Chungking – as English speakers referred to Chongqing in the early 20th century – was an unlikely capital. Deep inside China, in Szechuan (Sichuan) province, the city became the seat of Chiang Kai-shek’s government on November 20, 1937, when Chiang officially transferred China’s government from its previous long-time capital, Nanking (Nanjing). In a mobilisation unlike … Read more
IT was planned to be the biggest prisoner of war escape ever, with more than 200 men involved in a mass breakout. As it turned out, 76 British and Allied airmen fled from the grim Stalag Luft III PoW camp deep inside Germany — and today sees the 80th anniversary of the feat known as … Read more
A GIRL of 12 put herself blunder arrest — by getting locked in a museum’s pair of WWII handcuffs. Ayla McLaughlin was shackled for nearly an hour as staff had no key. 3 Ayla McLaughlin was shackled by the museum’s cuffs for nearly an hour as staff had no keyCredit: Paul McLaughlin 3 Ayla got … Read more
A UNIQUE UK attraction found underneath the ground has been the unlikely site of some of the country’s most fascinating parts of history and culture for thousands of years. From hosting some of the most famous bands Britain has ever produced, to protecting people during the Second World War, the caverns have played an important … Read more
A RUSSIAN influencer faces up to five years in jail after “tickling” the breast of a famous war statue. Alena Agafonova, 23, landed herself in hot water after posting a video beneath The Motherland Calls monument in Volgograd, southwest Russia, on Instagram last year. 4 Russian influencer Alena Agafonova, 23, filmed herself pretending to ‘tickle” … Read more
“I GOT my first look at the Suffolk scene . . . the dazzling greenness of the fields and the beauty of the hedgerows . . . green beyond anything I had ever seen at home.” So recalled John Appleby, an American from Arkansas who served in the US Air Force in Britain until November 1945. 5 It’s bombs away for Callum Turner, … Read more
THE safest place to be in the UK if World War 3 erupts has been revealed – but it can only hold 90 people. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sparked fears of global war but ongoing conflicts involving Iran and the Middle East, China and Taiwan, and North Korea has the world holding its breath. 3 World War Three could be on the … Read more
On April 30, 1945, the photojournalist Lee Miller took a bath in Hitler’s tub. A correspondent for British Vogue, Miller had posted up in the Führer’s abandoned apartment in Munich along with a group of G.I.s from the 179th Regiment. That morning, she had been among the first to enter the newly liberated Dachau. Her … Read more
WITH its sandpit, slide and paddling pool, plus a team of home helps, Hedwig Höss considered her new home to be “paradise” for her and her five children. So much so that when her husband Rudolf was transferred to a more important post far away, she refused to leave it, and he went alone. 8 … Read more
The memo sent to staff in the Prime Minister’s Office to announce the hiring of Max Valiquette as the government’s new executive director of communications said the former marketing executive would be focused on, among other things, “aligning the entire team under a clear narrative.” In politics, a clear narrative isn’t everything, but it’s a … Read more
