The History Chap Podcast

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In 1842, the man who coined the phrase "The Great Game" was executed whilst playing it in a remote city in central Asia.

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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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.

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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:

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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.

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In January 1842, a British-led force marched out of Kabul and into one of the most devastating episodes in British military history.

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Lasting just 38 minutes, the Anglo-Zanzibar War in 1896, is regarded as the shortest war in history.

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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...

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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.

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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.

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Other episodes that you might enjoy:

Adrian Carton de Wairt - the Soldier they couldn't kill

William Coltman - Britain's Version of Hacksaw Ridge 

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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.

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For nearly 200 years, flogging was the disciplinary...

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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.

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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?

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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...

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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.

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Other episodes in this series:

The Battle of Blenheim 1704

The Battle of Ramillies 1706

The Battle of Oudenarde 1708

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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)

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"The Devil Must Have Brought Them" - The Battle of Oudenarde, 1708
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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.

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Hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a small Royal Navy gunboat faced impossible odds in Shanghai. 

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...

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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.

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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...

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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.

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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.

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In 1704, the Duke of Marlborough embarked on one of the most audacious military campaigns in British history. 
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...

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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.

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Buy a copy of Mary Seacole's autobiography 
https://amzn.to/4qfNoox (this is my Amazon affiliate link)

Find out more about the Florence Nightingale Museum in London
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This is Part 2 of my story about the battle (and fall) of Hong Kong in December 1941.

Listen to Part 1

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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Just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbour, the Japanese invaded the British colony of Hong Kong on the 8th December 1941.

Smashing through the wonderfully named Gin Drinkers...

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The battle for Hong Kong fought between the 8th and 25th December 1941, is overshadowed by the British defeat at Singapore and thus is  often a forgotten chapter in World War 2.
 
 And yet, the British, Indian, and Canadian troops plus local volunteers who fought a grim and bitter battle against a Japanese enemy that outnumbered them is one that should be told and remembered.
 
 It is the story of the Gin Drinkers defensive line, a Dunkirk-style evacuation, a massacre at a field hospital on Christmas Day, a desperate escape to freed...

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John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough: The General Who Never Lost A Battle.

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, is widely regarded as Britain's greatest general — yet his remarkable story remains surprisingly unfamiliar to many.

The Duke of Marlborough won five major pitched battles against Louis XIV's armies, including th...

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Lawrence of Arabia: The Truth Behind The Legend

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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Who was Lawrence of Arabia? The 1962 David Lean film, starring Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, introduced millions to the legend of T.E. Lawrence - the British officer who led the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in World War One. But how much of that...

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The British Army's Officer Purchase System 1664-1871

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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For over two centuries, from 1660 to 1871, the British Army allowed officers to buy their commissions and promotions. Wealthy aristocrats like Lord Cardigan could purchase their way to command without ever seeing battle, leading to disasters like the Charge of the Light Brigade. It's easy to dismiss the...

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

The British victory over Tipu Sultan, the "Tiger of Mysore", during the 4th Anglo-Mysore War, at the battle of Seringapatam 1799.

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

On 26 January 1808, four hundred soldiers of the New South Wales Corps marched on Government House in Sydney and arrested Governor William Bligh. This was the Rum Rebellion - the only successful military coup in Australian history.

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

The Mutiny on the Bounty is one of history's most famous naval rebellions, but what most people know comes from Hollywood, not history. The films of 1935, 1962, and 1984 portrayed William Bligh as a tyrannical monster and Fletcher Christian as a heroic champion of the oppressed. But the real story is far more nuanced—and far more interesting.

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

EDGEHILL: THE MOST HAUNTED BATTLEFIELD IN BRITAIN?

In December 1642, just weeks after the Battle of Edgehill, terrified villagers in Warwickshire reported seeing an entire battle being fought in the sky above their heads. Night after night, phantom armies clashed in the darkness—ghostly cavalry charges, spectral infantry formations, and the terrible sounds of dying men echoing across the frozen fields.

This is the only battlefield haunting in British history that was investigated by a...

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

What happened to the survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854, during the Crimean War?

The answer is a tale of two fates. 

While some survivors found success and prosperity, others ended their days in workhouses and paupers' graves—a shocking reality that would eventually spark national outrage.

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

This is the story of the audacious theft of England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London, by Thomas Blood, in 1671.

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

Did you know that one in eight of the defenders at the battle of the Alamo (Texas 1836) were actually born in the British Isles?

This is their incredible and little-known story...

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

The Battle of Bossenden Wood, Kent 1838, when British redcoats took on farm workers led by a self-proclaimed Messiah.

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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On the 3rd August 1889, British general, Francis Grenfell, defeated a Mahdist invasion of Egypt at the battle of Toski.

This is the story of that battle and of the general after whom Grenfell Tower in London was named.

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Besieged by the Zulus: Eshowe 1879

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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While the world knows about Rorke's Drift from the famous 1964 film "Zulu," another British garrison faced an even longer ordeal during the Anglo Zulu War of 1879. This is the story of the Siege of Eshowe - 71 days of isolation, disease, and determination deep in Zululand.

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The battle of Petropavlovsk 1854, during the Crimean War.
A forgotten battle on Russia's remote Siberian Pacific coast.

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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In the summer of 1854, while the world's attention was focused on events in the Crimea, a combined British and French naval squadron was sailing towards the isolated Russian port of Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula. What...

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The forgotten story of the White Indian Mutiny.

Following the Indian Sepoy Revolt, which began in 1857, the British government took over ruling India from the East India Company.

As part of that transfer, they proposed that the European regiments within the EIC army would become part of the regular British army.

Believing that their pay and promotion opportunities would be adversely impacted and the traditions of their old regiments (some older than almost all British army regiments) wold be eradicated the men of the European Regiments mutinied.<...

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The Battle of Firket (also called the battle of Ferkeh or Firka), 7th June 1896, Sudan.
It was the opening battle in General Kitchener's invasion of the Mahdist, fundametal Muslim state, that would end with his victory at the battle of Omdurman two years later.

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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The Epic SAS battle in Oman - the battle of Mirbat 1972

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In July 1972, nine SAS soldiers faced impossible odds in a forgotten battle that helped shape the Cold War. The Battle of Mirbat stands as one of the most extraordinary feats in British Army history - a modern-day Rorke's Drift where elite Special Forces held the line against overwhelming communist forces.

Deep in the mountains of Oman's Dhofar province, a Marxist insurgency backed...

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that bring British History to life.

The Shangani Patrol: Major Wilson’s Last Stand Against Impossible Odds (1893)

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On December 4th, 1893, near the banks of the Shangani River in what is now Zimbabwe, fewer than 30 British soldiers under Major Allan Wilson made their final stand against over 3,000 Matabele warriors. 

Surrounded, outnumbered, and cut off from reinforcements by a raging river, these men fought until their ammunition ran out...

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The Castle Hill Rebellion: When Irish Revolutionaries Fought British Redcoats in Australia (1804)

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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On the morning of March 5th, 1804, the sound of musket fire echoed across the hills northwest of Sydney, marking the largest convict uprising in Australian history. 

But these weren't ordinary criminals - they were seasoned Irish revolutionaries who had already battled British forces during the 1798 United Irishmen r...

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Chris Green is The History Chap, telling stories from British history.

This is the moment in 1843 when for 5 months the British occupied Hawaii.

Not part of some master plan, but because a Royal Navy officer went way beyond his orders!

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