Dan Snow's History Hit

The Fall of Singapore to the Japanese Army took place in the South-East Asian theatre of the Pacific War, with fighting in Singapore lasting through 8 to 15 February 1942. Nicknamed the “Gibraltar of the East,” Singapore was the foremost British military base and economic port in South-East Asia and was important to British interwar defence planning for the region. The British stronghold was captured by the Empire of Japan in what is considered one of the greatest defeats in the history of the British Army, and arguably Britain’s worst defeat in the Second World War. In the largest British surrender in history, sixty-two thousand Allied soldiers were taken prisoner, and more than half eventually died as prisoners of war.

Dan tells the story, explainer style, to mark this 80 year anniversary. This episode also features archive from Dan’s interview with the late Dr Bill Frankland (19 March 1912 - 2 April 2020), a veteran of World War II who lived through a Japanese prisoner of war camp and who also made important contributions to our understanding of allergies. You can go back and listen to the full episode here.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

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Dan gives a quick update on the expedition's progress towards Antarctica from a rather wet and windy deck as the crew prepare for a storm to hit.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

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Writing letters to a spouse or sweetheart deployed overseas was portrayed as a patriotic duty, a means to boost the morale of the fighting man. But what of the letter that broke off an engagement, or announced the intention to file for divorce? During World War II, such letters became known as “Dear Johns,” and the women who sent them were denounced as traitors.

Susan L. Carruthers, Professor in U.S. and International History, has listened to hundreds of hours of oral testimony from veterans to understand the stories men told each other about these breakup notes. Susan and Dan discuss who wrote the “Dear John” letter, wartime relationships and breakdowns from multiple perspectives and the expectations placed on women across miles and years of absence, and the role of constantly changing technologies in both facilitating intimacies and undermining it in wartime.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

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Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots were cousins who never met - but their fates were intertwined. As their nations were engulfed in religious turmoil and civil wars raged on the continent, these two powerful women struggled for control of the British Isles. In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb goes to the British Library in London to meet curator Andrea Clarke and visit a stunning exhibition on the rival Queens, which uses original documents and extraordinary objects to show how paranoia turned sisterly affection to suspicion.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

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A little update from Dan on where he is and how the journey to Antarctica is going!

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

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The extraordinary story of Shackleton's doomed Trans-Antarctic expedition has captured audiences for over 100 years. It's not just because it's a dramatic tale of survival, but because there's visual evidence of it. Some of the greatest moments of history in the last century are etched into our minds because someone was there with a camera; for Shackleton's expedition, it was the tough and tenacious Australian photographer Frank Hurley. His photographs and footage became world-famous on the crew's return to England when they were turned into a remarkable feature-length film. 'South' told the story of the destruction of the Endurance and the survival of the men on the ice without a ship.

Even today, the expedition footage remains breathtaking; to see the frozen world the Endurance crew found and the daily habits and behaviours of the men whose names are so well known in history books is nothing short of remarkable. The film has been remastered by the BFI and now for the centenary of Shackleton's death, 'South' is available to watch on BFI Player and is currently in cinemas. It will be released on DVD and Blu Ray at the end of February.

In this episode, Dan speaks to BFI curator Bryony Dixon about how Frank Hurley managed to get the astonishing footage seen in 'South' and why it endures.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

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In late 1914, the charismatic and brilliant explorer Ernest Shackleton led 27 men on a voyage to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. But what should have been a successful expedition turned into a two-year nightmare of hardship and catastrophe when their vessel the Endurance was crushed in the Weddell Sea pack-ice and sunk. Stranded with no ship, no contact with the outside world and limited supplies, it would be up to the men to find their own way back to civilisation.

This is the third episode of a special mini-series that dramatically retells the extraordinary story of the 1915 Endurance Expedition.

Subscribe to Dan Snow's History Hit to get every episode of our Endurance22 season and follow Dan as he searches for the lost Endurance shipwreck in real-time.

Presented by Dan Snow, written and produced by Mariana Des Forges. Shackleton's diary is read by Dan Aspel and produced by Thomas Ntinas.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

In late 1914, the charismatic and brilliant explorer Ernest Shackleton led 27 men on a voyage to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. But what should have been a successful expedition turned into a two-year nightmare of hardship and catastrophe when their vessel the Endurance was crushed in the Weddell Sea pack-ice and sunk. Stranded with no ship, no contact with the outside world and limited supplies, it would be up to the men to find their own way back to civilisation.

This is the second episode of a special mini-series that dramatically retells the extraordinary story of the 1915 Endurance Expedition.

Subscribe to Dan Snow's History Hit to get every episode of our Endurance22 season and follow Dan as he searches for the lost Endurance shipwreck in real-time.

Presented by Dan Snow, written and produced by Mariana Des Forges. Shackleton's diary is read by Dan Aspel and produced by Thomas Ntinas.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

In late 1914, the charismatic and brilliant explorer Ernest Shackleton led 27 men on a voyage to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. But what should have been a successful expedition turned into a two-year nightmare of hardship and catastrophe when their vessel the Endurance was crushed in the Weddell Sea pack-ice and sunk. Stranded with no ship, no contact with the outside world and limited supplies, it would be up to the men to find their own way back to civilisation.

This is the first part of a special mini-series that dramatically retells the extraordinary story of the 1915 Endurance Expedition.

Be sure to subscribe to get each part in your feed over the next few days.

Presented by Dan Snow, written and produced by Mariana Des Forges. Shackleton's diary is read by Dan Aspel and produced by Thomas Ntinas.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

Tristan of The Ancients podcasts has published his first book, Alexander’s Successors at War: The Perdiccas Years. Focussing in on 323 – 320 BC, the book tells the story of the tumultuous events that seized Alexander the Great’s empire immediately after this titanic figure breathed his last in June 323 BC. Today, we’re giving you a taster of what you can expect. Sit back and relax as Tristan reads out an abridged chapter from the book (including a swift introduction). He tells the story of a Spartan mercenary captain called Thibron, who set forth from Crete with c.6,000 battle-hardened mercenaries intend on forging his own Greco-Libyan empire in North Africa. Filled with several twists and turns the story is a symbol for the many fascinating events, and the larger than life cast, that dominates the immediate aftermath of Alexander’s death.

Order Tristan’s book today here.

Order from Amazon.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.