The History Chap Podcast
Join Chris Green - The History Chap - as he explores the stories behind British history - the great events, the forgotten stories and the downright bizarre!Chris is a historian by training, and has a way of bringing history to life by making it relevant, interesting and entertaining.www.thehistorychap.com
272: The Death That Made Henry VIII & Changed England Forever
Send me a message
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
In this episode we explore how the death of a forgotten heir to the Tudor throne, resulted in Henry VIII becoming king and, ultimately, the English Reformation, the dissolution of the monasteries, and the break between the Church of England and the Pope in Rome.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
271: Escape From The Mahdi: The Real Four Feathers
Send me a message
The real historical events that inspired "The Four Feathers"
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
270: The 19-Year-Old Shot by His Own Side: Private Thomas Highgate
Send me a message
The story of Thomas Highgate, the first of the 346 soldiers executed by the British during the First World War.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
269: The Peasants' Revolt: What Was It Really About?
Send me a message
On 14th June 1381, a 14-year-old king rode out to face an army of his own people. London was burning, the Tower of London had been stormed, and the Chancellor's head lay on Tower Hill.Â
How had England come to this?
The Peasants' Revolt 1381.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
268: Harold's Gamble: How the Battle Of Hastings Was Lost Before It Began
Send me a message
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
In the light of all the news about the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry in London, I want to go behind the headlines of the Battle of hastings, Harold & William, and find out what really happened in England in 1066.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
267: The Man Who Saved Rorke's Drift
Send me a message
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
The film Zulu made the Battle of Rorke's Drift legendary, but it turned its most important defender into a footnote.
In the 1964 classic, James Langley Dalton appears as a quiet, effete commissariat clerk who hands out ammunition and fires not a shot, and somehow ended up with a Victoria Cross.
The real story, however, is far different, and far more exciting.
Â
Get my Free weekly newsletter
266: Why Did Japan Send Her Navy To Malta In 1917?
Send me a message
A Strange Memorial in a British military cemetery in Malta, recalls a forgotten story from the First World War.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
265:The Battle of Quebec 1759: Where James Wolfe Lost His Life But Won An Empire
Send me a message
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
264: Alfred Before He Was Great
Send me a message
The story of Alfred before he was great.
The Viking invasion of Wessex during the winter of 870/871 - 6 great battles - and the rise of a king who would save England.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
263: What Happened to Lt. Bromhead After Rorke's Drift?
Send me a message
The 1964 film, "Zulu" saw Michael Caine's debut on the big screen.
He played Lt. Gonville Bromhead, one of the 11 men awarded the Victoria Cross at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, fought in the Anglo-Zulu War, 1879.
But how close was Caine's character to the real Lt. Bromhead?
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
<...262: The Real Captain Bligh - Villain or Hero?
Send me a message
William Bligh is remembered as history's most notorious villain — the tyrant of the Bounty, the captain whose cruelty drove his men to mutiny.Â
But the real story is stranger, and far more remarkable, than Hollywood ever told you.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
261: Britain, Argentina & The Falklands: 200 Years of Rival Claims
Send me a message
The 200-Year Old History of The Argentinian - British dispute over ownership of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas).
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
260:Last of The Mohicans: The Massacre Behind The Story
Send me a message
The real historical events that inspired the story: Last of the Mohicans.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
259: Zulu's John Chard VC: He Really Did Come To Build A Bridge
Send me a message
In the 1964 film Zulu, Stanley Baker's Lieutenant Chard delivers one of cinema's most quietly memorable lines: "I came up here to build a bridge."Â
This is the real story of Lieutenant John Rouse Merriott Chard VC, officer in command at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in 1879— possibly, the most reluctant and unlikely hero of one of the most celebrated last stands in British military history.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
258: The General Killed Saving The British Army
Send me a message
January 1809. A British Army of over 20,000 men is trapped by the French in north west Spain.
This is the story of a forgotten Scottish General, Sir John Moore, who successfully evacuated his entire army, but at the cost of his life at the battle of Corunna.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
...
257: When The Russians Fired On British Fishing Boats
Send me a message
Just after midnight on the 22nd October 1904, Russian warships opened fire on British fishing trawlers in the North Sea.
Why?
Because, as they sailed towards the Far East during the Russo-Japanese War, Â they thought that they were Japanese torpedo boats.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
256:Why Is David Livingstone Buried Without His Heart?
Send me a message
Britain's most famous explorer, David Livingstone, is buried in Westminster Abbey, but why was he buried without his heart?
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
255: Charles Gordon's Forgotten War in China - The Taiping Rebellion.
Send me a message
Charles "Chinese" Gordon, one of the great Victorian British military heroes, famously killed defending Khartoum against the Mahdi.
But, how did he get the nickname "Chinese" Gordon?Â
This is the story of his forgotten war in China, and the legendary Ever Victorious Army he led against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
In the 1860s, Qing China was tearing itself apart. The Taiping Rebellion — one of the deadliest conflicts in human history — which cost over 20 million lives.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past...
254: Breaker Morant - War Criminal or Scapegoat?
Send me a message
The execution of Harry "Breaker" Morant for the shooting of unarmed prisoners during the Anglo Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902) continues to stir emotions and debate.
Not just about whether he and his comrades were scapegoats or treated with double standards but whether claiming to be following orders is a justifiable defence in military operations.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Support My Work - Make A Donation...
253: The WW1 White Feathers
Send me a message
Whilst the films about "The Four Feathers" are ripping yarns from the age of the British Empire, the real life white feathers handed out to supposed cowards in WW1 had a devastating effect.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
252: What Happened to Private Hitch VC After Rorke's Drift?
Send me a message
In the classic war film "Zulu", Private Fred Hitch is called a "slovenly soldier".
He nevertheless goes on to be awarded the Victoria Cross at the battle of Rorke's Drift.
But the story about what happened to him afterwards, as an invalid veteran in Victorian Britain that is every bit as fascinating, working for the world's oldest security company, losing his VC, accused of theft and becoming a London cabbie.
A story of what happened to Victorian soldiers when then entered civvy street.
Get my Free weekly...
251: The Forgotten Scandal Behind Britain's Favourite Poem, "If-"
Send me a message
The forgotten Victorian scandal behind Britain's favourite poem - Rudyard Kipling's "If-".
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
250: The Man Who Named "The Great Game" & Who Was Executed Playing It.
Send me a message
In 1842, the man who coined the phrase "The Great Game" was executed whilst playing it in a remote city in central Asia.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
249: Why Kitchener Blocked Winston Churchill's Victoria Cross.
Send me a message
Get my Free weekly newsletter
How Winston Churchill's recommendation for a Victoria Cross, during the Anglo-Boer War, was blocked by Lord Kitchener.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
Support the show
248: Before Gallipoli - Forgotten Siege That Defined The ANZAC Spirit.
Send me a message
August 1900. Five hundred colonial troops. Two thousand Boer fighters. Thirteen days of siege — and a refusal to surrender that changed how the world understood the ANZAC spirit.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Stories like this one — the ones that should be famous but never quite made the textbooks — are exactly what I write about in my free weekly newsletter. Join 1,500 readers here:
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donati...
247: The Island Where Nelson Lost His Eye.
Send me a message
In the summer of 1794, Horatio Nelson lost the sight in his right eye on a small Mediterranean island. That island was the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. And for two years — it was British.
This is the story of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom 1794-1796.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Get my Free weekly newsletter
Support My Work - Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
or
Support the show
245: The Army That Vanished: The Retreat From Kabul 1842
Send me a message
In January 1842, a British-led force marched out of Kabul and into one of the most devastating episodes in British military history.
Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
or
Support the show
244: Britain's 38 Minute War
Send me a message
Lasting just 38 minutes, the Anglo-Zanzibar War in 1896, is regarded as the shortest war in history.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation - Buy Me A Coffee
On the morning of 27 August 1896, the British Empire fought what is widely regarded as the shortest war in history.
In the space of just 38 minutes, a crisis in the...
243: Why Britain Still Owns The Chagos Islands
Send me a message
The Chagos Islands and Diego Garcia are at the centre of one of the most controversial territorial disputes involving Britain, Mauritius, and the United States.
In this podcast episode, The History Chap (Chris Green) explores the history of the British Indian Ocean Territory, the removal of the Chagossian people, and the strategic importance of the American military base on Diego Garcia.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
<...
242: Only Man Awarded Both Victoria Cross & Olympic Gold
Send me a message
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
The story of Philip Neame, the only man to be awarded both the Victoria Cross and an Olympic gold medal.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
Other episodes that you might enjoy:
Adrian Carton de Wairt - the Soldier they couldn't kill
William Coltman - Britain's Version of Hacksaw RidgeÂ
241: Flogging in the British Army: When Did It End?
Send me a message
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Flogging was the principle punishment in the British Army for nearly 200 years.
Even the Duke of Wellington was a supporter.
So how harsh was it? And, why (and when) did it end?
Listen to my episode about the Officer Purchase System.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
For nearly 200 years, flogging was the disciplinary...
240: "Only Fools & Horses": What Was Uncle Albert's REAL Wartime Story?
Send me a message
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Did you know that the actor behind the much loved comedy character, Uncle Albert ("Only Fools and Horses") actually did serve in World War 2?
This is his real story.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
Support the show
239: The Royal Navy's Field Gun Competition: What Inspired It?
Send me a message
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
What was the inspiration behind the Royal Navy's legendary field gun competition?
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
Many of you may recall the Royal Tournament at Earl’s Court in London.
 The world’s premier military tattoo and pageant that was held for over 100 years until 1999.
 You may also recall the highlight of the event...
238: Marlborough, The British, & The Bloodiest Battle in 18th Century Europe
Send me a message
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
The Bloodies European Battle in the 18th Century - Malplaquet 1709.
The Duke of Marlborough's fourth victory over the French and the one that led to his downfall.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
Other episodes in this series:
The Battle of Blenheim 1704
The Battle of Ramillies 1706
The Battle of Oudenarde 1708
<...
237: Marlborough's Forgotten Victory? Oudenarde 1708
Send me a message
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
The Battle of Oudenarde 1708, Marlborough's Forgotten Battle.
The book I mentioned, and used as part of my research:
"Marlborough: Britain's Greatest General" by Richard Holmes
(This is my Amazon affiliate link)
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
"The Devil Must Have Brought Them" - The Battle of Oudenarde, 1708
<...
236: "Get Off My Bloody Ship!" The Defiant British Last Stand, Shanghai 1941
Send me a message
HMS Peterel: The Royal Navy's Defiant Last Stand at Shanghai, 1941
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
Hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a small Royal Navy gunboat faced impossible odds in Shanghai.Â
When Japanese officers boarded HMS Peterel demanding surrender, her captain - 62-year-old Lieutenant Stephen Polkinghorn - gave them a defiant reply: "Get off my b...
235: Blackadder at the Battle of Blenheim
Send me a message
The real Blackadder who fought at the Battle of Blenheim, 1704.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
Sign up to my Newsletter
Long before Rowan Atkinson's comic creation, a real Blackadder was fighting in some of the bloodiest battles in British military history. Lieutenant-Colonel John Blackadder was a Scottish soldier who served under the Duke of...
234: The Battle of Ramillies 1706 - Greater Than Blenheim?
Send me a message
Fought in 1706, the Battle of Ramillies is arguably the Duke of Marlborough's greatest victory.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
Sign Up To My Newsletter
Support the show
233: The Battle of Blenheim 1704
Send me a message
The Battle of Blenheim 1704: Marlborough's first of four great victories over the French.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
In 1704, the Duke of Marlborough embarked on one of the most audacious military campaigns in British history.Â
With Vienna under threat from a combined French and Bavarian army, Marlborough deceived both his Dutch allies and his French enemies, marching 21,000 men 250 m...
222: Florence Nightingale: Legend and Reality
Send me a message
Florence Nightingale, the "Lady with the lamp" is one of the most famous British women in history. But, what did she really achieve?
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
Ways You Can Support My Channel:
Become A Patron
Make A Donation
Buy a copy of Mary Seacole's autobiographyÂ
https://amzn.to/4qfNoox (this is my Amazon affiliate link)
Find out more about the Florence Nightingale Museum in London
h...
