The History Chap Podcast

Send me a message The Bantam battalions of the British (& Canadian) army during the First World War were made up from men below the normal height requirement of 5’3. Get my Newsletter / Get in Touch Over 30,000 pint-sized warriors volunteered, including a corporal who was just 4’9 and I will share his story later in this episode. I will also tell you about a bantam war poet, and another bantam...

Send me a message The battle of Hlobane was the third (& final) defeat the British suffered during the Zulu War in 1879. Get in touch and also get my weekly newsletter Over 90 white and 100 African troops were killed in a defeat that could have ended in complete disaster. Once more the Zulus proved they were worthy adversaries. Having said that, the battle of Hlobane was a disaster of the Brit...

Send me a message ”The Cockleshell Heroes” was released in 1955, , and tells the story of a daring raid by British commandos using kayaks to attack German ships. It starred Jose Ferrer, Trevor Howard, Christopher Lee, Anthony Newley, and David Lodge. It was actually based upon a real historic event during World War 2, Operation Frankton, when British commandos really did use kayaks to conduct a sa...

Send me a message William Coltman volunteered to join the British Army in 1915. But once on the Western Front, the deeply religious Coltman realised that he couldn't bring himself to kill another man. So he volunteered to become a stretcher bearer, going out into no mans land to rescue the wounded. For the rest of the war he risked his life again and again to help the wounded. For his bravery...

Send me a message The Battle of the Taku Forts (otherwise known as the storming of the Taku Forts) took place during the Second Opium War in 1860. 7 Victoria Crosses were awarded, including to the youngest recipient ever. Get my free weekly newsletter This story, which is the 2nd of two episodes on this Opium War, tells the story of those VC recipients as well as the storming of the Taku Forts in...

Send me a message The storming of the Taku Forts took place during the Second Opium War between Britain & France on one side and China on the other in 1860. The battle led to the British (and their French allies) occupying Beijing and forcing the Chinese to sign a peace treaty, which still impacts China’s view of the west to this day. As I was researching this story, I realised just how many f...

Send me a message Albert Ball VC, was a British First World War fighter pilot who became an ace when he was just 19. Eventually he shot down 44 German planes, was  awarded the Victoria Cross, 3 Distinguished Service Orders (the first person ever to achieve that feat), a Military Cross along with the French Legion d’Honneur. And he achieved all of that by the time he was killed in action at the age...

Send me a message Exactly what were the Opium Wars and how did they end up with the British in charge of Hong Kong until 1997? Get my free, weekly history newsletter The Opium Wars were two 19th century wars fought between China and Britain (and also France in the second one).  Two mighty and proud empires fighting each other and all, ostensibly about the trade in opium. The British were trying to...

Send me a message The Battle of Medway was a decisive turning poiunt in the he Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD. Get My FREE Weekly Newsletter In AD43, the Romans launched a successful invasion of Britain. They decisively defeated a huge army of `Britons at a battle on the banks of the river Medway in modern day Kent and the king leading the resistance was killed.  The Britons never again presen...

Send me a message “55 Days at Peking” is the title of a 1963 Hollywood movie and is based upon a real historical event - the siege of the foreign diplomatic quarter in Peking (now Beijing) during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Sign up for my Newsletter The film starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner and David Niven is a swash buckling period piece, but what are the real historical events and how clos...

Send me a message In 55 & 54BC, Julius Caesar led two military expeditions to Britain. Sign up to my free weekly newsletter You will probably know that Britain (or at least a large part of it) was part of the Roman Empire, but  the mighty Caesar’s invasions were nearly 100 years before that happened. Support the show

Send me a message Sign up to my free weekly newsletter This is the story of debonair, quintessentially British film star, David Niven and his military service in World War 2. David Niven began his film career during Hollywood’s “golden age”, under producer Samuel Goldwyn and starring alongside some of the greats like Errol Flynn and Ginger Rogers. He was also an Academy Award and Golden Globe reci...

Send me a message In 1898, future British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, took part in one of the last great regimental cavalry charges by the British Army at the Battle of Omdurman in Sudan. Little did they know, that they were riding into a ambush. Join My Membership Club Support the show

Send me a message A railway covering 235 through the harsh Nubian desert was to prove crucial in General Herbert Kitchener's defeat of the Mahdist army at the battle of Omdurman. Get my weekly free newsletter Support the show

Send me a message The Battle of Atbara, fought in April 1898, between a combined Egyptian-British army and an army loyal to the Mahdi's successor (the Khalifa) was a decisive victory for General Kitchener. It cleared the way for his ultimate march on Omdurman later that year. Join my FREE weekly history newsletter. Support the show

Send me a message Become A Subscriber & Get Exclusive Episodes Did you know that in its 170 year history, the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest medal for valour, has been awarded to 5 Americans? Four were members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War One. But the very first American to receive the VC was serving in the Royal Navy, at the time of the American Civil War, in a tiny...

Send me a message “Woodbine Willie”, or to give him his real name, the Reverend Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy was a British Army chaplain in the First World War. Support My Channel Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter He was one of those Christians who believed that the the church should not wait for people to come to it but should go out to the people. And it was this belief that took him to the We...

Send me a message Sign up to my free weekly history newsletter The Battle of Waterloo, fought in 1815 saw the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. At the end of the 8 hour struggle nearly 50,000 dead and dying men lay on the battlefield. Whilst celebrated (in Britain) as a British victory, it’s often forgotten that Wellington’s army was an international army containing Dutch, Belgians & germans...

Send me a message Theodore Hardy, an army chaplain serving in WW1 was awarded three of Britain's highest medals for bravery - the DSO, the MC and the highest of them all, the Victoria Cross. Not bad for a slight, short sighted, vegetarian former school teacher in his 50's! This is his amazing story. Get my free weekly newsletter Support the show

Send me a message The 1963 film, "Zulu" tells the story of the defence of Rorke's Drift during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded to the defenders. One of those VC recipients was Private Henry Hook. In the film, his character, played by James Booth was a  insubordinate barrack room lawyer, partial to drink and malingering in the hospital. The film does this...

Send me a message The Malayan Emergency - when the British fought communist guerrillas in the Malay Peninsular, was one of the few successful counter insurgency operations undertaken by western powers during the Cold War. 1500 British and Commonwealth troops lost their lives (including men from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Rhodesia), along with over 1,300 local troops and police.  6,000 commu...

Send me a message Get My Free Weekly Newsletter What is the Kohima Epitaph and what has it got to do with Britain’s forgotten battle that changed the Second World War? Well, those of you living in the UK and who attend Remembrance Sunday services will probably know the words even if you don’t know the story behind them: “When you go home, tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, We gave our tod...

Send me a message During the First World War, over 2,000 professional footballers in Britain fought frothier country. Three specific Footballer's Battalions were formed. Many became officers, many were decorated for valour (including to VC's). Over 300 never came home. This is the story of those football battalions and some of the men who left the sports field and went to the battlefield...

Send me a message The Battle of Agincourt, fought on the 25th October 1415, was one of the greatest victories the English achieved over the French. The English army, under King Henry V, despite being outnumbered inflicted a crushing defeat on the French forces, killing over 6,000 of them for the loss of just 400 English. Get my free weekly newsletter Support the show

Send me a message “The Bridge On The River Kwai” has often been referred to as one of the greatest war films of all time. Whilst it was based upon a fictional novel, British Prisoner's of War did build a bridge over the river on the infamous Burma railway. This is the story of the “Death Railway”, the real Bridge on the River Kwai and Lt. Colonel Philip Toosey DSO. Get my free weekly history...