Imperial War Museum: How a WWII British Anderson Shelter Saved the Lives of My Family! (26.10.2023)

There were different types of government-provided air-raid shelters issued during WWII. However, the version depicted here – is very close to that issued to my mother’s family (surnamed ‘Gibson’) who lived in Lewisham, South London. During September, 1940, the Nazi Germany ‘Luftwaffe’ blanket-bombed East London and killed and wound thousands of British people. During the entire 18-months of the ‘Blitz’ – the Luftwaffe inflicted 40,000 casualties in London and 70,000 all across the UK! My family lived in a three-storied house in Fordyce Road – with a generation living on each floor.

WWII: My Tribute to the Excellent British ‘Home Guard’ (LDVF) and Some of My Published Work! (6.10.2023)

My maternal (‘Gibson’) family used to live in Lewisham, East London – until they were bombed-out by Hitler during the Blitz of September 1940 (the Blitz would go on to kill 70,000 British people between 1940-1941 – with 40,000 deaths in London alone). The Gibson family were then evacuated to the ‘Forest Hill’ area of Oxfordshire – due to them having a ‘nephew’ living in the area. In 1983, a book focusing on local history was commissioned entitled ‘Forest Hill with Shotover – A Portrait (1983)’. This was published by the ‘Forest Hill Women’s Association’. The Story of my grandfather – Arthur Gibson – and his family arriving in the area is recorded on Pages 28-29

ALEXANDER WERTH [PART II]: RUSSIAN ARCTIC CONVOY PQ-16 – Reykjavik (Iceland) TO MURMANSK (USSR) – MERCHANT NAVY SHIP “EMPIRE BAFFIN”! (2.9.2023)

Alexander Werth’s 1947 book, ‘The Year of Stalingrad’, details the journey of Merchant Navy Ship “Empire Baffin” during WWII. The ship left Middlesborough, UK, for Reykjavik on May 1, 1942, arriving ten days later, and then sailed to Murmansk, USSR, on May 20th. Despite Nazi Germany’s control of the sea, air, and land, and losing seven ships, the Convoy PQ-16 of 36 international ships managed to reach port under the protection of naval fleets.

Alexander Werth [Part I]: Russian Arctic Convoy PQ-16 – Middlesborough (UK) to Murmansk (USSR) – Merchant Navy Ship “Empire Baffin”! (2.9.2023)

The Russian Arctic Convoy, PQ-16, sailed from Iceland to the Soviet Union in late May 1942, providing vital military and civilian aid amid attacks by Nazi Germany. The fleet comprised British, American, and Allied ships, including the Empire Baffin that Alexander Werth traveled on for four weeks as recorded in his book ‘The Year of Stalingrad’. This account, along with further research, allows for a timeline to be reconstructed for these events, however, full details are limited due to the secrecy required during wartime. Convoy PQ-16 consisted of 36 Merchant Navy vessels, some armed for self-defense, and a number of Royal Navy ships acting as protection. Werth’s account also mentions controversial language used to describe the African-descendent members of the Merchant Navy crew.

Emails: St Kilda – Ancients British Celts, WWI, WWII, Human and Animal Tragedy! (17.9.2023)

Research suggests these people had lived on this isolated island for around 2000 years – as they spoke a very old Gaelic language mixed with the odd word of Latin and Norse! The island was attacked once by an Imperial German U-boat during Spring 1918 (which fired 60 artillery rounds at a British Telegraph Station) near the end of WWI. During WWII, after all the indigenous Celts had gone – my maternal grandfather – Arthur Gibson – (when serving in the Royal Navy on the Minesweeper – HMS Beaumaris Castle) was ordered onto the island of St Kilda (Hirta) after an aeroplane full of US Servicemen (who were returning home after fighting in Europe) -crashed into the high mountainside with no survivors.

Alexander Werth: [1942] Soviet “Guide for Partisans”! (16.9.2023)

Indeed, when the Trotskyite – George Orwell – was asked by the incumbent Labour Party to compile his infamous (1948) ‘list’ of well-known left-wingers he suspected of possessing ‘Communist’ sympathies – the name of ‘Alexander Werth’ featured prominently! This was because he refused to follow the decreed US requirement for all history to be ‘altered’ and ‘distorted’ so as to make the Western working-class ‘hate’ the Soviet Union! This interfering in the historical record is so remarkable that Werth’s near ‘eye-witness’ account of the ‘Battle of Stalingrad’ (which changed WWII forever) is not only completely ignored by Western authors who came after him – but seldom known to even exist!

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