Richard de la Riviere offers a unique approach to a 125-year story of rebellion, struggle and change. It was the 1st of July 1916, and as the war continued to rage across Europe, the British and their Allies developed a plan to break the stalemate of trench warfare. The agreed operation was on the 25-mile … Continue reading On This Day in Rugby League: 125 years of Tradition and Change
Books in 100: Edith Summerskill – Life and Times of a Pioneer
Scott Cresswell looks at the life of a pioneering Labour MP in 100 words History is littered with the names of those who deserve to be remembered. Unfortunately, some parliamentarians are forgotten. Edith Summerskill is one. Her progressive and feminist beliefs in the conservative thirties make her an ideal candidate for a biography; Mary Honeyball’s … Continue reading Books in 100: Edith Summerskill – Life and Times of a Pioneer
Ernie Bevin: Labour’s Working Class Warrior
Ernest Bevin is a character who today would have more chance of winning the lottery than entering the House of Commons and rising to a great office of state. Euan Saunders looks back at his humble origins and his rise to the top. Ernie Bevin was born in Somerset and by the age of eleven, he … Continue reading Ernie Bevin: Labour’s Working Class Warrior
1992 at 30: What if Kinnock had won it?
All general elections produce their winners and losers. Landslide victories are often remembered for their scale and become personal vindications for Prime Ministers. As we reach the 30th anniversary of the 1992 election @scottcresswell1 wonders whether this was one that Labour were glad to lose... Whether it be Attlee in 1945, Thatcher in 1983, or … Continue reading 1992 at 30: What if Kinnock had won it?
Seize the Day: Channel 4 and the Revival of Rugby League on TV
The relationship between rugby league and television has never been easy. Now it’s Channel 4s turn to shake things up It was March 1976, and Britain was on the brink of change. In Westminster, shockwaves ripped through the political world when the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, handed in his resignation to the Queen. Having been … Continue reading Seize the Day: Channel 4 and the Revival of Rugby League on TV
Warren’s Reflections: Life as a Labour Organiser in Thatcher’s Britain
By David Warren It was the Winter of 1981. And with Margaret Thatcher's premiership on the ropes, I arrived in the town of Newbury. I was seventeen, unemployed and eager to change the world around me. So I joined the Labour Party and attended my first branch meeting in the Labour Club near the Railway … Continue reading Warren’s Reflections: Life as a Labour Organiser in Thatcher’s Britain
“I’ve ad enough of this, I ave”: Bevin, NATO and the Russian Threat
“Think Once, Think Twice”: Ernest Bevin and the Creation of NATO. By James A. S. Sunderland An expansionist Russia sweeps through Eastern Europe, a weary America - seemingly unwilling to shoulder heavy foreign military burdens - turns increasingly away from the international stage, and a small coterie on the left in Britain seek to defend … Continue reading “I’ve ad enough of this, I ave”: Bevin, NATO and the Russian Threat
Southern Discomfort: Rugby League in London
London was once seen as essential to the revival of rugby league in England. But as the Broncos begin a new life at AFC Wimbledon, has the game finally given up on the capital? It was the morning after the 1979 Challenge Cup final, and the Warrington Director Harold Genders was sitting in the room … Continue reading Southern Discomfort: Rugby League in London
Tides of History 