New book reveals wartime PM Sir Winston Churchill’s various illnesses and injuries

He was the wartime Prime Minister regarded by many to be the greatest Briton who ever lived. Sir Winston Churchill’s leadership during the fight against Nazi Germany was symbolised by the indomitable spirit he championed in his numerous speeches to the British public. But far from the symbol of strength which he represents, a new … Read more

Churchill College Cambridge academics debate wartime PM’s ‘backward’ views

Churchill College at Cambridge is set to hold a debate on the wartime Prime Minister’s ‘backward’ views on empire and race as part of year-long ‘inclusivity’ review. This evening’s event titled ‘the racial consequences of Mr Churchill’ promises to be a ‘reassessment’ of the leader and will feature a line-up of controversial speakers. They include Professor Priya Gopal, … Read more

Covid US: Joe Biden promises ‘wartime effort’ to get vaccine to 100m

President Joe Biden on Thursday called for the nation to summon a ‘full scale war-time effort’ to beat back the coronavirus – but snapped when questioned about the ambition of his new 100 million-shot goal.  Biden made the revealing comment as he signed new executive orders to speed vaccine delivery and called wearing a mask a … Read more

Widow of heroic RAF PoW sells his wartime archive 76 years on 

The RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF’s bomber forces from 1936 to 1968, including Squadron XV, and was responsible for the strategic bombing of Germany during the Second World War. When the command was founded in 1936 it was only intended to be a deterrent, but the reality when war broke out three years later … Read more

The Undoing’s Matilda De Angelis is a wartime beauty to film Across The River And Into The Trees

The Undoing star Matilda De Angelis was transformed into a wartime beauty on Monday as she continued filming for Ernest Hemingway’s Across The River and Into The Trees. The actress, 25, who rose to fame earlier this year with her role in the thrilling HBO miniseries, sported her glossy brunette hair in pinned curls as she … Read more

Dame Vera Lynn’s daughter reveals she ‘has chats’ with wartime singer’s ghost

Dame Vera Lynn’s daughter Virginia Lewis-Jones has revealed how she asks her late mother’s spirit for advice following her death, aged 103.  The much-loved singer, who will forever be remembered for her ‘magical voice’, morale-boosting songs and risking her own life to visit troops during the Second World War, passed away surrounded by her family on … Read more

Buy into military history: Famous wartime landmarks turned into homes

Although there will be no crowds or military march past at this year’s Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, you do not have to travel far before you find reminders of the sacrifices previous generations made for their country. It has long been the custom to name streets after battles and war heroes. Today, housing … Read more

Thomas Stoppard and his journey from wartime refugee to our greatest living playwright

TOM STOPPARD: A LIFE by Hermione Lee (Faber £30, 860pp)  Transport yourself, in these sad days of silenced theatres, to a full-house Old Vic on the evening of April 11, 1967. It’s the opening night of Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, first performed the previous summer at the Edinburgh Fringe where it had terrible reviews … Read more

Wartime cover star known as the ‘girl with the tractor’, now aged 100, tells her extraordinary story

Her blonde hair is waved; she wears carmine lipstick and a chunky hand-knitted sweater as she poses smiling, in elegant profile, at the wheel of a tractor. What image could more strikingly sum up the potent mix of grit and glamour of World War II’s Land Girls?  The photo on the cover of Picture Post magazine … Read more