The Blitz

On the 70th anniversary of The Blitz, it is worth taking a look at the marvellous American propaganda film "London Can Take It" designed to garner support for Britain in the USA.

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.

Weapons of the First World War

There were a number of new weapons that came into use in the First World War including the first tanks.

Take a look at this video to get an idea of what these early tanks were really like.



And here is one on the use of U-boats in the First World War:


The First World War website has an excellent section on weaponry and this article on Zeppelins, while History on the Net is also worth checking out.

Why Study History?

Quite soon you will be asked to make your options for the subjects you want to study at GCSE and, of course, History is one of the choices open to you. Apart from being one of the most interesting and enjoyable subjects to study at this level, it is also one of the most useful and will provide you with many of the skills in demand from top employers. Whether it be business, politics, law, the media, marketing, education and even science, studying History will be of invaluable help.

Why not take a look at some of these History teacher videos to get a a taste of the course?

Mr Allsop's video


Miss Hawthorne's take on GCSE History


Another video by Mr Allsop, this time to accompany the Billy Joel Song "We didn´t start the Fire" which deals with a succession of events in American History:

The Slave Trade

The slave trade was a highly lucrative trade for Britain and other European nations during the 18th and 19th centuries. Slaves were taken from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas in appalling conditions in a journey known as "the middle passage".

Take a look at this excellent website developed by the National Maritime Museum which examines the Triangular Trade, resistance to it, the reasons why it was abolished and its impact. Try the exhibition activity as a way of testing your understanding of the topic.

Other useful information can be found at the Channel Four site, and the Amistad site.
You can listen to Olaudah Equiano's famous account of his life, his enslavement, freedom and campaign to abolish slavery here.

Industrial Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs such as Josiah Wedgwood (pictured left), Abraham Darby and Richard Arkwright played an important part in the Industrial Revolution, harnessing the new technologies, sources of power and demand for materials to set up factories and profitable businesses.

For a profile of Wedgwood, take a look at the BBC History website. Also check out the Wedgwood museum for more information and a virtual tour of Etruria.

For information on the Darbys at Coalbrookdale try looking at the website for all the museums at Ironbridge, while for textile entrepreneur and inventor Richard Arkwright try another informative site at Cromford Mill.

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles has been much criticised. Was it a brave attempt to remodel Europe after the First World War or was it a short-sighted and vengeful document designed to punish Germany. Take a look at the History Learning site for some good background and information on the treaty.

The old BBC History video "Make Germany Pay" gives a neat summary of the terms of the treaty.


Here is a more opinionated judgement on the peace treaties which is also worth examining.

The Battle of the Somme

Here is a powerpoint on the Battle of the Somme that took place during the First World War. It looks at the plans for the battle and what went wrong:

The Battle of the Somme

View more presentations from russeltarr.

You can find some interesting background information on Haig on the History Learning site and on the excellent firstworldwar.com

First World War propaganda posters

All participants in the First World War made use of propaganda posters to encourage recruitment to the armed forces, boost morale and attack their opponents.

At First World War.com they have a great collection of posters from many of the countries that were involved.

World War One - The Schlieffen Plan

As all you Year 9 students should know by now, the Schlieffen Plan - designed by General Von Schlieffen in 1905 - formed the basis of German military plans at the start of the First World War. The School History site gives a concise overview of the plan.

The Spartacus Web and the History Learning site have similar information on its site and here is a handy revision quiz to test your understanding.

Here is a video on the reality of the plan when it was put into action at the start of the First World War.

The Causes of the First World War

If you want to recap or revise the Causes of the First World War go to the BBC Website and follow the Road to War.

For a short film on the spark that set off the war take a look at the following video on the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.

The Slave trade

The slave trade was a highly lucrative trade for Britain and other European nations during the 18th and 19th centuries. Slaves were taken from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas in appalling conditions in a journey known as "the middle passage".

The slave triangle involving Britain, Africa and the American colonies is explained in this website. If you want to know more about the battle to abolish the slave trade there is plenty more information on the same site.

Entrepreneurs in the Industrial Revolution

Entrepreneurs (people who set up businesses during the Industrial Revolution) played an important part in making Britain an important industrial power. Play the Victorian business game to see if you have got what it takes to become an industrial enterpreneur.

The Domestic System

The domestic (or cottage) system was the traditional method of producing goods prior to the Industrial Revolution. This article looks at how the system worked.

The causes of the Industrial Revolution

Here is a short video on what caused the Industrial Revolution



The History Channel also has a webpage looking at the causes of the Industrial Revolution.

Here is an interesting article on the causes

Emily Davison and the Suffragettes

History Words

Chronology: putting people, periods and events in the order in which they happened. You could do this as a timeline for example.

A period of History – a chunk or section of the past, e.g The Medieval period lasted from approximately 1066 to 1500.

BC – “Before Christ” – the time in the past before Jesus Christ is estimated to have been born.

AD – “Anno Domini” (“The Year of Our Lord”). The years after the birth of Christ.

A decade – a period of 10 years.

A century – a period of 100 years. We often refer to events as taking place in a certain century, for example Henry VIII was King of England between 1509 and 1547, but we often say he reigned in the 16th century. Remember that the first century started in the year 1.

A millennium – a period of 1000 years.

An anachronism is something that is out of place. It is in the wrong place or period.

Sources are the things that are left over from the past. Historians use sources to find evidence about the past.

A primary source is one that comes from the time a historian is studying.

A secondary source is one that comes from after the time a historian is studying.

A fact is something we know happened for sure, for example that the first man walked on the moon in 1969.

An opinion is someone’s view about something, eg that Henry VIII was a bad king.

Bias is when something is one-sided. The verb is “to be biased”. Biased sources can still be very useful to historians because they tell us about people’s opinions.

Hypothesis – a possible explanation of something that happened.

Interpretation – A particular version of explaining what happened in the past.