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In the previous blog about Operation Sea Lion, the planned German invasion of mainland Britain, I wrote how to achieve their stated aims, the Luftwaffe would need full control of the British skies. The German navy, the Kriegsmarine would also need dominant control of the sea in order to allow the invasion barges filled with troops to safely make it across the channel. Britain had spent the summer of 1940 expecting an invasion. After Dunkirk, the German forces were massed on the channel coast and preparing to push forward. The had assembled heavy guns at Pas-de-Calais region in northern France, massed troops and landing barges on the coast. As September dawned, the RAF still had control of the skies and started a bombing campaign deliberately designed to take out the landing barges the Germans had assembled. ...

Following on the the intro blog this is actually about the Tomar horde of Templar artifacts. Some is undoubtedly true, some likely/possibly/maybe isn’t, but I’m presenting the facts as told to me. When I saw the advert on Insta for a Knights Templar hoard being displayed in Kidderminster just up the road from me, I had to check twice. Turns out, absolutely the case. The antique dealer, sometime TV star and eccentric, Hamilton White was displaying his hoard from the Portuguese city of Tomar in Kidderminster so I went along. ...

Now, I’ve said elsewhere in this blog, Medieval history is something I’m fairly weak on and its not previously been something I’ve learned a lot about although that’s changing. I do however, like a fun conspiracy theory and when it comes to historical conspiracy theories, the Templar Knights probably come first (or perhaps 2nd after JFK). I need a note note, but anyway, this is a intro blog for the next one as I decided to split them up. ...

Feel like telling a story or two that both relate to previous ‘book’ blogs. So permit me, this one gets a bit pretentious. Relating to my blog On the value of books; When my father passed away, I took the few books that he’d kept hold of (and my mother had left alone). One of the things we shared was a love of books and reading so I got the books, my brother the DVDs. I took a few special editions I’d bought him, a copy of his favourite play, a few other things and one particular hardback that not only I wanted because it was his, I wanted to read it too. ...

Who knew… apparently today (first Thursday in September) is international orchid day. https://orchidsinfo.eu/en/tag/international-orchid-day/ All my cloud forest species are sulking and dropping leaves thanks to the insane hot weather we’ve had between May and now. So here is one of my Neofinetia falcata (Technically Vanda falcata now) from back in June when they at least were happy on my windowsill.

I said in my original blog on Kilpeck I should return and learn more. Well a year after my original visit and 8 months since I wrote the original blog, I thought it was time. That, however isn’t the only reason; Fresh from our visit to the Templar church of Welsh Newton where Mrs Yunzi has relations buried, it appears as if she has family in all the amazing churches of Herefordshire, after her brother casually informed us about past generations of her family in the graveyard of Kilpeck. ...

The battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Winston Churchill - June 18th 1940 Churchill’s famous speech on the 18th June in 1940 came a few short weeks after the British Expeditionary forces (BEF) retreat at Dunkirk. The German army had swept through France and the Low countries and reached the channel coast. By early July, various areas of German command had started putting together preliminary plans for dealing with the British. Ranging from pushing for a negotiated peace, to a full on invasion. In pretty much any scenario, it was assumed the Luftwaffe would have control of the skies and the Kriegsmarine had limited the impact the Royal Navy could have in the channel and north sea. Then on July 16th 1940, Hitler issued directive 16; ...

Why is a guy who normally writes about old churches, WWII defences and ancient sites suddenly writing about heavy weight boxing? Well I like boxing, and as its one of the top 10 most popular sports in the world and I never see blogs on it, and mostly I’m writing things I would like to personally read - so here we are. Everyone else can keep writing ‘AI is killing kittens blogs’ or ‘blogging is aces isn’t it!?’ until such a time as the upvotes all disappear. ...

Been a bit church heavy on the last few blogs, but not to worry, there is more old metal and concrete from WWII posts coming soon. Specifying this church as ‘Old St Bartholomews’ as there is a Victorian era St Bartholomew’s built up the road in around 1877 that would be classed as the ‘current’ parish St Barts. I’ll get to why that is shortly; This site was mentioned in the doomsday book of 1086, so a church has sat here for a very long time although there doesn’t appear to be any sign of the pre conquest version. The current ‘old’ church is Norman, built probably at the end of the 11th century. Its a simple nave and chancel layout and 3 small Norman windows remain, one of which is pictured below. ...

Something of a sequel to Part2 - Garway. In around 1170 - The English King, Henry II granted the Knights Templar the rights to a preceptory at Garway. A preceptory being a local administrative centre both for spiritual needs as well as more earthly matters like getting rent out of farmers and producing food for the knights. As part of that same land grant, the Templars also built some smaller chapels including the church of St Mary the Virgin sometime in the 13th century and kept control until around 1312 when their persecution in Europe meant, even in England, their holdings, including this church, passed to the brother order of the Knights Hospitaller. ...