Search results for ""the history press ltd""

A Bucket of Sunshine – a term coined by RAF aircrew for the nuclear bomb that their aircraft would be armed with - is a first-hand insight into life in the mid-1960s on a RAF Canberra nuclear-armed squadron in West Germany, on the frontline in the Cold War. The English-Electric Canberra was a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers in the 1950s. The Canberra B(I)8, low-level interdictor version was used by RAF Germany squadrons at the height of the Cold War.Mike Brooke describes not only the technical aspect of the aircraft and its nuclear and conventional roles and weapons, but also the low-level flying that went with the job of being ready to go to war at less than three minutes’ notice. Brooke tells his story warts and all, with many amusing overtones, in what was an extremely serious business when the world was standing on the brink of nuclear conflict.

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William Paulet was the ultimate courtier. For an astonishing 46 years he served at the courts of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth and was one of the men responsible for introducing the changes in religious, economic and social issues which shaped England as we know it today. He was a judge at the trials of Fisher, More and the alleged accomplices of Anne Boleyn, and though born a commoner, by his death he was the senior peer in England and, as Lord High Treasurer, he held one of the most influential positions at court. With his long and varied career within the royal household and in government, a study of Paulet presents an excellent opportunity to look in more detail at courtly life, allowing the reader an understanding of how he spent his working day. Tudor Survivor is the biography of the man who defined the role of courtier, but also gives valuable insight into everyday life, from etiquette and bathing, to court politics and the monarchs themselves. When asked how he had managed to survive so long, Paulet replied ‘By being a willow, not an oak’. The author’s research shows that this remarkable man was steelier than he admitted.

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To celebrate its 150th anniversary, this book endeavours to capture in pictures the beguiling character of the Metropolitan Railway, which started as the world’s first underground railway between Paddington and Farringdon, but grew to create iconic Metro-Land, later immortalised by John Betjeman. However, this evolution was influenced by the notorious Victorian entrepreneur, Edward Watkin, which resulted in the ‘Met’ having to share some of its routes with a mainline railway – indeed it still does so. The other major change was the reluctant absorption in 1933 into the new London Transport, which sought to make it adopt their standard practices. Although this was suspended due to the Second World War, in which bombing took a heavy toll on the vital cross-London lines, by 1961 LT was able to replace most of the Met steam services with electrification. Now these trains are themselves being replaced by new stock, marking another facet in the complex story of the idiosyncratic ‘Met’ cherished by millions of travellers.

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In 1952, Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne and became the Sovereign Head of the Armed Forces. In the sixty years of her reign so far, there have been thousands of conscripts and regular service personnel who have served under her Colours all over the globe. This book is not just about war, but the everyday lives of those who serve on land, sea and in the air. Service men and women recall their experiences from the years after the Second World War to the Falklands War in 1982, through to modern military service at the end of a millennium and into the first years of the twenty-first century. From life in barracks at home and overseas, in a variety of hot and not-so-hot spots, to being on the frontline in major conflicts worldwide, from Kenya to Afghanistan. Male and female service personnel talk candidly about their experiences, offering a unique glimpse into a world in which they often risk their lives at a moment’s notice. Their stories are often laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes deeply moving and always inspiring. Under the Queen’s Colours is both a celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and a salute to the men and women who have served and continue to serve her.

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A fully illustrated study of the notorious Nuremberg rallies and the part they played in the Nazis’ quest to establish the 1000 Year Third Reich. Between 1923 and 1938 the Nazis held ten ‘Reich National Party Conventions’ in the city of Nuremberg. Each rally was bigger than the last, with the number of visitors growing to over half a million, this growth reflecting the spread of National Socialism across Germany. This book reveals how the rallies were organised, what the daily schedules were, who spoke at them and who attended. It also explores the development of the Rally Grounds under Albert Speer, the importance of the rallies in Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda campaign and the story of Leni Riefenstahl’s filming of the rallies, in particular the Triumph of the Will in 1934. Using over 140 dramatic and informative images, both of the rallies and Nuremberg today, author Andrew Rawson provides new insight into the most spectacular propaganda exercises since the games of Ancient Rome.

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With its wild eroding sea, its gentle rolling fields and tall churches, Suffolk is a county of contrasts. It may seem a kindly and civilised place, but in that sea, in the reed beds, the woods and even down dark town streets lurk strange beasts, ghosts and tricksters. These thirty traditional tales retold by storyteller Kirsty Hartsiotis take you into a hidden world of green children and wildmen, of lovers from beyond the grave and tricksy fairy folk. Shaped by generations of Suffolk mardle and wit, in these stories you’ll discover the county’s last dragon, the secret behind Black Shuck, saintly King Edmund and heroic King Raedwald, haunted airfields, broken-hearted mermaids and the exploits of the county’s cunning folk. Embark on this journey around Suffolk and you’ll find you’re never far from a story.

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East Devon is truly 'England's green and pleasant land'. Between the River Exe in the west and the River Axe in the east lies a patchwork quilt of wood and pasture, dotted with villages, hamlets and scattered farms that have existed since before Domesday. In Exe to Axe Devonian Gerald Gosling takes the reader on a journey, illustrated with rare and atmospheric old photographs, through one of this country's most charming and still unspoilt corners, by way of farms adn ancient churches, along hidden lanes and past gentle rivers, all characteristic elements of this distinctive place. Not forgotten are the bustling seaside resorts, such as Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth and Seaton, or the people themselves, including cider makers and carpet manufacturers. The author's knowledge and enthusiasm for his home county are evident in this entertaining tour through the region between Exe and Axe, a journey of discovery that will be if interest to resident and tourist alike.

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This superb collection of over tow hundred photographs traces the history of Bishop Aukland from its origins as North Aclet to modern times. Auckland Castle, the residence of the bishops of Durham for almost eight hundred years, is represented, as are the market-place and the restoration of the town's superb Town Hall. Bishop Aukland sits on a coalfield and its strong association with mining is clear from the dramatic images chosen by author Charlie Emett. Bishop Aukland in Old Photographs also shows the expansion of the local railways and the development of new enterprises, shops and leisure activities. Local and eminent personalities play their part within these pages. The town's famous newspapers, the Northern Echo and the Darlington and Stockton Times, are also acknowledged in this nostalgic tribute to life in Bishop Auckland over the last one hundred years. It will fascinate residents and visitors alike, and is certain to stir a memory or two.

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The spectacular and varied landscape of Dorset, with its giants, hill forts, Jurassic coast and ancient buildings is the source and inspiration for many curious stories that have been passed down in families and village communities for generations. This book contains a rich and diverse collection of those ancient legends rooted in the oral tradition. From the absorbing tales of the Old King of Corfe and the Thorncombe Thorn to the intriguing Buttons on a Card and George Pitman and the Dragon, these illustrated stories bring alive the landscape of the county’s rolling hills and coastline. Dorset actor, singer and storyteller Tim Laycock has a lifelong interest in the folklore and oral traditions of the county. Many of the stories in this collection have been passed on to him by Dorset residents, and appear here in print for the first time.

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As the Regia Aeronautica and the Luftwaffe unleashed their full might against the island of Malta, the civilian population was in the eye of the storm. Faced with the terror of the unexploded bomb, the Maltese people looked for help to the Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Section, who dealt with all unexploded bombs, outside of airfields and the RN dockyard, across an area the size of Greater London. Based on official wartime records and personal memoirs, the extraordinary tale unfolds of the challenges they faced — as the enemy employed every possible weapon in a relentless bombing campaign: 3,000 raids in two years. Through violent winter storms and blazing summer heat, despite interrupted sleep and meagre rations, they battled to reach, excavate and render safe thousands of unexploded bombs. Day after day, and in 1942 hour after hour — through constant air raids — they approached live bomb after live bomb, mindful that it could explode at any moment. In the words of one of their number they were ‘just doing a job’.

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Mike Morgan presents 25 stories about the larger-than-life exploits of the SAS and SBS in World War II, supported by a selection of rare archive and action shots. Some stories are previously unpublished.

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For much of the First World War, the opposing armies on the Western Front were at a stalemate, with an unbroken line of fortified trenches stretching from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. The Allied objective after the bloody Battle of the Somme drew to a close in November 1916 was to decisively break through the German ‘Hindenburg Line’ and engage the numerically inferior German forces in a war of movement. The Arras offensive was conceived to achieve this breakthrough and was planned for early 1917 after considerable pressure from the French High Command. Commonwealth Forces advanced on a broad front between Vimy in the northwest and Bullecourt in the southeast, with the French Army attacking 80km further south in the Aisne area. Initial successes, albeit costly, were followed by a reversion to the previous stalemate and lead to a change of focus, with an assault on the Messines Ridge, near Ypres, beginning in June 1917. By the end of July, on the eve of the Third Battle of Ypres, a total of fifty Victoria Crosses had been awarded, including many troops from the Australian, Canadian and New Zealand Forces. This includes Captain Robert Greive, who single-handedly silenced two enemy machine-gun nests at Messines, and L/Cpl James Welch, who captured four prisoners with an empty revolver. The courage, determination and sacrifice of their generation should never be forgotten.

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Welsh genealogy is usually included with its English cousin, but there are significant differences between the two, and anyone wishing to trace their Welsh ancestry will encounter peculiarities that are not covered by books on English family history. There is a separate system of archives and repositories for Wales, there are differences in civil registration and censuses, Nonconformist registers are dissimilar to those of other Churches and Welsh surnames and place names are very different to English ones. Welsh Genealogy covers all of this as well as the basic Welsh needed by family historians; estate, maritime, inheritance, education and parish records; peculiarities of law; the Courts of Great Sessions and particular patterns of migration. Written by Dr Bruce Durie, the highly respected genealogist, lecturer and author of the acclaimed Scottish Genealogy, this is the ideal book for local and family historians setting out on a journey to discover their Welsh ancestry.

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The book that all archaeology buffs have secretly been yearning for! This unique blend of text, anecdote and cartoon reveals, and revels in, those aspects of the past that have been ignored, glossed over or even suppressed — the bawdy, the scatological and the downright bizarre. Our ancestors were not always serious, downtrodden and fearful creatures. They were human like ourselves and shared our earthy sense of humour that is based on bodily functions, bawdiness and slapstick. So it’s time to take the fig leaf off the past and have a long, hard look at the real past — the world that would have had the Victorians reaching for their smelling salts. So if you want to know what your average Egyptian slave thought of pharaoh, or a Roman legionary thought of his commander, you will find the answer in Disgraceful Archaeology — in hilarious graphic detail!

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Over four years, four ships were lost under different circumstances and 4,000 lives with them — but one thing linked them all: it was John Charles Bigham, Lord Mersey, who was appointed to head the inquiries into each disaster. Mersey is often referred to as a ‘company man’, or a government stooge. But is this the whole truth? Everyone has heard of Titanic and Lusitania but more passengers died when the Empress of Ireland sank in May 1914. That inquiry turned into a head-to-head between an American lawyer and a British one. Did Mersey let the right man win? Was he fair to Captain Lord of the Californian when he blamed him for the loss of so many lives on Titanic? The U-Boat that sank the Falaba with the loss of 104 lives behaved very differently to the one that torpedoed the Lusitania just six weeks later. Did Mersey reflect that in his findings or was he more interested in propaganda than truth?

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Although the saying, ‘Pigs might fly…’ may bring a smile to one’s lips, even stranger things have been reported as appearing in Britain’s skies over the centuries. Eye-witnesses have testified that various terrifying and bizarre forms have appeared in the skies, from ghostly planes, phantom airships and UFOs, to reports of sky serpents, celestial dragons, flying jellyfish, rains of fish (or blood, or metal, or frogs…) – even reports of a griffin seen over London! It also considers reports of haunted aircraft hangars and airfields. Shadows in the Sky compiles hundreds of accounts from the spine-chilling to the downright bizarre, that’ll keep your eyes fixed looking upwards!

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This is the history of Oxford as you have never encountered it before. The first historical record of Oxford laments that the city has been burnt to the ground by Vikings. Its religious houses were founded by a woman who blinded her would-be attacker. Its students were poverty-stricken desperados in perpetual armed conflict with the townsmen. One of its principal colleges, meanwhile, doubled as a slaughterhouse — and its richest streets and university edifices backed on to some of the most pestilential slums in England. With a mangled skeleton in every cupboard, this is the real story of the Oxford. Read it if you dare!

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Seven years after the Roman invasion of Britain in ad 43, Londinium was created. It would rise to become one of the most important Roman cities in Northern Europe. Life in Roman London approaches the history of Roman London in an entirely new way. Rather than focusing upon a handful of important figures such as procurators and statesmen, this book explores the lives and concerns of the ordinary citizens. Unlike many books about Roman history which are preoccupied with the basilicas, palaces, grand houses, statues and mosaics, Life in Roman London looks instead at the shops, houses and streets in which the majority of the fifty thousand or so inhabitants of the city spent their lives. In doing so, it reveals a city very different from the clean, white, classical metropolis familiar from the books of our childhood.

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Despite being one of the best-known and admired rail companies in the country, by 1947 the GWR was at the lowest ebb of its entire history. Worn out by war, there had been no maintenance for six years and the government couldn’t supply the steel it needed for repair. The latter half of the 1940s presented a multitude of challenges to overcome, some due to the recent war and others individual to the GWR: the staff coped with rationing, a desperately cold winter and a blazing hot summer, and dealt with floods, collisions, broken rails and failing locomotives. The incredible strength of character and can-do attitude of GWR workers kept the railway running through it all. This history, taken from GWR papers and illustrated from them throughout, reveals the details of every day, as well as the problems and difficulties the staff faced. Above all, it shows how well they overcame their problems with only muscle power and a steam crane to help – and, of course, no health and safety regulations and arguments to slow them down. Adrian Vaughan’s unique history of this famous rail company shows just how special the GWR was right through to the end of its very last year.

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This wartime biography follows the life of a Second World War B-17 bombardier from the beginning of the war to its conclusion. Based on the 150 letters the airman, Fred Lull, wrote home to his mother, much of the horrors of what he experienced off the wing of his plane, aircraft destroyed, dismemberment by flak, go unshared. Fred did not want his mother to worry and could not tell her: ‘I noticed some movement and a flash of light out of the corner of my right eye. The plane that had been flying right next to us had exploded and simply disappeared.’ Using the bombardier’s combat flight record, research data and interviews of former B-17 crew members, the story unfolds, breaking through the barrier of an unwillingness and inability to tell loved ones of the smell and taste of war.

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This is a fascinating collection of many unpublished photographs showing Crewe’s development during the twentieth century. Illustrated with well over 200 old photographs and images, it traces changes and development, and highlights the architectural wealth of the town from a number of different periods. The book features many different aspects, from the building of the magnificent Municipal Buildings to the changes on the Market Square. The effects of two world wars upon Crewe and its revival afterwards is also documented. Crewe has for many years created the industrial wealth for this part of South Cheshire. That affluence is shown admirably during the twentieth century by its constant endeavour to improve its residents’ lifestyle. The book will show to great effect how their living standards improved during this period.

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In the 1989/90 season, Bristol Rovers clinched promotion to the old ‘Second Division’, thanks largely to the tremendous team spirit of a side exiled in Bath, away from its traditional Bristol home. The ‘Ragbag Rovers’, as they became known, set an outstanding club record, remaining undefeated in 41 matches throughout the season, the highlight of which was a 3-0 victory against local rivals Bristol City in the penultimate game of the season. This remarkable time is remembered with many previously unpublished photographs, statistics and reports from every match, interviews with the players involved, plus a feature on the club’s first ever visit to Wembley Stadium for the Leyland Daf Cup Final. Anyone who was there will relish in reliving some of the magic through the memories and illustrations collected here, while those who are too young to recall it themselves can discover the thrill and anticipation that made it a season to remember.

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Front Line Bloggers – Afghanistan and Helmand Blog – Afghanistan (now combined as UK Forces Afghanistan) were established by the MoD to allow UK armed forces personnel to tell the public back home what they were doing there, in their own words. Officers, NCOs and other ranks representing a wide variety of units – infantry, artillery, signals, logistics, aviation, medical – contribute their thoughts and experiences on everything from what it’s like to take on the Taliban in a firefight to the difficulties of trying to eat well at a patrol base. These personal accounts give a picture of the conflict at ground level, the details of daily life that usually do not make the news, as well as individuals’ perspectives on major events. Some of the bloggers have even been asked to contribute to the Radio 4 Today Programme and Channel 4 News. With the war in Afghanistan in the news almost constantly, this is a timely book which tells the real story of what it’s like for our troops on the ground.

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Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross and listen to the tales of this ancient county. Hear how a King and his knights were turned to stone at the mysterious Rollright Stones; how Dragon Hill got its name; take the Devil's Highway to the End of the World - if you dare; or spend a night on the weird Ot Moor; listen in on the Boar's Head Carol; walk the oldest trackway in Europe in the footsteps of a Neolithic pilgrim; pause to try the Blowing Stone; leave a coin for the enigmatic blacksmith to shoe your horse at Wayland's Smithy; eavesdrop upon the Inklings in the Eagle and Child; and meet that early fabulist, Geoffrey of Monmouth in the city of dreaming spires. This collection will take you on an oral tour across the county - on the way you'll meet gypsies, highwaymen, cavaliers, a prime minister and a devilish mason.

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It was in 1911, on a beach by the North Sea, that Robert Blackburn's Second Monoplane made its first successful flight. By 1914, the Blackburn Aeroplane and Motor Co Ltd had been formed, based in Leeds, and had taken its place in the ranks of the British aircraft industry. By the time the First World War ended, Blackburns had become a major supplier of aircraft for the armed forces, particularly those associated with the sea. In the inter-war years, the company's activities were gradually transformed to its erstwhile seaplane base at Brough, on the Humber, where its great three-engined flying boats mingled with Fleet Air Arm Darts, Baffins and Sharks on the shop floor and in the air. After 1945, Blackburns meant first the giant Beverley troop carrier and then, in complete contrast, the Buccaneer naval strike aircraft. Today, although Brough remains, the name of Blackburn, like those of all the other pioneers, has disappeared into the general title of British Aerospace.

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With humble beginnings as an RAF apprentice, Johnny Wells progressed to pilot and rose to the higher echelons of command at the Air Ministry. From idyllic pre-war training, he would fly bombers against rebels over Iraq, combat Fw190s over England in the newly introduced and equally dangerous Typhoon; he would undertake hazardous low-level anti-shipping strikes in the English Channel, as well as train-busting sorties over occupied territory at night and close-support ground-attack operations across northern Europe following D-Day. Indeed, Wells ended the Second World War as one of the most successful and highly decorated Typhoon Wing Leaders in the Tactical Air Force. This well-researched account of one man’s rise through the ranks of the Air Ministry is finely illustrated with contemporary images and is an excellent testimony of what was required of air pilots during the Second World War. Wells’ story is both an inspiration and a gripping account of one man’s journey through a service career spanning more than three turbulent decades.

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The Little Book of Birmingham is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which no-one will want to be without. Here we find out about the city’s most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters and literally hundreds of wacky facts. Norman Bartlam’s new book gathers together a myriad of data on Brum. There are lots of factual chapters but also plenty of frivolous details which will amuse and surprise. A reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped in to time and time again to reveal something you never knew. This is a remarkably engaging little book, and is essential reading for visitors and locals alike.

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The Birmingham City Miscellany – a book on the Blues like no other, packed with facts, stats, trivia, stories and legend. Delve deep to find out all about the events and people who have shaped the club into what it is today. Featured here are a plethora of stories on this charismatic football club ranging from how the club was formed, to little-known facts about players and managers. Here you will find player feats, individual records and plenty of weird and wonderful trivia. Rivalry with Villa, favourite managers, quotes ranging from the profound to the downright bizarre and cult heroes from yesteryear – a book no true Birmingham City fan should be without.

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The British Beach Groups were a combined force of men stationed on the Normandy Beaches from the initial landing until the last unit was disbanded a few weeks after D-Day. They performed many vital roles during the assault, including: arranging and controlling the movement of all personnel and vehicles from landing craft to inland assembly areas; moving stores from ship’s holds to dumps in the beach maintenance areas; developing and organising the beaches and beach maintenance areas for defence, movement and administration, including the evacuation of casualties and the recovery vehicles; providing a beach signal organisation; organising the removal and repatriation of casualties, prisoners of war and salvaged equipment; creating dumps to hold the petrol, ammunition, rations etc. that were being landed; and establishing assembly areas for arriving personnel and their vehicles. This book explores how this often-forgotten unit were the first to arrive and the last to leave one of history’s greatest military operations and how their behind-the-scenes action saved lives and were essential for the success of the landings.

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Throughout the Celtic world, in Britain, Ireland and France, the early Christian saints left a profound legacy to the history and culture of Northern Europe. This is the first ever dictionary of Celtic saints and is fully illustrated with photographs of where each saint lived and worked, ranging from ruined monasteries to holy wells, and from caves to Roman and Celtic forts. The reader is therefore drawn into the beautiful world which these men and women inhabited, while also being able to trace the history and legend surrounding these early British Christians. Easy to use, with an Introduction and maps to pinpoint the sites described in the text, A Dictionary of Celtic Saints will appeal to anyone interested in history, landscape or spirituality. Based on sound scholarship, it will also be helpful to students of civilisation and culture.

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Voices of Eastleigh draws together memories of life in this former railway town turned commuter location from a wide range of people. How do residents view their past, present and future? Has life in Eastleigh been good to them? What was it like to live in a railway cottage where everyone knew and helped each other? What is it like to live in a modern apartment in Benny Hill Close? Glen Jayson compares nostalgic anecdotes from a centenarian resident to a child’s view of the future. Read how working at Pirelli or Kipling was once a part of community life. The stories recalled here will rekindle memories for anyone who has lived in this area for more than a few years, and will be an eye-opener for any new arrivals who want to find out more about the history of Eastleigh. The book is illustrated with a wonderful selection of photographs that capture the spirit of this unique area over the past hundred years or so.

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The hundred years from 1850 to 1950 were London’s railway century, an era during which the city was defined by its railways: grimy and utilitarian yet at the same time elegant and innovative. This fascinating book explores the many contemporary transport themes of London’s termini, including goods depots, electrified lines, industrial railways and Southern suburban lines. Covering the pivotal century 1850–1950, each chapter describes a decade and an issue particularly relevant to that period, from the railway eccentricities and early termini of the 1850s and ‘60s, through the glamorous heyday of the railway hotels in the 1890s, to the devastation of the Blitz. With fresh research revealing something of interest to both the expert as well as the everyman, there are gems to delight commuter, resident and tourist alike. Well illustrated with contemporary illustrations and key maps for each chapter, this quirky and accessible insight into London’s railway history and its lasting legacy is a must for all.

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Very few cars inspire as much affection as the original Mini. It’s the small car everyone loves to eulogise because it oozes energetic fun, classless minimalism and evergreen style. But it's also of massive historical importance: the 1959 Mini, designed by Alec Issigonis, set the template from which all successful compact cars have been created ever since. It was the technological wonder of its age. The original Mini was on sale for 41 years, during which its 5.3m sales made it the best-selling British car of all time - an achievement unlikely ever to be beaten. And just when it looked like the little car would shrivel and die, BMW had the vision to reinvent it as the planet's most desirable small car range, and put it back on the serious motoring map as the MINI. Here, award-winning writer Giles Chapman tells the whole, amazing story.

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In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries barrow digging became a field sport for local squires and parsons. Their desire for decorative relics led them to plunder the graves of their prehistoric ancestors. With a few notable exceptions their methods were lamentable: their workmen recklessly destroyed remains and pottery, and few made accurate records. What was most horrifying was the speed at which they worked — one individual digging over 30 barrows in a day and 9 in the space of two hours! Against this background it is perhaps amazing that any idea of the importance of recording provenance and context developed at all. But, in this fascinating survey of early field archaeology in Britain, Barry Marsden is able to highlight the careers and methods of the more responsible barrow diggers — from the first excavations of William Stukeley in the 1720s to the more orderly and painstaking work of the main nineteenth-century practitioners, concluding with the exemplary operations of Lt. General Pitt Rivers in the 1880s and 1890s. This substantially expanded and re-illustrated edition of a classic work that has been unavailable for many years has individual chapters on Yorkshire, Derbyshire and the Peak district, Wiltshire, Dorset and Cornwall.

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Once renowned as a place to dump criminals, and with a past steeped in smuggling, the Isle of Wight provides copious tales of corruption, violence and delinquency. From the customs officer who had both his hands severed by smugglers, to Bembridge witch Molly Downer who embarrassed the vicar by making him her heir, this book contains a vast array of misdeeds and miscreants. Featuring criminals such as Michael Morey, who butchered his grandson, and thirteen-year-old John Leigh, who strangled his father and, caught in the act by his sister, threw her from a window, Isle of Wight Villains details the darker side of this island paradise.

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Edinburgh enjoys a long and impressive literary heritage and can claim connections with some of the world’s most famous writers. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott were all natives of the city, while Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, J.M. Barrie and Samuel Johnson were just a few of those who forged links with what William Cobbett described as ‘the finest city in the kingdom’. Edinburgh has provided the setting for countless novels over the years, not least in more recent times with Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) and Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting (1993). Nowadays, the city hosts its annual International Book Festival, when, for a couple of weeks every August, authors and visitors from far and wide flock to Charlotte Square Gardens for ‘the biggest celebration of the written word in the world’. Published to coincide with the 21st Edinburgh International Book Festival, this work includes not only native Edinburgh authors but others on whom the city had a profound influence.

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The mobilisation of troops and equipment has always been crucial to winning a war. During the twentieth century, the days of horse-drawn logistics and cavalry charges gradually became a thing of the past, and the age of military vehicles began. This book charts the development of military vehicles from steam-powered tractors to modern main battle tanks. The story reveals how such vehicles have changed the way wars are fought, either by increasing the speed and volume of logistics or troop deployments, or through the application of mobile firepower. The narrative explains key technical innovations from World War I, through the inter-war years to World War II, the Cold War and beyond. It pays homage to outstanding designs and those that are remembered with fondness, including the M3 Lee/Grant, T-34, Panther, Tiger, M1 Abrams, Chieftain and M4 Sherman tanks; the Bren Gun Carrier, the Willys ‘Jeep’, the Dodge truck; through to the modern ‘Humvee’ and Stryker, and many more.

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By the time the guns fell silent on 11 November 1918, vast tracts of the European landscape had been so utterly devastated by artillery fire that they were virtually unrecognisable. Of all the many weapons invented by man for the purpose of waging war, artillery must rank among the most destructive of all. Through detailed research, John Norris has traced the development of artillery through the ages and up to the dawn of the twenty-first century, to provide a fascinating study of this principal weapon of warfare. From its earliest recorded use in battle about a millennium ago, up to the recent Gulf War, Balkan and Afghanistan conflicts, artillery has often been the deciding factor in battle. And yet its origins are somewhat vague. The Chinese had been working with gunpowder since the tenth century, yet it was another 200 years before the compound was used to propel a projectile from a long-barrelled bamboo piece of apparatus. Not long after this, the use of artillery spread to Europe and changed the art of warfare. This book traces the development of artillery and its use in battle through the ages.

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Victorian Britain was the world's industrial powerhouse. Its factories, mills and foundries supplied a global demand for manufactured goods. As Britain changed from an agricultural to an industrial ecomony, people swarmed into the towns and cities where the work was; by the end of Queen Victoria's reign, almost 80 per cent of the population was urban. Overcrowding and filthy living conditions, though, were a recipe for disaster, and diseases such as cholera, typhoid, scarlet fever, smallpox and puerperal (childbed) fever were a part of everyday life for (usually poor) town-and city-dwellers. However, thanks to a dedicated band of doctors, nurses, midwives, scientists, engineers and social reformers, by the time the Victorian era became the Edwardian, they were almost eradicated, and no longer a constant source of fear. Stephen Halliday tells the fascinating story of how these individuals fought opposition from politicians, taxpayers and often their own colleagues to overcome these diseases and make the country a safer place for everyone to live.

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This nostalgic, humorous and richly illustrated volume celebrates the Somerset of years gone by. Syd Durston was seven when the Second World War broke out. As well as causing panic in Britain’s cities, the war transformed life in the countryside in all sorts of ways. This is how one boy remembers life in rural Somerset during that time, where from ‘the age of ten you were at school between 9 a.m. and noon, and then you could work on the land until 8 p.m.’. It is an elegy to the levels and the moors, and the rich diversity of wildlife that could once be found in the fields – ‘thousands of grasshoppers, large and small, hopping everywhere, butterflies of all kinds feeding on the red clovers that were now in flower; the smell of the honeysuckle and the dog roses in the hedges’ – and a lament for the landscapes and ways of life that we have now lost. From the outbreak of war to the drama of D-Day, Syd – whose watercolour paintings, many of which illustrate this collection, aim to show the reality of farming life as it was then – captures a moment in history as it really was. Containing more than 120 paintings, sketches and drawings, it will delight residents and visitors alike.

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In the 1950s and 1960s south Lancashire and Cheshire was criss-crossed by a web of railway lines, servicing the various needs of local industries. The region was a haven for railway enthusiasts who pursued the hundreds of steam workhorses based at British Railways depots in ‘chemical towns’ such as Warrington, Widnes, Wigan and Sutton Oak, besides Southport and Northwich. While these facilities appeared less glamorous than larger counterparts in Liverpool or Manchester, the stories of the engines, trains and the men who were based at the depots in these towns was no less fascinating. Shed Side in South Lancashire and Cheshireprovides a fascinating portrait of the daily operations of the freight and passenger trains of the region during the final decade of Britain’s steam era. It evokes a period of grimy, metal-clattering, smoke-filled industry, and of an era forever etched in our industrial heritage.

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Focusing on the second half of the eighteenth century, a period when Britain was almost continuously at war, this book looks at different social groups, from the aristocratic elite to the labouring and criminal poor, prostitutes and petty thieves. Drawing on a range of material from personal letters to trial reports, from popular prints to love tokens, it exposes the personal cost of warfare and imperial ambition. It also reveals the opportunities for greater self-determination that some women were able to grasp, as the responsibility for maintaining the home and bringing up children fell squarely on them in their husbands’ absence. The text includes many voices from the past and throws fresh light on an under-researched aspect of women’s history. Margarette Lincoln’s fascinating book is illustrated with images from the National Maritime Museum's extensive collection of oil paintings, prints and drawings.

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This chilling collection of true stories delves into the villainous deeds that have taken place in Essex during the last 100 years. Cases of murder, robbery, poisoning and fraud are all examined as the shadier side of the county’s past is exposed. From the brutal killing of Police Sergeant Eves at Purleigh in 1893; the murder of a Chief Constable; the tale of Sally Arsenic; the Rayleigh Bath Chair murder; the infamous Coggeshall gang, and bodysnatching, this book sheds new light on Essex’s criminal history. Compiled by a former Inspector with the Essex Police Force and illustrated with a wide range of photographs and archive ephemera drawn from the archive of the Essex Police Museum, Essex Murder & Crime is sure to fascinate both residents and visitors alike as these shocking events of the past are revealed for a new generation.

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The popular seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea has long been a haven for holidaymakers, but the town also harbours some disturbing secrets... Discover the darker side of Southend with this spooky collection of spine-chilling tales from around the town. From ghostly sightings in Hadleigh Castle, ominous sounds and smells on the seafront and tales of mysterious shapes at the town’s pubs and taverns, this book is guaranteed to make your blood run cold. Illustrated with over sixty pictures, Haunted Southend will delight everyone interested in the paranormal.

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In the 1950s Merseyside was a Mecca for steam enthusiasts; over 400 locomotives were allocated to the seven depots that serviced Liverpool and Birkenhead. This book covers the last twenty years of steam in Merseyside, when the area was the centre of commercial and maritime business. For the enthusiast, these sheds were places of magic, where giants of steam could be viewed at close range; for those who worked there, the experience was somewhat different as poor equipment and long shifts were commonplace. Shed Side on Merseyside provides a fascinating portrait of the daily operations of the freight and passenger trains of the region during the final years of Britain's steam era. First-hand accounts from staff including diary entries provide an insight into this period and contemporary photographs and drawings evoke the grimy, metal-clattering, smoke-filled industry, forever etched in our industrial heritage.

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Who is the unseen lady that makes her presence chillingly felt to those who fail to bid her ‘Good Morning’? What was the featureless dark shadow that terrified a curious young boy exploring a disused fort? From heart-stopping encounters with a Roman soldier to the mysterious sounds of an ancient battle, this collection of ghostly goings-on and paranormal happenings is a mixture of personal accounts and well-researched local legends, with many of the stories backed up by the town’s rich, and sometimes bloody, history. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources, Haunted Weymouth is sure to send a shiver down the spine of anyone daring to learn more about the haunted history of the area. Including many previously unpublished stories, this book will appeal to both serious ghost hunters and those who simply want to discover what frights lurk beneath the surface of this once royal seaside resort.

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First published in 1916, A.L. Fowler’s book of household tips is an indispensable guide to effortlessly becoming a domestic goddess. With long-forgotten tricks for tackling twenty-first-century tasks such as removing stains, rescuing over-salted food and keeping a fridge odour-free, A.L. Fowler is practical and to the point. This delightful volume also reveals the best way to rid yourself of annoying household pests including spiders, ants and flies, and provides tips on how to remove odours from your hands while advising on the use of natural products to clean floors, windows and cooking utensils. Fowler also shows the early twentieth-century housewife how to perform miracles in the kitchen, with classic tips on making pastry extra flaky, the quickest way to peel carrots and how best to remove burnt bits from an overdone cake.

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In the Royal Navy vernacular, the term 'greenie' describes the officers and ratings responsible for the electrical engineering functions of the fleet. Electrical engineering has 'driven' the Royal Navy for far longer than one might imagine, from solving the problem of magnetic interference with the compass by the ironclad early in the 20th century onward. Author Commander Moore traces the development of technology from 1850 to today's integrated micro computers that control almost every aspect of navigation, intel, and strike capacity. At the same time, he describes how the Navy's structure and manpower changed to accommodate the new technologies, changes often accelerated in wartime, particularly in World War II. Without the full cooperation of naval establishments and organisations and various public and private museums and manufacturers, this work would have been impossible to produce. Written in an anecdotal, narrative style but with a complete mastery of the science itself, it will appeal not only to those interested in the history of the Royal Navy but also those many thousands, past and present, who can claim the honour of calling themselves one of the Greenies.

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