Military History Carnival 8 is up here.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission have added a new feature to their database. It is now possible to search on for the details of graves after 1945. 

You can click here to fid out more.  

*Cross posted here*

Michael Yon is an American author currently based in Iraq.

You can read more about him here and here.

He represents an important voice in the Iraq conflict. Though an ex-special forces soldier, his work offers a unique viewpoint on the war. He reports are almost always pro-military, though in traditional style, not always pro-authority.

This morning, whist reading this post, I realised that Yon’s work is in many ways, grounding breaking.

His latest post is simple. It praises an American officer, pointing out that:

‘Leaders such as Rakene Lee, LTC Doug Crissman, LTC Fred Johnson, LTC Erik Kurilla and Colonel Townsend —all of whom have a very strong grasp on how to win this war—are increasingly easy to find because the Army and Marines have morphed to meet this war.’

This is standard stuff. Yet, what sets it aside was this link, tucked away at the end of the post. It takes you straight to YouTube and a video taken by Yon (I assume) of the Marine he was writing about in operations. It shows him orchestrating the clearing of a tunnel. The pragmatic bravery is almost palpable. But this isn’t my point. The video represents something new in war reporting. The use of democratic Internet tools, such as Youtube, gives the viewer a direct, unedited, uncensored feedback on just what’s happing in Iraq. It is a day-to-day portrayal of a soldier’s war. Sure, Yon has his own agenda. However, the ease at which this material can be accessed by the general public, gives Yon, and anyone else with an ‘agenda’, a platform.

*Cross posted at http://garysmailes.typepad.com*

I am currently up to my eyes researching for Terry Deary’s latest Horrible History book. The focus is spies during WW2. I am lucky this time around in that we have some extra help from experts on operations in France. This leaves me just every other country involved in the war!

When researching I am always looking for free and accurate resources. You never know what a project is going to throw up and though I am always on the look out for cheap, second hand books, you can’t cover all bases.The library is obviously a great place, but if I can get the information through a digital resource then it saves time and money.

One site that is sometimes of great help is ibiblio. They have a huge collection of free ebooks, but mostly importantly they have loads of history stuff. So enjoy.

Oh yeah, when you get bored check out Project Gutenberg.

I found this at the UK National Inventory of War Memorials blog:

A new memorial to VC winners has been unveiled in Glasgow at the city’s Necropolis.  The unveiling co-incides with the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross and was preceded by a memorial service in Glasgow Cathedral.

Read more from BBC NEWS

We have currently recorded 606 memorials that commemorate VC or GC winners.

Browse the list of memorials to VC and GC winners.

Among these is a memorial to Thomas Arthur V.C.  Arthur was one of the first men to be awarded the Victoria Cross at the first Investiture ceremony held by Queen Victoria on 26 June 1857.

Here’s the wiki link to Thomas Arthur.

I found this at the UK National Inventory of War Memorials blog:

A new memorial to VC winners has been unveiled in Glasgow at the city’s Necropolis.  The unveiling co-incides with the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross and was preceded by a memorial service in Glasgow Cathedral.

Read more from BBC NEWS

We have currently recorded 606 memorials that commemorate VC or GC winners.

Browse the list of memorials to VC and GC winners.

Among these is a memorial to Thomas Arthur V.C.  Arthur was one of the first men to be awarded the Victoria Cross at the first Investiture ceremony held by Queen Victoria on 26 June 1857.

Here’s the wiki link to Thomas Arthur.

I have had a bit of a break from blogging over the last couple of weeks. This has given me time to think. When I started this blog I wanted it to be a home for my Victoria Cross research. However, due to the nature of life this research is sporadic. As a result I started to use the blog for my general thoughts. Anyway, I have now decided to start a new blog which is much more general and allows me to talk about my writing.

You can check it out here.

If will continue to update this blog as and when.

Ross Mahoney has posted an excellent review/summary of the recent seminar at the Centre for First World War Studies in Birmingham. It was titled ‘The Falklands War in Perspective: 25 Years On.’

Here’s his opening paragraph:

‘Saturday 23rd June saw another day school at the Centre for First World War Studies, University of Birmingham. The theme for this year’s school centred on the Falklands War in respect of that conflicts 25th anniversary, which was commemorated this year. Being the first day school I have attended I was pleasantly surprised with a good turn out at the event even though Dr John Bourne, the Centre’s director, did note it was not as high as usual and that this was probably because the content was not about the First World War though after listening to Dr Bob Bushaway’s lecture you could have been forgiven for thinking that you were but more on that later.’

Other stuff worth a look

Roman Times talking about Brennus and the First Sack of Rome.

Mark Grimsley’s second installment of his discussion about military history in general history courses.

Cardinal Wolsey’s Today in History talking about how Cornish rebels meet a sticky end , 27th June, 1497.

News for Medievalists reveals plans for Board game Carcassonne becoming a video game.

Mark Grimsely at Blog Them Out of the Stone Age has began a series of posts, responding to a challenge of ‘incorporating military history into general US history courses.’ As you would expect of anything posted by Mark, the opening thrust of the debate is stimulating and contains some great links to additional material.

To me it raises another question - ‘Why is military history not already included in general US history courses?’

In the UK military history has become an integral part of the GCSE teaching program. Students are taught in depth about both the first and second world wars, events such as the battle of Britain, Dunkirk, trench life and the battle of the Somme are all examined in detail. I am not sure how much of this is carried through to university level, though I suspect it is far more prominent in the UK than the US.

Other stuff worth a look

Sparta talks about The Spartan Hoplites’ Uniform.

Collaborative Manuscript Transcription has an interview with Mat Unger of Papa’s Diary.

A list of new medieval warfare articles at De Re Militari Website.

The Medieval Warfare Blog looks at computer games with a medieval topic.

War correspondent, Michael Yon, reports from Iraq about the first day of Arrowhead Ripper.

Many times on this blog I have ranted on about my belief that the Internet will (has) transform the way in which historical information is viewed and exchanged. Since the introduction of free blogging services and relatively cheap hardware, DIY digitalization has become a real option.

Papa’s Diary Project is a great example of what can be done. Matt Unger is currently transcribing and blog posting a daily page from his grandfather, Harry Scherman’s 19 24 diary. At the time Harry Scheurman was twenty-nine years old. He had been in America for 11 years, but much of his family still lived in the central European, Jewish ghetto of his youth. He was a garment worker, union activist and Zionist fundraiser. He was also unmarried and terribly lonely.

The blog makes fascinating reading and, for me, represents one of the many facets of the Internet that I find so exciting.

Ben Brumfield at Collaborative Manuscript Transcription has also posted about Matt’s blog.

Other stuff worth a look

Sparta
The Greek Fire and Ancient Chemical Warfare & The Pilos Helmet and the spartan Hoplites.

Campus Mawrtius
A digitalized version of a 10th century manuscript of the Iliad.

Blog Them Out of the Stone Age
Mark Grimsley resurrecting the old discussion about Academics v Intellectuals.

The 48th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry
Lt. Curtis Pollock Describes the Battle of Fredericksburg