Local History Speakers
Derek Arnold
1. THE SINKING OF HMS THETIS. The loss of a brand new Birkenhead built submarine amid scandals, stupidity and secrecy. Not one tragedy but three, the sinking, the lacklustre rescue efforts and the establishment's hard-hearted treatment of the bereaved.
2. FORT PERCH ROCK. It’s always been there but what do Merseysiders know of its hilarious history? It has had a few moments of historical noteworthiness but many more instances of comic opera custard pies in the face.
3. AUSCHWITZ. A place of abject infamy that was not, as is generally believed, a death camp, but a labour camp....at first. A catalogue illustrating the efficiency of the Nazi regime to industrialise the eradication of those it despised.
4. NELSON AND TRAFALGAR. Britain’s greatest battle which changed the world, and the story of the man who planned it, executed it and ultimately paid for it with his life, Horatio Nekson, Vice Admiral, Knight of the Bath, Baron and Viscount of the Nile, Duke of Bronte.
5. D-DAY. OPERATION OVERLORD. Without doubt, the greatest event that has taken place on this planet since the birth of Jesus, the outcome of which would decide whether or not the world would continue on its civilised course or be plunged into the black abyss of treachery, slavery and subjugation for all time.
6. THE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE REVEALED. Even the most diehard landlubber knows of the mystery ship found drifting in the Atlantic, but what occurred, where did the crew disappear to, how was she discovered and why was her name a spelling mistake?
7. AGENT ZIG-ZAG, THE REAL JAMES BOND. Villain, conman, jailbird, womaniser [and how], spy, double agent hated by men, adored by women and a much admired friend of Ian Fleming who was his former spymaster and who based a fictitious hero on his exploits.
8. ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE. The death of a sleepy village in central France at the hands of the SS ‘Das Reich’ Panzer division following D-Day. Angry at being deceived by the Allied deception tactics which sent them to the South of France, and frustrated at the constant attacks by the French Resistance to their progress back to Normady, retribution was carried out by them on a village chosen at random.
9. NAUGHTY NAUTICAL TERMS. Well maybe not all that naughty but it explains many of the expressions, some a bit ‘iffy’, that we take for granted in everyday usage to show how, if we knew the literal meaning of much of what we say during conversation, we would realise that we were talking nothing but a load of gobbledegook.
10. HMS WILD SWAN, THE ‘ANGRY DUCK' OF DUNKIRK. A first world war destroyer, one of many overdue for the scrapheap but hastily saved in order to fill the gap until more modern ships could be built to fight in the anticipated next conflict with Germany. This nondescript old tub was used to rescue the Dutch Royal family and Amsterdam’s diamond and gold stocks from the Nazis, evacuate the British Army from Dunkirk and Boulogne and finally meet her end in an uneven contest with enemy bombers.
11. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. Everyone has seen a Hollywood version, but that is about as far from the truth as you can possibly get because the film industry will not let the truth get in the way of a good story. Find out who were the true villains and heroes in this tale of the most maligned man in history.
12. DID THE TITANIC STRIKE AN ICEBERG AND SINK? There is a feasible theory that it was not the ‘Titanic’ but the ‘Olympic’ that sank in 1912. How could such a large vessel that had suffered a ramming, a collision and striking an underwater object in the first 9 months of her commissioning and been declared unfit for a certificate of seaworthiness, carry on sailing for another 25 years?
13. THE UNION JACK. Was it flown upside down for Torville and Dean? It certainly was. Why do so many people know so little about the national flag? The Flag of the Union tells the history of Britain from over a thousand years and is the most recognisable design in the world.
14. THE STORY OF THE RED ARROWS. Arguably the finest fast jet, close order, aerial acrobatic display team in the world. They fly in, fly around and fly off again but there is much more to their story than them just turning up on the day, just ask the American Blue Angels Team who hold them in such high esteem they form a guard of honour each time they perform together at the same venue.
15. THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC. Opening on the first day of World War II and ending on the final day. It was the longest and most arduous battle of WWII, conducted clandestinely from Derby House in Liverpool. The struggle to supply Britain's needs by sea cost the Merchant Navy proportionately more lives than any of the armed forces but no medals were issued for their bravery.
16. THE GREATEST WAR STORIES NEVER TOLD. A number of quickfire anecdotes of world conflict ranging from the ancient Greeks to Iraq, from China right round to Alaska and designed to make you say 'well fancy that! No mention of Dunkirk or D-day here.
17. HOW THE ROYAL DAFFODIL AND ROYAL IRIS GOT THEIR NAMES. These two much loved old ferry boats had an heroic history spread over more than half a century, surviving as they did shot and shell in two world conflicts.
18. YESTERDAYS NAUGHTY CHILDREN. The story of Britain's first reformatory ship, HMS Akbar, and the fair but harsh treatment meted out to its 9 to 16 year old inmates who were formerly housed in adult jails with hardened criminals. This former Nelsonian wooden hulk was moored in the Mersey for many years.
19. 175 YEARS OF THE CUNARD LINE. Probably the most famous of all the shipping lines which celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2015. Samuel Cunard could be ranked alongside other humanitarian entrepreneurs such as Cadbury, Rowntree and William Hesketh Lever. From a person with no interest in shipping, he became the most celebrated of all ship-owners.
20. BRITAINS LAST HANGMAN. In those three words, two are popular misconceptions. Albert Pierrepoint gained notoriety for stretching the necks of several hundred Nazi criminals. A pub landlord by profession but an executioner for the state by inclination with a story worth telling.
21. THE CASE FOR SERGEANT ALEXANDER BLACKMAN. Sgt Blackman of 42 Commando, Royal Marine Corps, serving in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, delivered a coup-de- grace to a mortally wounded Taliban insurgent on the battlefield. His comments made to one of his troop, captured on the head-cam of one of his team, led to his arrest and court martial charged with murder and jailed for life. Was he a murderer or a soldier doing what he was gained to do?
22. CAMMELL LAIRDS. The history of the builder of the world’s finest ships, now one of the few major shipyards remaining in Britain..
23. THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE. The first of many maritime confrontations in World War II in which three British ships were outrun and outgunned but became victorious in the end.
24. THE STORY OF THE MIDGET SUBMARINES. Developed by the Royal Navy and crewed by heroic men, that destroyed major enemy ships
25. THE WHITECHAPEL MURDERS. The most well known serial killer of all time, Jack the Ripper, who was he? Who were his victims, where and when did it happen?
26. WHY DID DUNKIRK HAPPEN? What circumstances forced the British Expeditionary Force to be pushed almost into the sea.
27. THE BEAUTIFUL WITCH. The CUTTY SARK story explaining just why she was the greatest of all the sailing clippers and which outlasted them all.
28. TAKE A TOUR ABOARD HMS VICTORY and learn about a life of hardship and battle endured by all the sailors from the Admiral to the cabin boy in Nelson’s navy.
29. MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS also known as the porthole murder. Actress Gay Gibson's body was disposed of through the porthole of her cabin, but was it misadventure, manslaughter or murder. You are the trial jury, will you hang the accused or not?
30. THE MURDER ON THE GREEN BICYCLE. Young Bella rode down the lane with a stranger, she was found shot through the head. Everything pointed to the stranger but was it really him?
31. THE DEATH OF AN EMPRESS. Between the losses of the Titanic and the Lusitania occurred another major shipping disaster equally as horrendous as the other two. The 'Empress of Ireland' was rammed in the St. Lawrence Seaway and sank with heavy loss of life.
Derek Arnold
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E-mail: djarnold39@gmail.com