What happened after Dunkirk?When I tell people my new book on the post-Dunkirk evacuations from France in June 1940 is now out they often look slightly bemused, as if to say: What evacuations? When Dunkirk fell on 4 June, tens of thousands of troops and British civilians were… Jun 14 22June 14, 2022Article at David Worsfold
The Secret History of WW2 starts to tell the stories behind Operation AerialIt was great to be featured in last night’s first episode Channel 5 Select’s new series The Secret History of World War II, telling some of the amazing, yet little known, stories about the evacuations from France in June 1940 after the fall of… May 05 21May 05, 2021Article at David Worsfold
WW1 racism: in sickness and in deathThe revelations about the appalling lack of respect accorded to Indian and African troops who died serving the British Empire in the First World War comes as little surprise, although that does not lessen the shock and shame. Anyone who has seriously… Apr 25 21April 25, 2021Article at David Worsfold
Fighting the plague: history repeats itselfIt is strange how often history repeats itself. As the Covid-19 pandemic has swept around the world over the last year I have often wondered how Thomas Kelly, the Irish doctor whose remarkable story I told in Fighting for the Empire would have… Apr 12 21April 12, 2021Article at David Worsfold
Insurance: 180 years of the often good, sometimes bad and occasionally downright uglyOne of the great joys of 2020 was being asked to contribute to the series of historical reviews to commemorate 180 years of continuous publication of Post Magazine, now known as Insurance Post. Researching, interviewing and writing several articles… Jan 05 21January 05, 2021Article at David Worsfold
180 years of Post: Lloyd’s - Two decades of traumaContributors Many thanks to those who contributed to this article. They may not all be quoted but their help was invaluable. Their roles are those they held during the period in question. Eric Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a… Nov 23 20November 23, 2020Article at Insurance Post
180 Years of Post: Corporate collapsesThe UK’s general insurance market likes to pride itself on innovation, reliability and customer service but casting a backward glance over the general insurance market it sometimes resembles a Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a… Jun 22 20June 22, 2020Article at Insurance Post
Telling the WW2 story of the Little Ships of JerseyThis week I should have been in Jersey taking part in the re-enactment of the rescue of the demolition crews and troops from St Malo in the middle of June 1940. Of course, the pandemic knocked that on the head. Instead of a full re-enactment, yachts… Jun 17 20June 17, 2020Article at David Worsfold
180 years of Post: Tackling arsonArson takes many forms with a wide range of motivations. Some is malicious, some political, some perpetrated in the pursuit of an insurance fraud. The fire at the pavilion on Yarmouth Pier, as Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a… May 11 20May 11, 2020Article at Insurance Post
Where have you spent…Where have you spent Christmas Day in the past? I bet you cannot come up with the variety of far-flung, hazardous places that Thomas Kelly clocked up in his remarkable life. Read all about it in 'Fighting for the Empire' - details in the link May 04 20May 04, 2020Post at David Worsfold
180 years of Post: War and terrorismBombs strike terror into the hearts and souls of communities everywhere. For over 150 years they have sown their havoc and misery in the UK, whether falling from German bombers or planted by Irish or Only users who have a paid subscription or are… Mar 25 20March 25, 2020Article at Insurance Post
Analysis: 19th Century insurance fraudsBy the middle of the 19th Century, the insurance industry was booming and so were the fraudsters attracted by the prospects of easy pickings. Several novels of the period feature insurance crimes Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of… Feb 17 20February 17, 2020Article at Insurance Post
It was 100 years ago…It was 100 years ago today that the remarkable Thomas Kelly married a British nurse in Bombay after a romance amid the heat and dirt of the desert war in Mesopotamia. Their story is told in Fighting for the Empire - https://lnkd.in/gA2iR2u May 04 18May 04, 2018Post at David Worsfold
Kelly’s 12 Christmas Days – No 12, Atlantic Ocean 1942Christmas Day 1942 for Thomas Kelly was celebrated on board the troopship Rangitata, making its way up coast of south America to New York to collect American troops coming to Europe. The Rangitata left the Clyde in August 1942 as part of one of the… Dec 23 16December 23, 2016Article at David Worsfold
Kelly’s 12 Christmas Days – No 11, London 1939The Kelly family spent the first Christmas of the Second World War together at their new home in Paddington, having left Jersey the previous year as the storm clouds of WW2 gathered. Kelly may have been almost 70 at the end of 1939 but his mind was… Dec 22 16December 22, 2016Article at David Worsfold
Kelly’s 12 Christmas Days – No 10, Jersey 1926Thomas Kelly’s 30 year service with the Indian Medical Service came to an end in the summer of 1926 and by Christmas Day that year he was with his family in their new home in Jersey. He signed up as a ship’s surgeon with the Royal Mail Steam Packet… Dec 21 16December 21, 2016Article at David Worsfold
Kelly’s 12 Christmas Days – No 9, Rawalpindi 1922Thomas Kelly’s life changed dramatically after the First World War as he married and quickly had two daughters, Brigid and Rosemary, both born in India. He had also managed to serve in another war – the 3rd Afghan War in 1919. After visiting the UK… Dec 20 16December 20, 2016Article at David Worsfold
Kelly’s Christmas Days – No 8, Mesopotamia 1917Kelly was still in Nasariyah in 1917 but now confirmed as a Lieutenant Colonel and in command of the 1000-bed 83rd Combined Stationary Hospital and its field units spread along the Euphrates towards Baghdad. Christmas Day 1917 was celebrated in some… Dec 19 16December 19, 2016Article at David Worsfold
Kelly’s 12 Christmas Days – No 7, Mesopotamia 1916The 105th Indian Field Ambulance had been on active service for over two years by time Christmas Day 1916 approached and was now based in Mesopotamia (present day Iraq), still with Thomas Kelly as its commanding officer. It had been sent from Egypt… Dec 18 16December 18, 2016Article at David Worsfold
Kelly’s 12 Christmas Days – No 6, Egypt 1914Acting Lieutenant Colonel Kelly was commanding officer of the 105th Indian Field Ambulance on the Suez Canal on Christmas Day 1914. He had been on only his second period of leave home to Ireland since 1897 when war was declared and was immediately… Dec 17 16December 17, 2016Article at David Worsfold
