Boudicca - "Win the battle or perish, that is what I, a woman, will do!"

"Win the battle or perish,
that is what I,
a woman, will do"
- Boudicca by Tacitus

Boudicca was born in about 25-30 CE in Colchester, South East England. She married King Prasutagus of the Iceni tribe, East Anglia, in 43-45 CE and had two daughters. When the Romans conquered Southern England in 43 CE, they allowed Prasutagus to continue his rule. 

However, after Prasutagus died in 60 CE, the Romans decided to rule the Iceni directly and confiscated the property of the leading tribesmen. They are also believed to have stripped and flogged Boudicca and raped her two daughters. These actions brought resentment to the Roman rule.

In 60 or 61 CE, while the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was leading a campaign in North Wales, the Iceni conspired with their neighbours the Trinovantes, among others, to revolt against the Romans. Boudicca was chosen as their leader.

Boudicca was armed with 100,000 men attacked Camulodunum (Colchester) where the Romans had their main centre of rule. Camulodunum was burnt to the ground and leaving no survivors.

The next rebel's assault was on the largest, on Londinium (London), where 25,000 inhabitants were killed and parts of the city were burnt down.

Reports reached Suetonius, who gathered his forces to stop Boudicca in her tracks. Boudicca and her army marched on Verulamium (St. Albans), which was mostly populated with Britons who had accepted Roman rule. The inhabitants were killed as the city was destroyed around them.

"I am fighting for my freedom"
- Boudicca by Dio Cassius

Boudicca's army contained about 230,000 men and the Roman forces of Suetonius was only 10,000 men. The location of the final battle in 61 CE, is unknown, although it is believed that the site is in the West Midlands along the Roman road (Watling Street).

Boudicca's forces may had the numbers but they lacked the organizational, skill and equipment, which all contributed to her defeat. The Roman's lost 400 men and Boudicca lost 80,000.

It is uncertain on how Boudicca died. Tacitus claims she fled back to her tribe where she and her daughters drunk hemlock rather be captured by the Roman forces. However, Dio Cassius claims that the great queen died of illness.

Jack the Ripper - "Dear Boss"

In Whitechapel, London between August and November of 1888, there were five brutal murders and the possibility of 13 more between 1887 and 1891 of prostitutes. This person was named "Jack the Ripper" as given supposedly by the murderer himself in the "Dear Boss" letters.

The first murder took place on 31st August 1888, the body of Mary Ann Nichols was first discovered in Buck's Row at 3:40 am by Charles Cross, a Carman, on his way to work. Robert Paul jointed him after Cross called him over. Cross believed she was dead but Paul believed he felt a heartbeat. So they both agreed that they would alert the first Policeman they met on their way to work. They met PC Jonas Mizen at the junction of Hanbury Street and Baker's Row and they tell him of what they discovered.

Meanwhile, PC John Neil finds the body. He signals to PC Thain and they are later joined by PC Mizen. Thain calls for Dr. Ress Ralph Llewellyn. Dr. Llewellyn pronounced Nichols dead at 3:50am. She had a incision on her neck 1inch below the jaw, it was about 4 inches in length. She was later to have a large incision to her lower abdomen.

Murder of Anne Chapman,
1888

On 8th September, a second body was discovered of Anne Chapman. At 6:00 am Chapman's body was discovered by John Davis, a Carmen, in the courtyard of 29 Hanbury Street. After alerting some of the residences of Hanbury to the incident, he went to report it to the Commercial Street Police Station. A witness said they saw Chapman with a dark-haired, "genteel" man. Another witness came out of 27 Hanbury Street to their courtyard to use the outhouse at 5:30am. He heard voiced from 29's courtyard, a woman saying 'NO!', and then heard something fall against the fence. When Chapman was found her throat was cut and her lower abdomen was slashed open. It was later found that her uterus had been removed. 

On September 27th, 1888, the Central News Agency received a letter what they originally to be a hoax. Although, later in October 1st, they received a postcard written in the same hand. A hoax or not it was the first ever reference to the name "Jack the Ripper". These letters were later known as the "Dear Boss" letters as they were all addressed to "The Boss". Throughout the time of the murders, many different people ever connected to these investigations received one of these "Dear Boss" or "From Hell" letters. From these letters the media started to refer the psychopathic murderer as "Jack the Ripper". The name became popular and is still used and in our minds today.

Murder of Elizabeth Stride, 1888

On September 30th, the third body, Elizabeth Stride, was discovered. At 1:00 am, Lewis Deimschutz, a salesman of jewellery, entered Dutfield's Yard driving his cart and horse. At the entrance, his horse shied and refused to proceed. Deimsckutz suspected something was in the way but could not see since the yard was in darkness. He probed forwards with his whip and came across something he believed was a drunk. He entered the International Working Men's Educational Club to get help in rousing the drunk. Upon returning to the yard with two other men, they discovered that the person was a woman, who was dead with her throat cut. It was believed that Diemschutz's arrival frightened the Ripper causing him to flee before starting his operation of mutilations.

On the same night of the third murder was discovered, the fourth was found also. At 1:45 am, PC Edward Watkins discovered the body of Catherine Eddowes in Mitre Square. Moments before the murder three friends crossed the square. They described seeing a fair haired man of shabby appearance with a woman, Eddowes.  She was found with her throat severed and her lower abdomen was ripped open which allowed her left kidney and majority of her uterus to be removed.

On November 9th, the fifth victim, Mary Jane Kelly, was discovered. At 10:45 am, John McCarthy, owner of "McCarthy's Rent", as Miller's Court was known as, sent Thomas Bowyer to collect past due rent money from Mary Kelly. After many unanswered knocks on the locked door, Bowyer pushed aside the curtains, seeing the body. He informed McCarthy who, after seeing the mutilated remains of Kelly for himself, ran to the Commercial Street Police Station. Afterwards he returned to the court. When the Police entered the room they found Mary Jane Kelly's clothing neatly folded on the chair and her boots were left in front of the fireplace. Her throat was cut right down to the spine, and the abdomen almost emptied of her organs, including her heart.

The many Detective Inspectors
searching for clues.

The investigation was conducted by the Metropolitan Police, Whitechapel, division Criminal Investigation Department (CID), headed by Detective Inspector Edward Reid. After the murder of Nichols, Detective Inspectors, Frederick Abberline, Henry Moore and Walter Andrews were sent from Scotland Yard to assist. After the Eddowes murder, which occurred in the City of London, the City Police under Detective Inspector Jams McWilliam were involved. More than 2,000 people were interviewed, upon 300 people were investigated, and 80 were detained. Giving them 31 main suspects. Some of these were silly and ridiculous suspects, for example, Prince Albert Victor, and Victoria's physician, Dr. John Williams. The media saw the Police's investigation was a joke. They even described it as a game of blind man's bluff and going nowhere.

They never found the guilty person and the story has fascinated us ever since. Even now we still have our own theories and ideas on who did it; but will we ever know the answer to the 127 year old question, who did it?

Henry VIII - "...Good Company, Good Wine, Good Welcome, Can Make Good People"

Lego Henry VIII 
(1491-1547)

Henry was born on 28th June 1491 at Greenwich Palace. He was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. 

His elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502, making Henry the heir to the throne of England. Henry VII died in 1509, making the 18 year old Henry king. The Pope dispensation allowed him to marry his brother's widow Catherine of Aragon.

Henry VIII inherited 5 warships and in 1509 he commissioned for 2 ships to be built the Mary Rose and the Peter Pomegranate. In doing this Henry started a maritime force later to be known as the Royal Navy. By the time of his death, Henry had built over 50 warships. He used these war vessels to try to gain his claimed French throne. Most of his campaigns were almost fruitless and expensive. Almost making England officially bankrupt. 

In 1521, Henry was given the title of Defender of the Faith by Pope Leo X for his book, 'Assertio Septem Sacramentorum', which affirmed the supremacy of the Pope and condemned the German theologian, Martin Luther.

Henry was worried as his only surviving child was Mary and Catherine was in her 40s, becoming close to the change. Henry asked Cardinal Wolsey to get the marriage annulled by Pope Clement VII, on grounds that he has unlawfully married his brother's wife and God has condemned it to be a childless marriage. Although the Pope was under control by the most powerful ruler in Europe, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, who was nephew to Catherine. So the Pope refused Henry's request. Wolsey fell out of favour with the King for not gaining a annulment. Losing his positions and wealth. He died in 1530.

Lego Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

In 1533, Henry VIII broke with the Church and married Anne Boleyn. He was excommunicated by the Pope for his blasphemy and heresy.

Thomas Cromwell became the Chief Minister and earned the confidence of the King after he helped to break with Rome and established Henry VIII as the Head of the Church of England. Cromwell was entrusted to investigate all the English monasteries for corruption and wealth. With this he was ordered to disband over 800 monasteries and their lands and wealth went to the Crown.

Although the growing number of courtiers and people of the nation were embracing Protestantism, Henry VIII was believed to still remain Catholic. As throughout his reign he was reluctant in removing a lot of Catholic beliefs and traditions.

Anne Boleyn's execution, 1536 

In September 1533, Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth. After 2 miscarriages, Henry grown tired of her. After a jousting accident in 1536, Henry seemed to become more aggressive. In that same year Anne was arrested on trumped up charges of adultery, incest and treason. She was later publicly beheaded at the Tower.

Henry married Jane Seymour. In 1537 she died in childbirth, giving Henry his desired son, Edward. She was given a queen's funeral.

In attempt to establish a German Protestant alliance, Cromwell arranged a marriage between Henry and the German Princess, Anne of Cleves. The marriage was a disaster and Henry divorced Anne a few months after. Henry blamed Cromwell for the mismatch and soon after he was executed for treason in 1540.

In his final years Henry's reign, witnessed his physical decline and his continuous expensive and fruitless campaign in France.

In 1540, the King married the teenage Catherine Howard. It was alleged that she had a relationship with Henry's courtier, Francis Dereham and a affair with Thomas Culpeper. Catherine was later found out and executed for adultery and treason in 1542.

Henry's final marriage was to Catherine Parr, who acted as his nurse, and who outlived him even when she was close to being executed herself.

On 28th January 1547 Henry VIII died of possibly kidney failure and was succeeded by his son, Edward VI. He was buried next to Jane Seymour, his favourite wife, in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. 

Sir Winston Churchill - "We shall fight in the hills, we shall neversurrender"

Sir Winston Churchill
(1874-1965)
'V' for victory

Sir Winston Churchill was born on 30th November 1874 at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Son to the Lord Randolph Churchill. He attended the Royal Military College, in Sandhurst, before embarking on his military career in the army.

In 1900, Churchill became a Conservative member of parliament for Oldham. However in 1904 he disaffected to the Liberal Party. He became the undersecretary at the Colonial Office when the Liberal Party won the election in 1905. This setting him on the road of his political career.

In 1911, he became the first Lord of the Admiralty. He was able to hold his post in the first few months of World War One, but he resigned after being blamed for the disaster of the Dardanelles Expedition. 

Churchill then served on the Western Front for a while on joining the army. Although, by 1917, he was back in government. From 1919-21 he was the Secretary of State for War and Air, and from 1924-29 he was the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

When the World War Two broke out in 1936, Churchill became the first Lord of the Admiralty again. In May 1940, Neville Chamberlain resigned as Prime Minister and Churchill took his place. He inspired the nation with his refusal to surrender to Germany. Building strong relations with the US President, Roosevelt and maintained a difficult alliance with the USSR, Stalin.

"We shall fight in the hills,
we shall never surrender" 
- Churchill

In 1945, Churchill lost power after the war elections in 1945, but still MP, he voiced his opinions of the Cold War, giving the phase the 'Iron Carton' to the Berlin Wall. In 1951, he once again became Prime Minister. However, in 1955, he resigned, but remaining a MP until his death. 

In 1953, he was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature because of his impressive number of publications, such as, his six-volumes of 'The Second World War'.

He died on 24th January 1965 and was the first former Prime Minister to be given a state funeral.

Julius Caesar - "I Came, I Saw, I Conquered!"

"Veni, Vidi, Vici" - Caesar

Julius Caesar born in Rome 12th or 13th of July 100 BCE into the Julian clan. 

Caesar became a politician and general of the Late Roman Republic, who raised himself in the political system. Greatly expanding the Roman Empire in doing so.

Succeed in became a Quaestor in 69, Aedile in 65 and Praetor in 62. In 61-60 BCE he served as the governor of Spain. On his return to Rome in 60, Caesar, Pompey and Crassus joined together in a political pact, the Triumvirate.

Giving him the opportunity to gain the Consulship in 59 BCE. In the following year he was appointed as the governor of Gaul (France), staying for eight years. He reduced the possibility of a Gallic invasion and revolt. He also attempted two expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BCE.

He returned to Rome without disbanding his army and starting a civil war. After Caesar defeated the republican forces, Pompey, their leader, fled to Egypt where he was assassinated. 

Assassination of Caesar

Caesar then became the master of Rome and made himself consul and dictator. He used his newfound political powers to carry out some radical reforms. Although, a dictatorship is normally a temporary position. In 44 BCE, Caesar took it up for life, in doing so he alienated the Republican Senators. A group of the senate assassinated Caesar on the 15th March 44 BCE in the Theatre of Pompey. 

With his assassination, sparked another civil war that ends the Republic and started the imperial system with Caesar's nephew and adopted son Octavian, as Augustus on becoming the first Emperor of Roman Empire.