logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
38m 7s

From Orphan to RAF Hero

History Unplugged
About this episode
Many of the WW2 generation faced hardship in their youth (they did spend their childhood in the Great Depression), but few had as bad of an early life as Denis Elliott, who became an RAF Flight Lieutenant. At age three he was placed in a brutal and... 
Up next
Jun 11
How 10 Whalers Survived Three Years Shipwrecked in the South Pacific
In 1832, a New Bedford whaleship called the Mentor struck a reef in the remote Pacific archipelago of Palau. The tiny, 100-foot-long ship began sinking immediately, and the 22 men who made up its crew were thrown into one of the most extraordinary survival ordeals in American mar ... Show More
54m 19s
Jun 9
The Nobels Built Russia’s Oil Industry, Invented Dynamite and the Oil Tanker, But Were Still Crushed by the Bolshevik Revolution
The Nobel family (which are the namesake of the Nobel prize), had a rags-to-riches story bigger than the Rockefellers or Morgans. The Nobel patriarch Emanuel fled debtor’s prison in 1837. He then travelled east and built a foundation for the largest oil empire in Russian history. ... Show More
44m 38s
Jun 4
The American Revolution Went Way Outside of America, Pulling in Caribbean Colonies, African Forts, and Chinese Trading Houses
The thirteen colonies that became the United States were just half of the British colonies that existed in the 18th century. The empire stretched from New England, south to Georgia and Florida and the islands of the West Indies, east to India, Scotland, and Ireland, and south aga ... Show More
52m 33s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2022
Episode 356-Interview with Philip Martin about his book-From Orphan to High Flyer
Philip Martin comes on the show to talk about the book he wrote with RAF Pilot Denis Elliott. Denis' early life was full of pain, which caused a lack of confidence. But then comes the war and young Denis will find himself and grow in belief in himself as a part of the RAF, fighti ... Show More
1h 4m
Feb 2024
Hobo to Hero: A World War II Bomber Pilot's Saga
<p>Art Palmer is a child of the <a href="https://drought.unl.edu/dustbowl/" rel="nofollow">dust bowl</a> and self-admitted &#34;hobo&#34; who joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and piloted B-24 Liberators during World War II. Art&#39;s plane was shot down on his 50th mission and he s ... Show More
1h 24m
Apr 2024
Wings of Courage: A World War II Pilot Adventure
Take to the skies, as we follow Eddie on his journey of becoming a World War II  fighter pilot. In this historical fiction adventure, Eddie dreams of flying, joins the war effort in Europe, and engages in dogfights with enemy fighters.  📺 YouTube👍 Facebook | Instagram🇲🇽 Span ... Show More
9m 56s
May 2023
Dennis Okwera: ‘Let’s Be Kinder To Each Other, Especially Refugees’
tail spinning
16m 23s
May 2023
World War II victory in North Africa
Peter Royle, 103, endured a month of solid fighting in the hills outside of Tunis in 1943. Eventually the Allies prevailed and took more than 250,000 German and Italian prisoners of war. They declared victory in Tunisia on 13 May. Peter came close to dying many times. He recalls ... Show More
11m 32s
Feb 2024
MIGHTY 8TH - CRISIS (Part 3)
“We love fighting. Fighting is a grand sport.” For so much of the war, the vicious fighter planes that we obsess over to this day were being mis-used. In a new epic seven-part series inspired by the release of ‘Masters Of The Air’ on AppleTV, Al Murray and James Holland tell the ... Show More
1h 1m
Nov 2023
The Flying Artilleryman
Dropping bombs from planes was unheard of until 1st November 1911, when Italian Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti embarked on an aerial mission over Libya. With a handful of lightweight grenades resting in his lap, he headed to Ain Zara, a village near Tripoli, and chucked them overboard ... Show More
11m 25s
Oct 2018
17| Satterly Part 1
During one of the most storied firefights in recent U.S. history, nine special forces soldiers held a house in Somalia, guarding one of the Black Hawk helicopters that had crashed during a routine operation.In the first of a two part series, retired Delta operator and author of “ ... Show More
43 m
May 2023
World War II victory in North Africa
Peter Royle, 103, endured a month of solid fighting in the hills outside of Tunis in 1943. Eventually the Allies prevailed and took more than 250,000 German and Italian prisoners of war. They declared victory in Tunisia on 13 May. Peter came close to dying many times. He recalls ... Show More
11m 32s