History@Kingston

During the course of 1917, in a determined attempt to cut down on the amount of food imports and to alleviate pressure on Allied ships sailing across the Atlantic, the British government initiated a national campaign to encourage as much cultivation of land as possible, and evidence of this can be seen at local level in Surrey, including in the Kingston area and surrounding d...

After Adolf Hitler’s suicide in his bunker in Berlin on 30th April, 1945, his chosen successor, Grand-Admiral Donitz, was briefly the new leader of a Germany that, astonishingly, fought on for a few more days. Donitz did not concede defeat until 7th May, 1945.

It was a good indication that some parts of the German armed forces, especially many middle-ranking and...

For anybody interested in the nature and growth of Britain’s extreme and racist right, a biographical study from 2020 of Arthur Kenneth (A.K.) Chesterton (1899-1973) is essential reading. I have recently revisited the book and remain very impressed. The study, A.K. Chesterton and the Evolution of Britain’s Extreme Right, 1933-1973, penned by Luke LeCras, was publishe...

With the seeming surge in conspiracy theories during the recent coronavirus crisis, and the blatant use of conspiracy theory by leading politicians such as Donald Trump, it is important to be aware of the dangerous history of such views. Indeed, to this end, it is currently even more vital to understand the claims of some of the historically ‘classic’ advocates of these paran...