Sophie (aged 7) and Ellie (aged 5) want to know if battles ever happened at Christmas so together we tell the story of the Battle of the Bulge in World War Two.

 

It is winter 1944. Allied troops are at the borders of Germany. Germany seems defeated. The allies are resting, preparing for the final push for Berlin in the Spring which will end World War Two. But Hitler has a plan of his own. He gathers his last tank army together in great secrecy. His tanks smash through woods called the Ardennes. The Battle of the Bulge has started.

 

The Americans are stunned. The weather is terrible so the Allied planes cannot  help. German soldiers wearing American uniforms spread confusion behind Allied lines. German soldiers all kill captured American prisoners. But Hitler’s tanks are desperately short of petrol. They need to capture some of the Allied petrol to keep the attack going. But the allies keep blowing it up.

 

In the middle of the German advance is the town of Bastogne. The German tanks sweep past the town. But American paratroopers dig in around the town and hold it against all attacks – even on Christmas Day. This slows down the German advance. This gives the Americans time to bring their own tanks up. The weather also cleared and the Allied planes started bombing the German tanks. With one final throw of the dice the last German planes went into battle. But were shot down. Now Germany had lost her last tanks and her last planes. There was nothing to stop the Allies now.

 

A few months later Russia captured Berlin, Hitler killed himself and World War Two was over.

 

The girls also reflect on how at this Christmas we owe our freedoms to those brave American soldiers who fought for us in World War Two at the Battle of the Bulge at Christmas 1944

 

If you like this episode you might also like our other World War Two episodes.

 

Here we have an episode on Dunkirk 1940 in World War 2

https://link.historystorytime.com/Dunkirk

 

Here we have an episode on the Battle of Britain 1940 in World War 2

https://link.historystorytime.com/Battle-of-Britain

 

Here we have an episode on Pearl Harbor 1941 in World War 2

https://link.historystorytime.com/Pearl-Harbor

 

Here we have an episode on VE Day 1945 at the end of World War 2

https://link.historystorytime.com/VE-Day

 

Patrons’ Club

If you like listening to History Storytime you might like our Patrons’ Club. You get exclusive episodes, can choose and episode and be in an episode. We have a new episode out about the Siege of Bastogne which fits in well with this episode. We also have episodes about the Seven Wonders of the World and about the Bayeux Tapestry of 1066.

https://link.historystorytime.com/Patreon-Club

Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell the story of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor which happened today in 1941 and brought America into World War Two. #OTD

 

Until the 19th century Japan isolated itself from the world. Then Commodore Perry’s ironclad ship sails into Tokyo Harbour. The Japanese are amazed to realise how technologically far behind the world they have fallen. They resolve to catch up.

 

For the next fifty years they modernise their economy building a formidable modern navy and fleet. They then resolve to use them in a bid for power. They start with a surprise attack on Russia at Port Arthur. Japan wins the war. Then in the 1930s they launch a surprise attack on China sweeping to control great swathes of the country. They treat ordinary Chinese people very badly.

 

By 1941 the world is at war in Europe – World War Two. Other countries are concerned about Japan’s intentions. They stop selling oil to Japan. Without oil Japan would not be able to fight an aggressive war. Japan decides to strike at the oilfield in the far east controlled by the European Empires. But they know this will draw the American forces into World War Two. They decide to first launch a surprise attack on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor.

 

At Pearl Harbor the US fleet suspects nothing. People are going about their daily business. Suddenly they see Japanese planes overhead diving into bomb the ships at harbor. Bombs rain down. Torpedoes dart underwater. Withing minutes some of the greatest US battleships are sunk. Thousands of lives are lost. The US try to fight back but it is too late to save the bulk of the fleet.

 

The result is a crushing Japanese victory.

 

But the Japanese victory is a hollow one. The Japanese have sunk the US Battleships. But the US carriers are not in Pearl Harbor that day. They are safe to fight again. Worse for Japan, America is roused to utter fury at the unprovoked attack. The US President calls it a day of infamy. The huge resources of America are mobilised for World War Two. They far outweigh the capacity of Japan. Three years later the Japanese empire is destroyed, Japan’s cities are in rubble and Japan is occupied.

 

If you like this episode you might also like our other World War Two episodes. We have World War Two episodes on Dunkirk:

WW2: The Miracle of Dunkirk and Winston Churchill in 1940 (historystorytime.com)

Or you might like our World War Two episode on the Battle of Britain:

WW2: The Battle of Britain and Winston Churchill in 1940 (historystorytime.com)

Patrons’ Club

If you like this episode you might want to join our Patrons’ Club. You can listen to exclusive episodes, help choose an episode or be in an episode. To join go to www.patreon.com/historystorytime

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the inspirational story of Rosa Parks and how her refusal to move seats on a bus, 65 years ago this week, helped change America for the better.

 

America in 1950s is still scarred by the impact of the evils of slavery. Slavery might have been abolished but mean laws have replaced them in the South of the United States which make life very difficult for black people. They are sent to different schools, they have to eat in different sections of restaurants and use different sections of toilets. Seats at the front of buses are reserved for white people, whereas black people have to sit at the back of the bus. It’s not just the laws, day to day they are often bullied by some of the white people.

 

Rosa Parks is a black lady living in Montgomery, Alabama. She has experienced racism all her life. One day the bus driver tells her to move seats to make space for white people. She decides enough is enough. She refuses to move seats. The police are called and Rosa Parks is arrested. Rosa Parks is taken to the court house and convicted and fined.

 

But the black people of Alabama have had enough too. Lead by inspirational leaders such as Martin Luther King they decide to take a stand. On behalf of Rosa Parks they organise a boycott of the City’s bus network. For over a year black people refused to travel on the buses. Meanwhile Martin Luther King and others organised different court cases to try to overturn the racist bus rules. Eventually they are successful. The efforts of people like Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks doesn’t only improve the bus situation but also many of the other laws are changed so that black people can no longer be discriminated against in law.

 

Rosa Parks continues her campaigning all her life. When she died she is honoured by her home town of Montgomery and also by the whole United States. Her stand against racism and against the bus laws of Alabama help to change a nation for the better.

 

Other Episodes:

If you liked this episode you might also like our episode on the Slave Trade:

https://link.historystorytime.com/The-Slave-Trade

 

Or you might also like our episode on great black women of Britain:

https://link.historystorytime.com/Black-History-Month

 

Patrons Club

If you like our History Storytime podcast then do please join our Patron’s Club. You can listen to exclusive episodes like our ones on the Seven Wonders of the World or on the Bayeux Tapestry. Or you can help choose the topic of an episode or even be in an episode.

Details are here:

www.patreon.com/historystorytime

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) love stories about Ancient Egypt so they tell the story of the boy Pharoah, Tutankhamun, including how his body was turned into a mummy.

 

We explain how Egypt got its wealth from the annual flooding of the Nile. The Old Kingdom turn this wealth into the Pyramids and the Great Sphinx. The Middle Kingdom builds on this. After years of turmoil the New Kingdom emerges. Powerful Egyptian rulers expand Egypt’s territories to nearby countries.

 

But the new Pharoah, Akenhaton wants to build a new religion at home. He replaces all the old priests and spends less time fighting other countries. His Queen, Nefertiti, becomes increasingly powerful.

 

But after they die they leave the eight year old boy Tutankhamun to become Pharoah. Tutankahmun reverses the policy of abandoning the old Gods. He returns Egypt to their traditional religion. He returns Egypt to their traditional approach of engaging, sometimes by war, with neighbouring countries. He gets married and has two children. But Tutankhamun is sick. His legs don’t work properly and he has to walk with a cane. He gets a severe form of malaria which leaves him weak and sick. Then his leg is badly injured somehow. Tutankhamun dies aged just 18 years old.

After his death, he is turned into a mummy. We learn about the mummification process. It’s disgusting and Ellie tells the full gory details. He has his brain pulled out through his noise. His organs are sliced from his body and put in pots shaped like Gods. His body is stuffed with plants and herbs. Finally, it is wrapped up to protect the skin. Afterwards his mummified body is placed in a golden shell covered in jewels. He is placed into a tomb.

 

Over thousands of years his body and tomb are lost.

 

Then 100 years ago, explorers discover the lost tomb. When they open it they are amazed to see Tutankhamun’s beautiful golden mask and then to find his mummy inside.

People around the world see the incredible workmanship. It sparks a global fascination with all things Egyptian - a fascination which continues today.

If you liked this episode about Tutankhamun, ancient Egypt and mummies then you might enjoy our episode about Cleopatra:

 

Apple: https://link.historystorytime.com/Apple-Cleopatra

Other: https://link.historystorytime.com/Cleopatra

 

Patrons’ Club

Our Patrons’ Club has exclusive episodes for members. These include an episode on the Seven Wonders of the World which highlights the Great Pyramid of Giza. You can become a member here:

 

www.patreon.com/historystorytime

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of the Mayflower, the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving in America.

----more----

The Pilgrims are protestant refugees from England. They are fleeing and intolerant England who persecute people who will not follow the established Church. At first they flee to Holland. But they do not want their children to grow up Dutch. So they decide to create an English colony in America. There is already a colony in Jamestown. But they decide to settle far from there. They want to an English Colony but one where they can practice their own religion. 102 colonist set out on two ships – the Speedwell and the Mayflower. But the Speedwell soon springs a leak and everyone transfers to the Mayflower. The journey is horrible. One person is lost overboard in a storm. The ship is blown off course. Eventually after over two months at sea they reach America. They are not where they wanted to be. But they make landfall and set up a new colony in what we now call Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts.

 

But they are not the only people there. There is already a native American tribe living there. But the Pilgrims make friends with the tribe. The tribe help teach them how to farm. The Pilgrims help the tribe with medicine.

 

To celebrate their first bumper harvest the Pilgrims celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is an old English holiday. But the Pilgrims also invite the native Americans to this years Thanksgiving. They feast on the great Harvest that they have collected. This is now widely recognised as the first Thanksgiving in America.

 

Today millions of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving and remember the Pilgrims and how they crossed an ocean to build a new and better society, one which became the United States of America.

 

Thirty million Americans can trace their ancestry back to just over 100 colonists on the Mayflower. This year is also the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage.

 

This episode was chosen by one of our listeners in America called Stephen. He joined our Patrons’ Club. Members get to listen to exclusive episodes, to choose an episode like Stephen did, or to be in an episode. If you would like to join please go to www.patreon.com/historystorytime. There are already several episodes online there too.

 

If you liked this episode you might also like our episode on the Jamestown settlement and we get to meet the famous Pocahontas.

https://www.historystorytime.com/e/the-jamestown-settlement-and-the-real-pocahontas/

Or you might also enjoy our Hallowe’en special on witches in which we see what happened to the New England settlements just a few decades later with the Salem witch trials.

https://www.historystorytime.com/e/halloween-special-witches-in-history/

Sophie (aged 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of children in Victorian times. We learn what school was like (not very nice!), what jobs they did (yucky ones!) and what they did for fun.----more----

Ellie has a Victorian day coming up at school. She has to dress up as a Victorian school girl. So she and Sophie decide to explore what life was like back then. We start by learning about the huge changes that happened during Queen Victoria’s long reign. Incredible inventions like the steam ship and the telephone occur and huge changes like the growth of the British Empire happen. This is a time of enormous change.

But the lives of children changes too.

We learn how the lives of rich children and poor children are very different. Rich children are educated at home by the governesses before the boys are sent to boarding school. Ellie is outraged to learn that rich girls are rarely sent to school.

Poor children are increasingly sent to school by Victorians. But the classes are huge. Sometimes 70 or 80 children in the class with only one teacher. As a result the teachers are very strict. The girls are fascinated by the punishments that the school teachers use - from lines to caning to a dunce cap.

We also learn about the jobs that children used to do. Everything from cleaning up horse poo to clambering up chimneys or working in factories. Much of it is very dangerous or horrid work.

But it’s not all work and no play. The Victorians invent the idea of a holiday. Children from the cities get to visit the new playgrounds of the seaside which are turned into fun resorts. More children’s toys are invented and a new type of book is written – the Children’s book. Incredible stories such as Treasure Island, the Jungle Book and Peter Pan are written.

But when all is said and done the girls decide that Victorian life is not for them. It’s too strict and not fun enough.

This episode has a strong link to Key Stage 1 (KS1) topic work. And in fact, both girls have studied the life of a Victorian child at school and dressed up as a Victorian child.

If you liked this episode you might also like our Florence Nightingale episode.

https://www.historystorytime.com/e/florence-nightingale-the-lady-of-the-lamp/

 

PATRONS’ CLUB

If you like History Storytime you might like to join our Patron’s Club. You can get access to exclusive episodes, choose and episode or even be in an episode. Details here:

https://www.patreon.com/historystorytime

Episodes already available include the Seven Wonders of the World and the Bayeux Tapestry.

Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) are missing fireworks and Bonfire Night because of Coronavirus. So they tell the story of Guy Fawkes, the Gunpowder Plot, and how Bonfire Night came to be celebrated.----more----

 

England is Protestant. But Guy Fawkes and his Catholic friends dream of a Catholic England. They hope that the new King James will be kinder to Catholics because his mother had been a Catholic. But James is a Protestant and does not like Catholics.

 

Guy Fawkes and his friends decide to kill King James, his nobles and his bishops by blowing up Parliament. They carefully gather gunpowder and store it in a cellar under Parliament.

 

However, they are worried that some Catholic nobles will also be killed so they write to one of them to warn him to stay away. That noble might have been a Catholic but he was also a loyal subject of the King. He immediately went and told the King’s spies. The Kings soldiers burst into the cellar and find Guy Fawkes with the gunpowder and a trail ready to be lit. They capture him. But they still do not know who the other plotters are.

 

Guy Fawkes is taken before the King but he tells the King nothing. After days of torture Guy Fawkes finally tells the names of the other conspirators. They are rounded up, tried and horribly executed.

 

Every year since people in England have celebrated Bonfire Night on the 5th November by lighting Bonfires and setting off Fireworks and even burning a stuff “Guy”.

 

Patrons’ Club

 

We also talk about our Patron’s Club. There are three tiers of membership and you can get exclusive episodes, choose and episode or be in an episode. Links are here:

www.patreon.com/historystorytime.com

 

 

If you liked this episode about Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night you might also like our episode on the Spanish Armada which talks about Protestant England.

https://www.historystorytime.com/e/the-spanish-armada-1541460413/

 

Or if you liked this episode about Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night you might like our Jamestown and Pocahontas episode about how the colony of Jamestown was founded (and named after King James)

https://www.historystorytime.com/e/the-jamestown-settlement-and-the-real-pocahontas/

For Hallowe’en Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of witches in history. We learn how the Witchfinder General in England used to find so called witches and about the Salem Witch trials in America.----more----

People in Europe are very worried about witches 500 years ago. They think that witches are people who are working with the devil. They worry that they are flying on broomsticks and have cats who are friends with the Devil. But actually, they are just picking on mostly poor and lonely women.

 

In East Anglia there is a scare about witches caused by a man known as the Witchfinder general. He gets paid for finding witches – so he keeps finding them. He has lots of unfair tricks to prove people are witches. He also writes a book about how to do it called “A discovery of witches”.

 

The book is popular in America. Especially in a town called Salem. Salem is very worried about witches. The whole town starts looking everywhere for witches. Hundreds of people are accused. Even a four year old girl gets accused of being a witch. A panic takes over the whole town. One person refused to say either way whether he is a witch or  not and meets a terrible end.

 

Eventually everyone realised that there was no such things as witchcraft and it was all made up. People started to learn more about science. They passed laws to stop people being prosecuted for witchcraft.

 

PARENTS:

It’s obviously a bit of a spooky topic and we have some spooky music but it’s not an especially scary episode and Sophie and Ellie had no issues with it so we think it’s okay to listen to before bedtime. We also make it very clear that these people are not witches and the whole thing is made up.

 

PATRONS’ CLUB

We also talk about our new Patrons’ Club. There are different tiers of membership. But they all involve more episodes each month and you can get to choose your episode or even be in an episode. We’d love you to become a member and Sophie and Ellie have got to know many of the children through it. Go to https://www.patreon.com/historystorytime to sign up. We have exclusive episodes on the Seven Wonders of the World and on the Bayeux Tapestry. This last episode ties in with our recent Battle of Hastings episode.

It’s Black History Month at school so Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell some stories of Black women who made history in Britain. They tell of Ivory Bangle Woman, the first black woman found in Britain; Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved black woman turned star poet; and Mary Seacole, a Jamaican doctress.

----more----

They have heard of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. They appreciated these stories. But wanted to hear stories from their own history. Daddy suggested Walter Tull and Asquith Xavier. But they were insistent on having Black women at the heart of the story.

 

We start with Ivory Bangle Lady. Of North African descent she lived in Britain in Roman times and is the first Black woman found in Britain. Her tomb has many valuable objects found with it.

 

Then we move onto the story of Phillis Wheatley. She was taken as a child from Africa and kept as a slave in America. But she developed a talent as a poet. She was brought to Britain where her poetry wowed London high society. Eventually, she was freed and married a free black man.

 

Finally, we learn a little about the amazing Mary Seacole and some of her adventures. We join her in the Crimean War. Less well known that her contemporary, Florence Nightingale, she became loved by the troops for her work caring for them. Forgotten for many years she is now celebrated.

 

As we close Sophie reflects on how Black History Month should be needed and that Black History and the contribution of Black people is really just a part of British history.

 

Patrons’ Club

We also talk about our new Patrons Club. There are different tiers of membership. But they all involve more episodes each month and you can get to choose your episode or even be in an episode. We’d love you to become a member and Sophie and Ellie have got to know many of the children through it. Go to https://www.patreon.com/historystorytime to sign up. We have exclusive episodes on the Seven Wonders of the World and on the Bayeux Tapestry. This last episode ties in with our Battle of Hastings episode from last week.

This week is the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Sophie (aged 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell the story of William the Conqueror, King Harold and Harald Hardrada’s fight for the English throne.----more----

Edward the Confessor is old. He has no children. Harold wants to be the King after him and is a powerful Saxon noble. But William, Duke of Normandy is Edward’s Cousin and has a claim to the throne. Meanwhile the powerful King of Norway, Harald Hardrada wants to see Viking rule again over England. Three powerful men desire the throne.

 

But a few years before 1066 everything is complicated when Harold is ship wrecked in Normandy. He is “rescued” by William. And swears an oath to support William’s claim to the throne. Was he forced to make this oath? Sophie thinks so. But Ellie thinks that a pinky promise is a pinky promise.

 

When Edward dies, Harold is proclaimed King. William is furious and prepares to invade. Harold waits for him in the south. But Harald Hardrada, in concert with Harold’s estranged brother Tostig, lands in the North. The Viking army defeats the local saxon forces. Harold quickly marches his troops north. He catches the Vikings unprepared. The Viking army is slaughtered. Hardrada and Tostig are both killed. Harold has killed one of his rivals. But now he learned that William has landed in the south of England near Hastings.

 

Harold rushes his army south. And meets William in battle. Sophie and Ellie tell the gripping story of the battle. We hear how the initial Norman attacks are defeated. But we also learn how the Norman’s pretend to run away and draw some of the Saxons off the hill. This weakens their shield wall. Then the Norman archers shoot into the air, further depleting the Saxon ranks. Finally the Norman knights break into the Saxon lines and kill them. Harold himself is killed – maybe by an arrow in his eye.

 

The Normans are victorious. Saxon England has falled. William is the Conqueror.

 

PATRONS CLUB – EXTRA EPISODES

Our Patrons’ Club helps support our family podcast. There are different tiers of membership. But they all involve more episodes each month and you can get to choose your episode or even be in an episode. We’d love you to become a member. Go to https://www.patreon.com/historystorytimeto sign up and listen to an exclusive episode