Comments for History in an Hour http://www.historyinanhour.com History for busy people Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:08:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on The Irish Deserters by Rupert Colley http://www.historyinanhour.com/2012/01/04/the-irish-deserters/#comment-144 Rupert Colley Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:08:32 +0000 http://www.historyinanhour.com/?p=2140#comment-144 I agree totally. That one paragraph was my attempt at playing 'Devil's Advocate', hence the use of the phrase 'it could be argued...' It is indeed time, high time, to forgive these men. I agree totally. That one paragraph was my attempt at playing ‘Devil’s Advocate’, hence the use of the phrase ‘it could be argued…’ It is indeed time, high time, to forgive these men.

]]> Comment on The Irish Deserters by Danny Stewart http://www.historyinanhour.com/2012/01/04/the-irish-deserters/#comment-140 Danny Stewart Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:43:21 +0000 http://www.historyinanhour.com/?p=2140#comment-140 As the grandson of one of the deserters, I take great exception to the idea that Ireland was lenient. This was known as the starvation act - it condemned the working class in an already poor country yet funnily enough didn't condemn the officer class. The UK forgave and forgot within a couple of years whilst Ireland still, as far as official records go, does not. I'd like to think that many of those on the deserters list went through a desire to fight fascism. I suspect it was more to do with a desire to feed their families. And what about the women left behind in Ireland who had to deal with the stigma and uncertainty and threat of even worse poverty? It's time to forgive those men. It's time to recognise the effort the women of Ireland put into the war effort. Neutral or not, it took a terrible toll. As the grandson of one of the deserters, I take great exception to the idea that Ireland was lenient. This was known as the starvation act – it condemned the working class in an already poor country yet funnily enough didn’t condemn the officer class. The UK forgave and forgot within a couple of years whilst Ireland still, as far as official records go, does not.

I’d like to think that many of those on the deserters list went through a desire to fight fascism. I suspect it was more to do with a desire to feed their families. And what about the women left behind in Ireland who had to deal with the stigma and uncertainty and threat of even worse poverty?

It’s time to forgive those men. It’s time to recognise the effort the women of Ireland put into the war effort. Neutral or not, it took a terrible toll.

]]> Comment on The British wartime submarine, sunk off the coast of Malta, found after almost 70 years by Lost Subs of the World: Discovery of HMS Olympus wreck announced « The USS Flier Project http://www.historyinanhour.com/2012/01/12/submarine-sunk-malta-1942/#comment-116 Lost Subs of the World: Discovery of HMS Olympus wreck announced « The USS Flier Project Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:14:56 +0000 http://www.historyinanhour.com/?p=2204#comment-116 [...] Best quick article about the development and end of the siege of Malta [...] [...] Best quick article about the development and end of the siege of Malta [...]

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