A Royal Air Force pilot getting a haircut and reading Greenmantle by John Buchan. There are so many interesting things about this photo, the colors, the apparent calmness of these two gents during wartime, the young pilot smoking a pipe, and also the fact …
HMS Invincible was launched on 3 May 1977 as the seventh ship to carry the name. She saw action in the Falklands War when she was deployed with HMS Hermes and took over as flagship of the British fleet when Hermes was sold to India. On 25 February 1982,…
Under British military escort, two German Luftwaffe crewmen, an Unteroffizier (Subordinate Officer, or Corporal) and an Oberleutnant (the highest-ranking Lieutenant Officer) who bailed out over the English countryside and were taken as POWs during a bombin…
There's always been something romantic about football under lights. This striking photograph is captured as 62,000 fans fill the Arsenal Football Stadium in Highbury, North London to see Arsenal challenge the Glasgow Rangers. It is Arsenal's second matc…
This picture was taken during the wedding of the Kaiser's daughter Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia. The wedding, an extravagant affair, took place on 24 May 1913 in Berlin. In a diplomatic gesture, Emperor Wilhelm invited almost his entire extended fam…
The Hyde Park and Regent’s Park bombings were one of the worst IRA atrocities on the British mainland, killing 11 soldiers and seven horses and leaving dozens injured. The bombs were detonated just a couple of hours apart on July 20, 1982, and timed to …
The appearance of German bombers in the skies over London introduced a new weapon of terror and destruction in the arsenal of twentieth-century warfare. This concentrated direct bombing of industrial targets and civilian centers began on 7 September 194…
In the strict world of British military protocol, there are even rules on how to faint with dignity. There are two main reasons why the guards of honor pass out: it can get pretty hot and they'll lock their knees. Usually, it's the combination of both t…
Five emaciated former prisoners of war sitting on the steps of an ambulance in Singapore following their release from captivity in Sumatra. Holding the newspaper is Sergeant Jack King RM, formerly of HMS Prince of Wales, while standing next to him, with…
Thatcher is surrounded by troops on a visit to Goose Green in January 1983, where the Parachute Regiment had secured a crucial victory seven months earlier. The war was a turning point in her premiership. The Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges called …
A shell shocked soldier in a trench during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette during the Somme Offensive in September 1916. His eyes express the madness of the war. The soldier looks like he has gone insane from what he has seen. At that moment in time eve…
The photo was taken by the Irish photographer Colman Doyle. The original caption: "A woman IRA volunteer on active service in West Belfast with an AR18 assault rifle”. The IRA regularly conducted “show of arms” displays, showing off their modern and numero…
A British Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technical Officer approaches a suspect device at the junction of Manor Street and Oldpark Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Manor Street marked the line between protestant and catholic neighborhoods. The quota…
"Toffs and Toughs" is a 1937 photograph of five boys: two dressed in the Harrow School uniform including waistcoat, top hat, boutonnière, and cane; and three nearby wearing the plainclothes of pre-war working-class youths. The picture was taken by Jimmy…
The building in the center of the photograph is the Old Bailey, one of London's courts, and the statue atop is The Lady of Justice. These iconic buildings including St Paul's Cathedral, where this picture is taken, are a testament to the incredible work…
The short-barreled version of the Thompson was Winston's personal favorite weapon of all time. He looks like a gangster from an old Hollywood movie. This photo was taken during an inspection of invasion defenses near Hartlepool, on July 21, 1940. The in…
This bomb landed on a side road off Drury Lane blasting several buildings, including the office of the Daily Herald. Known as the Flying bomb, Buzz bomb or Doodlebug, V-1 was the first modern guided missile used in wartime and the forerunner of today's …
The hospital is running a drill to make sure that they can implement the procedures for poison gas and in this case, the nurses are testing out infant gas masks. This gas mask was for children up to two years old and the design covered the whole of the …
When the people of the town of Hastings awoke one morning to see one of the Kaiser’s U-boats on their beach, it caused some shock. Thousands of visitors flocked to see the beached submarine. The Admiralty allowed the town clerk to charge a fee for peopl…
When Winston Churchill entered the Royal Military College (Sandhurst) few could foresee that he would become one of Great Britain’s greatest war leaders. He tried three times before passing the entrance exam; he applied to be trained for the cavalry rat…