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In the 1964 film Zulu, Stanley Baker's Lieutenant Chard delivers one of cinema's most quietly memorable lines: "I came up here to build a bridge."

This is the real story of Lieutenant John Rouse Merriott Chard VC, officer in command at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in 1879— possibly, the most reluctant and unlikely hero of one of the most celebrated last stands in British military history.

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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January 1809. A British Army of over 20,000 men is trapped by the French in north west Spain.

This is the story of a forgotten Scottish General, Sir John Moore, who successfully evacuated his entire army, but at the cost of his life at the battle of Corunna.

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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Just after midnight on the 22nd October 1904, Russian warships opened fire on British fishing trawlers in the North Sea.

Why?

Because, as they sailed towards the Far East during the Russo-Japanese War, they thought that they were Japanese torpedo boats.

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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Britain's most famous explorer, David Livingstone, is buried in Westminster Abbey, but why was he buried without his heart?

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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Charles "Chinese" Gordon, one of the great Victorian British military heroes, famously killed defending Khartoum against the Mahdi.
But, how did he get the nickname "Chinese" Gordon?

This is the story of his forgotten war in China, and the legendary Ever Victorious Army he led against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

In the 1860s, Qing China was tearing itself apart. The Taiping Rebellion — one of the deadliest conflicts in human history — which cost over 20 million lives.

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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The execution of Harry "Breaker" Morant for the shooting of unarmed prisoners during the Anglo Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902) continues to stir emotions and debate.
Not just about whether he and his comrades were scapegoats or treated with double standards but whether claiming to be following orders is a justifiable defence in military operations.

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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Whilst the films about "The Four Feathers" are ripping yarns from the age of the British Empire, the real life white feathers handed out to supposed cowards in WW1 had a devastating effect.

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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In the classic war film "Zulu", Private Fred Hitch is called a "slovenly soldier".
He nevertheless goes on to be awarded the Victoria Cross at the battle of Rorke's Drift.
But the story about what happened to him afterwards, as an invalid veteran in Victorian Britain that is every bit as fascinating, working for the world's oldest security company, losing his VC, accused of theft and becoming a London cabbie.

A story of what happened to Victorian soldiers when then entered civvy street.

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Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

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