Many commentators today are likening the Covid-19 pandemic to that of the Spanish flu which hit the world in 1917-1920. It was named as neutral Spain had no need to censor its newspapers and therefore the first reports of the ‘flu appeared in Spanish newspapers, particularly as the Spanish King Alfonso XIII was seriously ill with the disease. The first wave of the ‘flu was relatively mild in the summer of 1918, peaked heavily in October 1918 with a more virulent strain of the disease, and not fading out until April 1920. Eventually more died worldwide than all the civilian and military deaths of the first World War. Death rates were highest amongst the 20-40 year olds – the age of most of the soldiers returning to their homes after the war. There were no antibiotics or means of treating the illness. Continue reading “Cheltenham and the other pandemic – the Spanish ‘Flu”