THE AUTHOR SPEAKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING HISTORY
The study of history is important for a number of reasons. One of the most important reasons is that it enables us to appreciate the importance of institutions such as democratically elected parliaments, the rule of law, trial by jury, an independent judiciary, and the need to protect them. Another important reason is that history provides us with a frame of reference that enables us to recognise dangers to our society, both from within and externally, and it provides guidance as to how to deal with those dangers when they arise. I believe that it was the English philosopher Roger Scruton who said that denying children a solid grounding in the history of their country was calculated to produce a generation of gentle sheep that could be easily led by their political masters. I agree completely with that view.
[pic]
Darwin burns as Japanese bombers attack Australia on 19 February 1942. The study of history provides us with a frame of reference that enables us to recognise dangers to our society, both from within and externally, and it provides guidance as to how to deal with those dangers when they arise.
I am sometimes asked about the apparent incongruity of a lawyer writing history. While by no means suggesting that legal experience is essential for historians, I would argue that my background in public law and politics is a valuable grounding for historical research and writing history. A Crown prosecutor spends a great deal of time assimilating facts and analysing them impartially with a view to laying them before a judge or jury to support one or more findings of fact. Knowledge of constitutional law, legal history and the working of government is valuable equipment for an historian who wishes to understand the political as well as the social history of a country.
I studied history from the age of