The award-winning podcast preserving the stories of the Cold War before they are lost…subscribe for free. Produced by Ian Sanders FRHistS
In 1987 Martin received a letter informing him of his conscription into the Dutch Army. A number of European NATO countries had conscription during the Cold War. Holland’s applied to men over the age of 18 and included service for about a year, after which you were placed on the reserve. Martin objected to … Read more
Tim Lyon was an officer assigned to the 400th Strategic Missile Squadron located in Cheyenne Wyoming. The Squadron was maintaining 50 Peacekeeper ICBM missiles based in underground silos in farmers’ fields in remote areas of Wyoming. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! Tim was one of two launch officers who … Read more
Part 2, or a two part recording. Part 1 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode268 Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! In October of 2022, I was asked by the West Pennines Military Vehicle Trust to moderate a Q&A session with a number of BRIXMIS veterans. Attending were Drivers Neil Walton, Pete Curran, Dave … Read more
In October of 2022, I was asked by the West Pennines Military Vehicle Trust to moderate a Q&A session with a number of BRIXMIS veterans. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! Part 2 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode270 Attending were Drivers Neil Walton, Pete Curran, Dave Collins, and Kev Smith, plus Sandy Saxton-Warne … Read more
In 1986 Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev said “Never perhaps, in the post-war decades has the situation in the world been explosive and hence more difficult and unfavourable as in the first half of the 1980s.” Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts He was referring to a period of immense tension between the … Read more
Sean Kelly is the author of Home Bases: Memories & Stories of US Military Bases Around London which for the first time, puts the spotlight on the history of many of the US Military’s lesser-known command and support bases that were located either in or close to London. The bases (often known as ‘Little … Read more
We’re back with Alan Hodges, a Royal Tank Regiment Chieftain tank commander, and Mick Hadfield who was his 17-year-old gunner. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts In this episode we talk in detail about their deployment within a kilometer of the East German border and their tasks should H Hour have … Read more
Alan Hodges was a Royal Tank Regiment Chieftain tank commander and troop SGT in West Germany. Mick Hadfield was his 17-year-old gunner. The affection between the two is still apparent even today and Mick still calls Al his army Dad. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts Mick met Al in 1987 … Read more
Dave Phillips is a Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London. The Yeoman Warders have been guarding the Tower since Tudor times. Dave joined the British Army aged 16 into the Royal Irish Rangers. We hear of his early years in the Army in Northern Ireland and his posting to West Berlin. In West Berlin … Read more
From the moment East Germany was formed in 1949, many of its citizens chose to leave to start a new life in the West. By the mid-1950s, the trickle had turned into a flood as large numbers rejected Walter Ulbricht’s Communist paradise. His ‘Workers’ & Peasants’ State’ could not afford to lose the skills and … Read more