JFK+50: Volume 7, No. 2337
U.S. SOLDIERS GET HISTORY LESSON AT LONDON TOWER
London (JFK+50) One hundred years ago today, June 11, 1917, soldiers of General John J. Pershing's American army toured London Tower* learning about the "revered traditions and historical events" that took place there.
The Americans, who were quartered in the old barracks at the Tower, were guided by the warden who "lined them up before the block" and said...
"This is where Anne Boleyn** was executed."
Floyd Gibbons, writing in the Chicago Daily Tribune, reported that the British press was in the process of "reviving the effort to popularize the name of 'Sammy' (Uncle Sam) for American soldiers to correspond with 'Tommy' for the British."
*London Tower is located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. The White Tower was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 & served as a prison in the 16th & 17th centuries.
**Anne Boleyn (1501-1536) was the 2nd wife of King Henry VIII & served as Queen from 1533 to 1536. Despite her protests of innocence, she was found guilty of adultery, incest & high treason. AB was executed by sword at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536. Her remains are interred in the Chapel of Saint Peter ad Vincula at the TOL.
SOURCES
"Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's Most Scheming Wife?," Historical Royal Palaces, Hampton Court Palace, www.hrp.org.uk/
"Our Army Boys in Lon'on Get History Lesson", by Floyd Gibbons, The Chicago Daily Tribune, June 12, 1917.
Tower of London
Photo by Hilarmont (2014)
www.commons.wikimedia.org/
U.S. SOLDIERS GET HISTORY LESSON AT LONDON TOWER
London (JFK+50) One hundred years ago today, June 11, 1917, soldiers of General John J. Pershing's American army toured London Tower* learning about the "revered traditions and historical events" that took place there.
The Americans, who were quartered in the old barracks at the Tower, were guided by the warden who "lined them up before the block" and said...
"This is where Anne Boleyn** was executed."
Floyd Gibbons, writing in the Chicago Daily Tribune, reported that the British press was in the process of "reviving the effort to popularize the name of 'Sammy' (Uncle Sam) for American soldiers to correspond with 'Tommy' for the British."
*London Tower is located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. The White Tower was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 & served as a prison in the 16th & 17th centuries.
**Anne Boleyn (1501-1536) was the 2nd wife of King Henry VIII & served as Queen from 1533 to 1536. Despite her protests of innocence, she was found guilty of adultery, incest & high treason. AB was executed by sword at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536. Her remains are interred in the Chapel of Saint Peter ad Vincula at the TOL.
SOURCES
"Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's Most Scheming Wife?," Historical Royal Palaces, Hampton Court Palace, www.hrp.org.uk/
"Our Army Boys in Lon'on Get History Lesson", by Floyd Gibbons, The Chicago Daily Tribune, June 12, 1917.
Tower of London
Photo by Hilarmont (2014)
www.commons.wikimedia.org/
