Bloody Violent History

The early twentieth century was the high point of travel by luxury liner.  Yet two world wars saw the roles of these great ships transformed.  Their speed and capacity were redirected into troop-carrying and hospital service. The sister ships of the Titanic were employed during World War One: HMHS Britannic sank in the Aegean.  There were further tragedies, including the loss of the Lusitania, whi...

1607, and in the wilderness of Virginia, a tiny, pallisaded fort containing some one hundred English settlers clings on grimly and awaits salvation and resupply. Beset by internal feuds and attacks by the local Indians, the outpost continues to endure.  Theirs is a tale of stoicism and woe.  A relentless period of endurance and fear.   Conditions become so terrible that some are driven to eat thei...

1291, and in the redoubt of Acre the Crusaders prepare to make a final stand against the might of the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt.  After 200 years in the Holy Land the Frankish hold on Palestine is at an end and few will come to save what is left of the Christian possessions. The Templars and the Hospitallers are still there, the former in their Lion Fortress and standing firm. Yet most in Acre are...

Bad things happen to bad people.  Throughout history, tyrants and despots have fallen, often in bloody and surprising ways. There was the defeated Roman Emperor used as a foot stool, the Afghan chief of defence fired from a cannon, and the Moroccan vizier chained to his dead brother in a dungeon.  All were part of a rich tapestry of horror and macabre episodes.  Yet even today there are still stor...

For a thousand years, England and France have been sparring, fighting and generally knock lumps from each other.  Indeed, most of our greatest memorials – from Blenheim Palace to Trafalgar Square – were erected in honour of our triumphs over the ancient enemy.  We try to get along, but all too often diplomacy and soothing words fail to patch over our deep-routed differences.  Our podcast explores...

1565, a vast armada of Turkish ships carrying an Ottoman army some 40,000 strong arrives off the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta to begin a siege that will change the course of history. The action will become forever known as the Great Siege of Malta. Facing the invaders are the small band of the Hospitaller Knights of St John, marauders and throwbacks to the time of the Crusades.   It is upon...

In this podcast we cover the inner workings and secrets of the Historical Thriller, the excitement of walking the ground and prising open the hidden truths of the past.  The answer is to make it look simple and keep the pace moving.  Yet there are many tricks of the trade and here Jamie and Tom discuss how to create dramatic and immersive stories.  For both readers and writers, this should be a ga...

Many are names in the wartime Hall of Fame.  Yet others have faded from view and collective memory.  All are heroines and all sacrificed much in two world wars to defend their country and help others in need.  As nurses or secret agents, from Edith Cavell to Violette Szabo, they stand as extraordinary examples of courage, fortitude and duty So it Goes Tom Assheton & James Jackson   Readings by Dav...

You might not have heard of the poisonous loo roll or of exploding rats and incendiary bats.  But this is their story, the litany of bizarre inventions and lunatic ideas that only war and desperation can throw up.  Even today there are some pretty strange concepts and pipedreams and the mad inventor is certainly not a thing of the past.  When a scientist gets an idea, it is not simply a bouncing b...

Tom interviews the historian Professor Andrew Roberts.  We discuss the importance of history, his books including his latest work, Leadership in War , and his critically acclaimed biography of Winston Churchill, Walking with Destiny , and what history might inform us about the future.  The very essence of this BVH podcast. So it Goes Tom Assheton & James Jackson   Prof. Andrew Roberts Waterloo Unc...

During the Great War, thousands of dogs were sent to the Western Front to patrol, guard, catch rats and carry messages.  It is an extraordinary story of courage and sacrifice and the contribution these beloved animals had in sustaining morale and keeping spirits high.  In particular, it tells of the Irish Terriers who seemed almost the perfect breed for the hardship and rigours of the trenches. So...

5th November 1605.  Few are unaware of the story and most have heard of Guy ‘Guido’ Fawkes.  After all, he was the ‘clean skin’, the mercenary hired to live under deep cover in the precincts of the Palace of Westminster and blow the King and his entourage to oblivion when the moment came. Yet fewer know of the true story, of the Catholic horsemen waiting to snatch the King’s young daughter, Prince...

1588.  The history of a nation has many waypoints and the Spanish Armada is one of the key stepping-stones in the folklore and legend of the British Isles.  Names such as Drake, Howard, Frobisher and Hawkins are synonymous with the dash and daring of the action.   Yet behind the scenes was an intelligence war masterminded by the spy chief Sir Francis Walsingham.  It involved secret agents, black p...

We take the existence of the atomic bomb for granted, accept that America was always going to get there first.  However during World War Two, that was not a given.  German science started way ahead.  Yet Germany never brought its research out of the lab, never capitalised on its initial technological superiority. So it Goes Tom Assheton & James Jackson   https://www.instagram.com/bloodyviolenthist...

From the Assassins and Berserkers and on to the Zulus, narcotics have played a key part in warfare.  By the Twentieth Century, aggression-fuelling drugs were replaced by those improving alertness and stamina and amphetamines were widely utilised throughout the conflict by Allied and Axis armies alike.  Indeed, Hitler was hooked on them.  Later, it was recreational drugs that took such a toll on mo...

 When Hiram Maxim built and patented the world’s first single-barrel automatic machinegun, few saw its potential.  Yet within a few years it had proved its worth in colonial battles such as Bembezi, Shangani River and Omdurman.  Still military high commands refused to embrace its lethality.  Come the Great War and its devastating effect on ranks of advancing infantry, the machinegun won its spurs...

The cavalry charge throughout history is synonymous with both pluck and daring and with catastrophic failure and defeat.  Its advantages of speed and power have too often been squandered by commanders who have failed to use its potential or appreciate its flaws.  Whether Crusaders or Napoleon’s cuirassiers, the result has been a battlefield littered with dead men and horses.  Yet occasionally ther...

As World War 2 progressed and the Nazis suffered a reversal of fortune, plots against Adolf Hitler began to multiply.  After the defeat of the German Army at Stalingrad in particular, many officers began to see the Führer as the problem and the war as unwinnable.  Assassination became the answer. Long before the July ’44 bomb plot, individuals were stepping forward with their own plans and with bo...

Our mission is simple.  It is to make history come alive, to inform and provoke, and to encourage listeners to dig deeper and read more widely for themselves.  As Mark Twain said: ‘History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes’. History is our hinterland, the past that influences our present and future.  From Crossbows to Crosshairs, from Gunpowder to Gun-Running, we aim to cover a wide range...