D-Day commemoration

[welshbairn]

4 minutes ago, Jacksgranda said:

I was at (secondary) school in the 60s and 70s and I did Modern Studies. Can't remember what we studied, but I go an O Grade in it!

Me too. We had a teacher who worked for the Rhodesian police before he decided to reassess his life choices. My favourites teacher I think.

[Dan Steele]

4 hours ago, Jacksgranda said:

I was at (secondary) school in the 60s and 70s and I did Modern Studies. Can't remember what we studied, but I got an O Grade in it!

I don't think the two parts of that sentence are unrelated!

[Cosmic Joe]

I also studied History and Modern Studies.

History was WW1 and the Russian Revolution.

Modern Studies was the Cold War and political stuff relating to what was going on in Scotland at the time. It was all pretty grim in the late 1970s in Fife, with Thatcherism beginning to impose itself. Methil and the surrounding area was still pretty much a coal mining community and didn't really know what was going to hit it in the next few years.

[scottsdad]

I did Higher Modern Studies in the mid-90s. It was all about South Africa.

[Sergeant Wilson]

15 hours ago, Jacksgranda said:

I was at (secondary) school in the 60s and 70s and I did Modern Studies. Can't remember what we studied, but I got an O Grade in it!

So did I. There was no Higher Modern Studies at the time, so I tried it later on day release from work. Unfortunately the course was in the afternoon and I was in the pub by then.

I remember stuff about the Cold War from O grade and maybe a bit about Israel stuffing the Muzzies.

[MEADOWXI]

12 hours ago, Cosmic Joe said:

I also studied History and Modern Studies.

History was WW1 and the Russian Revolution.

Modern Studies was the Cold War and political stuff relating to what was going on in Scotland at the time. It was all pretty grim in the late 1970s in Fife, with Thatcherism beginning to impose itself. Methil and the surrounding area was still pretty much a coal mining community and didn't really know what was going to hit it in the next few years.

Highers in History & Modern Studies I got in the 1980s.

History was UK - Industrial Revolution to WW1, and European was French Revolution to WW1

Mod Studies was Cold War onwards through Korea, Vietnam, Sth Africa etc.

There was definitely a gap for the lead up to WW2 and WW2 in both, mostly covered by old Commando novels and unbiased war movies.

Edited June 10 by MEADOWXI

[HibeeJibee]

On 06/06/2024 at 09:26, Fullerene said:

I read somewhere that during the war, it was a National Unity Government, where Churchill played the Admiral who conducted the war while it was more the Labour Party that played Captain, steadying the ship, ensuring everyone was clothed and fed.  After the War, the Labour Party was elected to continue doing what it was already doing while Churchill's role as Admiral was no longer required.

There was a coalition government from May 1940 to May 1945 - with Churchill as PM and Attlee as deputy... the war cabinet had 3 Conservatives / 2 Labour, later expanded to 4 / 3.

Chief legal and economic posts were shared out plus Labour ministers also led several departments like the Admiralty (Royal Navy), Home Office, Ministry of Labour and Scottish Office while the Liberals headed the Air Ministry (RAF) and Health; later in the war Labour also took-on Aircraft Production and the Liberals added Fuel & Power.

Come the July 1945 election all parties were offering what by pre-war standards were fairly radical social policies... also, don't forget the author of the Beveridge Report was a Liberal, and the great Education Act of 1944 was the product of a Conservative minister... but Labour were pledging to go furthest on the welfare state, post-war rebuilding and nationalisation plus were most trusted by the electorate to deliver on it wholeheartedly.

Hence a landslide Labour victory: and a landslide defeat for Churchill despite his approval ratings standing at an all-time record 83% in May 1945.

EDIT: that said we should recall Churchill was back only 6yrs later... Attlee's premiership had almost exactly a same duration as David Cameron (but achieved rather more!)... from when he and Conservative successors Eden, Macmillan and Douglas-Home lasted 13yrs.

Edited June 11 by HibeeJibee

[Miguel Sanchez]

I did geography. I vaguely remember doing Ancient Egypt in first year history. I think that's it.

[Fullerene]

18 minutes ago, HibeeJibee said:

There was a coalition government from May 1940 to May 1945 - with Churchill as PM and Attlee as deputy... the war cabinet had 3 Conservatives / 2 Labour, later expanded to 4 / 3.

Chief legal and economic posts were shared out plus Labour ministers also led several departments like the Admiralty (Royal Navy), Home Office, Ministry of Labour and Scottish Office while the Liberals headed the Air Ministry (RAF) and Health; later in the war Labour also took-on Aircraft Production and the Liberals added Fuel & Power.

Come the July 1945 election all parties were offering what by pre-war standards were fairly radical social policies... also, don't forget the author of the Beveridge Report was a Liberal, and the great Education Act of 1944 was the product of a Conservative minister... but Labour were pledging to go furthest on the welfare state, post-war rebuilding and nationalisation plus were most trusted by the electorate to deliver on it wholeheartedly.

Hence a landslide Labour victory: and a landslide defeat for Churchill despite his approval ratings standing at an all-time record 83% in May 1945.

EDIT: that said we should recall Churchill was back only 6yrs later... Attlee's premiership had almost exactly a same duration as David Cameron (but achieved rather more!)... from when he and Conservative successors Eden, Macmillan and Douglas-Home lasted 13yrs.

Labour won the popular vote in 1951 but FPTP put Churchill back in charge.