History Shorts: snippets of local history

This map shows some of the places where the 15th RIR battalion were located during service in France and Flanders.   The 15th Royal Irish Rifles battalion was first posted to France and Flanders in October 1915, and remained active until the end of the Great War. Location information is primarily taken from Cyril Falls' A History of the 36th (Ulster) Division , first published in 1922. Other sources include the service record of Rfn William Cowan, from 1915 to 1919, and the diary of Private Harold Tugwell, details of which were posted online on the Great War Forum. View 15th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles WWI in a larger map

ITV Meridian News this week remembered the 70th anniversary of the eviction of villagers from Tyneham, Dorset by the War Office for use as a military training ground. (The surrounding Lulworth ranges area is still used for military training today). What was initially thought a temporary move during the remainder of the Second World War was made permanent by compulsory purchase order of the land in 1948. The buildings of Tyneham now lie dormant, mostly in ruins (some presumably damaged by military exercises!), although the church is now preserved and the striking telephone kiosk is a modern replica. Access is available during part of the year when military training is not taking place. The following pictures were taken in June 2010.

Seventy-five years have now passed since the publication of a little guide book entitled Walks Around London , written and illustrated by Joan Bloxam [Joan Mary Bloxam, 1884-1948] and published by the Athenaeum Press. My 1936 first edition was possibly bought by an A Groves in 1937, judging by the signature on the inside cover. As a guide book, this edition of Walks Around London is no longer particularly useful: pre-World War II and a transformation in commerce and transport, the London it describes is radically different from that swarming with tourists and shoppers today. But it is a quaint delight, punctuated with lovely little illustrations and a sense of the more simple pleasures in life, with no foreboding of the dark days that would visit the city in only a few short years. The introduction by Howard Marshall observes, "Her charming sketches will remind us happily, in days to come, of London as we knew it before the town planners set to work. It may even rouse Londo

Inside the tiny church , a photo by bishib70 on Flickr. This is my favourite image of my photographs of the delightful model village of Bourton-on-the-water, which has been given Grade II listed status by English Heritage . The detail of the tiny stained glass windows in the church of St Lawrence is exquisite!

Winchester Cathedral , a set on Flickr. A new Winchester Cathedral, replacing the Saxon Old Minster, was consecrated on April 8 1093, the project of the Norman bishop Walkelin. Much of the Norman building survives within the massive present day structure, including the crypt and transepts. It remains the seat of the Bishop of Winchester today.

According to Wikipedia, this is a Palladian villa built in the 1750s-60s for Simon Harcourt, 1st Earl Harcourt, a British diplomat and general, with grounds later landscaped by Capability Brown. The old village of Nuneham Courtenay was uprooted to make way for the house and grounds and was recreated a mile away on the Oxford to Dorchester road (now the A4074). Destruction of the old village has been linked to the Deserted Village, in the poem of that name by Oliver Goldsmith. During World War II, it was used by the RAF, home to a photographic reconnaissance interpretation unit. It is now owned by Oxford University (their Harcourt Arboretum is also nearby) and the building used as a retreat centre.

Titanic Belfast visit , a set on Flickr. I was able to fit in a visit to the Titanic Belfast building recently and was very impressed with the experience. On the plus sides, it focuses quite heavily on the industrial history of Belfast and Northern Ireland to good effect (such as the Shipyard Ride), the cabin recreations are fascinating, the building itself is of course striking and the public spaces around have been landscaped in an interesting manner. The gift shop, perhaps not surprisingly, falls a little on the side of bad taste - after all, this was a shipping disaster, not really a reason for keyrings and chocolates! However, such a modern tourist facility does need to turn a profit so it's hardly surprising to see a range of tie-in tat on offer. All in all we probably spent almost 4 hours touring the exhibition - it's very in-depth and was also very busy, good to see for business but it made some of the areas quite claustroph