Tim Holt

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

Think @ospreys have missed a trick for a curtain raiser at St Helens, a Tips v Lyds invitational with the @dragonsrfc would have been awesome, I know I would have gone.

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

@normAL219 I understand they are developing a system to use the excess heat to heat the hot air that the politicians need to function effectively! This will drain off enough latent heat to cool the entire planet by several degrees.

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

@PolitlcsUK My concern for this policy is that it starts at 0.48% but where does it end if this doesn't cover what it needs to or leads to a shortfall compared to Council Tax

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

@PolitlcsUK While this is something worth exploring, Burnham needs an election to get a mandate for everything that he wants to legislate on. Fed up now of this administration using the summer recess to announce extensive new policy direction without recourse to questions in the house.

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

@Iain2eyes1 @afneil Keep an eye on pay per mile - coming to an EV (or plug-in hybrid) near you in 2028 I believe.

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

@AndreaEganGS Failure to fund defence properly means UK being unable to maintain a standing RN presence in the Gulf for the 1st time in decades, this emboldened Iran & reduced any potential to influence regional events to try and prevent what transpired there, costing us all a fortune.

[Voices of WW2 @VoicesofWW2]

On June 9, 1944, the French Resistance captured a senior SS officer named Helmut Kämpfe near Limoges. The next morning, his unit, the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, was looking for a response. They had already hanged 99 men from the balconies of Tulle the day before, chosen at random from townspeople, leaving them to strangle slowly in front of their families because they couldn't find enough rope for a proper drop.

Now they needed something more.

On June 10, Sturmbannführer Adolf Diekmann led his men to Oradour-sur-Glane. Some historians believe he confused it with Oradour-sur-Vayres, a different village where the Resistance was actually active. Others believe he knew exactly where he was. Either way, at 2pm his soldiers blocked every road in and out of the village.

They told everyone to gather in the marketplace for a routine identity check. People complied. A dentist came. A farmer left his fields. Schoolchildren were told by their teachers not to worry, they'd be back by dinner. A man cycling through town stopped to see what was happening.

By 2:30pm, around 650 people were standing in the square.

Then the soldiers separated the men.

The women and children were marched to the church. The 190 men were divided into six groups and taken to barns across the village. The mayor, Dr. Paul Desourteaux, reportedly tried to negotiate. There was nothing to negotiate.

In the barns, the soldiers opened fire but aimed deliberately at legs. At thighs. At knees. The goal was not to kill but to incapacitate. To ensure that when they piled straw over the bodies and lit it, nobody could crawl away. Men who were on fire and still conscious screamed while soldiers stood outside the doors.

Six men survived by playing dead beneath other bodies. One died from his burns days later. Five lived.

In the church, the women had been waiting almost two hours with the children. Soldiers carried in a large wooden box and placed it in the nave. They lit a fuse and left. The explosion released a thick, suffocating smoke. Soldiers then entered and opened fire on anyone still moving. Then they piled wood, straw, and chairs onto the bodies and lit everything.

The church bell rang for hours as the fire climbed the tower.

Women broke windows. Those who reached the ledge were shot before they could jump. One woman, 47-year-old Marguerite Rouffanche, crawled behind the altar, found a small window, and squeezed through. She dropped three meters to the ground. A 19-year-old named Henriette Joyeux saw her and followed, throwing her seven-month-old baby out first. Soldiers shot the baby out of the air. Then shot Henriette. Then shot Marguerite five times as she ran.

Marguerite survived by lying still beneath pea plants in a garden while the village burned around her. She lay there until the next morning. She was the only person to leave the church alive.

The youngest confirmed victim was seven days old.

After the killings, the soldiers spent the afternoon looting every building. Food, valuables, livestock, wine. Some burned homes with elderly residents still inside. Then they ate dinner. That evening. In the area.

The next morning, relatives from surrounding villages arrived looking for their families. They found 642 dead and a village of smoking ruins.

The aftermath is almost as horrifying as the massacre itself.

At the 1953 war crimes tribunal, 65 men were indicted. Only 20 could be found. Fourteen were Alsatians, French citizens, and Alsace threatened to riot if its sons were convicted. An amnesty law was quietly passed. Almost everyone walked free within a year.

Nobody spent meaningful time in prison for Oradour-sur-Glane.

By French law, nothing in the original village may be moved, repaired, or altered. The rusted cars sit in the street where they burned. The sewing machines are fused to the shop floors. The baby carriages are still there. The church stands open to the sky with a plaque listing the names of the children killed inside.

You can walk through it today.

82 years ago this morning, those 642 people had no idea. The dentist was thinking about his afternoon appointments. The teachers were relieved the children were behaving. The man on the bicycle was annoyed about the delay.

By 6pm they were all dead, and the soldiers who killed them were eating dinner.

Never forget Oradour-sur-Glane.

[UK Defence Journal @UKDefJournal]

The Armed Forces Covenant does not extend to Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel, a defence minister has said, though some who have served on operations may be considered in its spirit. Click image for more.
https://t.co/crs3K5yO0Z

[🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿InsideLucysHead🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿© @InsideLucysHead]

The British Army found they had too many officers and decided to offer an early retirement bonus...

They promised any officer who volunteered for retirement a bonus of £1,000 for every inch measured in a straight line between any two points in his body.

The officer got to choose what those two points would be.

The first officer who accepted asked that he be measured from the top of his head to the tip of his toes.

He was measured at six feet and walked out with a bonus of £72,000.

The second officer who accepted was a little smarter and asked to be measured from the tip of his outstretched hands to his toes.

He walked out with £96,000.

The third one was a non-commissioned officer, a grizzly old sergeant-major who, when asked where he would like to be measured, replied, 'From the tip of my penis to my testicles.'

It was suggested by the pension man that he might want to reconsider, explaining about the nice big cheques the previous two officers had received.

But the old sergeant-major insisted and they decided to go along with him providing the measurement was taken by a medical officer.

The medical officer arrived at the barracks in the UK and instructed the sergeant-major to 'drop 'em', which he did. The medical officer placed the tape measure on the tip of the sergeant's penis and began to work back.

'Dear Lord,' The medical officer suddenly exclaimed, 'Where are your balls?'

The old sergeant-major calmly replied, 'Afghanistan.

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

@nicholadrummond For RN - Option of x2 additional Astutes or some off the shelf diesel boats. RFA needs looking at (pay, conditions & hulls). Replace batch 1 Rivers and rebuild mine warfare capability (not just un-manned) - this and ASW capability make us genuinely useful to Allies.

[NASA @NASA]

Liftoff.

The Artemis II mission launched from @NASAKennedy at 6:35pm ET (2235 UTC), propelling four astronauts on a journey around the Moon.

Artemis II will pave the way for future Moon landings, as well as the next giant leap — astronauts on Mars.

[Ospreys @ospreys]

Swansea Council and the Ospreys are poised to launch a bold new era for both top-flight and community rugby with a major investment in the historic St Helen’s ground.

Ospreys director Rob Davies said: “We have been working with Swansea Council for many months on the redevelopment of the iconic St Helen’s ground. We’re delighted that we’ve found a way to not only progress our plans to play back in Swansea from next season, but also to further enhance the work we’ve always done in our community.”

The proposals will be discussed by the council’s cabinet on Wednesday, March 25, and follow talks with the Ospreys. If agreed, works could start in April so that the Ospreys can use the stadium next season.

Read more 🔗 https://t.co/vQBqASShTy

#OurBloodIsBlack

[Navy Lookout @NavyLookout]

Britain has deluded itself about its navy - this war shows us how exposed we are. Iran must be the catalyst for a change of strategic course for the Royal Navy

by @John_ForemanCBE

https://t.co/HqOQDpZYax

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

@BBCSportWales @WelshRugbyUnion Let us not paper over the cracks any longer and keep their (metaphorical) feet to the fire! 4 regions must be kept, and a plan to grow the game and not manage its decline must be found.

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

@BBCSportWales Good win, much deserved for the effort in adversity. But... pressure now must be placed on @WelshRugbyUnion to change course and re-think what they are doing yo the pro game in Wales.

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

@BBCSportWales @BBCScrumV I needed a good laugh today after a hard week. There is no chance that trust can be rebuilt by this board! Time to step aside and let someone try and rectify the damage done!

[Tim Holt @timboholt15]

@swanseabaynews At this point, her position & that of the board is becoming untenable. This isn't about a vocal minority, this is the future of OUR game & there is no confidence they can steer it in the right direction. Especially if the basics of honesty & integrity seem to be such a struggle.

[Swansea Rugby Club @SwanseaRFC]

When somebody says you shouldn’t celebrate, you double down and celebrate more 😉

Additionally, we have to say a big thank you to all at @RGCNews for giving us one hell of a game and as always, being great foes on the field and great friends off it.

📸 Kian Abdullah

[Swansea Rugby Club @SwanseaRFC]

FT | Swansea 29 - 13 RGC

CHAMPIONS!!!!

[Community Care @CommunityCare]

Neurodiversity belongs in social work: a campaign celebrating the profession's diverse minds - Community Care https://t.co/XJpaJMDlqZ