On June 4th 1944, Winston Churchill met with the exiled General de Gaulle to appraise him of the plans for the forthcoming Operation 'Overlord' (the D-Day Normandy Landings). Here you'll find the transcript of that conversation as reported to the War Cabinet, along with images of the transcript itself.

This year will bring round many World War Two 70th Anniversaries of key moments in Britain’s survival against the seemingly unstoppable march of Nazi aggression across Europe. The events of May 1940 and the successful evacuation of the BEF from Northern France will stand through time as a moment of national importance; much has been written on these events so we take a look at some of the best books written on subject of Dunkirk. Some of them will be familiar to you, others may not. All are worth taking the time to read.

After 6 years of war, the unconditional surrender of the German Third Reich was signed in the early hours of Monday, May 7th 1945 at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) at Reims in northeastern France. Present were representatives of the four Allied Powers — France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States— along with the three German officers delegated by German President Karl Doenitz — General Alfred Jodl, who alone had been authorised to sign the surrender document; Major Wilhelm Oxenius, an aide to Jodl; and Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, one of the German chief negotiators. Lieutenant General Walter Bedell Smith, SHAEF chief of staff, led the Allied delegation as the representative of General Eisenhower, who had refused to meet with the Germans until the surrender had been accomplished.

January 30, 1945 - nine hours after leaving port, and seventy minutes after being hit, the huge ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff, slipped under the waves and sunk.

A small fleet of ships and boats arrived on the scene, and managed to pluck a few from the icy waters and rescued many of those on the lifeboats. Over a thousand were rescued but… an estimated 9,343 people died, half of them children - six times the 1,517 that died on the Titanic.

It remains the biggest maritime disaster in history.