| | |  BMMHS News & Events
November 2025 |
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This cartoon shows British soldiers destroying a Boer farm, with an angry Boer woman protesting.
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Remembrance Sunday
 This is the time of year when the country remembers and pays tribute to its servicemen and women who have died fighting for freedom and for those who suffered life-changing injuries, both physical and mental, following the conflicts of the last century or so. It is also poignant that 2025 has marked the 80th anniversary since the end of the Second World War, and as each year goes by the number of surviving veterans reduces to a small elite group.
The Royal British Legion was founded by Royal Charter at the instigation of Field Marshall Earl Haig and his wife Lady Haig, in 1921 in the aftermath of the horrors of the Great War. The RBL came from the amalgamation of four existing charities to form an institution that supports all branches of the armed services and continues to do so today.
The inspiration of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance to those who fell in the Great War came from Canadian poet John McCrae. His poem
'In Flanders Fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses row on row...'
became the tribute to those who fought in the mud of the trenches of Flanders, and over time expanded to all British and Commonwealth servicemen and women who fought in all wars and conflicts since then.
The first poppy factory was founded by Lady Haig in Edinburgh is 1926, with the 8 million poppies selling out in no time as it became the national symbol of remembrance. Providing employment for injured servicemen production has grown to 30 million poppies and 100,000 wreaths today from their factories in Richmond and Aylesbeare.
The need for the RBL's support of veterans and their families is as important today as it was a hundred years ago, and while not involved in major global conflicts, Britain's armed services have been in conflicts and across the world for nearly every single day of the last 80 years. Some are well known such as Korea, Malaya, Suez, the Falklands, Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan while many are largely below the radar for many, particularly in peace keeping roles such as Bosnia, Serbia, Cyprus and many others. Today, veterans are living longer, many more are needing support for PTSD and other mental health issues, broken marriages with resultant homelessness are much more prevalent than amongst the general population and as such the work of the RBL is needed more than ever.
As Poppy Appeal Organisers in our small Devon town of Colyton, for my wife Jane and I, this is our busy time of year. Organising the deployment of collection tins, the roster of fellow volunteers at our local Starbucks, giving talks to local schools, care homes and the Memory Cafes, and in short 'putting the word out there' in the community, we realise that we can make a difference and help support for our veterans and their families.
So please support your local Poppy Appeal and branch of the RBL, by volunteering or by donating. To paraphrase or misquote a famous Great War recruiting slogan,
'Your Veterans Need You'! |
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Zoom Talk
Boer War
Scorched Earth
Speaker: SpencerJones
Date: Tuesday 4th November 2025 7:30pm
The Boer War was a bloody and prolonged conflict. Although the British Army had occupied Transvaal and the Orange Free State by August 1900, Boer forces refused to surrender. Frustrated by their inability to defeat the Boer guerrillas, the British authorities introduced ruthless methods to isolate them from civilian support. This included the widespread destruction of Boer farms, summary execution of prisoners and rebels and, most notoriously, the construction of concentration camps intended to separate Boer civilians from guerrilla fighters. These policies aroused global controversy and were described by opposition and Liberal Party leader Henry Campbell-Bannerman as ‘methods of barbarism’.
The Zoom talk explores this notorious period of the conflict, the British response to guerrilla warfare, and the nature of the concentration camp system.
About the Speaker - Spencer Jones
Dr. Spencer Jones is an award-winning historian and author. He is Senior Lecturer in Armed Forces and War Studies at the University of Wolverhampton and serves as the Regimental Historian for the Royal Regiment of Artillery. You can learn more about his work at http://www.drspencerjones.co.uk
The chosen charity for this Zoom talk
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Details of our BMMHS Events & Zoom talks can be found on our website https://www.bmmhs.org
Contact us in...@bmmhs.org to register for these Events and for Zoom talks the log-in details will be emailed to you on the morning of each talk. A donation of £5 is requested for each talk to cover speaker costs, licence fees and the charity donation. |
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Woodcote Village Hall Meeting
Churchill: Cold War Warrior
by Anthony Tucker-Jones
Wednesday 12th November 2025 7:30pm
In Churchill Cold War Warrior, renowned military historian Anthony Tucker-Jones reassesses Winston Churchill’s neglected postwar career. He explains how in an unguarded moment Winston inadvertently sowed the seeds for the Cold War by granting Stalin control of Eastern Europe. Famously Churchill, at Fulton, then warned of the growing danger created by this partition of the continent. Winston after the Second World War wanted to prove a point. Shunned by the electorate in 1945, instead of retiring he was determined to be Prime Minister for a second time. Biding his time he watched in dismay as Britain scuttled from India and Palestine and weathered the East-West confrontation over Berlin. He finally got his way in 1951 and took the reins of a country with drastically waning powers. Churchill was confronted by a world in turmoil, with an escalating Cold War that had gone hot in Korea and an unravelling British Empire. Communism and nationalism proved a heady cocktail that fanned the flames of widespread conflict. He had to contain rebellions in Kenya and Malaya while clinging on in Egypt. Desperately he also sought to avoid a Third World War and the use of nuclear weapons.
About the speaker - Anthony Tucker-Jones
After a career in the British intelligence community Anthony established himself as a respected defence writer and military historian. For many years he was the terrorism and security correspondent for intersec - The Journal of International Security.
He is a highly prolific author, feature and script writer - with over 500 articles published in print and online for a wide range of publishers and media outlets. He has also written over 60 books, some of which have been translated into half a dozen languages.
He is a regular public speaker - appearing on Channel 4, Sky News, BBC Radio, RT and numerous podcast shows. Anthony has also worked with TV production companies such as the History Channel and France's Imagissime.
The chosen charity for this talk is
Entry cost is just £8, which includes your entry ticket to the talk, a Q & A, and refreshments (beer, wine, soft drinks). We ask for payment in advance. If you are unable to pay in advance there will be a facility to pay on the door.
Entrance to village hall talks for students and under 21s is now free of charge.
Details of our BMMHS Village Hall Meetings can be found on our website https://www.bmmhs.org |
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| | BMMHS Upcoming Events 2025 |
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An event you may find of interest - Thanks to James Goulty for letting us know. To register please see above.
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Air America
The Strange Story of a Phantom Airline
by Nick Brazil
Click on the photo to read this fascinating article.
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A Review by Andy Cockeram |
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A Review by Geoff Simpson |
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A Review by Linda Parker
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