Sir,—May I make a brief contribution in relation to Tony Canavan’s ‘Bite-sized History’ article, with reference to the Spanish Civil War? Mr Canavan correctly states that most ‘mainstream historians’ have reached a certain consensus in this regard. May I suggest that history has demonstrated that ‘mainstream historians’ have frequently been proven wrong? One need only … Read more
Sir,—Padraig Yeates’s ‘A sheep in wolf’s clothing no match for the wise serpent’ (HI 26.2, March/April 2018) asks ‘how far was the ITUC&LP leading the [anti-conscription] campaign, and how far was it being led?’ but does not answer. Though its conclusion implies that the strike benefited the Catholic Church, the narrative reveals only the circumstantial … Read more
Sir,—In her Platform article, ‘Church archives—private or public records?’ (HI 26.2, March/April 2018), Catriona Crowe argues for the opening of archives under the control of religious congregations. In some ways it is strange that religious orders are reluctant to reveal to the public first-hand evidence of the enormous contribution they have made to life on … Read more
BY TONY CANAVAN Cromwellian bust-up Visitors to the Palace of Westminster recently may have noticed that a bust of Oliver Cromwell, situated in the House of Commons stairwell, has from time to time been turned to face the wall. Labour Party members posted the turned-about bust on social media, asking who had done it. Officials … Read more
An on-line exhibition plotting Irish women’s road to the vote, 1918. By Jane Maxwell The Library of Trinity College, Dublin, has taken a robust approach to the centenary of female suffrage with its collaborative on-line exhibition. As a repository for the kinds of unique original artefacts that allow history to be written, emphasis is placed … Read more