Posted: Sun May 15, 05 7:56 am Post subject: The Things We Forgot to Remember
Radio 4 Monday 20:00 The Things We Forgot to Remember
Michael Portillo begins a new series revisiting the great moments of history to discover that they often conceal other events of equal, but forgotten, importance.
1/4. The Battle of Mers El Kebir
When we think of the defence of Britain from Nazi invasion in 1940, we picture duelling Spitfires in the skies of southern England. But, as Michael Portillo discovers, the true history of that summer is more complicated. Churchill's rhetoric and its powerful images made the Battle of Britain unforgettable - but should our understanding of this country's salvation pay more attention to less palatable events thousands of miles away in an Algerian port, where the British Navy killed 1500 of its former ally's seamen in just one day?
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