Tutor: David Williams
With the success of my first series of talks on Military History, A Personal View or Warring Relatives (H57) I would like to present another series on Military History but with a focus on incidents that hopefully are of interest to any History buffs. But rest assured, several of the class attendees (Leah Kernot and Emmanuel Prineas) have volunteered to present their families unique war time service or reflections, continuing the human touch (see Supplement).
Venue: 288 Edward St
Tuesday 11.15am - 12.45pm. Classes started 6 October, finish 8 December.
Cost: $50 (prepaid), 10 weeks
Current Enrolments: 12 (capacity 25)
1. Trench Warfare Even less Fun than Camping:
Taking a leaf out of Horrible Histories and the book An Utterly Impartial History of Britain or 2000 years of Upper-Class Idiots in Charge! by John OFarrell I decided to take a sometimes-whimsical view of this very serious topic. Perhaps beginning the Term with a Smile!
2. Austria Nazi Germanys First Victim?
We look at the Nazi takeover of Austria in 1938 and its role in WW2. The aftermath, development of the victim theory and its debunking; all with a backdrop of the film The Sound of Music. As well discussing the rise and fall of Kurt Waldheim, UN Secretary..
3. History of the EOKA Insurgency (Part 1):
Following on from Emmanuel Prineas's excellent talk about the little-known Greek Civil War 1944-1949 his next talk details the EOKA insurgency (1955-1959) in Cyprus; a guerrilla campaign aimed at ending British colonial rule. Its main goal was Enosis or union with Greece. This talk will explore the complex background to such a little-known conflict providing an excellent lead-in to Part 2.
4. History of the EOKA Insurgency (Part 2):
Part 2 explores why Enosis never eventuated as well as discussing the roles played by leading figures such as Archbishop Makarios and General Georgios Grivas. It is a captivating story, made even more fascinating by Emmanuel's well thought out use of primary sources. At the conclusion you will wonder how 300 Greek Cypriots brought down an empire.
5. John Lennon at War:
This talk combines my love of John Lennon's music, his experiences in war torn Liverpool and of my families' observations and experiences during WW2. I investigate how John's early experiences as a "War Baby" influenced his later song writing.
6 Bomber Command in WW2:
One of the class from Term 1 H57, Leah Kernot has volunteered to present a talk relating her father's experiences with Bomber Command in WW2. As my mother was involved with building Bomber Command's mainstay the Wellington Bomber, I am looking forward to this presentation immensely!
7. Breaking Bad - The WW2 Episode:
World War 2 was the most destructive conflict in history. It was also the most technologically advanced war up to that point. Less known, but equally widespread were attempts to improve the basic unit of combat, the fighting man. If weaponry could be improved through research, why not humans? So, drugs were created, often with negligible testing, to boost soldiers' stamina, keep them awake and alert longer. This Talk describes how military leaders on both sides fed their troops drugs with the goal of creating "super soldiers" to give them a winning advantage in the war.
8. Fighting under the Red Duster - The British Merchant Navy in WW2:
These unsung heroes plied the world's sea-lanes who were on the front lines from beginning to the end of WW2. Their trials and tribulations, together with the lack of post WW2 recognition are presented with special reference to the experiences of two of my uncles.
9. The Reds are Coming!
For this talk I delve into the recollections and history of my wife' s Relatives. The main source is a relative of my White Russian wife, Marina, whose relatives fought with Admiral Kolchak, a leading White Russian general. Discussions with him really opened my eyes to the events surrounding the little known Russian Civil War. For those interested, watching the film Doctor Zhivago will provide a great visual Introduction (albeit with Hollywood actively adjusting past events) to the Russian Civil War.
10. De-Coding Letters: Who could join Bletchley Park?
This talk mainly by by Emmanuel Prineas will explore the pains taking processes he performed to de-cipher one old family letter from 1945. Truly interesting in their own "write"! Then I relate how Bletchley Park used similar methods to break the German Enigma Code! As well as discussing how Code Breakers were selected ending with an exercise to see if any in the Class measures up!!
About the Tutor: David Williams
Even though I spent all my working life in Science, I have always maintained an enduring passion for History. This was constantly reinforced by discussions of my family’s service during WW2, most notably from a British viewpoint. Also I’ve been lucky in meeting many people who have been affected by War be it Vietnam, WW1, WW2 even the Russian Civil War. These talks constantly provided valuable insights as they generously opened up to me. Moreover my 11 years’ service in Australia’s Army Reserve has only heightened my curiosity in understanding how people coped with this most stressful of experiences.If you are a U3A Brisbane member you may enrol in this class online using the Enrol button below. You will be asked to provide your membership number and name for identification.
If you wish to obtain further information about this class before enrolling, you may send a message to the tutor using the Send Enquiry Message button below.