Search results for ""the history press""

The paranormal history of High Wycombe is brought vividly to life in this, the first dedicated guide to the haunted and mysterious sites of this Buckinghamshire town. Writer, photographer and psychical researcher Eddie Brazil brings together a chilling collection of supernatural experiences, ranging from Hughenden Manor, where the ghost of Benjamin Disraeli walks the corridors, to the phantom horseman of Penn village, the sinister Woman in Black at Burleighfield House, and the troubled shade of The George Inn. Here there are haunted roads, cellars, railway lines, woods, caves and buildings, both ancient and modern, where a host of ghostly denizens from the compelling and chilling world of the supernatural draw disturbingly close to the living. Richly illustrated and full of first-hand accounts, this book will fascinate everyone with an interest in the unexplained.

Read more less

This new book is a remarkable and moving account of life on the home front in Manchester during the Second World War. Based on transcripts of recorded interviews with senior civilians and former members of the Armed Services, this is an invaluable first-hand record of what it was like to live under the shadow of war. The everyday hardships and heroism are recalled: the Blitz, rationing, the Home Guard, evacuees, war work, and the American presence prior to D-Day. Despite all the tragedy and difficulties, the Mancunian spirit shines through with frequent dashes of unquenchable humour. Richly illustrated, and filled with true narratives of the courage and unbreakable spirit of the people of Manchester during those tumultuous years, this book looks at how the city fared during the Second World War, played her part in victory, and how the day-to-day life of her people was affected.

Read more less

From May 1940 the Children’s Overseas Reception Board began to move children to safety abroad to Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand. The scheme was extremely popular, and over 200,000 applications were made within just four months. In addition, thousands of children were privately evacuated overseas. The ‘sea-vacs’, as they became known, had a variety of experiences. After weeks at sea they began a new life thousands of miles away. Letters home took up to twelve weeks to reach their destinations and many of these children were totally cut off from their families in the UK. Most found their new way of life to be a positive one in which they were well cared for; for others it was a miserable, difficult or frightening time as they encountered homesickness, prejudice and even abuse. This book reveals in heartbreaking detail the unique experiences of sea-vacs, and their surprising influence on international wartime policy, used as they were as an attempt to elicit international sympathy and financial support for the British war effort.

Read more less

Did you know that Winston Churchill narrowly avoided assassination in the Second World War? Or that Prince Albert helped Britain avoid war with the United States in the nineteenth century from his deathbed? In this riveting read, James Moore and Paul Nero reveal fifty of history’s most dramatic narrow escapes. From wars that were averted to invasions, revolutions and apocalyptic scenarios that we avoided by the skin of our teeth, History's Narrowest Escapes chronicles such stories as how a Soviet Army colonel stopped the Third World War in 1983, and how Nelson’s heroics at The Battle of Trafalgar might never have happened if it hadn’t been for the quick thinking of a humble seaman eight years before. Full of fascinating little-known facts, heroic acts, daring deeds and stories of serendipity, this book reveals how our history could have been very different… and possibly much worse!

Read more less

‘Curious’ is perhaps not the first word you would use to label Essex. But ‘curiouser and curiouser’ it becomes when you dig below the surface. Forget the popular image of Essex boy and girl. Come and meet larger-than-life characters, including the one-time fattest man in England, whose waist was wider than the height of an average man. And talking of big, discover the origin of children's favourite Humpty Dumpty. Did you know that explorer David Livingstone, who trekked across Africa, got lost in Essex; that Essex villain Dick Turpin was only identified because a relative refused to pay the cost of a ‘stamp’, or that St George saw off his dragon here? Shocking, creepy and bizarre tales abound if you dig a little deeper. And if you literally look below the surface in Essex - 100ft underground to be precise - you’ll discover one of the most incredible Government ‘secrets’ of all time.

Read more less

In June 1918, 135 teenagers arrived in France as part of the thousands sent to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. The German Spring offensive had failed, but it was far from over. The coming months would see some of the fiercest, bloodiest, yet least remembered fighting of the war as these young men finally broke the trench stalemate and forced the enemy into retreat. During this time, one in four of these teenaged soldiers would be killed and over half of them wounded. Looking beyond the war as portrayed by poets and playwrights, Tim Lynch tells the story of Britain’s true Unknown Soldiers – the teenage conscripts who won the war only to be forgotten by history. These were not the naïve recruits of 1914 who believed it would all be over by Christmas, but young men who had grown up in wartime – men who knew about the trenches, the gas and the industrialised slaughter, but who, when their time came, answered their country’s call anyway. For the first time, following the experiences of a typical reinforcement draft, this book explores what turned men so often dismissed as ‘shirkers’ into a motivated, efficient and professional army, but it also reminds us that in the cemeteries of France and Flanders, behind every headstone is a personal story.

Read more less

The mettle of the famous First Household Cavalry Regiment was tested to the maximum in action in the mountains of Italy in 1943–44. This book explores a largely undervalued and forgotten part of a costly and complex struggle. We directly experience what it was like to be there through the words of those who were. In late 1943 1st HCR was sent to Syria to patrol the Turko-Syrian border, it being feared that Turkey would join the Axis powers. In April 1944, 1st HCR was shipped to Italy. The Italian campaign was at that time well underway. During the summer of 1944, 1st HCR were in action near Arezzo and in the advance to Florence in a reconnaissance role, probing enemy positions, patrolling constantly. The Regiment finally took part in dismounted actions in the Gothic Line – the German defensive system in Northern Italy. Based upon interviews with the few survivors still with us and several unpublished diaries, there are many revelations that will entertain – and some that will shock. The 1st Household Cavalry 1943–44 is published on the 70th anniversary of the actions described, as a tribute to the fighting force made up from the two most senior regiments of the British Army and, in the words of His Grace the Duke of Wellington who has kindly provided the foreword, ‘to gain insight into why such a war should never be fought again’.

Read more less

Objects allow us to reach out and touch the past and they play a living role in history today. Through them we can understand the experience of men and women during the First World War. They bear witness to the stories of men whose only morning comfort in the trenches was the rum ration, children who grew up with only one photograph of the father that they would never get to know, women who would sacrifice their girlhood in hospitals yards from the frontline, pinning a brooch on to remind themselves of a past life. Weapons like the machine gun and vehicles like the tank that transformed the battlefield; planes that had barely learnt to be flown entangled in dogfights far above the barbed wire of the frontline; German submarines that stalked shipping across the seas. Through these incredible artefacts, Peter Doyle tells the story of the First World War in a whole new light.

Read more less

What turns an ordinary man into an extraordinary one? The answer lies in the stories of six teenage volunteers for Second World War aircrew who exchanged school uniform for Air Force Blue and took a giant step into the unknown. Based on original research from flying log books, diaries and family archives, this collection of true tales describes the men’s training for those coveted ‘Wings’; the nervous excitement of that first sortie over enemy territory; and flying into the hell of an enemy flak barrage and fighters. From the skies over Europe to jungles and deserts, all endured hardship, adventure and danger. They experienced action under enemy fire, wounds, burns and crash-landings, escape and evasion in occupied territory, and the privations of life as a POW. Seventy years on and these brushes with death are by any measure hair-raising encounters that turned adolescents into men – some of whom survived the war, while others paid the ultimate price.

Read more less

Piltdown. Even today the name sends a shiver down the collective spine of the scientific community, for this was the most dramatic and daring fraud ever perpetrated upon the world of science and academia. Between 1908 and 1912, a series of amazing discoveries relating to what appeared to be the earliest human were made close to the little village of Piltdown in Sussex. These remains belonged to the developmental ‘missing link’ between man and ape. The basic principles of evolution, first propounded by Charles Darwin some fifty years before, now appeared as indisputable fact. The Manchester Guardian ran the first headline: ‘THE EARLIEST MAN?: REMARKABLE DISCOVERY IN SUSSEX. A SKULL MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD’ it screamed, adding that the discovery was ‘one of the most important of our time’. The news spread quickly around the world, with many voicing their eagerness to examine the find. Few archaeological discoveries have the capacity to be front-page news twice over, but ‘Piltdown Man’ is a rare exception. Forty-one years after he first became famous, the ‘Earliest Englishman’ was again hot news. It was late November 1953, and the world was about to discover that Piltdown Man had been a hoax. Not just any hoax mind, the London Star declared it to be ‘THE BIGGEST SCIENTIFIC HOAX OF THE CENTURY’.

Read more less

Black Death! The horrors of the plague in Camden! My wife is under the floor! The true story of Camden murderer Doctor Crippen! The elephant stampede! Weird accidents and strange events galore! Camden has a dark side to rival that of any London borough. The haunt of highwaymen, its fields also witnessed numerous duels. Crime, poverty and depravity were rife in parts of Holborn until the late nineteenth century. The first murderer to be caught using the transatlantic cable lived in Camden, and the last woman to be hanged shot her lover outside a Hampstead pub. With grave-robbers and grisly graveyard exhumations, eccentric residents and rioting peasants, and featuring tons of weird true events, you’ll never see the borough in the same way again!

Read more less

This fascinating book, enriched by archive photographs from private collections, contains a terrifying assortment of true-life tales from Hertford and its surrounding villages. Featuring stories of unexplained phenomena, phantoms and poltergeists – including a blood-soaked policewoman seen in a mirror, the numerous ghosts of Haileybury College, and spectral Cromwellian soldiers – discover what lurks in the shadows of this historically rich county town. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources, and accounts which have never before been published, Haunted Hertford is sure to enthral everyone interested in the supernatural history of the area.

Read more less

Following the disruption, hardship and challenges of the Second World War, the post-war years brought a sense of optimism and excitement, with families at last enjoying peacetime. This new book follows the lives of the nation’s schoolchildren through the two decades following the war years, recalling what it was like for those experiencing the creation of a new school system; a system underpinned by the introduction of the 11 plus exam and the provision of free secondary education for all. Combining personal reminiscences with a lively description of what was going on in the wider world of British education, Simon Webb provides a vivid and entertaining picture of school life during in the 1940s and ’50s which is sure to bring back nostalgic memories for all who remember the best days of their lives.

Read more less

Presenting an account of the part played by Britain's railways during the Second World War, this book deals with operational matters and the impact of enemy action on railways. It also looks at financial arrangements, the part played by railway workshops in producing equipment for the military, and the wartime experience of the railways' ships.

Read more less

Do motorists pick up a phantom hitchhiker on Blue Bell Hill during stormy nights? Does Satan appear if you dance round the Devil's Bush in the village of Pluckley? Do big cats roam the local woods? And what happens if you manage to count the 'Countless Stones' near Aylesford? For centuries strange urban legends have materialised in the Garden of England. Now, for the first time, folklorist and monster-hunter Neil Arnold looks at these intriguing tales, strips back the layers, and reveals if there is more to these Chinese whispers than meets the eye. Folklore embeds itself into a local community, often to the extent that some people believe all manner of mysteries and take them as fact. Whether they’re stories passed around the school playground, through the internet, or round a flickering campfire, urban legends are everywhere. Kent Urban Legends is a quirky and downright spooky ride into the heart of Kent folklore.

Read more less

In 1963 Dr Beeching’s infamous report signalled the end for over 15,000 miles of track, a third of Britain’s stations, and for 70,000 jobs, as well as making irrevocable changes to the way of life of many consumers. Much misery was caused and Beeching’s name was muddied, but in hindsight the report probably did more than any other single factor to preserve the nation’s railway heritage. Without the Beeching cuts, much of the locomotives, stock, tracks, signals and signs would have crumbled, been forgotten or rotted. However, the gentle railway gradients lend themselves perfectly to walkways and cycle paths; buildings have been refurbished; memorabilia now commands prices at auction which would astonish those who painted the metal. And of course, the heritage lines continue to draw many thousands of visitors each year. After the initial shock of the cuts, this fresh appraisal considers these benefits and more, which may not have come about without the Beeching Report.

Read more less

Following the extraordinary career of a Second World War bomber pilot, Flying Among Heroes brings together adventure and human daring with the harsh realities of being a member of the wartime Royal Air Force. Tom Cooke, like hundreds of other young men in 1939, joined up to the RAF just a few days before war began aged 18, being selected for pilot training. Just five years later, he had flown fifty-one operations, taken part in the Berlin bombings and three 1,000-bomber raids, and had even taken part in special operations in conjunction with the SOE. Not only did Cooke volunteer for an optional second and third tour of operations, but he was also shot down over France on his thirteenth special operation, survived the bale out with his crew and evaded capture. Helped by the French Resistance, he managed to make his way into Spain and was taken back to England from Gibraltar. Unsurprisingly, considering Cooke’s outstanding bravery and patriotism, he was decorated multiple times in his career. Franks and Muggleton make use of primary documentation, including Cooke’s own words, and contemporary images to put together a poignant story of wartime duty. In an effort to portray the situation for many young men like Cooke, much information is included on other squadrons and operations, as well as on Bomber Command itself. In all, 55,000 men of Bomber Command gave their lives to the cause of the Second World War; this is the tale of just one of those remarkable young men who survived the hardships of war, returning victorious to a nation of heroes.

Read more less

Taking you through the year day by day, The London Book of Days contains quirky, eccentric, amusing and important events and facts from different periods of history, many of which had a major impact on the religious and political history of Britain as a whole. Ideal for dipping into, this addictive little book will keep you entertained and informed. Featuring hundreds of snippets of information gleaned from the vaults of London’s archives, it will delight residents and visitors alike.

Read more less

Many books have been produced which detail the lives and thoughts of famous individuals. A View from the Wings is unique, recalling a wartime boyhood in which aircraft flying constantly overhead played a large part. This experience led to a lifetime career in the aviation industry both in the UK and overseas such as the US and South Africa. Mixed with events of a more personal nature often coated with whimsical humour, the author has evocatively captured the rise and demise of Britain’s aircraft industry in the post-war period. In setting out to be non-technical, A View from the Wings will appeal to those whose memories embrace the sound barrier-breaking years and the leap of faith and technology that saw Concorde defeat the Americans in the race to produce a practical supersonic airliner. All too often political procurement and technical failures have made for dramatic headlines and these too are subjected to much critical comments. Think of the critically acclaimed Empire of the Clouds (Faber and Faber, 2010), but instead of a boyhood observer, the author was an active part of the British aviation industry in its former prime and eventual implosion.

Read more less

An army marches on its stomach and it fights on its stomach too – yet have you ever wondered how hundreds of men on the frontline are fed amidst hails of bullets and how kitchens are created in the desert or in the trench lines? In 1941 the army officially created the Army Catering Corps and opened the Army School of Cookery in Aldershot (to be followed by other schools all over the world, including Poona, India). Troops were trained to make meals out of the bare minimum of ingredients, to feed a company of men from only a mess tin and cook curries to feed hundreds only yards from the frontline. This book tells the story of how soldiers became army cooks, their training and in the frontline kitchen. Frontline Cooking also brings together recipes from the Second World War, including hand-written notes from troops fighting in the Middle East, India and all over Europe. Many recipes are illustrated with cartoons and drawings on how to assemble the perfect oven and kitchen tools at a moment’s notice from nothing. This book is the perfect inspiration for those who like to create an amazing meal anywhere, anytime, from anything.

Read more less

From Gower to Flintoff, Waugh to Vaughan, Cronje to Pietersen, Paul Nixon has shared a dressing room with some of the most evocative names in international and domestic cricket – and often enraged them on the field of play. The wicketkeeper, known as his sport’s most prolific ‘sledger’, has amassed more than 20 years of stories from his career at the heart of the game and now reveals them in typically outspoken style. From ‘Fredalo’ to match-fixing, Nixon has experienced some of the most notorious episodes in cricket history, possesses strident opinions on the game and has a track record of success in the English first-class game and the Twenty20 revolution. With an accent on off-the-field anecdotes, Nixon also lays bare the personality that led the Australian legend Steve Waugh to compare him to: ‘a mosquito buzzing around in the night, that needs to be swatted but always escapes.’

Read more less

Discover the shadier side of York’s history with this remarkable collection of true-life crimes from across the city. Featuring all factions of the criminal underworld, this macabre selection of tales includes murders, poisonings, poaching, theft and highway robbery and also details the gruesome punishments that awaiting the perpetrators of such crimes. Drawing on a wide variety of historical sources and containing many cases which have never before been published, York Murders will fascinate everyone interested in true crime and the history of the city.

Read more less

This is not a guidebook. This little book brings together past and present to offer a taste of Southampton. Learn about the movers and shakers who shaped this fantastic town. The great and the good; the bad and the ugly. Small wonders, tall stories, triumph and tragedy. Best places – worst places. Origins, evolution, future. Written by a local who knows what makes Southampton tick.

Read more less

This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Cheltenham during the twentieth century. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during a century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Cheltenham’s recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered, and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. The book also provides a striking account of the changes that have also altered Cheltenham’s appearance, and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black and white photographs, this book recalls what Cheltenham has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they moved through the first years of this new century.

Read more less

From the momentous to the outlandish, this little book brings together past and present to offer a taste of Jersey. Learn about the movers and shakers who shaped this fantastic island. The great and the good; the bad and the ugly. Small wonders, tall stories, triumph and tragedy. Best places – worst places. Origins, evolution, future. Written by a local who knows what makes Jersey tick.

Read more less

This is NOT a guide book. This little book brings together past and present to offer a taste of Manchester. Learn more about the movers and shakers who shaped this fantastic city. The great and the good; the bad and the ugly. Small wonders, tall stories, TRIUMPH and tragedy. BEST places - Worst Places. Local lingo, architecture, green spaces, events, traditions, fact, fiction. Origins, evolution, FUTURE. Written by a local who knows what makes MANCHESTER tick.

Read more less

America produced some of the world’s finest, most interesting, advanced and innovative passenger ships, such as the brilliant SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever to sail the seas, ingloriously left lying in limbo for 42 years. This book also documents passenger ships seized in wartime, notably the giant German Vaterland, which became the Leviathan of the United States Lines, as well as many newly built passenger ships, such as Santa Rosa, Lurline, President Cleveland, Independence and Brasil. Also included are peacetime troopships as well as ‘combo ships’, the once very popular passenger-cargo ships. The great saga of American liners continues to this day with modern cruise ships in Hawaiian service. The cast of ships is both vast and varied, but endlessly fascinating. Presenting many unpublished images alongside historic, insightful text including personal anecdotes of the ships and voyages from passengers and crew alike, Bill Miller takes the reader on a nostalgic voyage and the great American passenger fleet sails once again!

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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’.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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!

Read more less

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?

Read more less

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!

Read more less

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!

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less