Latest news with #WorldWarTwo.
BBC News
03-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Leicester WW2 voices to feature in online exhibition
Voices of Leicester people who lived through World War Two will feature in an online exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of VE in World War Two will be showcase recordings, photos and information held by the East Midlands Oral History Archive, based at the University of Leicester's Archives & Special Collections on 8 May, it will use the recorded memories of people from Leicester to illustrate what life was like during the war, both on the home front and in the Hyde, who runs the archive, said: "The 80th anniversary seemed to be a 'now or never' moment and I decided to go ahead and see what we could do." 'Voices live on' Mr Hyde told the BBC the archive has been creating exhibitions about Leicester's 20th Century history for two decades and holds more than 800 recordings relating to World War Two."The legacy of WW2 is probably most visible in the various memorials in the city, but it also exists in the memories of those who experienced it," he said."Many of the people who lived through the war as adults have now died, but thanks to the recordings in the archive, their voices live on." Mr Hyde enlisted the help of six volunteers - five university students and a colleague - to research topics, listen to recordings, select extracts and create audio clips of those who lived in Leicester during the of the volunteers, Max Barber, said he became emotional whilst listening to the voice of a D-Day veteran."It has been amazing to listen to so many accounts of people from Leicester who lived through the war," he said."I listened back to an interview with David Carey, who survived to tell the tale of the D-Day Landings. "The tone of his voice, the gaps in-between his sentences, the stutters all pointed to the emotions he was reliving during the interview. He'd witnessed such brutality and it was difficult for me to comprehend what he went through."Local history author, Austin J Ruddy said: "It's the perfect time to remember the sacrifices Leicester folk made to ensure our freedom."It's been an honour to play a part in making sure their voices are still heard today."
BBC News
13-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
'Finding a bomb isn't something you do every day'
Adam Makewell and his 14-year-old son Cameron consider themselves river explorers - often spending hours perched by rivers such as the Ure in North Yorkshire just seeing what they can duo, from Ripon, usually uncover relatively mundane items such as mobile phones and maybe even wedding rings lost by people while fishing. If they are lucky, treasures like a Roman tile can be uncovered if they are particularly weeks ago, on a quiet Saturday morning, they expected to find more of the same as they headed to the Ure to test new lights on their underwater drone. For a while, everything did seem normal, with Cameron finding what he assumed was a propane was until they realised the "tank" was actually a live 1,100lb (500kg) bomb dating back to World War Two."I was nervous," admits Cameron. "Finding a bomb isn't something you do every day." Three weeks later, setting up their kit for another morning of underwater exploration, Adam explains that their explosive discovery happened further down the river, close to Bishop Monkton."We just popped out for an hour to try out some new lights on the remotely operated underwater vehicle that I use," he explains. "Cameron got some footage for me so I could look at what the light spread was like. "When he'd finished, I told him to go off and find something interesting. Next thing I knew, Cameron said he'd found something."Unsure of what it was, Adam sent his vehicle into the water to also scout out the object."As soon as I saw the shape of it, especially the front, I knew he'd found a bomb. A rather big bomb at that," he laughs. It was later revealed that rather than just being an empty casing, the bomb actually still contained live explosives. "I was worried about the safety of me and my dad, and for the equipment we'd been using," Cameron says."One thought going through my head was, 'please don't hit the bomb, we don't need another reason for it to explode'." The pair then quickly removed their exploration equipment from the water and rang Cameron's mum, Rachel. "I don't think she quite believed us, but I eventually managed to convince her we'd found a bomb," Adam says. "Then it was off down to the police station to report it."After the explorers sent over their footage, a Royal Navy crew went down to the site to recover the device. Difficult conditions meant it took several attempts, but on 26 March, a bomb disposal team finally managed to make it safe. "Initially, we thought they would fully detonate it to get rid of it but that would have been a logistical nightmare, with a big exclusion zone of 1.5km," Adam says."It would have been most, if not all, of Bishop Monkton that was evacuated."Instead, Adam says a shaped charge was used to "crack it open" so the explosives could be dealt with. The days the father-and-son duo usually spend together investigating the river are not so potentially say they go out as often as they can, both to have adventures but also to spend quality time together. They started the hobby about four years ago, when Adam was looking for a new gadget to explore underwater during the pandemic. "I've always been interested in what is going on underwater, where you can't see," the dad-of-two says."I used to scuba dive a long time ago, but because of the condition I have I can't scuba dive anymore. "This is the next best thing - and it saves me getting wet, unless I get them stuck." 'Deep clean' Cameron agrees the shared hobby "means a lot", with the only downside being getting up early on a weekend. "It's great to be out of the house and he's not got his face stuck in his Xbox," Adam laughs."He's certainly not going to forget some of the things he has done. "In years to come, I want him to be able to say, 'I remember doing that with my dad'."Meanwhile, what of the World War Two relic they found that caused such consternation and led to the Royal Navy being called in to make it safe?"They took away what was left of the casing and told me they would deep clean it and x-ray it to check it was safe," Adam explains."Then, we can more than likely get it back to put in a local museum." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Colchester military veterans march to fund £200,000 statue
Military veterans are lacing up their marching boots to raise £200,000 for a statue outside a city 12ft (3.65m) bronze sculpture of a paratrooper will be installed outside Merville Barracks in Colchester if they reach their funding Curt Vines, of the Parachute Regimental Association, said veterans taking on a 25-mile (40km) trek on Sunday would help fundraising efforts."This statue is going to really resonate with a lot of people," he told the BBC, saying it would celebrate 25 years of 16 Air Assault Brigade being based in the city. The brigade is the British Army's global response Vines hoped to unveil the statue, which would consist of a 6ft (1.8m) plinth and a soldier of the same height, on 27 June 2026. Veterans will carry backpacks of no less than 25lbs (11kg) during the fundraising march, which kicks off at 08:00 BST and is expected to take eight route will take them past sites of military significance in Colchester, including Wivenhoe House - home to an SAS base in World War Two."We really want to expose and further inform the people of Colchester and wider UK about the impact of the garrison and its history," Maj Vines said."Over the last 25 years, we have had some amazing times but also some real down times as well and lost lots of loved ones."Once this statue is in place it really will be a fitting memorial and one we hope will resonate with younger people as well."The statue has been designed by sculptor Amy Goodman and will be illuminated at Vines said its prominent location near Abbey Field would ensure it was a "beacon" for the community."Those lights will be spectacular," he added. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Reuters
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Italy president's 'Third Reich' comments on Russia spark Rome-Moscow dispute
ROME, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused Russia of "offending the entire Italian nation" on Friday as she stood by comments by the Italian president that compared modern-day Russia to Nazi Germany. In a speech last week, President Sergio Mattarella criticised the "wars of aggression" that led to World War Two. "This was the project of the Third Reich in Europe. The current Russian aggression against Ukraine is of this nature," he said. Reacting to those statements with some delay, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday lambasted Mattarella's remarks as "blasphemous inventions". Meloni said in a strongly-worded statement: "The insults of the spokeswoman (...) offend the entire Italian nation, which the head of state represents." "I express my full solidarity, as well as that of the entire government, to President Mattarella, who has always firmly condemned the aggression perpetrated against Ukraine," she added. Italy has traditionally been one of the countries in Europe with the closest political and economic ties to Russia, but under Meloni it has firmly stood by Ukraine, including with military aid.
BBC News
30-01-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Fighter's Hitler comments 'beyond disgusting', says UFC boss White
UFC president Dana White has condemned comments by fighter Bryce Mitchell about Adolf Hitler as "beyond disgusting".Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial artist Mitchell said the German dictator was a "good guy" and that "the Holocaust ain't real".The 30-year-old American, ranked 13th in the featherweight division, made a range of antisemitic, homophobic and transphobic comments during the first episode of his said: "We reached out to Bryce immediately when we read what he said, and let him know exactly how we felt about it."But what he said was beyond disgusting and he needs a real education on the facts surrounding Hitler and World War Two."Despite White's condemnation, Mitchell, who last fought in December, has as yet faced no further action for his added: "Hitler is one of the most disgusting and evil human beings to ever walk the earth, and anyone that even tries to take an opposing position is a moron."That's the problem with the internet and social media. You provide a platform to a lot of dumb and ignorant people."As leader of the Nazi party, Hitler led Germany into World War Two and ordered the Holocaust genocide, in which six million Jews were murdered. Mitchell has been fighting in the UFC promotion since combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani, who is Jewish, said on X:, external "Each and every day MMA finds a way to reach a new low. A new way of embarrassing itself and those who are fans of it."He added:, external "Nothing will be done, and I don't even care if anything is done. Say what you want. It just continues to baffle me at how unbelievably stupid - not to mention bigoted - some of the people in the sport or associated with the sport can be."
