Chilling out with Winston, Câmara de Lobos Madeira

Built in 1706 - the Fort of Nossa Senhora do Amparo in Machico Madeira

Taking a Spring break on the island of #Madeira and searching out some sites of historical interest. Here’s the Forte de São Tiago in #Funchal built to protect the town from pirates in the 17th Century. The fort is currently undergoing restoration work.

The story of my Great Great Grandfather Arthur Taylor who argued with his father, left home (never to return) and joined the Army as a Private. He later retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the RWF. The family reunited over 100 years later. www.walkingthebattlefields.com/2025/03/arth...

A small part of Mick Jones’s personal collection of artefacts currently on display in The RRPL (Rock 'n' Roll Public Library) - just off Denmark Street in the West End of London. #TheClash

The volunteer run secondhand bookshop at @TyntesfieldNT is well worth a visit. I picked up ‘The Unknown Warrior’ by @JohnNicholRAF which I’ve heard is a very interesting read. If @robert_lyman says it is ‘beautiful, compassionate and emotional’ then that’s good enough for me!

Nikita Khrushchev blew my house up: Recollections of the Bedenham ammunition explosion (July 14, 1950) as diarised by my father. Updated with new information. #Gosport #Portsmouth www.walkingthebattlefields.com/2021/07/niki...

Lovely hearing #RickWakeman talking about #IanLavender @SlapstickFest ‘Don’t Tell Him, Pike! A Tribute to #DadsArmy’. The sign language interpreter was also a delight to watch, particularly when it came to the word ‘Nazi’ which demanded a very literal approach!

The Yalta Conference took place #OTD 4-11 February 45. #Stalin played a blinder, and came out a clear winner. Sadly, the win - though inevitable - meant the post-war subjugation of much of Eastern and Central Europe. This is the conference room as it was in 2003 #YaltaConference

Last time I visited The Museum of the Home it was called the Geffrye Museum. The name was changed in 2019 because of Geffrye’s involvement in the slave trade. Really impressed with the new set up, including the fabulous 1998 extension. My first photo in the style of Rene Magritte!

I've put together a guided tour of some of the main sites used by the US Army in Bristol in the Second World War using the wonderful guidl app. Download details here yanksinbristol.co.uk/self-guided-...

Machine gun ports at the junction of Abbotts Leigh Road and Beggar Bush Lane near Bristol #WW2

Postcard sent by my Great Grandfather, Q.M. Sjt. Gilbert Price (Royal Marines) to his sister-in-law, Mrs E. Ward residing at #FortCumberland - whose husband was also a Royal Marine. 'This is the little blister with which we flop out our artillerymen' says Gilbert.

Wasn’t expecting to see this in #Gibraltar. Memorial to the @uscoastguard vessel Tampa which was torpedoed in the Bristol Channel by the German submarine UB-91 on 26 Sept 1918. Exploding amidships, she sank in just under three minutes. 115 lives lost. Painting: John D. Wisinski

Last stop on the way to #Gibraltar Airport. The British and Commonwealth War Memorial which is maintained by the @CWGC. Unveiled on Armistice Day 1922 by General Smith-Dorrien who was then Commander-in-Chief Gibraltar. Commemorates those who died in the #FWW and #WW2

The King’s Bastion in #Gibraltar has been repurposed as a leisure centre but the military heritage remains, and can be admired. The American War Memorial, the British #FWW Memorial and the entrance to a #WW2 air raid shelter are just some of the points of interest that remain.

Another massive RML 12.5 Inch gun at Harding’s Battery #EuropaPoint #Gibraltar. Some of the best examples that I’ve seen anywhere.

The Sikorski Memorial at #EuropaPoint #Gibraltar commemorates the death of General Władysław Sikorski, the #WW2 commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile. Killed nearby in a B-24 air crash on 4th July 1943.

The Strait of Gibraltar - with Morocco on the horizon, through the front aperture of a derelict #WW2 searchlight bunker at #EuropaPoint #Gibraltar

The site of the #WW2 @RoyalNavy Wireless Station on the Europa Foreshore #Gibraltar (formerly known as ‘Wireless Beach’). The pillbox on the right was built in 1942 to defend the site, by 575 Army Troops Co. Royal Engineers with the help of men from the 2nd Bn @SomersetLInf

Gun mounted on a Koehler Depressing Carriage in Casement Square #Gibraltar as deployed during the Great Siege 1779-1783. It was necessary to devise a way of dropping the elevation of the cannons in the batteries up on the Rock so as to fire on the Spanish siege lines below.

What a monster! The 100 ton RML gun located at the Napier of Magdala Battery overlooking Rosia Bay #Gibraltar Obsolete almost immediately after installation. The nearby 3.7 Inch AA gun saw good service during #WW2 though.

Rosia Bay #Gibraltar deep water anchorage was where the stricken #HMSVictory was towed after the #BattleofTrafalgar - Vice-Admiral Nelson’s body, encased in a barrel of alcohol, was conveyed through this archway. There is nothing on the site to mark this historic event.

25 pounder (QF) field gun occasionally used for state and military funerals. Stored at the Napier of Magdala Battery #Gibraltar

An early 19th Century @RoyalNavy ‘who’s who’ at the #Trafalgar Cemetery #Gibraltar. Includes two casualties from the greatest of sea battles fought on Oct 21, 1805. Captain Thomas Norman from HMS Mars and Lieutenant William Forster from HMS Colossus.

The Alameda Park in #Gibraltar is now a stunning botanical garden replete with statues of Wellington and Elliott (Great Siege). Plenty of artillery around as well, including Russian guns from Crimea.

Memorial to members of the #Gibraltar Defence Force who served during #WW2 illuminated at the ‘Festival of Light’ this evening. It seems that #Christmas has arrived!

A bit of a cardio workout on the #RockofGibraltar today, seeking out some of the fortifications that are still extant. Started with the Princess Caroline’s Battery and finished with the 9.2 Inch gun at Lord Airey’s Battery. Very impressed with the Great Siege Tunnels.

Sadly the #WW2 Tunnels on the #RockofGibraltar are closed (wish they’d told me when I bought a ticket!). Sneaked in to capture this image of a full size replica Spitfire Type IIa which will feature in the refurbished museum.

One of the many 64-pounder RML guns that can still be seen on the landward side of the #RockofGibraltar deployed at a time when the threat of attack came from the French and Spanish. This one is at Princess Charlotte’s Battery close to the entrance to the Siege Tunnels.

The Holyland Tunnel on the #RockofGibraltar built by 34 Pioneer Co. Royal Engineers in 1940. 4 x 3 Inch Mortars were deployed here, plus 1 x 2 Inch Mortar and 2 Bren Guns. Manned until late 1944.

Looking forward to walking #Gibraltar for a couple of days and stumbled upon my first cannon last night. This one is Russian, captured in the #Crimea. Also, it seems that the more beer you drink, the cheaper it gets. Cheers!

Troops marching through Weston-super-Mare following the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. Kitty May Collection.

Kohima Epitaph in St Mary’s Church, Bridgewater, placed by the Burma Star Association. In memory of those who served in the Burma Campaign 1941-45.

Congratulations to @bobnichollsart.bsky.social for winning an award for the artwork ‘Primeval Clevedon Bay’, depicting Clevedon Bay during the Carboniferous period. The art work features on a seafront information panel in Clevedon. A Clevedon Pier and Heritage Trust project.

Such a privilege to explore the World War II air raid shelter under the St Nicholas Market in the centre of Bristol with the ‘We Have Ways’ Bristol Area IC. Duncan Mckellar was a wonderful guide and thanks to @yanksinbristol.bsky.social for making it happen!

Nice find in a Chepstow book shop - pre-reading for my 80th Anniversary trip to Arnhem in September. At the time of Market Garden the author was only 19 and had never been in action before. Served with 2 Para, made it the bridge and was taken as a PoW.

Worth travelling across the old Severn Bridge to see this wonderful Gallipoli relic in Chepstow. Commemorates the Victoria Cross action of local man, Able Seaman Bill Williams R.F.R. during the River Clyde landings at V Beach, Seddul Bahr.

Still looking ….

Happy Christmas everyone, looking forward to some exciting battlefield walks in the New Year!

Well, my visit to RAF Museum Midlands at Cosford was certainly a success. A fascinating collection - well kept and sensibly interpreted. Such a pleasure talking to enthusiastic volunteers and staff. All-in-all a great day out and a credit to all involved.

Interesting find in the Mind Charity Shop - Thornbury, Gloucestershire. ‘France on Trial: The Case of Marshall Pétain’ by Julian Jackson published by Allen Lane in 2023.

A rather optimistic message sent by the 61st (South Midlands) Division in December 1916. After the disaster at #Fromelles I’m sure that everyone involved hoped that they were ‘nearing the finish’. Sadly, it wasn’t to be.

Prior to D-Day General Dwight Eisenhower spent a night in Weston Woods near Weston-super-Mare. He slept in a caravan amongst a cluster of military vehicles close to the water tower (built in 1925) just off the old Kewstoke Toll Road. A blue plaque now marks the spot.

Our Christmas bristol IC meeting, Xmas hats, waffle, good company, a few drinks may have been consumed 😀

'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell's old house and HQ in Chongqing, China, is now a tourist attraction though I am not sure how many visitors it attracts. My wife and I had the place to ourselves a few years back when we sought it out. There are spectacular views from the garden terrace.

An elderly neighbour is asking if anyone can help identify the Sloop-of-war on this embroidered cushion. The work is dated 1886 and the ship has a swan shaped figurehead ... the flags may help to place her - maybe anti-slavery patrolling?

One for #TankTuesday … Panzer Panzer II AUSF C on display at Belgrade Military Museum.

I’ve been after this for some time, have secured a copy at a reasonable price. I see that it is from the Bozeman Library, Montana State University. Fabulous images of the 1860 Anglo -French campaign in China captured by Felice Beato, originals are in the @sbmuseart.

Back to Blighty today … our river trip on the Danube has yielded a lot of fascinating military history, ancient and modern. Goodbye #Budapest!