1.
Royal Logistic Corps
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The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army, the RLC flag is dark blue with the Corps Badge emblazoned on the centre. It has a Corps of Drums and a Marching Band, the RLC is the only Corps of the British Army with battle honours, derived from the usage of previous transport elements of the Royal Waggon Train, and their successors as cavalry. It is often seen on the insignia of Regiments and Corps with Royal in their title, RLC units include, RHQ The RLC. located at the Home of the Corps, Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut. Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Munitions and Search School formerly the Army School of Ammunition until 2009,15 Air Assault Close Support Squadron RLC. Attached to 13 Air Assault Support Regiment, Disbanded Units,2 Logistic Support Regiment RLC, based at Gutersloh. 8 Regiment - The Regiment formed in 1964 at Munster, Germany as 8 Transport Column, initially based in Nelson Barracks, it moved to Portsmouth Barracks and was disbanded in York Barracks on 27 March 2012. The regiment consisted of 3,5,13,27 and 64 Squadrons and in its time had attached pioneers from the RPC and it worked closely with the American Custodial Detachment whose role was maintenance of nuclear warheads and weapons components. The regiment directly supported the Gunners, firstly 24,39 and 50 Missile Regiments and this latter task was carried out in the UK from barracks at Catterick, 1993-2008. 12 Logistic Support Regiment - Disbanded at Abingdon 12 December 2013,19 Combat Service Support Battalion - a combined unit with a logistical squadron and an Equipment Support company. 23 Pioneer Regiment - a specialist pioneer unit with artisans, defence and Force Protection elements,24 Regiment - disbanded in Germany,30 January 2014. Part of 104th Logistic Support Brigade, drivers, Technicians, EOD all selected from the RLC. It is headed by a Colonel as the head of the Corps. There is also a head, who heads the Corps and its wider family such as the Associations and Cadets. Holders of the post include, General Sir Kevin ODonoghue Lieutenant General Mark Poffley The Sustainer is the magazine of the RLC Association, the Waggoner remains the Journal of the RASC/RCT Association. The RAOC Gazette that of the RAOC Association and the Pioneer of the RPC Association, the Review is an annual magazine of essays published by the Corps. The RLC has five Victoria Cross holders, Five derive historically from establishments that eventually became the Royal Corps of Transport, assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton VC. Second Lieutenant Alfred Cecil Herring VC. Army Service Corps, private Richard George Masters VC. Army Service Corps
2.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
3.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
4.
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
5.
Yeomanry
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Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles, in the 1790s, the threat of invasion of the Kingdom of Great Britain was high, after the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. To improve the defences, volunteer regiments were raised in many counties from yeomen. These regiments became known collectively as the Yeomanry, members of the yeomanry were not obliged to serve overseas without their individual consent. In 1827 it was decided for reasons to reduce the number of yeomanry regiments. A number of independent troops were also dissolved, following these reductions the yeomanry establishment was fixed at 22 corps receiving allowances and a further 16 serving without pay. During the 1830s the number of yeomanry units fluctuated, reflecting the level of civil unrest in any region at any particular time. The Irish Yeomanry, which had played a role in suppressing the rebellion of 1798, was completely disbanded in 1838. For the next thirty years the Yeomanry Force was retained as a line of support for the regular cavalry within Britain. Recruiting difficulties led to serious consideration being given to the disbandment of the force in 1870. These included requirements that individual yeomanry troopers attend a number of drills per year in return for a permanent duty allowance. While these reforms improved the professionalism of the Yeomanry Force, numbers remained low, in 1876 the role of the Yeomanry Force was fixed as that of light cavalry. These supernumerary units were now abolished, during the Second Boer War companies of Imperial Yeomanry were formed to serve overseas from volunteers from the Yeomanry. In 1901 all yeomanry regiments were redesignated as Imperial Yeomanry, in 1908 the Imperial Yeomanry was merged with the Volunteer Force to form the Territorial Force, of which it became the cavalry arm. The Imperial title was dropped at the same time, on the eve of World War I in 1914 there were 55 Yeomanry regiments, each of four squadrons instead of the three of the regular cavalry. Upon embodiment these regiments were brought together to form mounted brigades or allocated as divisional cavalry. For purposes of recruitment and administration the Yeomanry were linked to counties or regions. Some of the still in existence in 1914 dated back to those created in the 1790s while others had been created during a period of expansion following on the Boer War
6.
Royal Artillery
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The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery, is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name Royal Regiment of Artillery it actually consists of 13 Regular Regiments and 5 Reserve Regiments, the introduction of artillery into the English army came as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346. Henry VIII made the armys artillery semi-permanent in the sixteenth century, before the 18th century, artillery traynes were raised by royal warrant for specific campaigns and disbanded again when they were over. On 26 May 1716, however, by warrant of George I two regular companies of field artillery, each 100 men strong, were raised at Woolwich. The title Royal Artillery was first used in 1720, in 1741 the Royal Military Academy was formed in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich to provide training for RA and Royal Engineers officers. The regiment expanded rapidly and, by 1757, had 24 companies divided into two battalions, as well as a company formed in 1741. During 1748, the presidential artilleries of Bengal, Madras and Bombay were formed,1756 saw the creation of the Royal Irish Regiment of Artillery. In 1762 the Royal Artillery Band was formed at Minden, by 1771 there were 32 companies in four battalions, as well as two invalid companies comprising older and unfit men employed in garrison duties. During 1782, the regiment moved to the Royal Artillery Barracks on Woolwich Common, in January 1793, two troops of Royal Horse Artillery were raised to provide fire support for the cavalry, augmented by two more in November 1793. The Royal Irish Artillery was absorbed into the RA in 1801, during 1805, the Royal Military Academy moved to Woolwich Common. In 1819, the Rotunda was given to the regiment by the Prince Regent to celebrate end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1832, the regimental motto, Ubique Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt, was granted. The motto signified that the regiment had seen action in all the conflicts of the British Army. The regiment was under the control of the Board of Ordnance until the board was abolished in 1855, thereafter the regiment came under the War Office along with the rest of the army. The School of Gunnery established at Shoeburyness, Essex in 1859, the third group continued to be titled simply Royal Artillery, and was responsible for ammunition storage and supply. Which branch a gunner belonged to was indicated by metal shoulder titles, the RFA and RHA also dressed as mounted men, whereas the RGA dressed like foot soldiers. In 1920 the rank of Bombardier was instituted in the Royal Artillery, the three sections effectively functioned as separate corps. This arrangement lasted until 1924, when the three amalgamated once more to one regiment. In 1938, RA Brigades were renamed Regiments, during the World War II there were over 1 million men serving in 960 gunner regiments
7.
Battle honour
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In European military tradition, military units may be acknowledged for their achievements in specific wars or operations of a military campaign. These honours usually take the form of a place and a date, theatre honours could be listed and displayed on regimental property but not emblazoned on the colours. Since battle honours are emblazoned on colours, artillery units. These honour titles were permitted to be used as part of their official nomenclature, similar honours in the same tenor include unit citations. Battle honours, theatre honours, honour titles and their ilk form a part of the variety of distinctions which serve to distinguish military units from each other. For the British Army, the need to adopt a system to recognise military units battlefield accomplishments was apparent since its formation as an army in the later part of the 17th century. Although the granting of battle honours had already been in place at the time, before then, a regiments colours were practical tools for rallying troops in the battlefield and not quite something for displaying the units past distinctions. The first battle honour to be awarded in the British Army was granted to the 15th Hussars for the Battle of Emsdorf in 1760, thereafter, other regiments received battle honours for some of their previous engagements. The battle honour is held by the successor regiment, the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment. During these early years of the British standing army, a regiment needed only to engage the enemy with musketry before it was eligible for a battle honour, thus in 1882, a committee was formed to adjudicate applications of battle honour claims. This committee, later called the Battles Nomenclature Committee, still maintains its function in the British Army today. A battle honour may be granted to infantry/cavalry regiments or battalions, as well as ships and squadrons, they are granted to sub-units such as companies. Battle honours are presented in the form of a name of a country, region, or city where the units distinguished act took place. Not every battle fought will automatically result in the granting of a battle honour, conversely, a regiment or a battalion might obtain more than one battle honour over the course of a larger operation. Similarly, while in Korea, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry earned both Kapyong and Korea 1951–1953, supporting corps/branches such as medical, service, ordnance, or transport do not currently receive battle honours. However and uniquely the Royal Logistic Corps has five battle honours inherited from its previous transport elements, Commonwealth artillery does not maintain battle honours as they carry neither colours nor guidons—though their guns by tradition are afforded many of the same respects and courtesies. However, both the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers were in 1832 granted by King William IV the right to use the Latin Ubique, meaning everywhere and this is worn on the cap badge of both the Corps of Royal Engineers and the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The practice was extended to these same regiments and corps in the successor Commonwealth armed forces
8.
Battle of Fishguard
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The Battle of Fishguard was a military invasion of Great Britain by Revolutionary France during the War of the First Coalition. The brief campaign, on 22 –24 February 1797, is the most recent landing on British soil by a foreign force. The French General Lazare Hoche had devised a three-pronged attack on Britain in support of the Society of United Irishmen, two forces would land in Britain as a diversionary effort, while the main body would land in Ireland. Adverse weather and ill-discipline halted two of the forces but the third, aimed at landing in Wales and marching on Bristol, in a related naval action, the British captured two of the expeditions vessels, a frigate and a corvette. General Hoche proposed to land 15,000 French troops in Ireland to support the United Irishmen at Bantry Bay, as a diversionary attack to draw away British reinforcements, two smaller forces would land in Britain, one in northern England near Newcastle and the other in Wales. In December 1796, Hoches expedition arrived at Bantry Bay, unable to land even a single soldier, Hoche decided to set sail and return to France. However, the invasion went ahead and, on 16 February. The Wales-bound invasion force consisted of 1,400 troops from La Legion Noire under the command of Irish-American Colonel William Tate. He had fought against the British during the American War of Independence, under his command was the Seconde Légion des Francs, more commonly known as Légion Noire due to their using captured British uniforms dyed very dark brown or black. Tates age has been misrepresented by most historians, following E. H. Stuart Jones in his The Last Invasion of Britain, in which Jones claimed Tate was about 70 years old, the naval operation was led by Commodore Castagnier. His four warships were some of the newest in the French fleet, the frigates Vengeance and Résistance, the corvette Constance, and a smaller lugger called the Vautour. Castagniers orders from the Directory were to land Colonel Tates troops, all were well-armed, and some of the officers were Irish. They landed at Carregwastad Head near Fishguard in Pembrokeshire on 22 February, in reality, the Legion Noire landed under the cover of darkness at the secluded bay of Carregwastad, three miles west of Fishguard. By 2 a. m. on 23 February, the French had put ashore 17 boatloads of troops, one rowing boat was lost in the surf, taking with it several artillery pieces and their ammunition. Upon landing, discipline broke down amongst the irregulars, many of whom deserted to loot nearby settlements, the remaining troops confronted a quickly assembled group of around 500 British reservists, militia and sailors under the command of John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor. Many local civilians also organised and armed themselves, landowner William Knox had raised the Fishguard & Newport Volunteer Infantry in 1794 in response to the British Governments call to arms. By 1797, there were four companies totalling nearly 300 men, to command this regiment, William Knox appointed his 28-year-old son, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Knox, a man who had bought his commission and had no combat experience. The import of this news was slow to dawn on Knox, at Haverfordwest, Lieutenant-Colonel Colby of the Pembrokeshire Militia had summoned together a force of 250 soldiers
9.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
10.
Gaza City
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Gaza, also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of 515,556, making it the largest city in the State of Palestine. Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC, Gaza has been dominated by different peoples and empires throughout its history. The Philistines made it a part of their pentapolis after the Ancient Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years, under the Romans and later the Byzantines, Gaza experienced relative peace and its port flourished. In 635 AD, it became the first city in Palestine to be conquered by the Rashidun army, however, by the time the Crusaders invaded the city in the late 11th century, it was in ruins. In later centuries, Gaza experienced several hardships—from Mongol raids to floods and locusts, reducing it to a village by the 16th century, when it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. During the first half of Ottoman rule, the Ridwan dynasty controlled Gaza, the municipality of Gaza was established in 1893. Gaza fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of Mandatory Palestine, as a result of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip territory and several improvements were undertaken in the city. Gaza was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, but in 1993, in the months following the 2006 election, an armed conflict broke out between the Palestinian political factions of Fatah and Hamas, resulting in the latter taking power in Gaza. Egypt and Israel consequently imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip, Israel eased the blockade allowing consumer goods in June 2010, and Egypt reopened the Rafah border crossing in 2011 to pedestrians. The primary economic activities of Gaza are small-scale industries and agriculture, however, the blockade and recurring conflicts has put the economy under severe pressure. The majority of Gazas inhabitants are Muslim, although there is also a Christian minority, Gaza has a very young population with roughly 75% under the age of 25. The city is administered by a 14-member municipal council. The name Gaza is first known from records of Thutmose III of Egypt in the 15th century BC. In Semitic languages, the meaning of the city name is fierce, other proper Arabic transliterations for the Arabic name are Ghazzah or Ġazzah. Accordingly, Gaza might be spelled Gazza in English, although the z is double in Arabic, it was transliterated into Greek as a single zeta, and the voiced velar or uvular fricative at the beginning was transliterated with a gamma. The Hebrew name of the city is Aza – the ayin at the beginning of the word represented a velar fricative in Biblical Hebrew. Gazas history of habitation dates back 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world, settlement in the region of Gaza dates back to Tell es-Sakan, an Ancient Egyptian fortress built in Canaanite territory to the south of present-day Gaza. The site went into decline throughout the Early Bronze Age II as its trade with Egypt sharply decreased, another urban center known as Tell al-Ajjul began to grow along the Wadi Ghazza riverbed
11.
Jericho
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Jericho is a city in the Palestinian Territories and is located near the Jordan River in the West Bank. It is the seat of the Jericho Governorate, and is governed by the Fatah faction of the Palestinian National Authority. In 2007, it had a population of 18,346, the city was occupied by Jordan from 1949 to 1967, and has been held under Israeli occupation since 1967, administrative control was handed over to the Palestinian Authority in 1994. It is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world and it was thought to have the oldest stone tower in the world as well, but excavations at Tell Qaramel in Syria have discovered stone towers that are even older. Copious springs in and around the city have attracted human habitation for thousands of years, Jericho is described in the Hebrew Bible as the City of Palm Trees. Jerichos Arabic name, ʼArīḥā, means fragrant and also has its roots in Canaanite Reaẖ, the first excavations of the site were made by Charles Warren in 1868. Ernst Sellin and Carl Watzinger excavated Tell es-Sultan and Tulul Abu el-Alayiq between 1907–1909 and in 1911, and John Garstang excavated between 1930 and 1936, extensive investigations using more modern techniques were made by Kathleen Kenyon between 1952 and 1958. Lorenzo Nigro and Nicolo Marchetti conducted excavations in 1997-2000, the earliest settlement was located at the present-day Tell es-Sultan, a couple of kilometers from the current city. In both Arabic and Hebrew, tell means mound - consecutive layers of habitation built up a mound over time, as is common for ancient settlements in the Middle East, Jericho is the type site for the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B periods. Jericho has evidence of settlement dating back to 10,000 BCE, during the Younger Dryas period of cold and drought, permanent habitation of any one location was impossible. However, the Ein es-Sultan spring at what would become Jericho was a camping ground for Natufian hunter-gatherer groups. Pre-Pottery Neolithic A The first permanent settlement on the site of Jericho developed near the Ein es-Sultan spring between 9,500 and 9000 BCE, as the world warmed up, a new culture based on agriculture and sedentary dwelling emerged, which archaeologists have termed Pre-Pottery Neolithic A. At Jericho, circular dwellings were built of clay and straw bricks left to dry in the sun, each house measured about 5 metres across, and was roofed with mud-smeared brush. Hearths were located within and outside the homes, by about 9400 BCE, the town had grown to more than 70 modest dwellings. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A phase at Tell es-Sultan is sometimes called Sultanian and this tower and the even older ones excavated at Tell Qaramel in Syria are the oldest ever to be discovered. The wall may have served as a defence against flood-water, with the used for ceremonial purposes. The wall and tower were built during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period around 8000 BCE, for the tower, carbon dates published in 1981 and 1983 indicate that it was built around 8300 BCE and stayed in use until ca.7800 BCE. The wall and tower would have taken a hundred men more than a hundred days to construct, the town contained round mud-brick houses, yet no street planning
12.
Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
13.
Jerusalem
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Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is considered a city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent, today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old Citys boundaries. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, the sobriquet of holy city was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesuss crucifixion there, in Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. As a result, despite having an area of only 0, outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, one of Israels Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the countrys undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister and President, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of importance, such as the Hebrew University. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000, Muslims 281,000, a city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba, the name Jerusalem is variously etymologized to mean foundation of the god Shalem, the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, according to a Midrash, the name is a combination of Yhwh Yireh and the town Shalem. The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states, I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem, or as other scholars suggest, the mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem
14.
Palestine (region)
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Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is sometimes considered to include adjoining territories, the name was used by Ancient Greek writers, and was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine Palaestina Prima, and the Islamic provincial district of Jund Filastin. The region comprises most of the claimed for the biblical regions known as the Land of Israel. Historically, it has known as the southern portion of wider regional designations such as Canaan, Syria, ash-Sham. The boundaries of the region have changed throughout history, today, the region comprises the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories in which the State of Palestine was declared. Modern archaeology has identified 12 ancient inscriptions from Egyptian and Assyrian records recording likely cognates of Hebrew Pelesheth, the term Peleset is found in five inscriptions referring to a neighboring people or land starting from c.1150 BCE during the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. Neither the Egyptian nor the Assyrian sources provided clear regional boundaries for the term, approximately a century later, Aristotle used a similar definition for the region in Meteorology, in which he included the Dead Sea. The term is accepted to be a translation of the Biblical name Peleshet. The term is used in the Septuagint, who used a transliteration Land of Phylistieim different from the contemporary Greek place name Palaistínē. Following the Muslim conquest, place names that were in use by the Byzantine administration generally continued to be used in Arabic, Modern archaeologists and historians of the region refer to their field of study as Levantine archaeology. The region was among the earliest in the world to see human habitation, agricultural communities, during the Bronze Age, independent Canaanite city-states were established, and were influenced by the surrounding civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Minoan Crete, and Syria. Between 1550–1400 BCE, the Canaanite cities became vassals to the Egyptian New Kingdom who held power until the 1178 BCE Battle of Djahy during the wider Bronze Age collapse. The region became part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from c.740 BCE, in 539 BCE, the Babylonian empire was replaced by the Achaemenid Empire. In the 330s BCE, Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great conquered the region and it ultimately fell to the Seleucid Empire between 219–200 BCE. In 116 BCE, a Seleucid civil war resulted in the independence of certain regions including the Hasmonean principality in the Judaean Mountains, from 110 BCE, the Hasmoneans extended their authority over much of Palestine, creating a Judaean–Samaritan–Idumaean–Ituraean–Galilean alliance. The Judaean control over the region resulted in it also becoming known as Judaea. Between 73–63 BCE, the Roman Republic extended its influence into the region in the Third Mithridatic War, conquering Judea in 63 BCE, and splitting the former Hasmonean Kingdom into five districts. The three-year Ministry of Jesus, culminating in his crucifixion, is estimated to have occurred from 28–30 CE, in 70 CE, Titus sacked Jerusalem, resulting in the dispersal of the citys Jews and Christians to Yavne and Pella
15.
Somme (department)
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Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Hauts-de-France region, the north central area of the Somme was the site of a series of battles during World War I. Particularly significant was the 1916 Battle of the Somme, the 1346 Battle of Crécy, a major English victory early in the Hundred Years War, also took place in this department. The Somme department is in the current region of Hauts-de-France and is surrounded by the departments of Pas-de-Calais, Nord, Aisne, Oise, in the northwest, it has a coast on the English Channel. The main rivers are the Somme and its tributaries as well as the Bresle, at the beginning of the First World War, during the Race to the Sea of September and November 1914, the Somme became the site of the Battle of Albert. The line settled around the town of Thiepval and remained there until July 1916, the Allies had originally intended the Somme to be the site of one of several simultaneous major offensives by Allied powers against the Central Powers in 1916. However, before these offensives could begin, the Germans attacked first, as this battle dragged on, the purpose of the Somme campaign shifted from striking a decisive blow against Germany to drawing German forces away from Verdun and relieving the Allied forces there. By its end the losses on the Somme had exceeded those at Verdun, while Verdun would bite deep in the national consciousness of France for generations, the Somme would have the same effect on generations of Britons. The battle is best remembered for its first day,1 July 1916, on which the British suffered 57,420 casualties, as terrible as the battle was for the British Empire troops who suffered there, it naturally affected the other nationalities as well. One German officer, General D. Swaha, famously described it as the grave of the German field army. By the end of the battle, the British had learned lessons in modern warfare while the Germans had suffered irreplaceable losses. British historian Sir James Edmonds stated, It is not too much to claim that the foundations of the victory on the Western Front were laid by the Somme offensive of 1916. The Somme experienced war twice more in the First and Second Battles of the Somme of 1918
16.
Bapaume
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Bapaume French pronunciation, is a French commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bapalmois or Bapalmoises, Bapaume is a farming and light industrial town located some 23 km south by south-east of Arras and 50 km north-east of Amiens. Access to the commune is by the D917 road from Ervillers in the north passes through the commune in a zig-zag then continues south-east to Beaulencourt. The D930 goes east by north-east to Frémicourt, the D929 branches off the D917 at the edge of the commune and goes south-west to Warlencourt-Eaucourt. The A1 autoroute passes south down the edge of the commune. Bapaume has been called the Seuil de Bapaume due to its position as a point between Artois and the Flanders plain on one side, and the Somme valley and the Paris Basin on the other. From the mid-11th century there was a Bapaume toll which was revised in 1202, many roads pass through Bapaume, both old roads between the two regions then the autoroute and the TGV. In the 19th century, however, the city opposed the passage through its territory of the Paris-Lille railway. This position was regretted by 1859 when the municipality called for the construction of a railway linking Achiet-le-Grand to Bapaume with animal traction, the railway linking the two communes was not commissioned until 1871, with steam traction. The TGV came to the town in 1993, Bapaume means beat your palms in the sense of suffering because of the poverty of the land or some past devastation. The current city is not in its original location, during the Gallic period the town was located some 1500 m to the west near an abundant source, the source of the Sensée river. During the Roman Empire the town prospered as it was next to the road linking Bavay to Amiens and this period lasted about three centuries. The barbarian invasions of 255-280 totally destroyed this first Bapaume, under the Late Roman Empire the city was rebuilt in the same place by Batavi settlers who were enlisted as soldier-farmers. Defensive mounds were built around the site of the current Bapaume and this town was called Helena and was the place where Aetius repulsed the Frankish invasion attempt in 448. This invasion was successful in 454 and ended the Roman presence, during the following centuries the city was devastated several times. The Franks built a castle on the Roman mound as the area was inhabited by bandits who hid in the Arrouaise forest, a bandit called Bérenger seized the castle by a ruse and made his mark on it. After his death the people of Helluin came to shelter near the fort and it is through several excavations at this place that traces of this city were found and its history. The city gradually grew in importance, the traffic was not East-West
17.
Hindenburg Line
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The Hindenburg Line was a German defensive position of World War I, built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front, from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916, the German offensive at the Battle of Verdun had been a costly failure, the Anglo-French offensive at the Battle of the Somme had forced a defensive battle on the Germans, leaving the western armies exhausted. On the Eastern Front, the Brusilov Offensive had inflicted huge losses on the Austro-Hungarian armies in Russia, the declaration of war by Romania had placed additional strain on the German army and war economy. The shorter defensive position behind the Noyon Salient was built to economise on manpower, contain an Allied breakthrough, the British and French armies would need about eight weeks to rebuild roads, bridges and railways in the abandoned area before they could attack. By the beginning of 1917, the outlook for the Germans made a retirement inevitable. German divisions on the Western Front numbered 133 on 25 January 1917, reducing the German manpower shortage, greater output of explosives, ammunition and weapons by German industry to provide the means to counter the Allied Materialschlacht was attempted in the Hindenburg Programme of August 1916. Production did not sufficiently increase over the winter, with only 60 percent of the expected to be fulfilled by the summer of 1917. News of the demolitions and the state of French civilians left behind, were serious blows to German prestige in neutral countries. Divisions released by Operation Alberich and other reinforcements, increased the number of divisions on the Aisne front to 38 by early April. The Hindenburg Line was attacked several times in 1917, notably at St. Quentin, Bullecourt, in August 1916 the German armies on the Somme had been subjected to great strain, the IX Reserve Corps had been shattered in the defence of Pozières. Ten fresh divisions had been brought into the Somme front and a division had been put into the line opposite the British. Destruction, capture, damage, wear and defective ammunition had caused 1,068 of 1,208 field guns and 371 of 820 heavy guns to be out of action by the end of August. The 2nd Army had been starved of reinforcements in mid-August, to replace exhausted divisions in the 1st Army, the emergency in Russia caused by the Brusilov Offensive, the entry of Romania into the war and the French counter offensive at Verdun had already overstretched the German army. The new supreme command ordered an end to attacks at Verdun and the dispatch of troops there to Romania. The western front commanders were told that no reserves were available for offensive operations, on 21 September, after the battle of Flers–Courcelette, Hindenburg ordered that the Somme front was to have priority in the west for troops and supplies. By the end of the Battle of Morval Rupprecht had no reserves left on the Somme front, during September, the Germans sent another thirteen fresh divisions to the British sector and scraped up troops wherever they could be found. Defeats inflicted by the French Tenth Army led to the sacking of the 2nd Army Chief of Staff, Hindenburg and Ludendorff demanded domestic changes to complement their strategy changes. German workers were to be subjected to an Auxiliary Service Law that subjected all Germans from 16–50 years old to compulsory service, the new programme was intended to create a trebling of artillery and machine-gun output and a doubling of munitions and trench mortar production
18.
Hundred Days Offensive
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The offensive essentially pushed the Germans out of France, forcing them to retreat beyond the Hindenburg Line, and was followed by an armistice. The term Hundred Days Offensive does not refer to a battle or unified strategy. The Spring Offensive of the German Army on the Western Front had begun on 21 March 1918 with Operation Michael and had petered out by July, the Germans had advanced to the river Marne but failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough. When Operation Marne-Rheims ended in July, the Allied supreme commander Ferdinand Foch ordered a counter-offensive which became known as the Second Battle of the Marne, the Germans, recognising their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne towards the north. For this victory, Foch was granted the title Marshal of France, Foch considered the time had arrived for the Allies to return to the offensive. The American Expeditionary Force, was present in France in large numbers, pershing was keen to use his army in an independent role. The Somme was chosen as a site for the offensive for several reasons. As in 1916, it marked the boundary between the BEF and the French armies, in this case defined by the Amiens–Roye road, also the Picardy countryside provided a good surface for tanks, which was not the case in Flanders. Finally, the German defences, manned by the German 2nd Army, were relatively weak, the Battle of Amiens opened on 8 August 1918, with an attack by more than 10 Allied divisions—Australian, Canadian, British and French forces—with more than 500 tanks. Through careful preparation, the Allies achieved surprise, the attack, led by the British Fourth Army, broke through the German lines and tanks attacked German rear positions, sowing panic and confusion. By the end of the day, a gap 15 mi wide had been created in the German line south of the Somme, the Allies had taken 17,000 prisoners and 330 guns. Total German losses were estimated to be 30,000 men, while the Allies had suffered about 6,500 killed, wounded, the collapse in German morale led Erich Ludendorff to dub it the Black Day of the German Army. The advance continued for three days but without the spectacular results of 8 August, since the rapid advance outran the supporting artillery. During those three days, the Allies had managed to gain 12 mi but most of that had occurred on the first day, as a result of the Germans adding reinforcements. On 10 August, the Germans began to pull out of the salient that they had managed to occupy during Operation Michael in March, haig refused and prepared to launch a fresh offensive by the Third Army at Albert, which opened on 21 August. The offensive was a success, pushing the German 2nd Army back over a 34 mi front, Albert was captured on 22 August. The attack was widened on the south, by the French Tenth Army starting the Second Battle of Noyon on 17 August, capturing the town of Noyon on 29 August. On 26 August, to the north of the initial attack, with the front line broken, a number of battles took place as the Allies forced the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line
19.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
20.
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
21.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
22.
French Revolutionary Wars
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The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts, lasting from 1792 until 1802, resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted the French First Republic against Britain, Austria and several other monarchies and they are divided in two periods, the War of the First Coalition and the War of the Second Coalition. Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension as the political ambitions of the Revolution expanded, French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. The Revolutionary Wars began from increasing political pressure on King Louis XVI of France to prove his loyalty to the new direction France was taking. In the spring of 1792, France declared war on Prussia and Austria, the victory rejuvenated the French nation and emboldened the National Convention to abolish the monarchy. A series of victories by the new French armies abruptly ended with defeat at Neerwinden in the spring of 1793, by 1795, the French had captured the Austrian Netherlands and knocked Spain and Prussia out of the war with the Peace of Basel. A hitherto unknown general called Napoleon Bonaparte began his first campaign in Italy in April 1796, in less than a year, French armies under Napoleon decimated the Habsburg forces and evicted them from the Italian peninsula, winning almost every battle and capturing 150,000 prisoners. With French forces marching towards Vienna, the Austrians sued for peace and agreed to the Treaty of Campo Formio, the War of the Second Coalition began with the French invasion of Egypt, headed by Napoleon, in 1798. The Allies took the opportunity presented by the French strategic effort in the Middle East to regain territories lost from the First Coalition. The war began well for the Allies in Europe, where they pushed the French out of Italy and invaded Switzerland—racking up victories at Magnano, Cassano. However, their efforts largely unraveled with the French victory at Zurich in September 1799, meanwhile, Napoleons forces annihilated a series of Egyptian and Ottoman armies at the battles of the Pyramids, Mount Tabor, and Abukir. These victories and the conquest of Egypt further enhanced Napoleons popularity back in France, however, the Royal Navy had managed to inflict a humiliating defeat on the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, further strengthening British control of the Mediterranean. Napoleons arrival from Egypt led to the fall of the Directory in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon then reorganized the French army and launched a new assault against the Austrians in Italy during the spring of 1800. This latest effort culminated in a decisive French victory at the Battle of Marengo in June 1800, another crushing French triumph at Hohenlinden in Bavaria forced the Austrians to seek peace for a second time, leading to the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801. With Austria and Russia out of the war, the United Kingdom found itself increasingly isolated and agreed to the Treaty of Amiens with Napoleons government in 1802, concluding the Revolutionary Wars. The lingering tensions proved too difficult to contain, however, in 1789–1792, the entire governmental structure of France was transformed to fall into line with the Revolutionary principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. As a result, one of the first major elements of the French state to be restructured was the army, the transformation of the army was best seen in the officer corps. Before the revolution 90% had been nobility, compared to only 3% in 1794, Revolutionary fervour was high, and was closely monitored by the Committee of Public Safety, which assigned Representatives on Mission to keep watch on generals
23.
William Pitt the Younger
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William Pitt the Younger, PC was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 and he left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806. He was also the Chancellor of the Exchequer throughout his premiership, born William Pitt, he is known as the Younger to distinguish him from his father, William Pitt the Elder, who had previously served as Prime Minister. The younger Pitts prime ministerial tenure, which came during the reign of George III, was dominated by events in Europe, including the French Revolution. Pitt, although referred to as a Tory, or new Tory. He is best known for leading Britain in the wars against France. Pitt was an administrator who worked for efficiency and reform. He raised taxes to pay for the war against France. To meet the threat of Irish support for France, he engineered the Acts of Union 1800, Pitt created the new Toryism, which revived the Tory Party and enabled it to stay in power for the next quarter-century. Historian Asa Briggs points out that his personality did not endear itself to the British mind, for Pitt was too solitary, too colourless and his greatness came in the war with France, with the adversary setting the pace. Pitt reacted to become what Lord Minto called the Atlas of our reeling globe and his integrity and industry and his role as defender of the threatened nation allowed him to inspire and access all the national reserves of strength. William Wilberforce said that, For personal purity, disinterestedness and love of this country, for this he is ranked highly amongst British Prime Ministers. The Honourable William Pitt, second son of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, was born at Hayes Place in the village of Hayes, Pitt was from a political family on both sides. His mother, Hester Grenville, was sister to former prime minister George Grenville, according to biographer John Ehrman, Pitt inherited brilliance and dynamism from his fathers line, and a determined, methodical nature from the Grenvilles. Suffering from occasional poor health as a boy, he was educated at home by the Reverend Edward Wilson, an intelligent child, Pitt quickly became proficient in Latin and Greek. In 1773, aged fourteen, he attended Pembroke College, Cambridge, at Cambridge, Pitt was tutored by George Pretyman, who became a close personal friend. Pitt later appointed Pretyman Bishop of Lincoln then Winchester and drew upon his advice throughout his political career, while at Cambridge, he befriended the young William Wilberforce, who became a lifelong friend and political ally in Parliament. Pitt tended to socialise only with students and others already known to him
24.
Counties of England
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Counties of England are areas used for the purposes of administrative, geographical, cultural or political demarcation. For administrative purposes, England outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly is divided into 83 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties and these counties may consist of a single district or be divided into several districts. As of April 2009,27 of these counties are divided into districts and have a county council, all of England is also divided into 48 ceremonial counties, which are also known as geographic counties. Most ceremonial counties correspond to a metropolitan or non-metropolitan county of the same name, the current arrangement is the result of incremental reform. Many of the counties have their origins in the Middle Ages, although the larger counties of Yorkshire, the geographic counties which existed before the local government reforms of 1965 and 1974 are referred to as ancient counties or historic counties. From 1889 to 1974 areas with county councils were known as administrative counties, from 1974 to 1996 the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, some of which were established only in 1974, corresponded directly with the ceremonial counties. For the purpose of sorting and delivering mail, England was divided into 48 postal counties until 1996, in these counties most services are provided by the county council and the district councils have a more limited role. Their areas each correspond exactly to ceremonial counties and they are Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire. In these counties the district councils provide the majority of services, similarly, Berkshire is a non-metropolitan county with no county council and multiple districts and maps directly to a ceremonial county. Bristol, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Northumberland and Rutland are ceremonial counties consisting of a county of a single district. In total, there are 39 unitary authorities that do not share the names of any of the ceremonial counties, bedfordshire and Cheshire are counties that consist of a number of unitary authorities, none of which has the same name as the ceremonial county. The City of London and Greater London are anomalous as ceremonial counties that do not correspond to any metropolitan or non-metropolitan counties, large ceremonial counties often correspond to a single police force. For example, the four unitary authorities which make up Cheshire correspond to the area as the Cheshire Constabulary. Some counties are grouped together for this purpose, such as Northumberland with Tyne, in other areas a group of unitary authorities in several counties are grouped together to form police force areas, such as the Cleveland Police and Humberside Police. Greater London and the City of London each have their own forces, the Metropolitan Police Service. The fire service is operated on a basis, and the ambulance service is organised by the regions of England. Most ceremonial counties form part of a region, although Lincolnshire. Economic development is delivered using the regions, as is strategic planning, as of 2009, the largest county by area is North Yorkshire and the smallest is the City of London
25.
Lord Lieutenant
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The Lord-Lieutenant is the British monarchs personal representative in each county of the United Kingdom. Historically, the Lord-Lieutenant was responsible for organising the militia but it is today a largely ceremonial position. Lieutenants were first appointed to a number of English counties by King Henry VIII in the 1540s and he raised and was responsible for the efficiency of the local militia units of the county, and afterwards of the yeomanry, and volunteers. He was commander of forces, whose officers he appointed. Lieutenancies soon became more organised, probably in the reign of his successor King Edward VI, however, it was not until the threat of invasion by the forces of Spain in 1585 that lieutenants were appointed to all counties and counties corporate and became in effect permanent. Although not explicitly stated, from that date lieutenants were appointed to counties at large, the origin of this anomaly may have lain in the former palatine status of Pembrokeshire. The City of London was uniquely given a commission of lieutenancy, an Act to make the Militia of this Kingdom more useful was passed by the Parliament of Ireland in 1715. The lieutenants were empowered to embody militia regiments, in 1921, with the establishment of Northern Ireland, lord-lieutenants continued to be appointed through the Governor of Northern Ireland to the six counties and two county boroughs. By the Militia Act 1797, the lieutenants appointed for the Counties, Stewartries, Cities, the Lord Provosts of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee are, by virtue of office, also the Lord-Lieutenant of their respective city. The Militia Act 1802 provided for the appointment of lieutenants to Lieutenants for the Counties, Ridings, and Places in England and Wales, and gave them command of the county militia. In the case of towns or cities which were counties of themselves, the Militia Act 1882 revested the jurisdiction of the lieutenants in the crown. Counties for lieutenancy purposes were also redefined as a county at large, the text of the letters patent appointing lieutenants under the act stated they were to be. Haverfordwest was permitted to retain a lieutenant while the Tower Hamlets, from 1889 lieutenancy counties in England and Wales were to correspond to groupings of administrative counties and county boroughs established by the Local Government Act 1888. The creation of a new County of London also led to the ending of the Tower Hamlets lieutenancy, the Act also extinguished the lieutenancy of the Cinque Ports. Section 69 of the Local Government Act 1898 realigned the lieutenancy counties with the new counties created by the Act. The one exception was County Tipperary, which administered by two county councils, was to remain united for lieutenancy. In contrast to the legislation in England and Wales, each county borough was to have its own lieutenant, and those counties corporate not made county boroughs were abolished. The effect of this was to create a lieutenant for the county boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, the office of lieutenant was honorary, and held during the royal pleasure, but virtually for life
26.
Massacre of Tranent
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The Massacre of Tranent took place on 29 August 1797 in the town of Tranent, East Lothian, Scotland. The proclamation comprised four clauses, - We declare that we disapprove of the late Act of Parliament for raising 6000 militiamen in Scotland. We declare that we will assist each other in endeavouring to repeal the said Act and it is believed they had been involved in similar riots and protests elsewhere over the 1797 Militia Act. The following day,29 August, the proclamation was handed to Major Wight, later, when a contingent from the local colliery communities, led by Jackie Crookston confronted the troops, their response was swift and bloody. Several of the protesters, including Crookston, were shot out of hand. Casualty estimates range from around a dozen to twenty or more men, women and children dead, after the slaughter the troopers are alleged to have carried out rapes and pillage in the small town. The Light Dragoons overall commanding officer was then Colonel Viscount Hawkesbury and it was reported that His lordship was blamed for remaining at Haddington, as his presence might have prevented the outrages of the soldiery. A statue by sculptor David Annand, of Jackie Crookston and one of the children, was unveiled in Tranent centre in 1995, the Lion in the North John Prebble Scotlands Story Tom Steel Prestonpans and Vicinity Peter McNeill The Tranent Massacre Sandy Mullay
27.
John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor
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John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor, FRS, was a British politician, army officer and art-collector. 1753, the son of Pryse Campbell of Stackpole Court, Pembrokeshire and his siblings were Sarah, George, Alexander and Charles Campbell. He was sent to board at Eton College, Berkshire, afterwards he studied at Cambridge University. From 1777 to 1780 he was Member of Parliament for Nairnshire and he became Member of Parliament for Cardigan Boroughs from a by-election in June 1780 until he stood down at the British general election,1796. From 1780 he was Governor of Milford Haven, between 1783 and 1788 Campbell visited Italy and Sicily, where he bought antiquities from Fr. In 1788 Campbell bought from Giovanni Volpato the celebrated Lante Vase and he also continued to acquire architectural and sculptural fragments and casts. In 1789 on 28 July John Campbell married Isabella Caroline Howard - daughter of Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle, in 1794 Campbell became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and in 1795 a Fellow of the Royal Society. As a Parliamentarian, Campbell was at first a Whig and a supporter of Lord North, in debates on the North Atlantic slave trade he supported the abolitionists. He became a supporter of the younger Pitts war policy, on 21 June 1796 Campbell was made a peer with the title of Baron Cawdor of Castlemartin in the County of Pembroke. As a landowner he was an active improver - draining the Castlemartin Corse and his generosity to the poor was proverbial. In 1797 he was the commander of the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry, who defeated Napoleons troops in the Last invasion of Britain, in 1800 Campbell sold the contents of his Museum. Several items were sold to the architect, Sir John Soane, in 1804 Campbell added to his extensive land-holdings by inheriting John Vaughans estates at Golden Grove, Carmarthenshire. In 1808 he was mayor of Carmarthen, Campbell died on 1 June 1821, at Bath. He is buried at Bath Abbey, a portrait of John Campbell was made by Joshua Reynolds, a miniature of him by Richard Cosway is in the National Galleries of Scotland
28.
Frigate
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A frigate /ˈfrɪɡᵻt/ is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries. In the 17th century, this term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability and these could be warships carrying their principal batteries of carriage-mounted guns on a single deck or on two decks. The term was used for ships too small to stand in the line of battle. In the late 19th century, the frigate was a type of ironclad warship that for a time was the most powerful type of vessel afloat. The term frigate was used because such ships still mounted their principal armaments on a continuous upper deck. Ship classes dubbed frigates have more closely resembled corvettes, destroyers, cruisers. The rank frigate captain derives from the name of type of ship. The term frigate originated in the Mediterranean in the late 15th century, referring to a lighter galleass type ship with oars, sails and a light armament, built for speed and maneuverability. The etymology of the word is unknown, although it may have originated as a corruption of aphractus, aphractus was, in turn, derived from the Ancient Greek phrase ἄφρακτος ναῦς, or undefended ship. In 1583, during the Eighty Years War, Habsburg Spain recovered the Southern Netherlands from the rebellious Dutch and this soon led to the occupied ports being used as bases for privateers, the Dunkirkers, to attack the shipping of the Dutch and their allies. To achieve this they developed small, maneuverable, sailing vessels that came to be referred to as frigates, in French, the term frigate became a verb, meaning to build long and low, and an adjective, adding further confusion. Even the huge English Sovereign of the Seas could be described as a frigate by a contemporary after her upper decks were reduced in 1651. The navy of the Dutch Republic was the first navy to build the larger ocean-going frigates, the first two tasks required speed, shallowness of draft for the shallow waters around the Netherlands, and the ability to carry sufficient supplies to maintain a blockade. The third task required heavy armament, sufficient to fight against the Spanish fleet, the first of these larger battle-capable frigates were built around 1600 at Hoorn in Holland. The effectiveness of the Dutch frigates became most visible in the Battle of the Downs in 1639, encouraging most other navies, especially the English, to adopt similar designs. The fleets built by the Commonwealth of England in the 1650s generally consisted of ships described as frigates, the largest of which were two-decker great frigates of the third rate. Carrying 60 guns, these vessels were as big and capable as great ships of the time, however, most other frigates at the time were used as cruisers, independent fast ships. The term frigate implied a long hull design, which relates directly to speed and also, in turn, in Danish, the word fregat is often applied to warships carrying as few as 16 guns, such as HMS Falcon which the British classified as a sloop
29.
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
30.
Tenby
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Tenby is a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and the name for the local government community of Tenby. Boats sail from Tenbys harbour to the offshore monastic Caldey Island, the town is served by Tenby railway station. With its strategic position on the far west coast of the British Isles, the earliest reference to a settlement at Tenby is in Etmic Dinbych, a poem probably from the 9th century, preserved in the 14th century Book of Taliesin. At this point the settlement was probably a hill fort, the nature of the settlement possibly developing under Hiberno-Norse influence. Tenby was taken by the Normans, when they invaded West Wales in the early 12th century, the towns first stone-wall fortification was on Castle Hill. Tenbys mercantile trade grew as it developed as a seaport in Norman controlled Little England beyond Wales. However, the need for additional defences became paramount after the settlement and castle were attacked and sacked by Welsh forces of Maredudd ap Gruffydd. Sacking of the town was repeated in 1187 and again by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1260, after the final attack, William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke ordered the construction of the towns large outer walls in the late 13th century. The stone curtain wall, towers and gates enclosed a large part of the settlement, with the construction of the town walls, Tenby Castle was made obsolete and had been abandoned by the end of the 14th century. Work included heightening the wall to include a second tier of higher arrow slits behind a new parapet walk, additional turret towers were added to the ends of the walls where they abutted the cliff edges, and the dry ditch outside walls was widened to 30 feet. Consequently, in the Late Middle Ages, Tenby was awarded grants to finance the maintenance and improvement of its defences. Traders sailed along the coast to Bristol and Ireland and further afield to France, Spain, exports included wool, skins, canvas, coal, iron and oil, while in 1566 Portuguese seamen landed the first oranges in Wales. It was during this period that the town was so busy and important, during the Wars of the Roses Henry Tudor, the future King Henry VII of England, sheltered at Tenby before sailing into exile in 1471. In the mid 16th century, the large D-shaped tower known as the Five Arches was built following fears of a second Spanish Armada, two key events caused the town rapid and permanent decline in importance. First, Tenby declared for Parliament in the English Civil War, after resisting two attempts by the Royalists forces of Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, it was finally taken in 1648. Ten weeks later the town was surrendered to Colonel Thomas Horton. Second, a plague outbreak killed half of the remaining population in 1650. With limited infrastructure, resources and people, the economy fell into decline
31.
Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
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Pembroke is a historic settlement and former county town of Pembrokeshire in West Wales. The town features a number of buildings and complexes and is one of the major population centres in the county. It was the birthplace of Henry Tudor, later Henry VII of England, Pembroke Castle, the remains of a stone mediæval castle was the birthplace of King Henry VII of England. Gerald de Windsor was Constable of Pembroke, Pembroke town and castle and its surroundings are linked with the early Christian church. Later this was the site of the Knights of St John in the UK, Monkton Priory has very early foundations and was renovated by the Knights in the last century. The first stone building was a tower, now known as the Medieval Chapel, 69a Main Street. There are the remains of a hall to the north. The building was used as an early church, the layout is the same as St. Govans Chapel and it was used by John Wesley from 1764 to preach Methodism. In 1866 it became the brewery for the York Tavern which was Oliver Cromwells headquarters at the Siege of Pembroke during the English Civil War, on both banks of the Pembroke River to the west of the castle are many remains of early activities. There is an early complete graving dock in what was Hancocks Yard. The bridge which crosses and constrains the millpond was constructed to house a tide mill, at Pennar Flats there was an early submarine base used for experiments in submarine warfare. Three of the houses on the foreshore, part of the shipyard before the Admiralty Dock Yard was built, are still standing but are heavily altered. The ferry port of Pembroke Dock is a town, which was established in 1814. It lies three miles to the north of Pembroke, the town and county derive their names from the cantref of Penfro, Pen = head or end, and bro = region, country, land, which has been interpreted to mean either Lands End or headland. Pembroke is on the south Pembrokeshire peninsula, by the estuary of the River Cleddau, Pembroke town is at the bottom of a small valley, flanked on all sides by woodland and arable farmland. The town is 8 miles south of the county town of Haverfordwest, the town is centred on Main Street, which is the only street that is inside the original town walls. Outside of the walls, residential estates have been built to the north towards Pembroke Dock, to the east towards the village of Lamphey, to the west of the town lies the village of Monkton, which is included as part of the community of Pembroke. At the 2001 census, the community had a population of 7,214, the conurbation of Pembroke Dock and Pembroke has a combined population of 15,890 and as such is one of the major population centres of West Wales
32.
Haverfordwest
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Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and serves as the countys principal commercial and administrative centre. The 2011 census quoted a population of 12,042 only living within the confines of the parish and this agreed with the total population of all 5 wards involved. The town includes the suburbs of Prendergast and Albert Town and the residential and industrial area of Withybush. Merlins Bridge, a village and community, adjoins to the south. The strategic position at the lowest fordable point of the Western Cleddau led to importance from the Roman era to the present. The majority of the town, comprising the old parishes of St. Mary, St. Martin and St. Thomas, on the left bank are the suburbs of Prendergast and Cartlett. At this point, a pair of ridges extending east-west and separated by a deep. This leaves two high spurs on the west side of the river, on the northern spur, the castle and its surrounding settlement form the core of St Martins parish. On the southern spur, the High Street ascends steeply from the river, from the foot of each spur, ancient bridges cross the river to Prendergast, St Martins Bridge and St Marys Bridge. St Thomass parish occupies the south side of the southern spur, from these core areas, the town has spread, mainly along the ridges. In addition to the four ancient parish churches, the remains of an Augustinian priory are visible at the edge of the town. The name of the town means ford used by heifers, from Old English hæfar=heifer, in local dialect, it is pronounced Harford. The Welsh language name is said by B. G, Charles to be merely a corruption of the English name, and as such has no meaning in Welsh. Another claim is that Tudor monarchs called it Hereford or Hertford in the West, the veracity of these competing explanations of the name origin continues to be a matter of debate amongst scholars and linguistic experts. It seems likely that such a strategic location would have been settled in some way from an early date. Some have asserted there is no documentary or archaeological evidence of a settlement on the site before the 12th century. However archaeological discoveries in Pembrokeshire suggest otherwise, Edward Llwyds note to Camdens Britannia refers to a valuable find of silver coins at Llanboidy, the latest coin being one of Domitian struck in AD91. In the 1920s Sir Mortimer Wheeler partially excavated a Roman dwelling or villa at Wolfscastle, the Roman legionary headquarters at Caerleon were roofed with slates from the lower slopes of the Preseli Hills
33.
Carmarthen
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Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is on the River Towy 8 miles north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay, in 2001, the population was 15,854. Carmarthen has a claim to being the oldest town in Wales. Carmarthen was the most populous borough in Wales between the 16th and 18th centuries and was described by William Camden as the chief citie of the country, however, population growth stagnated by the mid-19th century as more dynamic economic centres developed in the South Wales coalfield. Carmarthen is the location of Dyfed-Powys Police headquarters, the Carmarthen campus of the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, when Britannia was a Roman province, Carmarthen was the civitas capital of the Demetae tribe, known as Moridunum. Carmarthen is possibly the oldest town in Wales and was recorded by Ptolemy, the Roman fort is believed to date from around AD75. A Roman coin hoard was found nearby in 2006, near the fort is one of seven surviving Roman amphitheatres in the United Kingdom and one of only two in Roman Wales. The arena itself is 50 x 30 yards, the cavea is 100 x 73 yards, veprauskas has argued for its identification as the Cair Guorthigirn listed by Nennius among the 28 cities of Britain in his History of the Britains. In the Middle Ages, the settlement was known as Llanteulyddog, the strategic importance of Carmarthen was such that the Norman William fitz Baldwin built a castle there, probably around 1094. The current castle site is known to have used since 1105. The castle was destroyed by Llywelyn the Great in 1215, in 1223, the castle was rebuilt and permission was received to wall and crenellate the town. Carmarthen was among the first medieval walled towns in Wales, in 1405, the town was taken and the castle was sacked by Owain Glyndŵr. The Black Book of Carmarthen, written around 1250, is associated with the towns Priory of SS John the Evangelist, during the Black Death of 1347–49, the plague was brought to Carmarthen by the thriving river trade. The Black Death destroyd and devastated villages such as Llanllwch, local historians place the plague pit, the site for mass burial of the dead, in the graveyard that adjoins the Maes-yr-Ysgol and Llys Model housing at the rear of St Catherine Street. This was sited near the river, at what is now Priory Street, the site is now a scheduled monument. During the 13th century, Franciscan Friars became established in the town, in 1456 Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond died of plague in Carmarthen, three months before the birth of his son, the future King Henry VII. Edmund was buried in a prominent tomb in the centre of the choir of the Grey Friars Church, other notable burials were Rhys ap Thomas and Tudur Aled. The Friary was dissolved in 1538, and many plans were made for the building
34.
Carmarthenshire
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Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south-west of Wales and is the largest of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford, Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre of Carmarthenshire, but the most populous settlement is Llanelli. Carmarthenshire has been inhabited since prehistoric times, the town of Carmarthen was founded by the Romans, and the region was part of the Principality of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages. It saw turbulent times during the invasion by the Normans in the 12th and 13h centuries before it was subjugated, along other parts of Wales. There was further unrest in the early 15th century when the Welsh rebelled under Owain Glyndŵr, Carmarthenshire is mainly an agricultural county, apart from the southeastern part which at one time was heavily industrialised with coal mining, steel-making and tin-plating. In the north of the county the woollen industry was important in the 18th century. Nowadays the economy of the county depends on agriculture, forestry, fishing, with the decline in its industrial base and the low profitability of the livestock sector, Carmarthenshire is economically one of the worst-performing regions in the United Kingdom. Although Carmarthenshire is less frequented as a tourist destination than some other counties in Wales, further west are the sandy beaches at Llansteffan and Pendine, and Dylan Thomas boathouse at Laugharne. Further inland there are a number of castles, hillforts. Humans have been living in Carmarthenshire since at least 40,000 years ago as evidenced by stone tools found in Coygan Cave, near Laugharne. The Romans established two forts in South Wales, one at Caerwent to control the southeast of the country, the fort at Carmarthen dates from around 75 AD, and there is a Roman amphitheatre nearby, so this probably makes Carmarthen the oldest continually occupied town in Wales. Carmarthenshire has its roots in the region formerly known as Ystrad Tywi and part of the Principality of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages. After the Normans had subjugated England they tried to subdue Wales, Carmarthenshire was disputed between the Normans and the Welsh lords and many of the castles built around this time, first of wood and then stone, changed hands several times. Following the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, the region was reorganized by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 into Carmarthenshire. Edward I made Carmarthen the capital of new county, establishing his courts of chancery and his exchequer there. The Normans transformed Carmarthen into a trading port, the only staple port in Wales. Merchants imported food and French wines and exported wool, pelts, leather, lead, Carmarthen was particularly susceptible to plague as it was brought in by flea-infested rats on board ships from southern France. In 1405, Owain Glyndŵr captured Carmarthen Castle and several other strongholds in the neighbourhood, however, when his support dwindled, the principal men of the county returned their allegiance to King Henry V
35.
Lampeter
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Lampeter is a town in Ceredigion, South West Wales, lying at the confluence of the River Teifi and the Afon Dulas. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion after Aberystwyth, at the 2001 National Census, the population was 2894, increasing to 2,970 at the 2011 Census. Lampeter is therefore the smallest university town in the United Kingdom, the university adds approximately 1,000 people. The Norman castle of Pont Steffan occupying a strategic position beside the River Teifi was destroyed in 1187 after it had been conquered by Owain Gwynedd. The remains of the later became the foundations for C. R. Cockerells college building. Cardiganshire was one of the counties established by Edward I after the defeat of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd at Cilmeri in 1282. This, however, had little effect on the town and the Welsh language, the first Borough Charter was granted in 1284 to Rhys ap Meredydd who was given the right to hold a weekly market. As many as eight fairs were held each year under successive charters. One of these was the Dalis Horse Fair, the town was ruled by a local aristocracy who lived in elegant mansions, including Brynhywel, Maesyfelin and the Lloyd baronets of Peterwell. As magistrates, they handed out the severest of penalties to offenders, the fairs and markets had become rowdy occasions characterised by violence and drunkenness and the stocks and whipping post in front of the town hall were frequently put to use in the 18th century. The town developed the crafts, services and industries to cater for the needs of the rural area, there were several woollen mills, one of which in the mid-18th century was already producing the complex double-woven tapestry cloth later to become associated with the Welsh woollen industry. There were also blacksmiths, a tannery, carpenters, saddlers, bootmakers and hatters. The town was one of the centres on the Welsh Drovers road for the dispatch of cattle. The large number of point to the towns importance as a rural centre and have names such as the Nags Head, the Drovers. Lampeters war memorial was unveiled in September 1921 and it was sculpted by Sir William Goscombe John. The University of Wales, Trinity Saint David formerly St. Davids College, in 1852 it was granted a charter to award the BD degree and in 1865 another charter enabled it to confer BA degrees in liberal arts. Its central building, based on an Oxbridge quadrangle was designed by Charles Robert Cockerell, the universitys rugby team was Wales first, having been formed in 1850 by Rowland Williams after he brought the game from Cambridge. Lampeter has a strong sporting community, which serves to smaller settlements nearby, such as Cwmann
36.
Ceredigion
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Ceredigion is a county in Mid Wales. In the Middle Ages, it was a minor kingdom also known for a time as Seisyllwg, following its Norman conquest, the name was anglicised to Cardigan and then Cardiganshire and it began to be administered as a county in 1282. The county had a population of 75,900 at the 2011 UK census and its largest town, Aberystwyth, is one of the two administrative centres, the other being Aberaeron. Aberystwyth houses Aberystwyth University, Bronglais Hospital and the National Library of Wales, the inland town of Lampeter houses part of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Ceredigion is considered to be a centre of Welsh culture and more than half the population speaks Welsh, the county is mainly rural with over 50 miles of coastline and a mountainous hinterland. The numerous sandy beaches, together with the long-distance Ceredigion Coast Path provide excellent views of Cardigan Bay, the economy became highly dependent on dairy farming and the rearing of livestock for the English market. Ceredigion has been inhabited since prehistoric times,170 hill forts and enclosures have been identified across the county, around the time of the Roman invasion of Britain, the area was between the realms of the Demetae and Ordovices. The Sarn Helen road ran through the territory, with forts at Bremia, following the Roman withdrawal, Irish raids and invasions were repulsed, supposedly by the forces under a northerner named Cunedda. The 9th-century History of the Britons attributed to Nennius records that Cuneddas son Ceredig settled the area around the Teifi in the 5th century. The territory supposedly remained a kingdom under his dynasty until its extinction upon the drowning of Gwgon ap Meurig c. 871, after which it was administered by Rhodri Mawr of Gwynedd before passing to his son Cadell. Many pilgrims passed through Cardiganshire on their way to St Davids, some came by sea and made use of the churches at Mwnt and Penbryn, while others came by land seeking hospitality at such places as Strata Florida Abbey. Both the abbey and Llanbadarn Fawr were important monastic sites of scholarship, place names including ysbyty denote their association with pilgrims. In 1282, Edward I of England conquered the principality of Wales, one of thirteen traditional counties in Wales, Cardiganshire was also a vice-county. Cardiganshire was split into the five hundreds of Genaur-Glyn, Ilar, Moyddyn, Penarth, every community built its own chapel or meeting house, and Cardiganshire became one of the centres of Methodism in Wales with the Aeron Valley being at the centre of the revival. Cardigan was one of the ports of southern Wales, but its harbour silted in the mid-19th century. In the uplands, wheeled vehicles were rare in the 18th century, on the coast, trade in herrings and corn took place across the Irish Sea. In the 19th century, many of the rural poor emigrated to the New World from Cardigan, Aberystwyth became the main centre for the export of lead and Aberaeron and Newquay did brisk coastal trade. The building of the railway from Shrewsbury in the 1860s encouraged visitors and this area of the county of Dyfed became a district of Wales under the name Ceredigion in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and since 1996, has formed the county of Ceredigion
37.
Welshpool
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Welshpool is a town in Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire, but currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys. The town is 4 miles from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn, Welshpool is the fourth largest town in Powys. In English it was known as Pool but its name was changed to Welshpool in 1835 to distinguish it from the English town of Poole. It has a population of 6,664, contains much Georgian architecture and is just north of Powis Castle. St Cynfelin is reputed to be the founder of two churches in the town, St Marys and St Cynfelins, during the age of the saints in Wales in the 5th and 6th centuries. The parish of Welshpool roughly coincides with the medieval commote of Ystrad Marchell in the cantref of Ystlyg in the Kingdom of Powys. The Long Mountain, which plays as a backdrop to most of Welshpool, Welshpool served briefly as the capital of Powys Wenwynwyn or South Powys after its prince was forced to flee the traditional Welsh royal site at Mathrafal in 1212. After 1284 Powys Wenwynwyn ceased to exist, the town was devastated by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr in 1400 at the start of his rebellion against the English king Henry IV. Today, the waymarked long-distance footpath and National Trail, Glyndŵrs Way runs through the town, in 1411 the priest at the church St Marys was Adam of Usk. St Marys Church is a Grade I listed building, the original church dated from about 1250, there are remains of this church in the lower courses of the church tower. The nave was rebuilt in the 16th century, and the building was substantially restored in 1871. The 15th century chancel ceiling may have come from Strata Marcella Abbey, about five miles away, a memorial in the church commemorates Bishop William Morgan, translator of the Bible into Welsh, who was the vicar from 1575 to 1579. The Mermaid Inn,28 High Street, was probably an early 16th century merchant’s house. The timber-ramed building has long storehouse or wing to the rear,1890, by Frank H. Shayler, architect, of Shrewsbury. Early illustrations of the show that prior to this it had a thatched roof. There is a passage to side with heavy box-framing in square panels, with brick infill exposed in side elevation, the frontage was exposed by Shayler to show decorative timber work on the upper storey. An Inn by the 19th century when it was owned by a family named Sparrow, as of 2015, it is the home of the towns Womens Institute. Welshpool railway station is on the Cambrian Line and is served by Arriva Trains Wales, the town is also the starting point of the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, a narrow-gauge heritage railway popular with tourists, with its terminus station at Raven Square
38.
Llanfyllin
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Llanfyllin is a small market town in a sparsely-populated area in Powys, Wales. Llanfyllins population in 2011 was 1,482, of whom 34. 1% could speak Welsh, Llanfyllin means church or parish of St Myllin. The town lies in the valley of the River Cain near the Berwyn Mountains in Montgomeryshire,14 miles southwest of Oswestry and 15 miles from Montgomery. The River Cain is joined by the small River Abel in Llanfyllin, the town lies between Shrewsbury and Bala, for a long time the key market towns in this area of Wales and the Welsh borders. At nearby Bodyddon there is evidence of an early British settlement, Llanfyllin may be the Mediolanum among the Ordovices described in Ptolemys Geography, although others argue for Meifod or Caersws. The town is known for its well, Fynnon Coed y Llan. The well is dedicated to Saint Myllin, who is reputed to have baptised people here in the sixth century, the parish church is also dedicated to Saint Myllin. There is a tradition that Saint Myllin is the Irish bishop, the medieval motte and bailey castle of Tomen yr Allt was probably destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1257. The castle earthworks are still present, Llanfyllin was granted a charter as a market town in 1293 by Llywelyn ap Dafydd under Edward I, one of only two Welsh towns to have received its charter from a native ruler. The charter was confirmed by Edward de Charlton, Lord of Powys under Henry V. Llanfyllin is noteworthy for the quality and quantity of its buildings in locally-made brick, the parish church of St Myllin was founded in the seventh century, according to tradition by St Myllin. The present building dates to around 1706 is mainly of locally-made red brick with battlements. It has a tower with six bells and it was adapted and extended by 1863 in the neo-Norman style, and restored in 1959. Pendref Chapel is said to be the oldest Welsh independent church in Powys, in 1640 its first minister was Vavasor Powell. The chapel was built in 1708. The chapel was destroyed in the Jacobite rising of 1715, and was re-erected at government expense, the present building dates from 1829. A late-15th or early-16th century hall house at Rhosfawr near Llanfyllin is a Grade II* Listed Building and it has been used as a barn since the 17th century and has never been altered, and is perhaps the most complete and unaltered medium-sized hall house in Wales. It consists of four bays, crucks at the gables, a truss, box-frame trusses. The central bays formed the hall, an historic house known as The Hall still exists on Vine Square within the town
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Newtown, Powys
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Newtown is the largest town in the county of Powys, Wales. It had a population of 12,783 in 2001, falling to 11,357 at the 2011 census, the Robert Owen Museum is across the road, occupying the ground floor of the council offices. Newtown is also the home of Theatr Hafren and of Oriel Davies, a public gallery. Newtown was founded at the end of the 13th century when Edward I of England commissioned Roger de Montgomerie to construct a centre for the hamlet of Llanfair-yng-Nghedewain. It was situated near the ford on the River Severn, below the Long Bridge and this gave Newtown its original Welsh name. He seized Llywelyns lands and granted them to the Mortimers and they transferred the administration of the cantref of Cedewain and the commote of Ceri from Dolforwyn Castle to the new settlement at Newtown. The town grew in the 18th and 19th centuries around the textile and flannel industry, in 1838, the town saw Wales first Chartist demonstration. The Cambrian Mills, which opened in 1856, were the first steam-driven mills in Newtown, the mill complex was beside the canal terminus on the east bank of the Severn. They expanded to become the largest Welsh woollen mills, however, by the end of the 19th century the mills in Newtown were no longer competitive with those in the north of England. There was a fire in 1910, and another in 1912. After the Cambrian Mills closed, Newtown was no longer an important woollen industrial centre, the town was designated as a new town in 1967. It saw a population growth as companies and people settled. Newtown hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1965, Newtown is about 8 miles from the Wales-England border, in the narrow valley of the river Severn which restricts development north and south of the town. Newtown is surrounded by small villages often referenced as the Newtown area, the Newtown post town area, including surrounding villages, has a population approaching 16,000. These villages include Aberhafesp, Adfa, Bettws Cedewain, Bwlch-y-ffridd, Cefn-gwyn, Dolfor, Glanmule, Kerry, Llanllwchaiarn, Llanwyddelan, Mochdre, New Mills, Pentre, Rhydlydan, Sarn and Tregynon. Built by Pryce Pryce-Jones, the Pryce Jones Royal Welsh Warehouse remains the tallest building in Newtown, the two towering structures housed the worlds first mail order service depot. Bear Lanes, the main shopping centre, has a Tudor-style entrance. The building was once a hotel, The Bear, which contributes to the centres appearance today, a statue of Robert Owen was erected in 1956 in a small park off Shortbridge Street and Gas Street
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Llandrindod Wells
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Llandrindod Wells is a town and community in Powys, within the historic boundaries of Radnorshire, Wales. It serves as the seat of Powys County Council and thus the centre of Powys. It was developed as a spa town in the 19th century, before the 1860s the site of the town was common land in Llanfihangel Cefn-llys parish. Llandrindod Wells is the fifth largest town in Powys, and the largest in Radnorshire, the Town Council has 15 Members and 1 Clerk. The Current Mayor is Cllr Jon Williams and The Deputy, Mrs Elaine Worgan, the Clerk to the Council and The Town is Mrs Jane Johnston - CilCa Wales. During the mid-18th century the healing qualities of the spring waters attracted visitors to the area resulting in an economic boom with the building of a splendid hotel at Llandrindod Hall. Enclosure of the common in 1862 enabled expansion of the town with the construction of new streets, hotels, shops, during the season between May and mid-September visitors would take the waters at the pump rooms at the Rock Park and Pump House Hotel, entertained by orchestras. Hotels, boarding houses and shops — including the Central Wales Emporium on the corner of Temple Street and Station Crescent — provided for the visitors. In the early 1870s an ornamental lake was formed by draining marshland near the Pump House Hotel, horse races were held on the Rock Ddole meadow beside the river. In 1895 both churches were restored, Llandrindod was the place of the election of the first Archbishop of Wales, which occurred at the Old Parish Church. Elections for every Archbishop since have continued to be held in Llandrindod, in 1907, a Catholic church was founded in the town, Our Lady of Ransom and the Holy Souls Church. The Town has maintained an important profile in the world of motoring, the Welsh International Two Day Trial organised by locals is still a popular event as well as many rallies which rely on the infrastructure of Llandrindods Hotels and public spaces. The depression of the late-1920s and 1930s led to many hotels and boarding houses being turned into private homes, during the Second World War the town was again used for military hospitals and billets, followed by a slump in the post-war years. The town does however retain connections to Swansea and Shrewsbury via its station on the Heart of Wales Line, prior to 1974 the county housed much of the administration of the county of Radnorshire, although the official county town was Presteigne. The reorganisation of government in 1974 resulted in Llandrindod becoming the county town of the newly formed administrative county of Powys. This led to an influx of people employed by the new bureaucracies, with the relatively low cost of living in the area this resulted in a boom in the towns economy as the newcomers spent their money on housing and entertainment. In more recent years the economy has again flagged, significant local industries, the towns carpet and stationery factories, closed, and many shops likewise. As in many areas there are now many charity shops occupying premises once used by commercial enterprises
Kingdom of Great Britain (1794 – 1800)
United Kingdom (1801 – 1993)
British Army
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