Sunday, August 22, 2010

The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was one of the most important conflicts of the Cold War era. Take a look at the following sites for an overview of the war and some thoughts on its significance.

Overview and index of key figures and events from Spartacus

The History Learning Site

BBC Web pages on the war

The Vietnam War in pictures

The National Archives
Was Vietnam a turning point in the Cold War?

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Battle of Britain 70th anniversary


This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain when the German Luftwaffe began a campaign to gain air superiority over Britain in order to mount an invasion of the British Isles. The Battle, which began in the summer of 1940, is remembered for the clashes between the British Spitfires and Hurricanes and the German fighters and bombers over southern England and the channel. Here are some resources which will help you find out more about the conflict and enable you to distinguish the myths from the realities.

A handy introduction is provided by Dr Chris Bellamy for the BBC and in the lengthy American wartime propaganda film shown below:



You can listen to Churchill's pre Battle of Britain speech here:




And you can hear his famous "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" speech here.

Follow these links for further information on the Battle of Britain:

The BBC Archive (an excellent resource)
The Cost
Why Germany Lost
The Few


And finally here is a nice video of BBC Radio presenter Evan Davis experiencing what it is like to fly in a Spitfire.

The Normans

To mark the BBC series on the legacy of the Normans, they have set up a new web page on the Norman Conquest. Click on the link to find some great material that will be really useful for Year 7 students and anyone else interested in the Medieval period.