1.
Southampton
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Southampton, on the south coast of England, is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire. It is 75 miles south-west of London and 19 miles north-west of Portsmouth, Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest. It lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water at the confluence of the Rivers Test and Itchen, the city, which is a unitary authority, has an estimated population of 253,651. The citys name is abbreviated in writing to Soton or Soton. Significant employers in the city include the University of Southampton, Southampton Solent University, Southampton Airport, Ordnance Survey, BBC South, Southampton has a large shopping centre and retail park, Westquay. In 2014, the city approved a follow-up from the Westquay park, WestQuay Watermark. This built-up area is part of the area known as South Hampshire. With a population of over 1.5 million this makes the one of the United Kingdoms most populous metropolitan areas. Archaeological finds suggest that the area has been inhabited since the stone age, following the Roman invasion of Britain in AD43 and the conquering of the local Britons in 70 AD the fortress settlement of Clausentum was established. It was an important trading port and defensive outpost of Winchester, Clausentum was defended by a wall and two ditches and is thought to have contained a bath house. Clausentum was not abandoned until around 410, the Anglo-Saxons formed a new, larger, settlement across the Itchen centred on what is now the St Marys area of the city. The settlement was known as Hamwic, which evolved into Hamtun, archaeological excavations of this site have uncovered one of the best collections of Saxon artefacts in Europe. It is from this town that the county of Hampshire gets its name, viking raids from 840 onwards contributed to the decline of Hamwic in the 9th century, and by the 10th century a fortified settlement, which became medieval Southampton, had been established. Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, Southampton became the port of transit between the then capital of England, Winchester, and Normandy. By the 13th century Southampton had become a port, particularly involved in the import of French wine in exchange for English cloth. The Franciscan friary in Southampton was founded circa 1233, the friars constructed a water supply system in 1290, which carried water from Conduit Head some 1.7 kilometres to the site of the friary inside the town walls. Further remains can be observed at Conduit House on Commercial Road, the friars granted use of the water to the town in 1310. The town was sacked in 1338 by French, Genoese and Monegasque ships, on visiting Southampton in 1339, Edward III ordered that walls be built to close the town
2.
Swindon
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Swindon is a large town in Wiltshire, South West England, midway between Bristol,35 miles to the west and Reading,35 miles to the east. London is 78 miles to the east, and Cardiff is 78 miles to the west, at the 2011 census, it had a population of 185,609. Swindon became an Expanded Town under the Town Development Act 1952, Swindon railway station is on the line from London Paddington to Bristol. Swindon Borough Council is an authority, independent of Wiltshire Council since 1997. Residents of Swindon are known as Swindonians, the town and wider borough also has the headquarters of the Nationwide Building Society and a Honda car manufacturing plant. The original Anglo-Saxon settlement of Swindon sat in a position atop a limestone hill. It is referred to in the Domesday Book as Suindune, believed to be derived from the Old English words swine and dun meaning pig hill or possibly Sweyns hill, Swindon was a small market town, mainly for barter trade, until roughly 1848. This original market area is on top of the hill in central Swindon, the Industrial Revolution was responsible for an acceleration of Swindons growth. It started with the construction of the Wilts and Berks Canal in 1810, the canals brought trade to the area and Swindons population started to grow. Between 1841 and 1842, Isambard Kingdom Brunels Swindon Works was built for the repair, the GWR built a small railway village to house some of its workers. The Steam Railway Museum and English Heritage, including the English Heritage Archive, in 1878 the fund began providing artificial limbs made by craftsmen from the carriage and wagon works, and nine years later opened its first dental surgery. In his first few months in post the dentist extracted more than 2000 teeth, from the opening in 1892 of the Health Centre, a doctor could also prescribe a haircut or even a bath. The cradle-to-grave extent of service was later used as a blueprint for the NHS. The Mechanics Institute, formed in 1844, moved into a building looking rather like a church and included a covered market, on 1 May 1855. The New Swindon Improvement Company, a co-operative, raised the funds for this path self-improvement and it was a groundbreaking organisation that transformed the railways workforce into some of the countrys best-educated manual workers. It had the UKs first lending library, and a range of improving lectures, access to a theatre, the Institute also nurtured pioneering trades unionists and encouraged local democracy. During the second half of the 19th century, Swindon New Town grew around the line between London and Bristol. In 1900, the market town, Old Swindon, merged with its new neighbour at the bottom of the hill to become a single town
3.
Brookwood Cemetery
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Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe, the cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The cemetery is said to have been landscaped by architect William Tite, in 1854, Brookwood was the largest cemetery in the world. Brookwood originally was accessible by rail from a special station – the London Necropolis railway station – next to Waterloo station in Central London, the original London Necropolis station was relocated in 1902 but its successor was demolished after suffering bomb damage during World War II. Two stations were in the cemetery itself, North for non-conformists and their platforms still exist along the path called Railway Avenue. For visitors wishing to use the South Western Main Line, Brookwood station has provided direct access since June 1864. A commemorative very short piece of track with signpost and plaque which purposefully gives way to a grass field recollects the old final main stage of the journey of the deceased. The LNC offered three classes of funerals, A first class funeral allowed its buyer to select the site of their choice anywhere in the cemetery. The LNC charged extra for burials in some designated special sites in the cemetery, at the time of opening prices began at £2 10s for a basic 9-by-4-foot with no special coffin specifications. It was expected by the LNC that those using first class graves would erect a permanent memorial of some kind in due course following the funeral, Second class funerals cost £1 and allowed some control over the burial location. The right to erect a permanent memorial cost an additional 10 shillings, third class funerals were reserved for pauper funerals, those buried at parish expense in the section of the cemetery designated for that parish. Brookwood was one of the few cemeteries to permit burials on Sundays, the LNC provided dedicated sections of the cemetery for these groups, on the basis that those who had lived or worked together in life could remain together after death. A large number of these plots were established, ranging from Chelsea Pensioners and the Ancient Order of Foresters to the Corps of Commissionaires. The Nonconformist cemetery also includes a Parsee burial ground established in 1862, dedicated sections in the Anglican cemetery were also reserved for burials from those parishes which had made burial arrangements with the LNC. The first burial was of the twins of a Mr and Mrs Hore of Ewer Street. The Hore twins, along with the burials on the first day, were pauper funerals. The first burial at Brookwood with a permanent memorial was that of Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Goldfinch, buried on 25 November 1854, the 26th person to be buried in the cemetery. The first permanent memorial erected in the Nonconformist section of cemetery was that of Charles Milligan Hogg, son of botanist Robert Hogg, buried on 12 December 1854
4.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
5.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
6.
151st Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
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The brigade was part of the 50th Infantry Division, and for most of its existence consisted of three battalions of the Durham Light Infantry the 6th, 8th and 9th. Senior Lieutenant Colonel R. P. Lidwill Brigadier B. B, walton Lieutenant Colonel R. P. Lidwill Brigadier D. S. Gordon Brigadier J. F. Walker 50th Division with the Brigade was deployed to France with the British Expeditionary Force in January 1940. The BEF was deployed on the border of Belgium, around the city of Lille, in May 1940, German armoured forces broke through French positions east of the BEF, and moved rapidly across its rear, separating it from the main French armies. To close this gap, General Weygand ordered a counterattack by British forces around the city of Arras, frankforce was to include the 5th and 50th Divisions and the 1st Army Tank Brigade. The attack was made by just two battalions of the 151st Brigade, the 6th and 8th DLI, with the 4th and 7th Royal Tank Regiments. The attack made significant progress before it was stopped, and the shocked Germans estimated that five divisions had attacked and it may have been one of the factors for the surprise German halt on 24 May that let the BEF begin evacuation from Dunkirk. After the failure of the Arras attack, the BEF had to get out of France, most of 151st Brigade and 50th Division were fortunate enough to be evacuated from Dunkirk, but had to leave all equipment behind. Together with the rest of the 50th Division, the prepared to repel an expected German invasion. The 50th Division remained in Britain until 22 April 1941, when it was sent to the Middle East, in April 1941, 50th Division with the Brigade was dispatched to the Middle East. The Brigade was first deployed in Cyprus, then in Iraq, Syria, in May 1942, 50th Division was deployed in Libya as part of XIII Corps in Eighth Army. The 50th Division held the centre of the Allied line, with 151st Brigade on its right, by 14 June, Rommel had achieved a decisive victory, and the Eighth Army ordered the evacuation of the Gazala line. The rest of 151st Brigade continued east into Egypt, where the 9th DLI rejoined them, 50th Division was transferred to X Corps on 24 June. Eighth Army ordered X Corps and XIII Corps to make a stand at Mersa Matruh. 151st Brigade was deployed about 17 miles south of Mersa Matruh, on 27 June, the German 90th Light Division attacked 151st Brigade, striking 9th DLI which lost 300 prisoners. On 28 June, British forces abandoned the Mersa Matruh position, on 1 July, 50th Division was withdrawn into Eighth Army reserve in Egypt. Adam Herbert Wakenshaw, 28-year-old private in the 9th DLI, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his valiant actions in the face of the enemy on 27 June 1942 south of Mersa Matruh. On 5 October, 50th Division rejoined XIII Corps in preparation for the Second Battle of El Alamein, during the opening phase of the battle, 50th Division attacked the Italian 185th Parachute Division Folgore in the southern part of the line with little success. On 29 October, 151st Brigade was attached to the 2nd New Zealand Division for Operation Supercharge, 151st Brigade was on the right for the initial drive through the German minefields, which started at 1 AM and was a success
7.
12th Armoured Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)
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The 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade, formerly the 12th Mechanized Brigade, is a regular British Army brigade which has been in existence since 1899 and now forms part of 3rd Mechanised Division. The brigade was first formed in December 1899 as 12th Infantry Brigade and saw action at the Battle of Rensburg, Battle of Norvals Point, Battle of Biddulphs Berg and Battle of Slabberts Nek. During the First World War, the 12th Infantry Brigade, an army formation, was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. It was dispatched to France, crossing the English Channel on 22 August 1914, as part of the British Expeditionary Force and it then spent much of the rest of the conflict engaged in trench warfare. During the Second World War, except for a few periods of detachment. It was part of the British Expeditionary Force and took part in the Dunkirk evacuation in May 1940, the brigade remained in the United Kingdom for the next two years, preparing and training to repel Operation Sea Lion, the German invasion of England, although that never arrived. It moved to North Africa in February 1943 to take part in the stages of the Tunisia Campaign and saw action at the Battle of Oved Zara, the Battle of Medjez Plain. It then took part in the Italian Campaign, moving to Naples in February 1944, during the 1970s, it was one of two square brigades assigned to 2nd Armoured Division. After being briefly converted to Task Force Delta in the late 1970s and it remained with 1st Armoured Division, apart from a spell under HQ 3rd Armoured Division during Operation Granby, until disbandment under Options for Change. Under Army 2020, its headquarters remains at Bulford and it part of the Reaction Force. H. Freeland 1970–1972 Brigadier D. T, the British Army in Germany, An Organizational History 1947–2004. 12 Mechanized Brigade – on British Army official website 12 Infantry Brigade
8.
South Lancashire Regiment
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The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. It was deployed to Aden in 1884 and returned to the United Kingdom in 1886, where it remained until 1899. The 1st Battalion lost 41 men during the Battle of Spion Kop in February 1900, at the same time as the 40th and 82nd regiments amalgamated to form the South Lancashire Regiment, the 4th Royal Lancashire Militia became the new regiments 3rd Battalion. In 1881, the units of the Volunteer Force were affiliated to the regiment. The 2nd Battalion spent most the first 30 years of its existence overseas, in addition, the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Battalions raised a service company to reinforce the 1st Battalion in the field. When the Volunteer Force was subsumed into the Territorial Force under the Haldane Reforms in 1908, the 1st Battalion spent the war on garrison duty in Quetta, Baluchistan, on the North-West Frontier. The 2nd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 7th Brigade in the 3rd Division in August 1914, the 3rd Battalion was a depot and training battalion stationed in Lancashire throughout the war. The 1/4th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 7th Brigade in the 3rd Division in February 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 1/5th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 12th Brigade in the 4th Division in February 1915 also for service on the Western Front. The 2/4th and 2/5th Battalions landed at Boulogne as part of the 172nd Brigade in the 57th Division in February 1917 also for service on the Western Front, the battalion was evacuated from Gallipoli and went to Egypt in December 1915 before moving on to Mesopotamia in February 1916. The 7th Battalion landed at Boulogne as part of the 56th Brigade in the 19th Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 8th Battalion landed in France as part of the 75th Brigade in the 25th Division in September 1915 also for service on the Western Front. The 9th Battalion landed in France as part of the 66th Brigade in the 22nd Division in September 1915 for service on the Western Front, the 11th Battalion landed at Le Havre as pioneer battalion to the 30th Division in November 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 1st Battalion saw action on the North West Frontier in May 1919, after returning to the United Kingdom, it was transferred to the 8th Infantry Brigade attached to the 3rd Infantry Division, nicknamed Montys Ironsides. With this division, it landed at Sword Beach on D-Day and fought its way through the Normandy, the 2nd Battalion was in Bombay in 1939, being transported back to Britain in July 1940 to defend the home front against the expected German invasion. In 1942, attached to the 29th Independent Infantry Brigade, it was part of Force 121, from April 1944 until the end of the war, it fought in the recapture of Burma, initially with the 36th Infantry Division alongside the 2nd Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment. The 2/4th Battalion was raised in 1939 as a 2nd Line Territorial Army battalion duplicate of the 1st Line 4th Battalion, both the 1/4th and 2/4th battalions served in the 164th Infantry Brigade, attached to the 55th Division. The 13th Parachute Battalion saw combat during Operation Tonga, the British airborne landings in the hours of 6 June 1944
9.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
