History between the Lines

As the 1970s dawns, a European Power still possesses colonies in Africa. Since 1961, Portugal has been involved in a brutal irregular war in its three remaining African territories. But things are about to change. Developments amongst the army and the wider world will change not only the wars but Portuguese society itself forever.Professor Pedro Oliveira joins me to talk about these colonial conflicts. He has written extensively about this area of Portuguese history.Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses", by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

In April 1975, a deadly plague struck the world- on British television. This was when the first series of Survivors was broadcast, a fictional drama about a pandemic which wipes out most of humanity. The survivors of this disaster now face a lawless world where they must learn the ways of self-reliance.A classic of British TV, Survivors also highlights many concerns of the British public of the mid-1970s and it strikes a different chord watching it today, with our own society having gone through an eerily similar crisis.Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses", by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

As England is racked by noble rebellions during the 1450s, a new faction emerges at court, led by the Duke of York, known as the Yorkists. Out of this group will emerge Prince Edward, the Duke's son, who will go on to claim the throne for himself...Next episode in the series on England's royal Edwards post-1066, I'm joined by Dr David Grummitt to talk about King Edward IV, the ruler forged in the dynastic struggle of the Wars of the Roses.Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses", by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

Historian and broadcaster Dr Simon Elliott joins me to talk about this deification of Roman Emperors.In 211 AD, Emperor Septimius Severus dies in Britain. He soon undergoes a strange and supernatural ceremony, one which has been central to imperial culture for decades. The dead Severus will be deified and made into a god to be worshipped in the Roman world.How did this deification ceremony come to be introduced, how was it carried out and what impact did it have on the Roman Empire?Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Final episode of mini-series on late 1950s British military history.We explore the legacies of the operations Brian and Gerry were involved in and answer the ultimate question of why these veterans should be remembered more in public memory.Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses", by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Part 2 of the mini-series on 1950s British military.As Brian Carlile fights to retain the empire on Cyprus in 1957, RAF Leading Aircraftman Gerry Bowler is sent to Christmas Island in the Pacific to take part in a very different sort of operation. An operation fraught with danger.Through Gerry's story, told by his granddaughter, historian Dr Fiona Bowler, we discover that Britain, in order to remain a Great Power post-WW2, is determined to get the Hydrogen Bomb, the most destructive weapon Mankind has ever built. The site they have chosen to test the H-bomb: Christmas Island.Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Episode 1 of a mini-series on the late 1950s British military.Episode 1 tells the story of Brian Carlile, who was drafted into the British Army in 1957 to perform National Service. As he goes through army training, he discovers where he is to be deployed to: the war-torn island of Cyprus.This series shows how Britain continued to fight across the globe well after 1945 and it asks the question, why should these British soldiers, sailors and airmen of the late 1950s be remembered more?Cover artwork- "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.

Dr Andy King joins me one last time to talk about the life and reign of King Edward III. From coups in Westminster and Scottish raids to the Hundred Years' War and the Black Death, this is a rollercoaster of a royal reign.Cover artwork- "Comfort from a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay. 

By 1917, German U-boats are running amok amongst Allied shipping, threatening the war effort. The British Royal Navy decides to launch an attack against the German submarine base at Zeebrugge harbour to neutralize these U-boats, an operation guaranteed to be one of the most dangerous of the First World War.Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.

Continuation of the Edwards of English royal history. With the demise of Edward I in 1307, his son comes to the throne. And so begins decades of war, intrigue, favourites, rebellions, treachery and the final battle to force a king off his throne...Cover artwork: "Comfort of a Bed of Roses" by James Gillray, courtesy of Look and Learn History Picture Archive.Music by Lexin Music from Pixabay.