‘Strange Tales of History: What Mainstream Historians WON’T Tell You’ is the clickbait title. This talk is a relaxing narrative, telling the story of a remarkable man who managed to serve in three different armies during WW2. I then transition into the take of my own research into this story and what I found out. The purpose of all this is to consider how stories can be used to help us learn subjects many of us would otherwise not be interested in, why some of these stories are more attractive to us than others, and how the telling of historical tales is often more of a reflection of our modern anxieties than it is a desire to recall the past. I plan to finish with 10-15mins to spare and open the floor for comments and discussion.
