A different view on current affairs & history
Some of these photographs are profound but most are mundane. Whatever they are, they afford us an opportunity to take a peek into the past. Each in their own way, offers but the merely glimpse into that past.
Main picture: 1924 – Friends in Ohio enjoy a ride in their new car
World War Two black and white photos that are researched and colorized in detail by Doug and other artists from the ‘Colourisehistory Group.’ This is an example of their work.
Main picture:
A Finnish Brewster Buffalo 239 fighter (BW-352) of (Squadron) Lentolaivue/24 at Selänpää airfield. 24th June 1941. (Source – SA-Kuva. Colorized by Tommi Rossi from Finland)
With the 102nd Tour de France currently underway, this epic three-week-long event is emblematic of man’s tenacity and perseverance. The unremitting odyssey encompasses tortuous mountain climbs, harrowing hairpin bends and breakneck speeds through hamlets and villages along the 3360km route from Utrecht in Holland to Paris in France.
The agonies and the ecstasies will be closely followed by hundreds of millions every day. What attracts these viewers is not merely the regurgitation of facts about each participant but more importantly the verdant fields, the Alpine vistas and the quaint forgotten hamlets through which the race traverses.
Main picture: The finish of the first Tour. At the right: the first winner, Maurice Garin. At the left: probably Leon Georget (not sure). Tour de France 1903.
Hitler’s decision to fight until the last man and boy had been killed resulted in Hitler retreating from the Wolf’s Lair in Eastern Prussia and ensconcing himself in the so-called underground Fuhrerbunker near the Reich’s Chancellery in Berlin. Large swaths of Berlin had already been laid to ruin due to the continual bombing sorties by the British and American Air Forces. Now it was the turn of the Russian Army to complete its destruction.
Main picture: These photographs, taken by the Boston Globe, show the same location in 1945 and in 2015.
Cloistered within the fetid and otherworldly atmosphere were Adolf Hitler and his mistress Eva Braun together with the Goebbel’s family – Joseph, Magda and their six children. In spite of the German Wehrmacht being woefully inadequate to prevent the demise of Deutschland, Hitler and his closest aids still lived in a dream world. Accompanied by Albert Speer, Hitler even took a tour of the Reich’s Chancellery in order to view a model of the future Berlin; such was Hitler’s unwavering belief in Germany’s invincibility in spite of the deteriorating military situation.
Main picture: The Beatles and Ali – 1964
Main picture: Bill Gates’ mug shot for driving without a license 1977
View this array of photos and let me know whether you concur
Main picture: Madison Square Park New York City around 1900
Much like the current policies, with limited promotion possibilities for English speakers within the Civil Service, they fled the government service in droves. From the majority of Civil Service being English Speaking in 1948, by 1960 it was overwhelmingly Afrikaans speaking.
Main picture: Cape Town Station
Main picture: Shooting practice for German soldiers in 1935
Cabin service on board an intercontinental Boeing 707 during a flight with the West German airline Lufthansa, April 1967
This series of photographs will reveal the elegance of flying during the 1950s and 1960s. Women would be dressed up to the nines and for the men suits and ties were de rigeur. In effect the whole plane was in current terms First and Business Class. The prices reflected that fact too. The plebeians were not allowed to lower the tone. There was no need to discriminate against them overtly. The price ensured that they could not enter these hallowed cabins.
Main picture: Passengers enjoy a drink and a game of cards in the cabin of an Imperial Airways plane in 1936