Mick Essex

Tweeting every day the losses of Dominion UK and Empire forces commemorated on @CWGC at sea, land, air and civilians on the 80th anniversary of their death. Tracking each day of the war. Numbers in brackets are those who died. Apologies for acronyms. Happy to answer questions.

Delighted to announce I have reached an agreement with the National Army Museum which will mean that my collection of Victoria Crosses and George Crosses - the largest in the world - will go on display there @NAM_London @VC_and_GC_Assoc lordashcroft.com/2026/03/lord-a…

🚨 NEW: The Petrol Retailers Association has cancelled a meeting with Rachel Reeves over "inflammatory language" by the Government which was leading to "incidents of retail staff being abused"

Fantastic news that the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded a grant to the Royal Artillery Museum for its 'Guns On The Plain' project, which aims to bring together military, veterans and civilians at a dynamic, accessible and sustainable museum at Larkhill, in Wiltshire, home of the Royal Artillery. We have more than 300 years of battle-hardened history - and so much of what has gone before, has shaped us into the modern fighting force we are today. We are proud of that legacy.

In Hampshire, England, 41-year-old Richard Whatley is convicted of sodomizing a coachman and sentenced to death by hanging. Whatley confesses to attempting sodomy, but not to achieving it.

This is marvellous

Beat this

@allan_mallinson The 70th division wasn’t this? Odd hotchpotch of units not well used in the desert.

"Why Slim decided to put a wholly untried unit into the jungle is not recorded, but Midlands regiments had a reputation for steadiness that went back to the First World War, when Slim himself had served with one." thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/…

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@almurray @Misanfrog Shortage of fuel played a part and an insufficient number of training aircraft. As older allied models were retired from active duty they were available for operational training units. There is good stuff in NAM Roger’s the Price of Victory about US training for the FAA.

@Misanfrog There's more to it than that though. Allied airmen were able to train in clear rather than contested skies so had many more hours in their log books before having to go into combat.

Fight smarter not harder.

@DouthatNYT Lost two sons in the Second World War as well.

Kids watched "Dunkirk" recently and now watching "Titanic," somehow these two being based on the same guy always get me, respect to Charles Lightoller:

The legendary Sgt Paul “Scruff” McGough hip-firing a GPMG as the SBS prevent the al-Qaeda fighters who killed CIA officer Mike Spann from taking over the US-held fort on November 25, 2001

@pegge49 They do have Godzilla to worry about.

Just as the RN is a shadow of the JSDMF, this is what an Island nation that takes policing its territorial waters seriously looks like... By comparison the UK has: 3x RN River B1 OPVs 3x SFPA OPVs 11x Border Force Patrol Craft 2x Welsh Marine and Fisheries Division Patrol Craft

Well done RN EOD teams from Devonport that safely disposed of German WWII bombs found at construction site in Milbay Docks (Plymouth) and dredged up in Exmouth Marina this week.

Yes, and I still don't understand (or maybe I do) the grudging embarrassment, of the main media, the shifty, pursed lip minimisation; the milquetoast euphemisms - when even without internet; with no press on ground and with outcome uncertain it is blindingly obvious this is one of the great historical moments of this century; grounded as it is in an idea we are supposed to cherish and unapologetically shout from the rooftops - FREEDOM - mass bravery in facing down murderous theocratic tyranny.

In the current context, we are seeing an actual “short circuit” of #HumanRights. The right to freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, religious freedom, and even the right to life are being restricted in the name of other so-called new rights, with the result that the very framework of human rights is losing its vitality and creating space for force and oppression. This occurs when each right becomes self-referential, and especially when it becomes disconnected from reality, nature, and truth.

#OnThisDay 220 yrs ago in 1806 the body of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson was buried in @StPaulsLondon after a lavish funeral. Thousands lined the streets to pay their respects on the day and also on the days preceding when his body was laid in state in Greenwich.

@MorrisBrightMBE The old feller based a bit on one of Will Hay’s sidekicks

Had a bit of a shock. Only just discovered, after 55 years of believing otherwise, that in Trumpton, Barney McGrew is in fact ONE fireman not two ... Barney and McGrew. I've had to sit down.

#OnThisDay 1801 the current version of the White Ensign & other ensigns was established following the Irish Union with Great Britain adding the Red St Patrick's saltire to the Union Flag which was first created by Scottish King James I (of Great Britain) in 1606.

In the same vein, I’m going to be “pausing” Dry January quite a bit next month. Mostly after 5pm.