Gallus Girls and Wayward Women

Said to be Winston Churchill's favourite spy, Christine was an adrenaline junkie and a countess by birth whose jaw dropping bravery during the Second World War saved many many lives. Over the course of her wartime career, a knack for repeatedly escaping the deadliest of situations had given her almost mythical status. Christine died early at the age of 44, but those years were stuffed to bursting with adventure, the likes of which would be hard to swallow if you were watching a fictitious film with a plot borrowed from Christine's life. ​

Opening music by Stefan Kartenburg, featuring Dimitri Artmenko on strings, and it's from dig.ccMixter.  All other music used in the show is from copyright free music sites. Sound effects from BBC Archive Resource.

Although the rest of her family were fascist sympathisers of one sort or another, which was common among upper classes in inter-war Britain, Unity Mitford became an extreme right winger, a fanatical fascist who described herself as a "jew hater" and talked at length about how much she loved Hitler. Her life goal was to meet him, and she moved to Munich when she was 19 so she could learn German and thus be able to speak with him when the magical encounter took place. Due to her elevated social status, she successfully managed to insert herself in Hitler's inner circle. Join us as we talk about the (short) life and times of Unity Mitford!

Jane has always been portrayed as a meek and watery woman, the exact opposite of her predecessor Anne Boleyn, and whose only effect on the turbulent world in which she lived was to provide Henry VIII with the son he desired, then quietly fade away into the shadows. Saying that, we'll never know for sure whether Jane sought the king’s favour or was a pawn of her family and the king’s desire, and although she is given little credit for anything other than her provision of England’s heir, Jane Seymour was said to be intelligent and came from a noble and ambitious family. Being the daughter of a courtier, just like Anne Boleyn, she was as aspirational as the rest of them and the power and influence which could be had as the wife of King Henry would have been highly attractive to her. Not much evidence survives which describes her true personality though - was she an innocent pawn, or a secret schemer?

​Opening music by Stefan Kartenburg, featuring Dimitri Artmenko on strings, and it's from dig.ccMixter.  All other music used in the show is from copyright free music sites.

Although these five women - Mary Ann, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Jane - probably never met each other, they had some things in common, including grinding poverty, casual prostitution, the year of their murders, and the likely-hood that they were killed by the same person. The first "celebrity" serial killer, the Jack the Ripper became so famous that his victims' tragic lives have always been overshadowed by "Jack" himself. In this episode, I throw some light on their backgrounds and the desperate lives they lived. Warning: I try not to be too explicit with the murder scenes, but listeners may find some content upsetting.  ​Opening music by Stefan Kartenburg, featuring Dimitri Artmenko on strings, and it's from dig.ccMixter.  All other music used in the show is from copyright free music sites.

Photo of Annie and John Chapman, c.1869 (Chapman family/Neal Shelden)

Although Constance Markiewicz had been elected to parliament before her but refused to take her seat, Nancy Astor was the American whirlwind who became the first female British MP in 1919. She did a heap of good, but life is complicated and HER life was not without a large dose of scandal and controversy. 

Opening music by Stefan Kartenburg, featuring Dimitri Artmenko on strings, and it's from dig.ccMixter.  All other music used in the show is from copyright free music sites.