Seventy-five years ago the largest seaborne invasion in history was underway in Normandy, France. In the early hours of the morning, airbourne troops landed behind enemy lines and fought their way to strategic objectives and then just before dawn an opening bombardment roared along the coast – followed […]
The 28th (Māori) Battalion is one of New Zealand’s most well-known military units to have served during the Second World War. Their heroism on battlefields in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy is the stuff of legends. Sadly there are only a couple of veterans from this unit […]
These previously unpublished photographs of the Home Guard offer a rare candid view of an often-overlooked part of New Zealand’s experience during the Second World War. Far from being a safe sideshow, with limited resources these men bravely faced a genuine threat and were prepared to defend their […]
The prominent heights of Pointe du Hoc on the Normandy coast were the scene of a desperate battle during the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944. The strategic promontory overlooks Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east, making it an obvious choice for a coastal battery. To mark the anniversary of D-Day I thought I’d share some photos I took during a visit to the site.
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Last year I shared some of my experiences exploring Omaha Beach, to mark the anniversary this year I thought I’d share some of my photos from a D-Day commemoration I attended in Portsmouth five years ago. I was actually […]
Today I have another couple of envelopes and another story, this time from wartime Wellington – a city that has had a bit of a shaky time lately. I came across this pair of covers (fancy philately term for used envelopes) back when I was a teenager. At […]
Today is D-Day. And I don’t mean that in the figurative sense. Today marks the 69th anniversary of the Allied landings at Normandy on 6th June 1944. The original non-metaphorical D-Day. To commemorate this day of days I thought I’d share some of my personal experiences from a […]
First of all, apologies for the brief absence on the blog front. I’ve been rather busy lately with the exception of an uncharacteristic migraine which waited until Otago’s regional holiday before ambushing me and rendering me useless, but I can’t complain, at least I’m not off to war […]
This evening a good friend of mine shared this beautiful photo of a snow-covered Dome of the Rock. It is the first time in four years that snow has fallen in Jerusalem and it looks like the locals are enjoying the novelty. According to this article it is […]
It is that wonderful time of the year again. Deadlines are looming, traffic is congested, frantic shoppers jostle for position at the cashier and all the while we are being mocked by sadistically ironic jingles about what a wonderful time we are supposed to be having. It sure […]
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