Sidelined May seems a sorry, broken figure

In a little over three months, on June 28, the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles will be marked, though hardly celebrated. Britain, through prime minister David Llyod George, was a signatory to an agreement that followed WWI but made WWII all but inevitable. Britain’s place as a world superpower was certain, though that power was often misused. Next month — April 13 — marks the centenary of the Amritsar Massacre when British troops killed 379 Sikhs during a peaceful demonstration.

As if to confirm Britain’s imperial self-belief, the short Third Anglo-Afghan War began the following month. It ended that August with the Treaty of Rawalpindi. Britannia was a player, a force to be reckoned with — as our forefathers knew only too well.