Lindybeige
Published 28 May 2025Operation Catapult took place on July 3rd 1940 at Mers El Kebir on the Algerian coast. It remains a point of controversy in the relations between the British and the French. Who was to blame for the sinking of the French ships and deaths of French sailors? You be the judge.
Erratum: Acting Rear Admiral Onslow, captain of the aircraft carrier Hermes, was not “Rodney” Onslow as I named him, but Richard Francis John Onslow, M.V.O., D.S.C. (29 March, 1896 – 9 April, 1942).
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November 27, 2025
Operation Catapult: The Royal Navy’s day of infamy?
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July 11, 2024
“If -“, by Rudyard Kipling
Lindybeige
Published Jul 10, 2024A poem with an excellent popularity-to-title-length ratio.
The timeless classic. A father talks to his son about how to be a good man. If any son ever lived up to all the virtues described, he would certainly be impressive.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more — you’ll be a Man, my son!
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November 18, 2023
World War Two’s most common tank
Lindybeige
Published 2 Aug 2023What click-bait title should I have used for this? “The tank that gave the Germans nightmares”? “The Commonest Communist tank?” “The tank of the teeming red hordes”? As I describe here, they made ever-so many of this type of tank, and that fact alone makes it an important tank.
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May 1, 2023
Doctor Sketchy and the Strange Case of the Syndrome of Doom
Lindybeige
Published 24 Jan 2023I teamed up with the highly-skilled Alasdair Beckett-King and together we threw together this sketch. Can you tell that he went to film school?
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January 28, 2023
What made the Queen so good at her job?
Lindybeige
Published 24 Sept 2022Queen Elizabeth II of England (I of Scotland) was very good at her job, but why was this? What are the ideal qualities of a modern constitutional monarch? I stand in a dark shirt and talk.
End photograph by Jazzy Lemon.
It has been pointed out to me that the officers who attempted a coup in Spain in 1981 were ‘Civil Guard’ and not ‘army’ as I said. This is a distinction which exists in Spain but not in Britain.
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December 29, 2021
A history of and my first go at MEDIEVAL TENNIS
Lindybeige
Published 28 Sep 2021Thanks to Audible for sponsoring this video. New Audible members get a 30-day free trial. Visit http://audible.com/lindybeige or text “lindybeige” to 500 500 to try Audible today.
Tennis is a very old sport, going back at least to the 1200s. Here I try my hand at it for the very first (but not last) time, and talk about the history of it a bit.
Many thanks to Jesmond Dene Real Tennis Club (https://www.jdrtc.co.uk) where this was shot.
Editing this took a LONG time. We had three cameras recording at the same time, and synching the footage up took an age. The sound consisted mainly of echoing footsteps and ball bounces, and the fact that the main microphone kept glitching did not help (you will notice some of the patches to the sound using other mics, but most I made fairly smooth).
Court map by Atethnekos at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…
Anne Boleyn picture by English school – https://thetudortravelguide.com/2019/…, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…
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December 2, 2021
TIKAL – greatest city of the Maya
Lindybeige
Published 1 Dec 2021Signup for your FREE trial to Wondrium here: http://ow.ly/TzQv30rNQ5z
Here I take you with me on my first day at Tikal, in the jungles of Guatemala. Archaeology, wildlife, strange sounds, and a sunset. The overgrown remains of a stone-age civilisation.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige
Kapok image: David Mead, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
▼ Follow me…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lindybeige I may have some drivel to contribute to the Twittersphere, plus you get notice of uploads.
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June 28, 2021
Pounds, shillings, and pence: a history of English coinage
Lindybeige
Published 18 Dec 2020I talk for a bit the history of English coinage, and the problems of maintaining a good currency. Once or twice I might stray off topic, but I end with an explanation of why the system worked so well.
Picture credits:
40 librae weight
Martinvl, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…, via Wikimedia CommonsSceat K series, and others
By Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…William I penny, and Charles II crown
The Portable Antiquities Scheme/ The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…, via Wikimedia CommonsBust of Charlemagne
By Beckstet – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…Edward VI crown
By CNG – http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?Coi…, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…Charles II guinea
Gregory Edmund, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…, via Wikimedia CommonsSupport me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige
Buy the music – the music played at the end of my videos is now available here: https://lindybeige.bandcamp.com/track…
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May 16, 2021
Bayonets
Lindybeige
Published 26 Feb 2011A weapon can be very effective even if it never actually kills anyone.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige
Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
▼ Follow me…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lindybeige I may have some drivel to contribute to the Twittersphere, plus you get notice of uploads.
website: www.LloydianAspects.co.uk
March 29, 2021
The Bayeux Tapestry – all of it, from start to finish
Lindybeige
Published 18 Oct 2017A complete guide to the story as depicted on the famous Bayeux Tapestry. There is a lot more to it than just the Battle of Hastings.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige
Other than The Adventures of Stoke Mandeville, this is the longest editing job I have ever done. It took eleven very long days of work to put this together from the opportunist footage I snatched when changing trains near the museum where it is on display. The shoot was not without its problems, one of which was the fact that because the tapestry is behind glass, and the museum has many illuminated displays, the reflections in the glass were a bane, and I didn’t manage to get rid of them all. Another was that my stills camera refused to work after taking a small number of pictures. It had always worked fine before, and has always worked fine since. It wasn’t the battery and it wasn’t the SD card. It was a mystery.
For the curious, the edit involved seventeen tracks on the timeline, and has twenty-two animated scenes. Unfortunately, the main animation software I was using could not handle full HD images, and so there is a slight loss of picture quality during most of the animated scenes. You will notice that the close-ups have a better picture quality than the wide shots. This is because they were taken with the camera pushed up against the glass, which improved focussing, and got rid of almost all of the haze and reflections caused by the glass.
It is important to understand that this ‘tapestry’ is a piece of propaganda, and does not tell an accurate version of events. The story I tell here is the one depicted, not what actually happened.
I have enough material for more videos on the tapestry, but am in no great hurry to spend many more days editing this difficult footage. Trying to match the writing and speaking of narration to panning camerawork that had no notion when shot of what might need to be said about some passing scene, was a nightmare, and many editing compromises had to be made, with some scenes skipped past quickly, and others drawn out.
Clarification on the nudity: I said that the figure under the mysterious Cleric and woman was the the only figure displaying genitals on the tapestry. This was misleading. Several animals clearly are pictured with genitals, and on the tapestry in Bayeux today it looks as though a couple of other human figures have genitals. Some of these may have been added later, and these are not being ‘displayed’ as the displaying figure is clearly doing, but look more incidental.
I describe the tall figure emerging from the building with a lance and pennant, being brought his horse, as “William”. It occurred to me after making the video that all the sources I consulted describe this figure as William, but the text does not name him as William, so possibly he is just a Norman knight, representing any and all of the knights setting out for the battle, and that this figure is meant to be “William” could be a modern tradition that has become accepted fact just by repetition.
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Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
▼ Follow me…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lindybeige I may have some drivel to contribute to the Twittersphere, plus you get notice of uploads.
website: www.LloydianAspects.co.uk
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October 19, 2020
A bowyer talks about authentic longbows
Lindybeige
Published 10 Sep 2016Shot in Visby. I talk to Swedish bowyer Henrik Thurfjell about bows, asking stupid questions so that he sounds comparatively clever.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LindybeigeHe talks about wood, of hunting, of string, and of bear fat. Many people in the comments have suggested exotic meanings for the mark on the side of the yew bow. The comparatively mundane truth is that the symbol is a combination of the Norse runes for H and T – the bowyer’s initials.
Thanks to Johan Käll for showing me round the re-enactors’ camp.
Picture credits:
By the Mary Rose Trust, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…
By Mary Rose Trust – Mary Rose Trust, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…
By Mary Rose Trust – Mary Rose Trust – official webpage, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…
By Own scan. Photo by Gerry Bye. Original by Anthony Anthony. – Anthony Roll as reproduced in The Anthony Roll of Henry VIII’s Navy: Pepys Library 2991 and British Library Additional MS 22047 With Related Documents ISBN 0-7546-0094-7, p. 42., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…
By the Mary Rose Trust, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…
By the Mary Rose Trust, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index…Buy the music – the music played at the end of my videos is now available here: https://lindybeige.bandcamp.com/track…
Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
▼ Follow me…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lindybeige I may have some drivel to contribute to the Twittersphere, plus you get notice of uploads.
website: www.LloydianAspects.co.uk
October 9, 2020
Olympic-style fencing: a YouTuber versus a professional – you won’t be shocked by what happened next
Lindybeige
Published 2 Jul 2020You see me here take on the top fencer in Guatemala in his gym. We are using epees, and one of us is using skill while the other shows what can be achieved with controlled panic.
Some may note it odd that at no point do I used my far-famed long and supple legs for a lunge. As I explain near the end, I had food poisoning, and had spent a large part of that day on the loo. A lunge executed with gusto would have been unwise.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige
Many thanks to Inguat (the Guatemalan tourist board) for inviting me over.
Some links to Guatemalan websites:
https://visitguatemala.com
https://www.nomadawaycorp.com/adventure
http://mayatrek.visitguatemala.com/ab…Cameraman: Jeremy Lawrence (https://www.futtfuttfutt.com)
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September 19, 2020
B.C./A.D. or C.E./B.C.E.? A perfect solution!
Lindybeige
Published 24 Oct 2014I recall the first time I encountered the modern awfulness that is the terminology ‘C.E.’ and ‘B.C.E.’ — it was in a museum in Europe. Here I present my solution to the non-problem.
I spent a day making this video, and then didn’t like the result. For one thing, it was too long and rambling at four and a half minutes, so the next day I remade it, and I’ve now managed to cut it down to eight and half minutes.
Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
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website: www.LloydianAspects.co.uk
B.C./A.D. or C.E./B.C.E.? A perfect solution!
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September 3, 2020
Forging a sword: part five – completion
Lindybeige
Published 5 Dec 2019I make the pommel and the grip, assemble the hilt, and polish it to a shine. Behold: ARNANDER!
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige
Many thanks to The Cut And Thrust Collective for inviting me to Glastonbury to have a go at forging a sword.
My tutor: Thom Leworthy.
Music used in this video: “Siegfried’s Funeral March” by Wagner.
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August 31, 2020
Forging a sword – part four: linishing and quillons
Lindybeige
Published 6 Apr 2019Forging Arnander, my English bastard sword. I now start linishing (grinding/polishing), and make the quillons (crossguard) in a slightly fancy manner.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige
Had I been a better smith, I could have judged the amount that the quillons would extend by when being hammered out, and there wouldn’t have been the need to grind away so much metal. Without motorised tools, the medieval smiths would want to minimise grinding.
My tutor: Thom Leworthy.
Music used in this video: “Siegfried’s Funeral March” by Wagner.
Buy the music – the music played at the end of my videos is now available here: https://lindybeige.bandcamp.com/track…
More weapons and armour videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
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website: http://www.LloydianAspects.co.uk
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