81
votes
Accepted
If the Union Jack joins the flag of England and Scotland, why does it have a different shade of blue than the Scottish flag?
In 1606, people didn't have pantone guidelines to keep colours consistent - nor did it matter. Heraldry only has a limited number of colors. Variations on blue exist but are not standard, so any blue ...
- 14.1k
81
votes
Why did Chamberlain remain Prime Minister of Britain until 10 May, 1940?
Didn't the British people recognize how ill-suited Chamberlain would be because of his former appeasement?
No, because it's not true at all. Chamberlain may certainly be an inadequate war leader, but ...
- 97.6k
80
votes
Accepted
Was England called England in the days of King Arthur?
No, England would not have been called "England" in the early post-Roman period.
The name "England" derives from the Old English name Englaland, which means "Land of the Angles". The earliest ...
- 77.2k
75
votes
Accepted
Why was it "acceptable" for Prince Charles to marry a divorced woman, when Edward VIII had to abdicate for marrying divorcee Wallis Simpson?
It is mostly due to the differing social attitudes of the day, but the legal position was also different in 1936. The Wikipedia page is pretty clear about the social attitudes, but I'll try to explain ...
- 77.2k
62
votes
Accepted
Who was the most successful German spy against Great Britain in WWII, from the contemporary German perspective?
From the "contemporary German perspective", the answer is doubtless "Alaric", Juan Pujol García, known to the British as "Garbo". He was paid a total of US$340,000 and awarded the Iron Cross, second ...
- 32k
61
votes
Why were slave owners even offered compensation via the 1837 Act if they'd lost the power in parliament to stop abolition in 1833?
To safeguard legal system and rule of law
While it may sound strange to us, slavery was considered as something usual and almost natural for a long time during human history. This is especially true ...
- 11.3k
58
votes
Accepted
Why were slave owners even offered compensation via the 1837 Act if they'd lost the power in parliament to stop abolition in 1833?
Lord Wynford, though speaking in opposition, illustrated the reasons in the House of Lords, on Tuesday, June 25th 1833, why a payment was being considered and what arguments such a payment should be ...
- 10.8k
57
votes
Accepted
How long would it take to cross the Channel in 1890's?
Google Books has a copy of Bradshaw's Guide from 1887. To get to Paris, they recommended one of four options:
The numbers in the three rightmost columns are, respectively: approximate first-class ...
- 3,048
55
votes
Accepted
How likely it is that a nobleman of the eighteenth century would give written instructions to his maids?
I think the answer to the headline question is "not very, which is why everyone thought Cavendish was a bit weird" :-)
But focusing on the detailed question - from his entry in the revised ...
- 9,102
53
votes
Why was the Scout movement so successful?
Baden-Powell had been besieged in the town of Mafeking during the Second Boer War. He had formed the Mafeking Cadet Corps, which was a group of youths that supported the defending troops by carrying ...
- 77.2k
49
votes
Accepted
In the "Christmas truce" of 1914 were there any football (soccer) matches between British and German troops?
This depends a bit on the definition of "match": modern rules 90 minutes kicking, level playfield, three referees, 11 players on each side, two nicely timbered goals, etc. Most popular accounts now ...
- 80.8k
47
votes
How confusing was British currency compared to decimal currency circa 1850?
[Another] question quotes Terry Prattchett as:
"The British resisted decimalized currency for a long time because they
thought it was too complicated."
Is this a fair comparison with its ...
- 531
47
votes
Accepted
Why did life expectancy decline sharply in 16th century England?
This was primarily due to the 1557 influenza pandemic, which returned in 1558 and perhaps lingered for another year or two. This was a global pandemic and other areas of Europe were also severely hit. ...
- 108k
46
votes
Accepted
Were women the property of men prior to 1919 in the UK?
No. Slavery was abolished in 1833 in England. Prior to 1919 women were not property. Not having equal rights doesn't automatically mean slavery.
Neither is a woman taking the family name of her ...
- 22.7k
46
votes
Accepted
When and why did the use of the lifespans of royalty to limit clauses in contracts come about?
This is an attempt to escape the rule against perpetuities.
No interest is good unless it must vest, if at all, not later than twenty-one years after some life in being at the creation of the ...
- 2,089
45
votes
Accepted
Did any British working class men have the vote before 1918?
The film said this un-extraordinary working man had the vote, my calculations show it was possible he had the vote. But the 1918 act gave "working men the vote". So one of these 2 statements must be ...
- 97.6k
44
votes
Accepted
What was this television history series?
The programme you're after sounds a lot like Connections which was a BBC series hosted by James Burke.
Connections is a science education television series created, written, and presented by British ...
- 19.8k
40
votes
Accepted
Why did Jodrell Bank assist the Soviet Union to collect data from their spacecraft in the mid 1960's?
SHORT ANSWER
Jodrell Bank's first 'coup', tracking Sputnik 1 in 1957 (without Soviet assistance), put it in the news and helped secure funding. It also led to a congratulatory telegram from the ...
- 108k
39
votes
Accepted
What was the meaning of the following Neville Chamberlain quote?
Actually, in 1938, for most Britons, anywhere East of the Rhine was "a faraway land" of which they knew nothing. Only the rich travelled even to continental Europe; most people took their ...
- 8,171
39
votes
Accepted
Was a passport needed to travel between UK and France in 1972?
Piecing together various sources, it is clear that there was a no-passport agreement between the United Kingdom and France from 1961 until 1984 and that, even after the termination of this agreement, ...
- 108k
34
votes
Accepted
Why did Germany officially acknowledge the contents of the Zimmerman telegram?
Arthur Zimmerman appears to have been trying to avoid being blamed by the German press and politicians for bringing the USA into the war. Placing your personal interests ahead of those of your country ...
- 32k
34
votes
Accepted
Why were the Irish exempt from conscription during WWI?
Legally they were exempt because The Military Service Act (1916) applied to men "ordinarily resident in Great Britain" not men "ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom"
But practically, it would ...
- 1,050
34
votes
Accepted
Who said "If I want the opinion of the middle classes, I'll ask Her Majesty"?
This has been quoted a few times, in slight variation, like here, with attribution indeed to Disraeli:
— Harry Blamires: "The Victorian Age of Literature", Longman literature guides, ...
- 80.8k
33
votes
Why was it "acceptable" for Prince Charles to marry a divorced woman, when Edward VIII had to abdicate for marrying divorcee Wallis Simpson?
One thing I'm not seeing in the answers so far is that having been married prior wasn't the only strike against Wallis Simpson. She:
Was not nobility
Was not British
Had been divorced not once, but ...
- 122k
33
votes
Was England called England in the days of King Arthur?
As Wikipedia notes, "King Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th ...
- 3,177
33
votes
Why were the Irish exempt from conscription during WWI?
Traditionally, there had been no conscription in Ireland, at least not after the 17th century. Irish did serve in the British army, but only as volunteers. As an occupying country, Britain did not ...
- 104k
32
votes
Accepted
What was life like for an adult Victorian chimney sweep?
Actually, by 1881 the use of children as chimney sweeps had been abolished in the UK.
In 1840, the UK Parliament had passed a revised Chimney Sweeps Act which had raised the minimum age at which ...
- 77.2k
31
votes
Accepted
Anyone know what this stone building is?
It's a "single pot lime kiln", adjacent to the beach, at Wallog.
Coal and limestone would have been landed on the beach from small sailing vessels. The burnt lime would then be used to improve the ...
- 77.2k
31
votes
Why did Chamberlain remain Prime Minister of Britain until 10 May, 1940?
Some context to support Semaphore's answer... drawing (partially) from John Terraine's "Right of the Line".
The policy of appeasement is sometimes used to portray Chamberlain as a pacifist under whom ...
- 701
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible