My family historian wife, Jane Barder, has exhaustively researched and written a fascinating and often moving account of her father’s (and his family’s) experiences during the second world war, from the time when he...
David Cameron dropped a memorable clanger in Washington, saying the UK was the “junior partner” in the World War II fight against Germany in 1940 – and then dropped another one trying to correct...
Note: This is the text of a despatch to the then Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary, Douglas Hurd, which I sent in January 1991 shortly before the end of my posting as British High Commissioner...
There’s been a lot of snow today in our corner of south-west London: around 6 or 7 inches (I still can’t quite come to grips with snow in centigrade) from the stuff that fell...
My wife’s paper at https://barder.com/family/history/org_slavery2 reveals that while many of my ancestors were persecuted, at least one owned slaves. Who, then, she asks, should apologise to whom? [More >>>]
My wife’s account of her experiences growing up in wartime Brixton, here, explain why the war was a defining experience for people of her and my generation [More >>>]
A picture of my paternal grandfather, Levy, which is also a link to my album of other pictures on Flickr. [See complete entry for the photograph.]
There are two highly readable additions to this website, one by historian and veteran diplomat David Tothill on an intriguing incident in diplomatic history, the other, by my wife Jane, an expanded and up-dated edition of her story of my father and his family history, fascinating social as well as family history. (More >>>>)
A letter of November 1942, from somewhere in the middle east, from a private soldier to his mother in London [More >>>]
Jane’s article about her mother, Margaret, and her family history, has been brought up to date and is on the website.