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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Mons
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Town in southwest Belgium which was the scene of the first battle between the British and the Germans in *World War I. (Coincidentally it was only 40km/25m from where British troops had last fought on the Continent, 99 years earlier, at Waterloo.) On 23 August 1914 the *Old Contemptibles held off an attack by much heavier forces before beginning the retreat from Mons to the Marne. Their almost miraculous escape prompted a journalist to imagine St George and angels in the clouds with flaming swords, encouraging the British to hold back the Germans. The 'angels of Mons' caught the public imagination and soon many believed that there had indeed been a heavenly pro-British apparition.
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