davidgillon: A pair of crutches, hanging from coat hooks, reflected in a mirror (Default)

(I've seen this before, but I'm not sure I linked to it, and if I did, it may have been a copy without the second article).

Fascinating article on the Wrens of the Western Approaches Tactical Unit, who gamed U-boat and escort tactics during the Battle of the Atlantic, sometimes in real-time, in order to try and improve the defence of convoys. Including one 18yo Wren rating who repeatedly humiliated WWI submarine ace Admiral Sir Max Horton when he was playing the u-boat commander.

The other article in the file on the wartime life of Anne Grace, and her biography in 'The Girl From Station X' is also worth reading - a socialite who ended up in the WAAF and was eventually posted to Bletchley Park. The emphasis sounds slightly different from a lot of the Bletchley Park stuff as she was on what we'd nowadays call the exploitation side of the process, dealing with decoded Enigma information rather than cracking it. And if her diaries are as detailed as this makes out, she was doing a damned sight more than bending the Official Secrets Act!

And for something completely different, a Brexit game. There's also a podcast I've not yet listened to on the general subject of Brexit games.

davidgillon: A pair of crutches, hanging from coat hooks, reflected in a mirror (Default)
This is kind of delightful, choosing to let her tell it in her own words was an inspired choice.
davidgillon: A pair of crutches, hanging from coat hooks, reflected in a mirror (Default)
 Good analysis by David Perry (@Lollardfish), who is absolutely worth following for his writing on disability and wider equality issues, but who is also a medievalist in his day job, and a fan:

Viking Women Warriors and Diversity in Literature

Summary: probably not warriors per se, but still stands perceived wisdom on its head as it suggests the Viking first wave came as colonisers, not raiders, but then spins it into a discussion of how we approach diversity in fantasy, and how much or how little history limits us.

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davidgillon: A pair of crutches, hanging from coat hooks, reflected in a mirror (Default)
David Gillon

March 2025

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