The Scrap Iron Flotilla – Australian Destroyers in the Mediterranean – Video
Anyone looking at the old, small and slow destroyer group would think the same. Soon, however, the Axis and the rest of the world would learn just how formidable it was. The ‘Scrap Iron Flotilla’ and those who manned it proved just how much grit, determination and valour can achieve.
3 Squadron RAAF – Podcast
As the Allied armies fought across North Africa, first against the Italians and then the Vichy French and Rommel’s Afrika Korps, one squadron of the RAAF was there from the beginning. No. 3 Squadron was the first RAAF squadron to leave Australia and played an important part in many of the important battles from 1940 to 1943 across North Africa, Tunisia and Sicily.
Tobruk – Podcast
Tobruk was one of the greatest Allied victories – and one of the worst Allied defeats – of the Second World War.
The Mafia, The Godfather, and the Hollywood romance
Reading time: 8 minutes
The Godfather. Perhaps one of the greatest films and franchises of all time; March 24, 2022, will mark the 50th anniversary of the film’s theatrical release, which is a number that in ways seems both large and small. Large from the perspective that it has already been five decades since it shook the cinematic world, yet small in that a film of such importance and influence was released in the backyard of our modern history: 1972.
HOW DID A COCKATOO REACH 13TH CENTURY SICILY?
Reading time: 7 minutes
Among the hand-written documents, books, and ancient artefacts in the Vatican Library is a 13th century manuscript on falconry written in Latin by or for the Holy Roman Emperor – King Frederick II of Sicily.
Frederick’s De Arte Venandi cum Avibus (The Art of Hunting with Birds) dates from between 1241 and 1248. In its margins are nine hundred drawings of falcons, falconers and other animals kept by the emperor at his palaces.
Second Battle of El Alamein: Australia Forces a Breach
Reading time: 8 minutes
The battle of El Alamein in late 1942 was the turning point for the North African campaign, which saw the fighting rage back and forth between Libya and Egypt. As with most of the battles in the region, Australians played a vital role in the eventual Allied victory. In this article, we go over their experiences during this pivotal battle.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE A CHILD IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE?
Reading time: 7 minutes
answers to questions she’d never considered what would a school day be like in 313 CE? What games would children play? What would a 10-year old girl wear? What medicine would a child be given for a cough?
A History of the Great War, Volume One – Audiobook
A HISTORY OF THE GREAT WAR, VOLUME ONE – AUDIOBOOK By John Buchan (1875 – 1940) This is the first of a four-volume history of the First World War, covering the […]
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 7 – Audiobook
THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS HISTORIANS, VOLUME 7 – AUDIOBOOK By Charles F. Horne (1870 – 1942),Rossiter Johnson (1840 – 1931) A comprehensive and readable account of the world’s history, emphasizing the […]
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 4 – Audiobook
THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS HISTORIANS, VOLUME 4 – AUDIOBOOK By Charles F. Horne (1870 – 1942),Rossiter Johnson (1840 – 1931) A comprehensive and readable account of the world’s history, emphasizing the […]
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 3 – Audiobook
THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS HISTORIANS, VOLUME 3 – AUDIOBOOK By Charles F. Horne (1870 – 1942), Rossiter Johnson (1840 – 1931) A comprehensive and readable account of the world’s history, emphasizing […]
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 2 – Audiobook
THE GREAT EVENTS BY FAMOUS HISTORIANS, VOLUME 2 – AUDIOBOOK By Charles F. Horne (1870 – 1942), Rossiter Johnson (1840 – 1931) A comprehensive and readable account of the world’s history, emphasizing the […]
The Battle of Greece – Australia’s Textbook Rear-Guard Action
Retreat doesn’t always mean defeat, sometimes it can be a victory to withdraw in good order and deny your enemy a total victory. This is was the outcome for the allied forces in Greece during April 1941, thanks in part to textbook rear-guard actions fought by Australian units, which allowed 50,732 men to escape the grasp of the advancing superior Axis force. But why were Australian units involved in Greece in the first place?
The Medici, Volume 1 – Audiobook
THE MEDICI, VOLUME 1 – AUDIOBOOK By G. F. Young (1846 – 1919) This work relates the history of the Medici family through three centuries and eleven generations, from its rise […]
The Medici, Volume 2 -AUDIOBOOK
THE MEDICI, VOLUME 2 – AUDIOBOOK By G. F. Young (1846 – 1919) This work relates the history of the Medici family through three centuries and eleven generations, from its rise […]
First World War Centenary Prose Collection Vol. III – Audiobook
FIRST WORLD WAR CENTENARY PROSE COLLECTION VOL. III – AUDIOBOOK By Various. This collection of non-fiction and fiction pieces is the third volume commemorating the First World War. The majority […]
The Empresses of Rome – Audiobook
THE EMPRESSES OF ROME – AUDIOBOOK By Joseph Martin McCabe (1867 – 1955) The story of Imperial Rome has been told frequently and impressively in our literature, and few chapters in […]
The Benghazi Handicap and the Siege of Tobruk
The Benghazi handicap is the name Australian soldiers gave to their race to stay ahead of the German Afrika Korps in Libya, 1941. They won the race, but the reward was just to be besieged in the city of Tobruk for 241 days, the longest siege in British military history. In this article, we use the words of veterans themselves to describe these events, and how the Rats of Tobruk experienced the siege.
The Friar Who Faced The Medici of Florence
Girolamo Savonarola, an Italian preacher and reformer, led an interesting life. His ideologies and strong stance on the exploitation of the poor, clerical corruption, and despotic rule made waves in […]
The Beginning of the Middle Ages – Audiobook
THE BEGINNING OF THE MIDDLE AGES – AUDIOBOOK By Richard William Church (1815 – 1890) In 395 A.D. Theodosius, the last ruler of the undivided Roman Empire died. To his young […]
The Cambridge Modern History, Volume 01, The Renaissance – Audiobook
THE CAMBRIDGE MODERN HISTORY, VOLUME 01, THE RENAISSANCE – AUDIOBOOK By Various The Cambridge Modern History is a universal history covering the period from 1450 to 1910. It was published […]
The Empresses of Constantinople – Audiobook
THE EMPRESSES OF CONSTANTINOPLE – AUDIOBOOK By Joseph Martin McCabe (1867 – 1955) In concluding an earlier volume on the mistresses of the western Roman Empire I observed that, as the […]
The Role of Wood in World History
The destruction of the world’s forests is a major concern in our age. According to the UN about 40 percent of Central America’s forests were destroyed between 1950 and 1980 […]
Remembering the Victory at Bardia
Just over 80 years ago, Australian forces fought their first major battle of World War II. Bardia, a small town on the coast of Libya, some 30 km from the […]