Second world war
Ian Rankin’s diary: Paris, ignoring Twitter and understanding evil
After ten days away, I spent last Friday at home alone, catching up on washing, shopping for cat food, answering…
The Church of England’s shameful betrayal of bishop George Bell
The Church of England has rushed to posthumously condemn one of the greatest men it has produced
German refugees transformed British cultural life - but at a price
German-speaking refugees dragged British culture into the 20th century. But that didn’t go down well in Stepney or Stevenage, says William Cook
How anarchy was responsible for Auschwitz
In September 1939 Britain went to war against Germany, ostensibly in defence of Poland. One big secret that the British…
Forget Chilcot. Here’s the inquiry we really need
What we really need is an inquiry into why so many of us are so eager to support ‘humanitarian’ wars
I lived next to St Paul’s Cathedral as a baby in 1940 – it’s a miracle I am alive
While the Germans were raining bombs on London during the second world war, the architects’ department of London County Council…
A.N. Wilson’s diary: VJ Day and the Virginia Woolf Burger Bar
Should we have celebrated VJ Day? Hearing the hieratic tones of the Emperor Hirohito on Radio 4 the other day,…
Wealthy, cosmopolitan – and sometimes rough: the secrets of Hamburg (and my grandmother)
‘What was it like growing up in Liverpool?’ a journalist asked John Lennon. ‘I didn’t grow up in Liverpool,’ he…
If the government have their way, will Radio 4’s dramas be broken up by ads for dentures?
‘Bait by Cartier,’ she growls as her priceless diamond bracelet is strapped to a piece of rope and dropped overboard…
I can understand those seduced by Isis; once, it could have been me
One of the great moments of my student life was opening the door and seeing visitors step back, shocked. I’d…
The new adventures of the adventure playground
Are adventure playgrounds set to make a comeback, asks Maisie Rowe
Who dares lies: why do so many men pretend to have been in the SAS?
Why do so many men (including Sir Christopher Lee) fib about serving with the SAS?
Heroically unoriginal: Channel 4’s Humans reviewed
You’d think scientists might have realised by now that creating a race of super-robots is about as wise as opening…
Completely unmemorable - even though I saw it yesterday: Queen & Country reviewed
Queen & County is John Boorman’s follow-up to his 1987 semi-autobiographical film Hope & Glory, although why a sequel now,…
Despair after VE day… the men left behind by victory
The ex-officers left behind after VE day
Beauty, tragedy and black pudding: the delights of Normandy
I am compiling a list of the best black puddings. It began in Spain when I encountered my first morcilla…
The carpet-bombing of Hamburg killed 40,000 people. It also did good
The carpet-bombing of Hamburg killed 40,000 people. It also did good
Spectator letters: England’s defining myth, and another forgotten genocide
Enemies within Sir: I thought Matthew Parris was typically incisive in his last column, but perhaps not quite as much…
Irresistible: Ravilious at the Dulwich Picture Gallery reviewed
The most unusual picture in the exhibition of work by Eric Ravilious at Dulwich Picture Gallery, in terms of subject-matter…
‘You are always close to me’: Unity Mitford’s souvenirs of Hitler
Hitler’s adoring notes to Unity Mitford – and her family’s campaign to stop my book
The knives come out of the cabinet in Churchill’s wartime government
Coalitions, as David Cameron has discovered, are tricky things to manage. How much more difficult, then, was it for Winston…
Here’s what a real reform of business rates would look like
Of all the measures talked up ahead of the Budget, the reannouncement of a ‘radical’ review of the business rates…
VE day anniversary: why politics will take second place the day after the election
Will politics take second place the day after the election?
Tom Holland’s diary: Fighting jihadism with Mohammed, and bowling the Crown Prince of Udaipur
As weather bombs brew in the north Atlantic, I’m roughing it by heading off to Rajasthan, and the literary festival…
The Imitation Game: a film that's as much in the closet as Alan Turing was
The Imitation Game is a biopic starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, the brilliant mathematician who broke the German’s Enigma…
