Conkers in World War One

Someone asked me about this subject - horse chestnuts winning the war (Americans call 'em buckeyes) and so I looked and found this piece

During World War I conkers were used in the making of ammunition for small arms and artillery. To make the acetone used in this process, starch was needed, obtained initially from maize, but when supplies of this grew short, school children were sent out to collect conkers, and the starch was extracted from them. Secret factories at Poole in Dorset and King’s Lynn in Norfolk produced around 90,000 gallons of acetone a year. From the Accipiter.

Eureka Stockade

Today in 1854 this battle took place in Australia - wiki on it here. Here's the first part of an interesting documentary 'Blood on the Southern Cross'

Franco-Prussian war skirmish

Videos here of a group in Michigan recreating the 1870-1 era.

Canon de 75 modèle 1897

Wiki on this legendary piece.

'75'

Song about the French cannon of the First World War - a strange thing that - a song about artillery.

Heros von Borke - a Prussian confederate and his sword

'Major Heros von Borcke was a Prussian soldier who learned of the Civil War and traveled across the Atlantic to fight for the Southern cause. He served under General J.E.B. Stuart and was known for his very large and heavy sword. This podcast features J.E.B. Stuart IV, Emeritus Trustee of the Museum of the Confederacy, who discusses von Borcke and a recent visit to Poland to see where he was buried'.

Revolt of the Canuts 1831

Today in Lyon France was the start of a series of revolts by silkworkers that saw an army of 20,000 troops under Marshal Soult despatched to deal with it. It was the Industrial Revolution's first serious uprising and paved the way for the Paris commune. Their slogan was 'Live free or die fighting'. Wiki on the Canut revolts here.
French site on the revolts here