Some Illustrations from the Book

 

The Battle of Britain (44)

1. Who was Hitler?

Purton tells us Hitler was German and wanted to rue over a lot of other countries in addition. He marched his armies into countries that were notstrong enough to resist. The reason the British went to war with him was to stop him taking over any more countries. Obviosuly that leaves out a whole lot but it is a good enough short summary, I guess.

2. What was the Battle of Britain?

The Battle of Britain (Luftschlacht um England, 'air battle for England') was a WWII military campaign in which the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm of the Navy defended the UK against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force (the Luftwaffe). It was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. It takes its name from the speech given by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on 18 June, 1940: "What General Weygand called the 'Battle of France' is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin."

The Germans had rapidly overwhelmed France and the Low Countries in the Battle of France, leaving Britain to face the threat of invasion by sea. The German high command recognised the difficulties of a seaborne attack while the Royal Navy controlled the English Channel and the North Sea. The primary objective of the German forces was to compel Britain to agree to a negotiated peace settlement.

The British officially recognise the battle's duration as being from 10 July-31 October 1940, which overlaps the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, that lasted 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941. German historians do not follow this subdivision and regard the battle as a single campaign lasting from July 1940 to May 1941, including the Blitz.

In July 1940, the air and sea blockade began, with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal-shipping convoys, as well as ports and shipping centres such as Portsmouth. On 16 July, Hitler ordered the preparation of Operation Sea Lion as a potential amphibious and airborne assault on Britain, to follow once the Luftwaffe had air superiority over the Channel. On 1 August, the Luftwaffe was directed to achieve air superiority over the RAF, with the aim of incapacitating RAF Fighter Command; 12 days later, it shifted the attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe also targeted factories involved in aircraft production and strategic infrastructure. Eventually, it employed terror bombing on areas of political significance and on civilians. In September, RAF Bomber Command night raids disrupted the German preparation of converted barges, and the Luftwaffe's failure to overwhelm the RAF forced Hitler to postpone and eventually cancel Operation Sea Lion. The Luftwaffe proved unable to sustain daylight raids, but their continued night-bombing operations on Britain became known as the Blitz.

Germanys air opower was far suoerior but their failure to destroy Britain's air defences and force it out of the conflict was the first major German defeat in the Second World War.

3. One of the British aeroplanes of that time

Rodin's Burghers of Calais

Auguste Rodin, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Queen Philippa and the Men of Calais (30)

1. On your map find Engand, France and Calais

2. Why did the people of Calais like Queen Philippa?

The people of Calais liked Queen Philippa of Hainault 1310-1369 no doubt, because she was willing to plead with her husband, Edward III 1312-1377, in 1347 to have compassion on the six men of Calais, the six burghers, who he was about to kill. Perhaps it is a good illustration of compassion, intercession and mediaion.

3. What do you know about the Black Prince?

The Black Prince is a name I have known since childhood but I have only a vague idea of who he is. In this story he only merits a brief mention but he is Edward and Philippa's son, Edward of Woodstock 1330-1376. He was their eldest son and heir apparent but he died before his father, and so his son Richard II succeeded to the throne instead. The price was one of the most successful English commanders of the Hundred Years War (1337–1453). He was regarded by English contemporaries as a model o chivalry and one of the greatest knights of his era.

Two Great Sailors (Eric and Lief) (20)

1, Why did Eric the Red leave Iceland?

Apparently Norwegian born Erik Thorvaldsson was exiled from his Iceland for three years for killing a man. (His own father Thorvald had ended up in Iceland for similar reasons.

2. Tell how his son Leif discovered Vinland

In the third generation, the tradition of sailing west continued with Leif Erikson finding a place called Vinland in what we now know as America. There are various traditions of people sailing to America before Columbus in 1492. Vinland appear to be in the area we now know as Newfoundand.

3. On the Globe find Iceland, Greenland and America (Vinland)

William Wallace (28)

1. Which English king wanted to conquer Scotland?

It was Edward I 1239-1307, king from 1272, who wanted to conquer Scotland. (He actually conquered Wales).

2. From which town did Wallace drive the English?

Wallace was able to drive the English out of Strirling in 1297, following the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

3. How did the English capture William Wallace?

Wallae appears to have been betrayed by a fellow Scot (John de Menteith) who revealed that Wallace was hiding in a wood.

Sir William Wallace c 1270-1305) was a Scottish knight of the minor nobility who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, he defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk July 1298. In August 1305, he was captured in Robroyston, near Glasgow, and handed over to King Edward I, who had him hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians.

Since his death, Wallace has obtained a legendary status beyond his homeland. He is the protagonist of Blind Harry's 15th-century epic poem The Wallace and the subject of literary works by Jane Porter and Sir Walter Scott and, most famously, the Academy Award-winning but historically unreliable film Braveheart, starring Mel Gibson.

A modern equivalent for adults

Gimson's Heroes is a book of fifty biographies of British heroes. Days of Glory is more expansive and includes incidents as well as biographies. However, in at least five instances the subject is exactly the same, namely

King Alfred the Great

Robert Bruce

Sir Walter Raleigh

Elizabeth Fry

Lord Shaftesbury

Also, Harold, Drake and Nelson are featured in both books, DoG having chapters on Hastings, the Armada and Trafalgar.

It is a surprise, now I reflect, that DofG doesn't have something on Florence Nightingale or David Livingstone or General Wolfe but see Days of Adventure, which also has something on Scott (as opposed to Gimson on Shackleton) nd Boadicea/Boudicca.

Where Purton has Metcalf, Gimson has Telford.

One book is for children in the sixties and the other for adults today but they breathe the same spirit, even where the material does not overlap. Both books are specifically designed for readers who want to quickly grasp the essential, narrative facts of British history either for the first time or because they don't quite remember from their school days. I get the impression that Gimson and Purton were cut from the same cloth.