The British Modern Military History Society is delighted to announce the publication of the first volume of its book Glimpses of War.
Released on May 8, the anniversary of VE Day, It was born out of lockdown, and is a compilation of military stories and articles from our members and historians of experiences in wartime, both civilian and military in any role and any conflict.
All proceeds from this 550-page volume will go to the charity Blind Veterans UK (formerly St Dunstan’s) who have given full endorsement to the book. More details of the publication and how to contribute to future volumes are at: www.bmmhs.org/glimpses-of-war
During 2021 BMMHS will continue Zoom talks twice a month and look to resume live meetings as soon as we can and it is deemed safe to do so. Please check our website www.bmmhs.org for up-to-date information.
Our afternoon meeting at 2pm on Tuesday May 4 will be entitled Ships, Stars and Isles – an illustrated talk based on a collection of some four hundred letters that the speaker’s father, Billy Taylor, wrote home to his parents whilst serving in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War.
Long after his father’s death, Mark Taylor discovered the letters. As he read them, he saw that his father was a skilled and witty writer who had described a naval life, both routine and in action, from the Dover Patrol via the Dunkirk evacuation (where Billy was awarded the D.S.M.), Atlantic convoys, U-boat encounters, the invasions of both North Africa and France, and ultimately the Japanese surrender in the Far East.
Despite the constraints of the censor and his audience, Billy’s letters revealed his thoughts as well as his experience.
On Wednesday May 12 our evening talk at 7.30pm will be on Lawrence of Arabia: Man, Myth and Movie.
Lawrence was probably the most remarkable officer to have served in the British Army during the Great War. Today he is probably the most famous.
Yet it is now difficult to separate the man from the myth.
As a result of recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, T.E. Lawrence has enjoyed a resurgence of interest among British and American army officers.
In his presentation, Dr John Peaty will try to disentangle the man from the myth, examine the various portrayals of Lawrence and try to explain how a junior British Army officer became, next to Mao, the most famous guerrilla leader the world has ever known.
Check out our website on www.bmmhs.org for details of all our talks, and to register for talks, email us on [email protected]
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