Castle www.bit.ly/2v58ueu Elsie Inglis was a pioneering Scottish doctor who went to the front lines of World War I to set up field hospitals, despite being told not to. Now, you can meet one of her ‘amazons’ – the nurses who followed her – and listen to tales of war, peace, and sexism at Edinburgh Castle.
TO BUY Spitfire Pilot Watch
Audience members become part of the action in this immersive performance
PERFORMANCE
The People’s Revolt Selected dates throughout October, Tower of London www.bit.ly/2uqzseC
Groundbreaking theatre company differencEngine really break the fourth wall with this interactive play, performed at the Tower of London. Leading the audience in an uprising not too dissimilar to Wat Tyler’s 1381
Peasants’ Revolt, they try to overthrow the powers that be, representing unfair authority and harsh taxes. Experience the anticipation that revolutionaries feel as you storm bravely into the Tower, your fate unknown.
Imperial War Museum Shop, £40 www.bit.ly/2ituYmR
WATCH Marshall In cinemas 13 October (USA), 20 October (UK) This biopic stars Chadwick Boseman as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (right), the first AfricanAmerican judge in the US’s top law court. It depicts a pivotal moment in his early career, in which he represents a black chauffeur wrongly accused of sexual assault and attempted murder. Partnered with Sam Friedman, a young and inexperienced Jewish insurance lawyer (Josh Gad, left), the unlikely pair fight to save the innocent man from punishment.
©NATIONAL ROMAN LEGION MUSEUM X1,
Know someone who flew a Spitfire, or simply looking for a gift for a flying fanatic? This lovely timepiece is exclusive to the Imperial War Museum. Created with watchmakers Limit, who have been producing quality watches since 1912, its design is based on a Spitfire blueprint. Its colour scheme also reflects the timeless style of the classic plane.
ALSO LOOK OUT FOR
Torchlight Tours – Explore the dungeons by torchlight after hours, and hear scary stories. 23-27 October, Carlisle Castle, Cumbria www.bit.ly/2v3S1J5 Exile! – The new exhibition celebrates the life of William John Banks, persecuted for being hom*osexual. Kingston Lacy, Dorset, ends 12 November www.bit.ly/2gupiaa
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HERE & NOW HOW TO VISIT… BRITAIN’S TREASURES FYNE SETTING The town and castle are perched on the edge of Loch Fyne – a popular diving and fishing spot
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS The 126-feet Inveraray bell tower was built after World War I to honour the Campbells who had died fighting.
BRITAIN’S TREASURES…
INVERARAY
Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Ramble around the picturesque and peaceful Inveraray, a unique Scottish town with an equally quirky history GETTING THERE: The little village has no train station, but the 926 bus runs from Glasgow 5-6 times a day. The journey time is around one hour and 45 minutes. For an easier journey by car, the village is along the A83.
ALAMY X4, GETTY X4
FIND OUT MORE: Pick up a guidebook about Argyll and Bute to read more about the ‘Gateway to the Highlands and Islands’. Alternatively, visit the official visitor’s guide at www.inveraray-argyll.com
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n the pretty western shore of Loch Fyne sits the town of Inveraray. Though it was officially founded in 1745, the town’s history dates back much further. A castle dating from the 15th century once dominated the landscape, and the village was a quaint assortment of cottages, a church, school and a disproportionate number of taverns – 43, to be exact. In 1648, the town was made a royal burgh, in recognition of its importance to the region. Its accessible natural harbour made it
a natural centre for the rural area of Argyll. The chief of Clan Campbell, Archibald, then decided to demolish the medieval fortress, and build himself a luxurious castle. However, to ensure his vast grounds would be welllandscaped and pretty, he’d have to completely relocate the town of Inveraray to a site half a mile away. Plans for the new city lay stagnant until 1772, when Archibald’s nephew brought in Robert Mylne, a prolific architect from Edinburgh. Over the next
30 years, the new town was fitted out with adorable cottages, a woollen mill and a fishing pier. Since the lake was well-stocked with herring, the erection of this pier was to play a major role in the town’s prosperity in later years. But it wasn’t just the meddlings of the aristocracy that would reshape Inveraray in the 18th century. Following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the British authorities realised that in order to effectively deal with future rebellions by the Scottish clans, they would need better access to
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CASTLE
LOCH FYNE
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The seat of the dukes of Argyll, this turreted mansion is undoubtedly the town’s most striking landmark. It features intricate Neo-Gothic windows and a 16-acre garden.
Stretching for 40 miles, the loch on which Inveraray sits is the longest sea loch in Scotland. On its shores, you’ll find plenty of scenic walks, drives and picnic spots.
This grisly 19th-century jail is now a fascinating museum. See for yourself what prison was like for a Victorian convict, as actors portray the characters who lived inside.
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Climb 176 steps to the top of Inveraray Bell Tower for a view over the town and Loch Fyne
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DUN NA CUAICHE
ARAY BRIDGE
MAIN STREET
Clamber up the Dun na Cuaiche on the outskirts of town and you’ll be greeted by an 18th-century watchtower, with stunning views of the loch, town and castle to boot.
This bridge in the grounds of the castle was built on the site of General Wade’s 18th-century military bridge, which was destroyed by flooding.
Take a stroll on Inveraray’s blackand-white high street, browse the traditional souvenir stores, and end your walk with a trip to the Loch Fyne whisky shop.
“The sleepy town became a centre of military action”
WHY NOT VISIT... The area surrounding Loch Fyne has many examples of people living harmoniously with nature
ARDKINGLAS their heartland, the Highlands. At this time, Inveraray was a remote spot, 40 miles from the nearest carriage route. Its infrastructure was about to change completely.
ROAD RAGE British General George Wade oversaw the construction of a new network of roads and bridges, which connected the town to the military bases in the north: Fort William, Fort Augustus and Fort George. This helped to neutralise the threat of further insurrection. One of the roads he created became the precursor to the modern-day A83, the principal route into Inveraray. A memorial stone entitled ‘rest and be thankful’, erected in 1750, commemorates the road he built.
Coupled with the better transport links, advances in technology and engineering made Inveraray a popular tourist destination over the following decades. Steamships connected the town to the sea. Indeed, the last operating paddle steamer in the world, Waverley, still occasionally visits Inveraray in the summer months. The remote and sleepy town became a centre of military action in the 20th century. Inveraray’s lakeside spot meant it served as a training ground during the preparations for D-Day. The area was used extensively to practice for the amphibious landings. King George VI, Winston Churchill and even General Eisenhower came to see the action for themselves.
A surprising casualty of the war was Inveraray’s church steeple, which was carefully demolished in 1941 after it was deemed unsafe. Each stone was numbered and stored in a nearby quarry, with plans to reconstruct the spire after the war. However, following the cessation of hostilities, the stones were nowhere to be seen. Their whereabouts remains a mystery. Today, Inveraray’s monochrome high street and fairytale castle attract tourists from far and wide. Its castle was recently featured in an episode of Downton Abbey, boosting interest. The town’s buildings are mostly protected, as they are such an excellent example of 18th-century town planning, retaining their charm for the modern-day visitor to enjoy. d
Wander in the beautiful groves, ponds and floral fields of Ardkinglas, a privately owned manor on the shores of the loch. www.ardkinglas.com
CRARAE GARDEN For more exotic landscaping, Crarae has it all. This Himalayanstyled garden features waterfalls, bridges and a whole host of plant species from the faraway mountains. nts.org.uk/Visit/Crarae-garden
AUCHINDRAIN TOWNSHIP If you’re after a taste of life in rural Scotland, this living history museum recreates peasant life before the Highland Clearances. www.auchindrain.org.uk
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HERE & NOW BOOKS
BOOK REVIEWS
This month’s best historical books Bread for All: The Origins of the Welfare State By Chris Renwick Allen Lane, £20, 336 pages, hardback
BOOK OF THE MONTH
At a time when the welfare state in Britain is a hot political topic – does it provide a valuable social safety net or has it become sprawling, bloated and unwieldy? – it’s helpful to have a historical view of how we reached this point. Chris Renwick, a historian at the University of York, here provides an insightful overview of the welfare state’s development, from the Victorian workhouse to the impact of World War II and the changes of the 1970s and ’80s. It is, by necessity, somewhat involved in places, but offers an important look at the ways in which government has attempted to drastically remould society.
ALAMY X1, GETTY X1
“The welfare state was never simply a dull system of national insurance that paid out benefits to people”
ABOVE: The Victorian workhouse was an early example of a welfare state system RIGHT: Children talk to a nurse outside a new NHS centre, 1948
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MEET THE AUTHOR Chris Renwick exposes the origins of the British welfare state system, and the changing attitudes towards poverty, responsibility and the economy What prompted you to write this book? As a historian of 19th- and 20th-century Britain, it’s been difficult to not be struck by the way in which ideas such as ‘strivers and skivers’ and ‘living within our means’ have become fixtures in our political discussions since the financial crash almost a decade ago. Those ideas – and sometimes the specific words too – are incredibly reminiscent of the way people used to talk about the subject of welfare (as we now call it) during the 1800s and the first half of the 20th century. I felt that not only had we seemed to have forgotten about that period, but also that there was a growing tendency to represent the welfare state as being owned by the left wing. I thought we would all benefit if we reconnected with the welfare state’s origins and motivations.
dependent on how big a local trade union was or whether an individual qualified for the state’s national insurance schemes. Other aspects, however, were genuinely transformative, with the National Health Service, the one genuinely universal service in the whole edifice, the obvious example. Other countries handled the situation differently. The US, for example, made health insurance available to individuals via employers, which produced a completely different result. One need only think about how the British Medical Association were the staunchest opponents of the NHS to see how attitudes have changed. The welfare state was more than a single institution or policy, though; it was a tapestry of ideas and commitments, including a commitment to run the economy in a way that achieved full employment. There was never a widespread appetite for full-scale economic planning in Britain, but the idea the economy could be managed was truly transformative.
The Templars By Dan Jones Head of Zeus, £25, 432 pages, hardback
Leather-jacketed historian Dan Jones – you may have seen him touring Britain’s castles on Channel 5 – here turns his attention to the Knights Templar, an enormously powerful medieval order that financed some of the Crusades’ most fearsome fighters. Their name is also synonymous with secrecy, and Jones attempts to separate fact from fiction in his usual entertaining style.
“The welfare state was not intended to dispense with capitalism”
What factors led to the creation of the welfare state? The welfare state’s mixed political parentage means there were a number of different factors. Sympathy for those who suffer for reasons beyond their control is obviously important. There was also a strong feeling by that point that, simply put, Britain was big enough and rich enough to do better by a lot of people - in particular those who had fought in the two world wars and suffered during the Great Depression. But the welfare state wasn’t entirely new, so there was a much longer period of development, both intellectually and practically.
Just how big a transformation was this? Some aspects of the welfare state were not a transformation at all, simply an extension to everyone of things already available to some people. Social insurance had been available for some time but provision was patchy,
What new impression of the welfare state would you like to leave readers with? I’d like people to reflect on the argument that the welfare state was not intended to dispense with capitalism, but to save capitalism from itself. It was certainly created to help the most vulnerable, but the aim was always much bigger: to establish a set of arrangements that ensured we can all get along, that ensured individuals could build a life for themselves and their families, and, in the process, make everyone better off. The precise form those arrangements took was specific to the moment in which they were created, but I think there’s much to be taken from that idea.
The Story of Colour By Gareth Evans Michael O’Mara, £20, 224 pages, hardback
This cultural history of colour explores how the meanings we attach to various shades have been influenced through the centuries by a huge range of social forces: art, science, linguistics and more. If you think that sounds like a broad subject then you’re right, but this is still a fascinating kaleidoscope of historical vignettes.
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HERE & NOW BOOKS
War Stories
Mr Lear
By Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan John Murray, £25, 352 pages, hardback
By Jenny Uglow Faber and Faber, £25, 608 pages, hardback
This book, from a husband-and-wife team (both broadcasters, Snow probably most famous for his lively election analysis) explores the real stories of men and women caught up in the turbulence of war. Spanning centuries and continents, from the American War of Independence to World War II, the diverse scope means that it’s as good to dip in and out of as it is to read cover to cover.
The 19th-century artist and author Edward Lear is best known today for his nonsensical limericks, but he had many other strings to his bow: poet, illustrator, musician. This tender biography explores his travels, his complicated relationships, and how those nonsense verses can help us make sense of their creator.
St Petersburg: Three Centuries of Murderous Desire By Jonathan Miles Hutchinson, £25, 608 pages, hardback
Plunge into the streets of Russia’s cultural capital in this vibrant look at the city. It’s at once a dark fairyland, in which artists plied their trade and parties wound their way through fragrant gardens, and a very real metropolis of starvation and slaughter.
VISUAL BOOK OF THE MONTH The full-colour photographs of each item are accompanied by detailed explanations of the object, and the people and events that make them so special or relevant
The Dunkirk Evacuation in 100 Objects: The Story Behind Operation Dynamo in 1940 By Martin Mace Frontline Books, £16.99, 248 pages, paperback
The latest subject to get the ‘…in 100 Objects’ treatment is the World War II evacuation of Dunkirk, an event that has recently graced cinema screens. Here, the remarkable rescue is told through snapshots: a boat, a rifle, a photograph. It’s a great introduction to an episode that continues to linger in the public imagination.
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ACROSS 1 Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, for example (6) 4 ‘Nature’s great masterpiece, an ___; the only harmless great thing’ – John Donne, 1612 (8) 10 In the Old Testament, the wife of Ahab (7) 11 The family name of Shakespeare’s Juliet (7) 12 Idi ___ (d.2003), ruler of Uganda from 1971 to 1979 (4) 13 Samuel ___ (1689–1761), Derbyshire-born author of the novels Pamela (1740) and Clarissa (1748) (10) 15 Native American peoples of the south-western US (6) 16 The Bloody ___, trials that followed the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 (7)
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Told from the perspective of the decision makers and soldiers on the ground, Dunkirk follows the dramatic DVD events of 1940. THREE R O F Starring Benedict NERS IN W Cumberbatch, this series weaves archive film footage, eyewitness accounts and dramatised sequences. HOW TO ENTER Post entries to History Revealed, October 2017 Crossword, PO Box 501, Leicester LE94 0AA or email them to october2017@ historyrevealedcomps.co.uk by noon on 1 November 2017. By entering, participants agree to be bound by the terms and conditions shown in the box below. Immediate Media Co Ltd, publishers of History Revealed, would love to keep you informed by post or telephone of special offers and promotions from the Immediate Media Co Group. Please write ‘Do Not Contact IMC’ if you prefer not to receive such information by post or phone. If you would like to receive this information by email, please write your email address on the entry. You may unsubscribe from receiving these messages at any time. For more about the Immediate Privacy Policy, see the box below.
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VICTORIA: EMPRESS OF INDIA
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TANKS AT 100: A CENTURY THAT CHANGED WARFARE FRANKENSTEIN: HOW MARY SHELLEY CREATED A MONSTER COLLAPSE OF THE BERLIN WALL MYSTERY OF THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK AND MUCH MORE…
HAVE YOUR SAY
READERS’ LETTERS Get in touch – share your opinions on history and our magazine
STOP THE WAR I really enjoyed reading Vietnam: The War America Could Never Win (September 2017. You mentioned a lot of people who spoke out against the war, including public figures and members of the public. However, two important people who were never mentioned are Democratic senators Wayne Morse of Oregon, and Ernest Gruening of Alaska. This couple of men were the only
is we’ve got to think of the future… your future, and we’ve got to come to grips with the issues that are going to confront your generation.” As you mentioned in your article, the war became an issue that confronted a generation OF of young Americans. Unfortunately for Morse, his anti-war
ER LETT THE MONTH
“They stood up against the war in 1964, many years before the majority of Americans” two people in Congress who voted against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Gruening remarked at the time that it would “send our American boys into combat in a war in which we have no business”. Furthermore, Wayne Morse said at a protest rally, “My plea
I’m reading about Anne Boleyn in @HistoryRevMag like it’s a centuries-old but especially juicy HELLO! @John_Bizzell
stance was used against him when he came up for re-election in 1968, losing after 24 years in the Senate to pro-war Robert Packwood. Morse and Gruening (who also introduced the resolution for a nation-wide 911 emergency phone number) are the
BESIDE THE SEASIDE In reading your August 2017 issue, I was delighted to find an article on the Victorian seaside. It was a light-hearted piece outlining the development of
HEY, HEY, LBJ Stephen reminds us that there were also members of Congress who protested the war
forgotten men of the antiVietnam protests. They stood up against the war in 1964, many years before the majority of Americans took note. Additionally, I would like to see an article about the horrific
My Lai Massacre, committed by US troops, which you touched on in your article. Stephen Baker, via email
Stephen wins a copy of Guns in the North by P F Chisholm. This will be the first book in the Sir Robert Carey Mysteries series. Chisholm weaves a tale of Tudor intrigue, with Carey, a roguish lord, for a protagonist. He faces a challenge from the criminals in the border region, but can he restore order?
the coastal holiday, which gave me insight into a topic that has always fascinated. As society evolved, the number of people enjoying the seaside holiday expanded. The emphasis shifted from the European ‘Grand Tour’ and visits to ‘spa towns’ on the Continent towards the seaside holiday, which was more affordable for the lower classes. Thomas Cook introduced the first ‘package holiday’ to Skegness in 1841, promoting the resort with the phrase, “It’s so bracing”. A package to
SUN, SEA AND SAND Our feature on the Victorian seaside holiday struck a nostalgic chord with readers
Blackpool was added in 1845. Since then, the Thomas Cook brand has never looked back. The mention of the saucy postcard really caught my eye. Donald McGill was an English graphic artist who became synonymous with the genre of the cheeky postcard. Born in 1875, he became known as ‘the King of the saucy postcard’. During his lifetime, it is estimated that he produced 12,000 postcard designs, which sold in excess of 20 million copies. For many, the British seaside holiday still remains a traditional institution, in part thanks to the Victorians. Peter Cadman, via email
PIER MANIA In her splendid article on Victorian seaside holidays, Anna Harris indicated that Hastings had the first purposebuilt ‘pleasure pier’ in the country, opening in 1872. However, 19 years before this, Great Yarmouth decided to honour the Duke of Wellington by building a pier. The town had no need for a pier to act as a landing stage for steamers, as it was one of the few seaside resorts that had a harbour, accessible at all times of the tide. This allowed the passenger steamers, and later the famous Belle Steamers, to steam up river and disembark their passengers in the centre of the town. These steamers were known locally as ‘the London boats’. The Wellington Pier opened in October 1853, having taken only four months to build, allowing the early Victorians to promenade over the sea. By 1859, regular entertainment was provided by military bands. The pier was such a success that, in 1858, another pier, the Britannia, was built further north. Both the piers were rebuilt in the early 20th century, and today still provide typical seaside entertainment for locals and holidaymakers. Colin Tooke, Great Yarmouth
IN GRATITUDE Thank you for the thoughtprovoking piece about Dunkirk (August 2017. This was such an important moment in our history, and the article really took me to the atmosphere of the beaches. An article like yours can really make me think about how much the individuals present are still owed by us all. Jennifer Shelden, Leicester
FAMILY TIES My wife bought me the latest issue of your magazine, as I have recently taken an interest in finding out more about my family history during World War II, and Dunkirk was featured. My grandfather Alfred George Hollifield was a member
EDITORIAL Editor Paul McGuinness [emailprotected] Production Editor Alicea Francis [emailprotected] Staff Writer Alice Barnes-Brown [emailprotected] ART Art Editor Sheu-Kuei Ho Picture Editor Rosie McPherson Illustrators Jonty Clark, Ed Crooks, Sue Gent, Jean-Michel Girard, Chris Stocker
SOURCE MATERIAL Our August issue’s cover feature, Dunkirk, inspired one reader to dig deeper into his grandfather’s wartime experiences
of The Welsh Guards, and he fought as a rear guard during the action at Dunkirk. However, he was captured during fighting and eventually held for six long years as a prisoner of war in Nazi-occupied Poland. I found your magazine very informative and the vast range of subjects kept me reading from cover to cover. Your magazine has kept me enthused about history, and has inspired me to find out more about my grandfather’s fascinating wartime experiences. Owen Hollifield, Caerphilly
DECOY DANCER I think Mata Hari (Extraordinary Tale, August 2017 was probably used as a decoy, in order to keep the different Allied countries from finding out who the real traitor was. Take an in-depth look at her handler Captain Another brilliant read from start to finish. Looking forward to the next issue Amy Appleby
Georges Ladoux, and you might find out he was using Mata Hari. She was a perfect foil, being a so-called ‘fallen woman’ in the strict codes of European society. Kelly Brown, via email You missed one of the biggest robberies in history (Top 10, September 2017): Manchester United stealing the 1999 Champions League final from Bayern Munich. Gabby Cancello
ARE YOU A WINNER? The lucky winners of the crossword from issue 45 are: Alan Gee, Milton Keynes Sharon Kitching, Nuneaton Graeme Gee, Suffolk Congratulations! You’ve each won a copy of Versailles: Complete Series 1 and 2. This critically acclaimed drama depicts the scandals at Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV, the ‘Sun King’.
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CONTRIBUTORS & EXPERTS Danny Bird, Emily Brand, Lottie Goldfinch, Julian Humphrys, Pat Kinsella, Ryan Lavelle, Sandra Lawrence, Kevin Lowery, Rupert Matthews, Giles Milton, Gordon O’Sullivan, Miles Russell, Mark Simner, Richard Smyth, Rosemary Smith PRESS & PR Communications Manager Dominic Lobley 020 7150 5015 [emailprotected] CIRCULATION Circulation Manager Helen Seymour ADVERTISING & MARKETING Group Advertising Manager Tom Drew [emailprotected] Advertisem*nt Manager Sam Jones 0117 314 8847 [emailprotected] Brand Sales Executive Sam Evanson 0117 314 8754 [emailprotected] Subscriptions Director Jacky Perales-Morris Subscriptions Marketing Manager Natalie Lawrence PRODUCTION Production Director Sarah Powell Production Co-ordinator Emily Mounter Ad Co-ordinator Jade O’Halloran Ad Designer Rachel Shircore Reprographics Rob Fletcher, Tony Hunt, Chris Sutch PUBLISHING Publisher David Musgrove Publishing Director Andy Healy Managing Director Andy Marshall CEO Tom Bureau
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PHOTO FINISH SPAIN 1938
THE BITTER END
© ROBERT CAPA © INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY/MAGNUM PHOTOS
A wounded Spanish Civil War soldier weeps as he bids farewell to the International Brigades. Volunteers from around the world came to aid Spain in its fight against fascist Franco, but were called back home in an attempt to broker a diplomatic deal with him. Franco did not hold up his end of the bargain, and hordes of fascists from Germany and Italy stayed in Spain to annihilate the remaining freedom fighters.
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