30 AUG 2021 · Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of why and how World War Two started.----more---- Germany was divided into many different countries by slowly one country called Prussia either conquered the other countries or persuaded the little Germany countries to join them. Germany had been created through fighting and this made some Germans think that conquering other countries was normal. However, while Germany was becoming one country, other countries were also getting bigger. Britain and France were building might Empires. America was exploring the West. Russia was conquering much of Asia. Germany was powerful in Europe but she felt weak in the world. Then there was World War One. Germany lost. Millions were killed, Germany lost land – including land where Germans lived, Germany had to pay lots of money for all the damage they had caused. People in Germany were very upset. Their Generals did not want to be blamed for losing the war. So they told everyone that they would have won the war except people back home gave up too early. After a few tricky years things calmed down in Germany. However, everything went wrong with the money in the world and people got very poor and many lost their jobs. Many counties stopped buying and selling from other countries. That was not such a big problem for Britain, Russia, France and America because they had big empires to buy and sell to. However, Germany did not have an empire. Then Adolf Hitler became leader of Germany. He was the most evil man in history. He wanted Germans to all live in Germany, he wanted more land for Germany, and he hated Jews and Communists. He blamed communists for Germany losing the First World War. Firstly, Hitler decided to march into a part of Germany that he was not allowed to have soldiers in. The world did nothing. Then he marched into little Austria. The world did nothing. Then he decided to attack a little country called Czechoslovakia. Britain and France gave him some of Czechoslovakia to keep him happy. He took that bit; then he took the rest too. Britain and France did not want to fight. That is why they kept hoping Hitler would stop if they were reasonable with him. However, Hitler did not want to stop. Next Hitler attacked Poland. He even managed to persuade the Russians to help him. This time Britain and France had had enough. They went to war with Germany. Britain’s Empire came to her aid. The Americans joined later on. Most wars have many complicated reasons for them. This war was Hitler’s fault. PATRONS CLUB If you would like to join our Patrons’ Club then please do join at www.patreon.com/historystorytime.

16 AUG 2021 · Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France.----more---- This is a time of knights and castles. William the Conqueror had come from France to conquer England. This meant that English Kings now owned land in France. The lost some in battle, but gained other parts through marriage – especially the lands of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Often English Kings would be married to French princesses to help keep the peace between the two lands. However, when the French King died the next in line to the throne was the King of England. The French did not want an English King. So they changed the rules and said that descendants of Princes were more important than descendants of princesses. The King of England, Edward III was furious. He declared war on France. The French were confident of victory because they had many knights. They thorught their knights were invincible. However, the English had armed their soldiers with a longbow. Properly used they could destroy the French knights. At the first major battle at Crecy that is exactly what happened. The French were destroyed by the English Archers. The same happened at the Battle of Poitiers where the French King was captured by the English King’s son, the Black Prince. The French carried on fighting. So Edward and France did a deal. The English released the French king and the French promised Edward III could rule some of the French lands. However, once their king was safe the French refused to give England all the promised land. War continued. However, the Black Prince died and slowly France regained all her land. For 40 years there was relative peace. This was broken by England’s new King, Henry V. He invaded France and crushed the English at Agincourt. The French agreed that he could be King after the old French King. However, Henry V died first leaving an infant son. The French were not scared of him and fought on. Then a peasant girl called Joan of Arc claimed that God was telling her to fight the English. She persuaded the French ruler to lend her his army. She attacked and destroyed the English army. The English captured her and killed her as a witch. Later the final English Army met the French in Battle. However this time the French had a sneaky plan up their leaves. They had cannon. The cannon could fire further and it destroyed the English Archers. The Hundred Years War (which lasted 116 years) was over. France had won. PATRONS’ CLUB If you liked this episode then do please join our Patrons’ Club. You can find details at www.patreon.com/historystorytime.

31 MAY 2021 · Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell of the Persian invasion of Ancient Greece and the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis.----more---- The Persians are determined to get their revenge for their defeat at the Battle of Marathon. The new Persian Emperor, Xerxes, decides to conquer all of Greece once and for all. He assembles the largest army the world has ever seen. The army is too big to be taken by sea. So he builds a bridge of boats to get it from Asia to Europe. However, in building the bridge we learn how Xerxes is a cruel ruler. One of the nobles asks for his son to be left behind. Xerxes agrees but executes the nobles son and chops his body in two. There is a storm and the bridge of boats is destroyed. Xerxes has the sea whipped and red hot irons placed in it as a punishment. Finally, his army gets across and marches into Greece. Many Greek cities surrender. However, Athens and Sparta fight. The Spartans are fierce warriors. Their King, Leonidas, visits an Oracle to find out what is going to happen. The Oracle says that either a Spartan King will die or Greece will be conquered. Leonidas realises that he will have to die if Greece is to be saved. The Spartans choose a clever place to fight. It is called Thermopylae. It is a narrow path between the mountains and the sea. The Persians cannot get their whole army down the path as it is too narrow. The Spartans hold the massive Persian army at bay. However, the Persians discover a path through the mountains. Now they can get behind the Spartans. Most of the Greeks retreat. But Leonidas and 300 Spartans decide to fight to the death to delay the Persians. Leonidas also knows that if he dies then Greece will be saved. Persian archers kill Leonidas. However, his sacrifice has never been forgotten. Before the invasion, the Athenians had discovered silver in the hills near Athens. After a long discussion they had decided to use the money to build a mighty fleet. Athens is captured by the Persians but the Athenians still have their fleet. The Persian and the Athenian led fleet meet in battle near the island of Salamis. The Persian Emperor settles down on the land to watch the battle. The seas are narrow near Salamis and the Persians numbers do not help them. The Greeks win the battle. The Persians realise that now the Greeks can say to the bridge of boats and destroy it. This would trap the Persian Emperor in Greece. Quickly the Emperor and most of his army run home. A little of their army stays and is destroyed the next year. This war did not just save Ancient Greece. It also saved all the things that the Greeks had invented, like Democracy and Freedom. They gave those ideas to us. This is why we remember the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis today. PATRON’S CLUB If you liked this episode then do please join our Patron’s Club. We have an exclusive episode there all about what happened after the Persian Invasion of Ancient Greece. Sparta and Athens go to war with each other… www.patreon.com/historystorytime

22 FEB 2021 · Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) team up with the Brunel Museum to tell the story of the incredible engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel helped build the modern world.----more---- Sophie and Ellie are keen to explore Victorian Britain. They want to do a podcast on Isambard Kingdom Brunel but Daddy doesn’t know much about him. Luckily, Sarah, from the Brunel Museum is on hand to help. Together the three of them tell the story of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. But we start with his father. Marc Brunel is a Frenchman who has been sent to priest school. But his heart is not in it. Instead he likes making things. When the French Revolution breaks out he is forced to flee France. But not before falling in love with an English woman. They are parted by the Revolution and Marc flees to America. There he starts to achieve his life’s ambition to become an engineer. While in New York he meets the famous Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton is so impressed with Marc Brunel that he writes him a recommendation to get a job as an engineer in London. Marc travels to England and is married to his English sweetheart. Once in England he starts building things. One of those projects is a new tunnel under the Thames. The tunnel is wanted by the Duke of Wellington to help transport soldiers to the south coast. But people also hope that it will be used by paying customers too. The tunnel is considered an impossibility to build. But Marc has a helper. He has a new Chief Engineer, his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Together the two Brunels come up with an extraordinary new way of tunnelling underwater based on how a worm tunnels. The tunnel is built and Queen Victoria herself pays a visit. Isambard Kingdom Brunel is in demand from others for his engineering skills. He is asked to build the new Railway line to the West of England. This is a huge undertaking and needs bridges, tunnels and viaducts. Many of Brunel’s ideas are completely revolutionary. But they work and Brunel spends his time travelling around in his own railway carriage overseeing the project. Next the girls tell the story of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s ship building. He repeatedly built the biggest ship in the world. We hear the story of why he kept building bigger and bigger ships. We also hear how the activities of those ships helped make the modern world of telecommunications that we enjoy today. Finally, the girls reflect on the incredible achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and how doing his maths homework at school helped him make the modern world! ABOUT THE BRUNEL MUSEUM This episode was a joint production with the Brunel Museum and their team – especially Sarah Kuklewicz. The Brunel Museum tells the story of one of the world’s great engineering dynasties. Brunel organised the world’s first underground concert party on the Museum site in 1827, and the Museum celebrates and interprets music and theatre as well as engineering. They aim to preserve and share widely the ground-breaking stories of the Thames Tunnel project and the outstanding achievements of the Brunel family and their relevance to our lives today. You can find out more about them here: Homepage - Brunel Museum (thebrunelmuseum.com) Obviously the Museum is closed at the moment but teachers and parents might be interested in the activity sheets on their website. It is particularly suitable for KS1 and KS2 and their Victorian topic work. Activity sheets - Brunel Museum (thebrunelmuseum.com) PLEASE DO SUPPORT THE MUSEUM Normally we include a link to our own Patrons’ Club. But rather than that this week we would be grateful if anyone would consider donating to the Brunel Museum. It’s a difficult time for all our museums and the whole heritage sector. I know any small donation would be much appreciated as they were very generous helping us prepare this episode: Make a donation - Brunel Museum (thebrunelmuseum.com)

15 FEB 2021 · Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell the 1000 year history of Burma – Buddhism, Kublai Khan, Elephants, the British, WW2 and Aung Sung Suu Kyi.----more---- Sophie and Ellie are contacted by a listener who lives in Burma. The girls want to find out more about the place and what is going on there. They describe the Burmese geography and weather. Then they tell of the first Burmese King, a thousand years ago, and how he unified Burma. He then converted to Buddhism and introduced the religion to Burma. Ten thousand Buddhist temples were made. But the Buddhist temples paid no tax. And that made it hard for the King to keep a strong army. Then the Mongol King, Kublai Khan, invades. The Burmese fight him with their war elephants but they are crushed. The Burmese Kingdom is destroyed. But the Mongols do not stay. They just wanted to teach Burma a lesson. Marco Polo tells the story of the invasion. It takes hundreds of years for Burma to recover. But they are united again. This time they and their elephants attack Siam. They conquer the country with the help not just of the elephants but also guns from Portuguese traders. Eventually Siam rebels and frees itself. Again it takes hundreds of years for Burma to recover. Next Burma decides to expand West. They bump straight into the British Empire. A bloody series of wars occur. At first the Burmese successfully invade British India. But the British fight back. The Burmese elephants are no match for the British army and their new Rocket. Burma is conquered by the British and made into a colony. In the early 20th century more and more people in Burma want to be free of the British. The Burmese leader is called Aung Sun. He tries to get freedom for his people. Then World War Two breaks out. The Japanese Empire invades Burma. Many Burmese like Aung Sun join the Japanese to get rid of the British. Japan conquers Burma. But then Aung Sun and others realise they have made a terrible mistake. They realise that the Japanese will never leave Burma and they are an evil empire. Aung Sun and others help the British to reconquer Burma. Then the British give Burma her independence. But at the moment of victory Aung Sun is killed. The Burmese struggle without him. The army take over and will not let the people be in charge. Eventually there are elections which are won by Aung Sun’s daughter, Aung Sun Suu Kyi. But the Army arrest her for 20 years. Finally she is allowed to rule Burma. Not everything she does is popular outside of Burma but she remains popular in Burma. Recently the Army put her in prison again and took control of the country. Sophie and Ellie reflect on how the poor Burmese people have hardly ever in recently years been able to have a government that they wanted. They hope for a better time to come.   BURMESE NAMES I'm certain that our pronunciation of Burmese names is terrible. I'm very sorry. We found it hard to find out how to pronounce many of the names. PATRONS' CLUB Do please consider joining our Patrons' Club. You can find the details at www.patreon.com/historystorytime. Sophie and Ellie love getting to know their listeners.

8 FEB 2021 · Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of Gandhi. We learn how he led India to independence. But more than that the girls learn life lessons from his example. 150 years India was ruled by Britain. India was a country of many religions, and many languages. These differences helped Britain to be in charge. But many Indians wanted to rule themselves. The girls explore why it was important for the Indians to rule their own country and the problems with Britain being in charge. We meet Gandhi. We learn about his personal value system. We discover how he was opposed to violence. We also learned how he believed that it wasn’t enough to achieve good things. He believed that the way in which you achieved things was also important. Gandhi didn’t hate Britain. But when he lived in South Africa he realized that the British Empire wasn’t always fair to people who were not white British. When he returned to India he began campaigning for India to be free. He believed that it was wrong to fight. Instead he believed that Indian’s needed to stop doing what British people told them to do. He organized lots of peaceful demonstrations. The girls tell the story of the terrible day at Amritsar when 400 Indians were shot dead on the streets on the orders of a British General. Eventually the British agree to talk to Gandhi. But the talks do not go well. Instead the British encourage the Muslims to be worried about an India run by Hindus like Gandhi. The talks collapse. The British arrest many independence protestors. Then World War Two starts. The British need India. Gandhi tells the Indians not to help the British. But millions ignore him and join the Army. In 1942 Gandhi tells the British to leave India immediately. The British won’t that because of the war. So they put Gandhi and his followers in prison. But after the war the British have had enough and agree to leave. It agreed to split India in two. There will be a mostly Muslim area called Pakistan and a mostly Hindu area called India. The split is terrible. Muslims and Hindu kill hundreds of thousands of each other. Then a Hindu decides it’s all Gandhi’s fault. He shoots and kills Gandhi. People are horrified. They realise that Gandhi was right. India becomes a country for all religions and languages. Over time the whole world realise that Gandhi was a great man. Even Britain makes a statue to him. At the end the girls reflect on Gandhi’s message to the world and the power of his example. PATRONS’ CLUB If you liked this message you might like to join our Patrons’ club. You can choose an episode – like this one was chosen by one of our Patrons. You can find extra episodes. Or you can be in an episode. You can find details on www.patreon.com/historystorytime

1 FEB 2021 · Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of how Denmark’s Jews were rescued by Danish people at the height of World War Two and escaped overnight to Sweden and safety.   Hitler’s Germany has conquered most of Europe in World War Two. Hitler hates the Jews and tells lies about them. He tries to find them and kill them. But in Denmark the Danes are conquered but allowed to rule themselves – with the German army patrolling the streets.   The King tries to keep his people’s morale up. He rides his horse through Copenhagen every day. When a German soldiers asks why he has no bodyguards, a Danish citizen replies that all Danes are his bodyguard. The King fights against the evil German flag, the Swastika being flown. When the Germans propose that all Jews should wear a yellow badge, the King says he will wear one too. The Germans back down. Hitler sends the King a birthday card with a long letter sucking up to him. The King barely replies.   Hitler is enraged. He decides that Germany will take total control. He also decides to round up the Jews and prepare to kill them.   But a German finds out about the plan and warns the Danish government. The government and ordinary people step into action. In one night they warn all the Jews. They hide them from the Germans and then take them across the sea to Sweden where they will be safe. The evil German SS soldiers kick down the doors but cannot find the Jews. 7,500 are safe.   Now both the Danish people and the brave German who warned the Jews are remembered in Israel, the Jewish homeland.   PATRONS’ CLUB If you liked this episode then please do join our Patrons’ Club. We have exclusive episodes there. You can join on www.patreon.com/historystorytime. Sophie and Ellie also really enjoy getting to know our patrons and they swap photos.   PARENTS’ NOTICE ABOUT THIS EPISODE We wanted to tell a Holocaust story which was uplifting and positive and appropriate for little children. Obviously, that is difficult to do about what is one of the greatest tragedies and crimes in human history. But we hope we have managed it here. We teach the name of the Holocaust and that Jews were killed. We do not cover any of the details about how this was done. We do not explain in detail why people were anti-semitic, just that they were. In my own experience with the girls, they can sometimes repeat the various anti-semitic lies without explaining properly that they were false or giving the proper contexts. We also establish early on that the Jews escape so that the story is not scary for children. We try to establish that the Holocaust was a uniquely evil event. We took a few liberties with the story. 7,500 Jews escaped, but 500 were captured. Efforts by the Danish government ensured that only around 100 lost their lives. We simplified the story and kept it positive for children. But we wanted here to recognise that there was some tragedy.  If your child likes this then there is a film on Disney Plus called “Miracle at Midnight” which is very good. It was too scary and complicated for Ellie. But Sophie was fine with it. There is also an award winning childrens’ book called “Number the Stars”.   Thanks for listening. Feedback welcome @historytime99 or you can find on facebook.

25 JAN 2021 · Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell how Joe Biden and Donald Trump both chose to use the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. They tell the history of the desk that is a symbol of friendship between Britain and America. ----more---- They explain how the British went exploring the North West passage in the 1850s. Successive expeditions went badly wrong. Eventually, one of the ships, the HMS Resolute got stuck in the ice. The crew had to abandon the ship. Two years later the ship was discovered. This time by an American ship over 1000 miles away. The ice had melted and the ship had floated away. It was like finding a ghost ship. The Americans took the ship back to America. The ship belonged to them now.   But there were lots of tensions between Britain and America. They had already fought two wars. They were still arguing. But they had so much in common. Many people thought they should be friends rather than arguing all the time. The American government decided to repair the ship and to send her as a present to Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria was delighted. It helped Britain and American become friends.   For twenty years HMS Resolute carried on sailing near Britain. Then it got too old. But Queen Victoria remembered she had been a gift from America. She decided to use her timbers to make some desks. One would be gift to the US President and another would be for herself.   The Americans were delighted with the gift. It was placed in the White House. Successive presidents used it in different rooms. When F.D. Roosevelt used it he had a little door installed so that no one could see that he used a wheelchair. Later US presidents rather forgot about the desk. Until John F Kennedy became President. His wife wanted to refurbish the White House. She went exploring around the White House. In a back room she found, under a pile of electrical equipment, the old Resolute Desk. She thought it was beautiful. She brought it out and placed it in the main office in the White House called the Oval Office. Then her children discovered the little door that Roosevelt had installed. A photographer took a photo of them playing while their Dad was on the phone. Suddenly the whole world remembered the Resolute Desk.   Most US Presidents since them have chosen to use the Resolute Desk. Sophie and Ellie reflect on the fact that Joe Biden and Donald Trump did not agree on much. But they did agree on using the Resolute Desk. It is a reminder of great US Presidents of the past as well as being a symbol of historic friendship between Britain and America.

11 JAN 2021 · Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell of Eleanor of Aquitaine. But Eleanor has been Queen of France. Now she becomes Queen of England.----more----This is the second in our series about Eleanor of Aquitaine. But you don't need to have listened to the last episode to enjoy this one. Last week we learned how 800 years ago Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, married the King of France. But she didn’t much like him. He was unhappy they didn’t have a son. So they divorced.   But no one expected what happened next. Eleanor married the dashing young pretender to the English throne. His name was Henry and he was ten years younger than her. The French King was furious. With Eleanor's help Henry took the throne of England. Now he was King of England and ruler of most of France. Eleanor was his Queen.   Furthermore, it turned out that Eleanor could have sons after all. Lots of them. She had eight children, four of them boys. For years she raised them. Then she set up her own Court. The Court of Love with minstrels and knights and her ladies in waiting.   Meanwhile, Henry got himself a girlfriend. Eleanor did not like that. Their children were also angry with Henry. He kept treating them like children even though they were quite grown up. They all rebelled against Henry. But Henry was a skilled General. He defeated Eleanor and his sons. He forgave his sons but put Eleanor in prison for 15 years.   She was only released when her son Richard became King. She then supported her son Richard and later her son John.   We tell how her story is ignored by many later writers like the Disney film Robin Hood because often women are ignored in history.   She died aged 81 years old and is remembered today as one of the greatest women in history. Other episodes If you liked this episode about Eleanor of Aquitaine you might also like our Matilda episode. It’s set around the same time in history with knights and castles. and tells you what is happening in England while Eleanor of Aquitaine is married to the King of France. It’s a another story about a powerful woman. https://link.historystorytime.com/Matilda You might also like to try our Jousting with the Royal Armouries episode. We made it with the world famous Royal Armouries in England. We tell the story of knights, tournaments and jousting. All the sorts of things that Eleanor and her knights and nobles enjoyed. https://link.historystorytime.com/Jousting Patrons Club If you liked this episode you might like to join our Patrons’ Club. There you can listen to exclusive new episodes, help choose an episode or be in an episode. You can join on www.patreon.com/historystorytime

4 JAN 2021 · Sophie (age 7) & Ellie (age 5) tell of Eleanor of Aquitaine. In a time of knights and castles, men rule. But Eleanor is Duchess of Aquitaine - no one is telling her what to do.----more----   800 years ago Eleanor became Duchess of Aquitaine in South West France. It was a time of Knights and Castles. But the King of France, Louis the Fat, didn’t want to lose control of Aquitaine. So he quickly married 13 year old Eleanor off to his son – also called Louis. Louis didn’t much want to be King. He also didn’t much want to be a husband. He had thought he was going to be a monk. But after his older brother died he had to be King.   He loved Eleanor. But she thought he was really boring. He worried about having babies as he thought he might be more holy not to have any. But the monks and later the Pope himself told him to have some. He had Eleanor had girls. But that wasn’t any good for France. The laws of France said they needed a King.   They went on Crusade together to the Holy Land. It didn’t go very well. France lost the battles. Eleanor became very good friends with her uncle. Some people even thought they had become girlfriend and boyfriend. When they got back to France Eleanor and Louis decided to divorce. Eleanor went back to Aquitaine.   But Eleanor wasn’t upset by this. In fact for the first time in her life she was free to make her own decision. That decision was to lead to her becoming Queen of England.   But that’s the topic of the next History Storytime episode.   OTHER EPISODES   If you liked this episode about Eleanor of Aquitaine you might also like our Matilda episode. It’s set around the same time in history with knights and castles. and tells you what is happening in England while Eleanor of Aquitaine is married to the King of France. It’s a another story about a powerful woman. https://link.historystorytime.com/Matilda   You might also like to try our Jousting with the Royal Armouries episode. We made it with the world famous Royal Armouries in England. We tell the story of knights, tournaments and jousting. All the sorts of things that Eleanor of Aquitaine and her knights and nobles enjoyed. https://link.historystorytime.com/Jousting   PATRONS' CLUB   If you liked this episode you might like to join our Patrons’ Club. There you can listen to exclusive new episodes, help choose an episode or be in an episode. You can join on www.patreon.com/historystorytime