Real Britannia (ePub)

Acclaimed author and veteran political reporter Colin Brown travels to the places where British history was made to unearth what makes this nation truly great.Was the longbow behind the landmark victory at Azincourt, or was it just that the English are better in mud? Did Queen Elizabeth I, a master of spin, know the Armada had capitulated when she drafted one of history’s most inspiring speeches? Who should be given credit – or blame – for today’s NHS? Was the Falklands War proof of Mrs Thatcher’s steely resolve or a grasping imperial folly? Was David Cameron right in announcing 1940 as Britain’s proudest year? Or should we give more due to the suffragette movement, the abolition of slavery, and the sealing of the Great Charter, Magna Carta, and its role in securing the rights of citizens – watershed events for democracy, but all with secret stories to share?These moments are among the top candidates to be Britain’s proudest year, in terms of both their historical legacy and their public following. Yet, befitting the politics of history-making, each was crafted by the propaganda artists of the day. To uncover the truth, it takes an intrepid reporter willing to squeeze around barbed wire, get down in the mud and take tea with a former War Cabinet minister. From the famous Battle of Waterloo to Brixham in Devon (the site of another, somewhat lesser known glorious episode), Colin Brown shows us the events and characters we believe we know so well – but how much of what we know is the truth?