Viewpoints – Placecloud

London, United Kingdom. In 1780, this pub, The Green Man, was a hubbub of noise and debate. Learn about how pubs could be sites for investigating issues of suicide and sanity.

Cambridge, United Kingdom. In 1839, Charles William Bond died on this street. At the inquest into his death, it was suggested that novel-reading had contributed to his suicidal feelings. Learn about how contemporaries could interpret and rationalise suicidal behaviour.

Byfleet, United Kingdom. Take a tour of the remains of Oatlands Palace, a favourite later residence of Henry VIII, which was demolished in 1650. We will explore the history of this once great palace, which witnessed one of the king's six weddings.

London, United Kingdom. In 1798, a letter was left at the bank of Hyde Park Basin. Why had it been left there? And why did its author want it to be published? Find out about the struggles of John Cook, the butler to the Marquis of Titchfield, who died here.

Oberlangen, Germany. In 1945, the German town of Haren was evacuated to make room for a sizeable population of Polish displaced persons (DPs). Many of them ex-/army members who had fought alongside the British. The entire town was requisitioned and turned into a microcosm of Polish society in the heart of Germany for 3 years before the whole process was reversed.

As the New Atlantic Charter was recently signed to reaffirm Anglo-American commitment to democracy and strengthen trade deals, how was the original Atlantic Charter received and who did it benefit? Held up as a blueprint for the post-war order, the original charter signed in 1941, signalled new international cooperation - but for some, it signalled betrayal as the principles were applied haphazardly. Anglo-Polish relationships soon soured after the Polish government-in-exile asked why Britain was not adhering to the much celebrated principles of the Charter.

Washington, United States. The United Nations started with the UNRRA. Created in 1943, driven my Anglo-American interests, UNRRA was a champion of post-war peace, stability, and safety. Although largely forgotten today, UNRRA was a revolutionary organisation that aimed to not only relieve hunger and prevent disease, but to rehabiltate people and land to prevent conditions similar to post-1918 from recurring. The first state-driven international humanitarian organisation, and the blueprint for future world peace.

Saint-Lô, France. On the West Coast of France in 1945, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) requisitioned buildings in Granville and Jullouville to set up training centres for those who were tasked with helping Europe's Displaced Persons. Becoming an UNRRA worker was, for some, much more than a job but a second chance at a different life. These centres, with a high turnover, created thousands of workers to help repatriate, resettle, and rehabilitate the war's displaced persons.

Shrewsbury, United Kingdom. Little is known about the medieval Welsh poet Gwerful Mechain, but she wrote some absolute bangers, including ‘Cywydd y cedor’, or, to non-Welsh speakers, ‘Poem to the vagina’. In the opening, she says that men have written some great praise poetry about women, but they are incomplete, because they don’t include detailed praise of genitalia. She then gives us a further thirty lines dedicated to WAP.

Further Reading:

Katie Gramich, The Works of Gwerful Mechain (Peterborough, ON, 2018)

London, United Kingdom. In 1497, Joan Rokker called Joan Sebar a whore on her front doorstep then threw bread at her. How, where, and why did medieval women publicly sexually defame other women?