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The story of Ernest Grandier, the only European prisoner of war taken by the Zulus during the Anglo-Zulu War 1879.

But was his tale one of heroism or just a tall story?

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The Anglo-Sikh wars fought in the 1840’s, were probably the bloodiest the British ever fought in India. 9,000 British & Bengali troops and well over 20,000 Sikhs were killed or wounded in 7 epic battles and one siege. Marked by incredible bravery on both sides, with a good dose of incompetence and accusations of treachery thrown in, the wars would change India forever.

And yet, most people, have very limited (if any) knowledge about them. Well, unless you are a fan of Harry Flashman of course!

Flashman gets up to his usual adventures (on the battlefield and in the bedroom) in "Flashman and the Mountain of Light" which is set in the First Anglo Sikh War

This is the first in my series about those two Anglo-Sikh wars.

In this episode I explore how the first war started and the opening battle of Mudki on the 18th December 1845.

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Many of you in Britain, will be aware of fire at Grenfell Tower, in London in 2017 which cost the lives of 72 people.

But have you paused to wonder how the tower block gained its name?

Well, it is actually named after a Victorian army officer who played a decisive role in defeating the Sudanese Mahdist invasion of Egypt in 1889.
Yet, his name and his deeds have largely been lost in the mists of history.

This is the rarely told story of General Sir Francis Grenfell, a forgotten Victorian hero.

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This is the story of the only family to ever be awarded 3 Victoria Crosses.

Brothers Charles & Hugh Gough, and Charles's son, John Gough.

Their military service record reads like a roll call of the British Army campaigns in the late 19th and early 20th century.

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The African Queen was a 1951 adventure film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.
Set in German East Africa (Tanzania) during the First World War, it is actually based upon real events.

This is the story of Mimi, Toutou, a wacky British commander and the moment when the Royal Navy fought the German Imperial Navy on a lake deep inside Africa - the battle for lake Tanganyika.

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In 1866, Irish veterans from the US Civil War invaded Canada.
This is the story of that Fenian Invasion and the battle of Ridgeway.

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Victorian British army surgeon, William Manley, is the only man to have ever been awarded both the Victoria Cross and the Iron Cross.

But how did that happen?

Let's explore his forgotten story.

William Manly VC (1831 - 1901).


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Actor Christopher Lee appeared in over 200 films during a 67 year career.

But what a lot of people don’t know is that he served as an intelligence in the RAF during World War 2.

More intriguingly, he also claimed that he served with special forces too.

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