June, 2009

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iome adds free London video tours from Dan Snow to BT MyPlace

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

From here:

– BBC personality, Dan Snow, presents video Mobi-Guides to help residents & tourists make the most of their City stay-cations –

London, UK: iome, a provider of location-based digital lifestyle services, has today published a series of free video Mobi-Guides for London, developed and presented by BBC personality Dan Snow. The Mobi-Guides are available on BT MyPlace, a service that presents people with information based on their preferences and location, within central London and the West End. This service, which is powered by iome, enables consumers to download the most relevant Mobi-Guide based on their location, at any time, via an Internet-enabled mobile device or PC.
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Death or Victory: Wolfe, Quebec and the Birth of Empire

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Available on 17th September 2009:

An epic history of the battle of Quebec, the death of Wolfe and the beginnings of Britain’s empire in North America. Military history at its best. Perched on top of a tall promontory, surrounded on three sides by the treacherous St Lawrence River, Quebec — in 1759 France’s capital city in Canada — forms an almost impregnable natural fortress. That year, with the Seven Years War raging around the globe, a force of 49 ships and nearly 9,000 men commanded by the irascible General James Wolfe, navigated the river, scaled the cliffs and laid siege to the town in an audacious attempt to expel the French from North America for ever. In this magisterial book which ties in to the 250th anniversary of the battle, Dan Snow tells the story of this famous campaign which was to have far-reaching consequences for Britain’s rise to global hegemony, and the world at large. Snow brilliantly sets the battle within its global context and tells a gripping tale of brutal war quite unlike those fought in Europe, where terrain, weather and native Indian tribes were as fearsome as any enemy. ‘I never served so disagreeable campaign as this,’ grumbled one British commander, ‘it is war of the worst shape.’ 1759 was, without question, a year in which the decisions of men changed the world for ever. Based on original research, and told from all perspectives, this is history — military, political, human — on an epic scale.

Slideshow: Medieval punishment dished out by The One Show’s Dan Snow

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

From the Saffron Walden Reporter:

THE One Show’s history correspondent Dan Snow arrived at Mountfitchet Castle today (Wednesday) to dish out a lesson on medieval punishment.

The history buff came to the famous Stansted exhibition to film a piece on crime and punishment for the popular BBC One show presented by Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley.

“We’ve been filming at some fantastic sites across the country from the Tower of London to Edinburgh Castle,” said Dan. “It’s great to be able to film at Mountfitchet Castle which is a wonderful example of a fortified medieval site.”

The film crew used many of the castle’s exhibits including a cat o’ nine tails traditionally used for flogging, a branding iron and stocks.

dan snow

“It’s fascinating how methods of punishment have changed throughout history,” said Dan.

The features on crime and punishment will not be shown on The One Show until January.

Peter and Dan Snow – Imperial War Museum

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Today Show on BBC Radio 4

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Dan was on the Today Show this morning, click here to listen.

More than 9,000 men were laid to rest in the cemetery, close to Colleville-Sur-Mer – codenamed Omaha beach – after the D-Day landings. Historian Dan Snow remembers the thousands of UK and Canadian troops who came ashore on 6 June 1944 and during the following days.

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D-Day 65: The Veterans Return

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

D-Day 65: The Veterans Return will be on BBC1 at 4.20pm, Saturday 6th June.

Fiona Bruce, James Naughtie and Dan Snow report live from Normandy on the events that mark the 65th anniversary of D-Day.

Here, the British veterans honour the men they fought alongside at a special Service of Remembrance held in the beautiful town square of Arromanches, overlooking the beaches where they battled to liberate Europe.

And, at the American cemetery at Omaha Beach, President Obama remembers the men who died in one of the most dramatic operations in military history.

From here.

Dan Snow’s guide to digging up your family’s military past

Monday, June 1st, 2009

From here:

Not everyone can boast that they are related to a former Prime Minister, or to one of Shakespeare’s alleged lovers. But Dan Snow can do both.

The young TV historian already has an accomplished close family – his father is broadcaster and co-presenter Peter, whose cousin Jon is the Channel 4 News anchor – but it seems his ancestors were even more distinguished.

“David Lloyd George is my great great grandfather and we’re all very proud of him,” says Dan.

“He was Britain’s first working class Prime Minister and is definitely up against Churchill for the greatest one.

“He had a pretty impressive record really, coming in back in 1916 when we had the worst years in British history. We were in danger of losing the Battle of the Atlantic, we’d had a hideous loss of life on the Western Front and David Lloyd George came in and provided charismatic leadership that helped Britain win the war.”

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My Mentor: Dan Snow on Peter Snow

Monday, June 1st, 2009

From here:

‘I don’t think there are many people who can explain a complicated idea better than dad’

Interview by Sophie Morris

Monday, 18 February 2008
Dan Snow
People say to me: “Oh, it’s really unfair. Your dad got you into television.” Yes, he did. But not by ringing up (former BBC2 controller) Jane Root and saying he wanted to do a programme with his son; he would have been laughed at.

From the time I was three years old until I was an adult he was presenting Newsnight all week and coming home at 1am, broken. Yet on Saturdays he was out of bed at 7am, driving me to Hastings, telling me about the battle on the way. He must have wanted to watch football or rugby or lie on the sofa, but instead he gave me a love of history and taught me about characters and how to look out for them, and how to tell stories. That’s where the real mentoring came in

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