Witnesses of History

50 - The End of the Line

Geoff Lumley — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 10:01:22 +0000

We look at endings in this final edition, the end of life, the end of war, the end of the race and even the end of Man being unable to fly across the sea.

50 - The End of the Line

Geoff Lumley — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 01:54:00 +0000

We look at endings in this final edition, the end of life, the end of war, the end of the race and even the end of Man being unable to fly across the sea.

49 - Advent Sunday - Babylon Has Fallen

Geoff Lumley — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 13:58:46 +0000

Advent Sunday marks our penultimate episode and, as we await the coming of the King of kings to bring in the Age of Peace, we reflect on the fall of earthly cities:

Berlin in 1945

Antwerp in 1576

Moscow in 1812

and

San Francisco in 1906

48 -Native communities and Coronations

Geoff Lumley — Sat, 12 Nov 2022 06:59:00 +0000

The first recording since the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we remember the coronation of Queen Victoria and have a mixed bag of reports from the burning of the Reichstag to the native communities of Scandinavia and South America as well as the death of a chimney sweep's lad.

47 - You Win Some, You Lose Some - 25th October

Geoff Lumley — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 07:30:00 +0000

The Battles of Agincourt and Balaclava

46 - Cutting Times - 27th September

Geoff Lumley — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 08:22:00 +0000

An horrendous account of a mastectomy in 1811, Charles Darwin on the Galapagos islands, seeing a salamander and children at play in the Lake District

45 - War and Peace - 7th September

Geoff Lumley — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 08:18:00 +0000

WW2 Dogfight, the Blitz, DCM awarded in WW1, Princess Anne wins on Doublet, VC10 Skyjack

44 - Foreign Travel - 23rd August

Geoff Lumley — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 09:17:00 +0000

The assassination of the Duke of Buckingham is followed in this edition by travel writing of visits to paris and America and then eye witness reports of the beginning of World War 1 in Brussels and St Petersburg

43 - Battles, Wrecks and Commons - 6th August

Geoff Lumley — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 18:03:41 +0000

MP ejected from House of Commons, Keir Hardie elected, Battle of Ypres 1916, MP Storehouse jailed, Marilyn Monroe dies, shipwreck off Mozambique

42 - Riots and Routs - 21st July

Geoff Lumley — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 08:48:06 +0000

Indian Mutiny, Meidanek Extermintation camp, Hyde Park Riot, German rout in WW2

41 - American Battles - 5th July

Geoff Lumley — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 08:44:13 +0000

American battles from Gettysburg to Vietnam, plus the Israeli rescue at Entebbe and Borg winning Wimbledon

40 - Waterloo - 18th June

Geoff Lumley — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 08:41:43 +0000

The battle of Waterloo and the opening of the rebuilt Waterloo station in London.

39 - Jubilee and Dunkirk

Geoff Lumley — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 08:26:10 +0000

(Publication delayed due to the server being down)

Jubilee weekend and anniversary of the Dunkirk Evacuation in 1940

For those not in the UK the National Anthem is:

God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen.

Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour,
Long may she reign.
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause,
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen.

38 - Demonised and Glorified - 13th May

Geoff Lumley — Tue, 17 May 2022 09:12:13 +0000

Lombard St panic, arrest of Mandelstam, German breakthrough on the Meuse

37 - Hell and Salvation - 24th April

Geoff Lumley — Sun, 24 Apr 2022 09:28:00 +0000

Belsen, Washington Veterans March, Wesley preaching in Hull, Demise of Miniskirt

36 - Trials and Tribulations - 4th April

Geoff Lumley — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 09:24:00 +0000

Italians in Abyssinia, Luftwaffe in Spain, Red Rum in Grand National, Oscar Wilde in Court, Birthday in Japanese POW camp

35 - Hatch, Match and Despatch - 21st March

Geoff Lumley — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 09:23:39 +0000

Birth in India, Gauguin's wedding, US in Germany 1945, Execution of Cranmer

34 - Reports of Abuse - 4th March

Geoff Lumley — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 09:18:52 +0000

Prison and workhouse conditions, bull baiting and fighting, introducing technology to Japan

33 - Destroying Brick Structures - 16th February

Geoff Lumley — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 21:44:13 +0000

Bombing Dresden, rout of Germans in Ukraine, Tate Bricks and exploring New World

32 - Last Journeys - 1st February

Geoff Lumley — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 10:24:57 +0000

Last Journeys: funerals of Queen Victoria, Sir Winston Churchill and Gandhi; Execution Mary Queen of Scots and Selkirk found on island

31 - Test and Reform - 17th January

Geoff Lumley — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 08:59:14 +0000

Body line Test match, Fox in Lichfield, Cranmer's reforms, Bomb Disposal ww2

30 - Mortal Wounds - 29th December

Geoff Lumley — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 09:24:13 +0000

Reports from 29th December: The Tay Bridge Disaster and the assassination of Archbishop Thomas a Becket; an additional report from North Africa during World War Two.

29 - Off the Rails - 5th December

Geoff Lumley — Sun, 05 Dec 2021 09:18:05 +0000

A much more recent witness report from 2015 is the main feature, there is also a report on the Lewisham Rail disaster and Louis Napoleon's arrival in Paris.

28 - Miscellany - 11/11

Geoff Lumley — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 08:56:28 +0000

A miscellany of reports for this Armistice Day:

Ireland in reign of Queen Elizabeth First, The Armistice, London Watercress Market, Elgin Marbles come to London, Crossing the Alps

This episode marks the first birthday of these podcasts

27 - Trafalgar - 21/9

Geoff Lumley — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 16:00:48 +0000

Eye Witness reports of the Battle of Trafalgar and death of Lord Nelson, on this day (Trafalgar Day) in 1805.

Also a report on the Wall Street Crash

26 - Birds of the Air - 1st October

Geoff Lumley — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 10:19:41 +0000

Things flying in the air, often being brought down to earth unintentionally.

Airships, real birds and more.

25 - Transports not always of delight - 15th September

Geoff Lumley — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 09:06:47 +0000

Transportation innovations: the first manned flight in England, the first InterCity train trip (and associated first railway death), the maiden voyage of the Great Eastern (and associated injuries) and the first Tanks in action.--- all from mid September.

24 - Separations - 2nd September

Geoff Lumley — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 09:02:44 +0000

People separated from each other or their homes this time with the Great Fire of London, Evacuations from London prior to the declaration of war on 3rd September and Churchill separated from his troops in the Battle of Omdurman

23 - Hot times in Italy - 24th August

Geoff Lumley — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 08:44:55 +0000

Rome Burns, Vesuvius erupts and also summer in norfolk in 19th Century

22 - Races to the Whistle - 1st August

Geoff Lumley — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 08:35:53 +0000

The birth of a daughter to the Princess of Wales in 1737, the arrest of Doctor Crippen and the 1966 World Cup Final

21 - More than One Small Step - 17th July

Geoff Lumley — Sat, 17 Jul 2021 09:18:35 +0000

Battle of Gettysberg, Pope's infallibility, Marie Antoinette's last public appearance, a Viking funeral and the first Moon landing

20 - Battle sets to Love - 2nd July

Geoff Lumley — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 08:32:21 +0000

Battles dominate this episode, with The Somme - the greatest loss of life for the British Army in any single Battle - and Marston Moor picking up the military theme whilst the on court battles at Wimbledon are reported by the Daily Telegraph over the years

19 - On Which the Sun Never Sets - 21st June

Geoff Lumley — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 08:27:40 +0000

Stories of the Empire this time, from the Black Hole of Calcutta to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and a story of a Mermaid in Newfoundland.

18 - D Day - 6th June

Geoff Lumley — Sun, 06 Jun 2021 13:33:12 +0000

On the 77th Anniversary of D Day we have reports from American, German and British perspectives

17 - Paris in the Spring? - 23rd May

Geoff Lumley — Sun, 23 May 2021 10:56:49 +0000

Paris in the Spring. The Paris Commune and the landing of Lindbergh.

16- Great Sights - 9th May

Geoff Lumley — Mon, 10 May 2021 07:12:29 +0000

18th Century Eclipse, Boswell on Johnson, VE Day, Mark Twain in Athens

15 - 20th Century Battles - 26th April

Geoff Lumley — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 15:29:20 +0000

The Spanish Civil War, White Horse Final at Wembley and a POW release 1945

14 - The Captain Goes Down - 14th April

Geoff Lumley — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 08:55:33 +0000

Lincoln's assassination and the sinking of the Titanic

13 - Adventurous Britons - 1st April

Geoff Lumley — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 07:38:55 +0000

A Turkish Bath and then Mishaps in Childhood in the 14th Century; from 1801 there is Nelson's battle at Copenhagen.

12 - Losing a foot - 20th March

Geoff Lumley — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 09:29:07 +0000

Jumping a train in Canada 1899, Scott's Antarctic Diaries, Sharpeville Massacre 1960 and Army/civilian conflict in Dublin 1920

11 - Resignations and Deaths - 3rd March

Geoff Lumley — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 09:09:39 +0000

Two Prime Ministers resign, and we witness the enforced death of Socrates and hear about the funeral of George IV

10 - Famine and Funeral - 22 Feb

Geoff Lumley — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 09:11:27 +0000

The Irish Potato Famine, Green Children of Woolpit and George Bernard Shaw's mother's funeral

9 - Armies and Gladiators - 13th February

Geoff Lumley — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 11:22:06 +0000

A Greek Retreat, the Salvation Army and a London Panto. Oh yes it is.

8 - Snow and Ice - 31st January

Geoff Lumley — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 10:17:05 +0000

The seasons in Russia and the hunt for a northeast passage to Asia feature this time

7 - Italian Cuts - 16th January

Geoff Lumley — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 10:00:50 +0000

Our Witnesses of History this edition take us back firstly to 1645 for one report from Italy, from 1809 Sir Charles Napier reports on being taken prisoner at Corunna and we end in 1516 with a report on a performing Ass.

6 - London - 3rd January

Geoff Lumley — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 19:32:39 +0000

The Siege of Sidney Street, London crimes in the 18th Century and the opening of the world's first underground railway

5 - Christmas Day - 25th December

Geoff Lumley — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 09:45:11 +0000

Christmas events at New College Oxford in 1773 as well as Auschwitz in 1941, and the accounts of the early visitors who recognised the coming Messiah.

4 - Cultural Interfaces - 8th December

Geoff Lumley — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 09:07:07 +0000

Eyewitness reports of a meeting with Queen Elizabeth First, the Death of Prince Albert and, in his own words, the arrival of Julius Caesar in Britain

3 - American Landings - 30th November

Geoff Lumley — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 15:56:10 +0000

Accounts of landings by US troops in the war, and also the Mayflower landing in New England and Chateaubriand landing in Chesapeake Bay

2 - Transport - 16th/18th November

Geoff Lumley — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 10:27:16 +0000

Three reports from the Daily Telegraph about new innovations in transport in the late 19th Century, and a long report about life on board a French Galley for the slaves (mostly French peasants) in 1703 and 1704

1 - Encounters - 10th November

Geoff Lumley — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 16:10:51 +0000

Stanley meets Livingstone and a Roman Ambassador attends a banquet hosted by Attila the Hun