Search results for ""The History Press""

Northumbria was one of the great kingdoms of Britain in the Dark Ages, enduring longer than the Roman Empire. Yet it has been all but forgotten. This book puts Northumbria back in its rightful place, at the heart of British history. From the impregnable fastness of Bamburgh Castle, the kings of Northumbria ruled a vast area, and held sway as High Kings of Britain. From the tidal island of Lindisfarne, extraordinary saints and learned scholars brought Christianity and civilization to the rest of the country. Now, thanks to the ongoing work of a dedicated team of archaeologists this story is slowly being brought to light. The excavations at Bamburgh Castle have revealed a society of unsuspected sophistication and elegance, capable of creating swords and jewellery unparalleled before or since, and works of art and devotion that still fill the beholder with wonder.

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An illustrated diary listing events and happenings in Ladywood for every day of the year Norman Bartlam’s long-awaited new book is a day by day collection of events and happenings in Ladywood from the last two centuries. The book is based on many hours of research into newspapers, magazines and logbooks, which have brought to light some forgotten episode’s in the area’s history, as well as serving as a reminder of how life was for its inhabitants in days gone by. Within its pages is something to appeal to all ages, and will provide a great source of nostalgia for all those who know and love Ladywood.

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The English reformers of the 1530s, with Thomas Cromwell at their head, continued to have a strong belief in kingly rule and authority, in contrast to their radical approach to the power of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. Resisting the king was tantamount to resisting God in their eyes, and even on a matter of conscience the will of the king should prevail. Yet just over 100 years later, Charles I was called the 'man of blood', and Oliver Cromwell famously declared that 'we will cut off his head with the crown on it'. But how did we get from the one to the other? How did the deferential Reformation become a regicidal revolution? Following on from his biography of Thomas Cromwell, John Schofield examines how the English character and the way it perceived royal rule changed between the time of Thomas Cromwell and that of his great-great-grandnephew Oliver.

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The records of the Sheffield Workhouse were destroyed in the bombing of Sheffield during the Second World War. However, using archive material, newspaper reports and the remaining Guardians’ minutes from 1890, this book reveals the story of this feared local institution. Famously contentious, the Sheffield Board of Guardians often went against the wishes of the Local Government Board, and even of their own workhouse staff. Containing the full and fascinating histories of Sheffield’s three workhouses (as well as the workhouse school and the attached farm), this book will captivate residents and visitors alike.

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This chilling follow-up to Devon Murders brings together more murderous tales that shocked not only the county but made headline news throughout the nation. Covering the length and breadth of Devon, the featured cases include the stabbing of Walter Lechlade, a close associate of the Bishop of Exeter in 1283; the murder of Exeter lawyer Nicholas Radford in 1455, victim of a feud with the powerful Courtenay family; the suspicious deaths of baby George Lakeman at Buckfastleigh in 1817, and of the newly-married Laura Shortland near Blackawaton in 1884; the killing of Bridget Walsh by her lover at Plymouth in 1874; the case of baby farmer Annie Tooke, convicted of infanticide at Exeter in 1879; and the affair between Sidney Chamberlain and Doreen Messenger, a girl half his age, which led to her being strangled on Haldon Hill in 1949. John Van der Kiste’s well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to everyone interested in true-crime history and the shadier side of Devon’s past.

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This book is more than a biography of kings and queens; it is an encyclopaedic work on every aspect of monarchy in Britain from semi-legendary times to the present day. Arranged in an A-Z format, it includes mini biographies on each of the forty-two kings and queens who have ruled since the Norman Conquest, details of the royal lines in Scotland before the Act of Union, the background to the royal houses of Britain and the consorts - largely foreign - who have married into the monarchy. Royal scandals, wars, ceremonies, households, tombs and insignia make fascinating reading, and this book is the ideal reference work for all those who want to know more about individual monarchs and the impressive legacy of myths, traditions, beliefs and practices that have grown up around the institution of the monarchy.

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Everyone remembers the Queen’s ‘Annus Horribilis’, but what do 'quid pro quo' and 'habeas corpus' mean? Why do plants have Latin names? Why do families, towns, countries and even football teams have Latin mottoes? What do the Latin epitaphs in churches say? What are the words of Mozart's 'Requiem'? These are just a few of the topics covered in this book. As Mark Walker makes clear, present-day English is still steeped in its Roman and Latin origins. As a result English still has many thousands of Latin words in everyday use. Caveat emptor!

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Ipswich Town’s Championship win of 1961/62 was one the greatest shocks in the history of professional football in England. No one could have conceived of how a small-town club would break into the top division of English football and take the Championship trophy at their very first attempt, a feat never achieved before or since. This is the story of that season in a match-by-match account set against the background of the news stories of the day. Also included is an analysis of the players, the team tactics and the manager Alf Ramsey, plus a statistical breakdown of the season.

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In 2007, journalist Nick Allen quit a secure job in Pakistan as a news agency writer to experience the life of foreign troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Over several years he journeyed as an embedded reporter with a dozen armies, working his way through placid backwaters to remote, savage hotspots where daily clashes with insurgent forces were the norm. Driven by a desire to himself live and then convey some of the drama, tragedy, farce and sheer frustration experienced by soldiers and marines from California to Copenhagen, Allen returned again and again for ‘embeds’ with different contingents to explore a multinational effort that will surely define NATO’s future and events in South Asia, and the world, for many years to come. No other writer managed to gain such broad access to the forty-two-country Coalition that was deployed in Afghanistan, or produce an account that carries so much of the essence of soldiering in this inhospitable environment, where extremes of climate, treachery and enemy cunning have always defeated nations that dared to wage war in the ‘graveyard of empires.’ Embed explores the fragile calm of Bamiyan and its ancient sites and other low-intensity regions – usually ignored but a vital part of the overall picture – together with the ferocious clashes of Helmand, Kandahar, Kunar and other provinces. The author found that even the most sophisticated armed forces had been sucked into a fight they were ill-prepared for and, amid political uncertainty and dwindling public support back home, ultimately could not win.

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From heart-stopping accounts of apparitions, poltergeists and related supernatural phenomena, to first-hand encounters with phantoms and spirits, this collection of stories contains both new and well-known spooky tales from around Stirling. A whole chapter is dedicated to the mysterious goings-on at Stirling Castle, where cleaners in the King's Old Building claimed to have heard footsteps coming from the third floor — which hasn't existed since a fire in the nineteenth-century; while a 1930s photograph purports to capture the shadow of a phantom guardsman — possibly the same 'Highland Soldier' often reportedly mistaken by tourists for a castle guide.The town itself has no shortage of fascinating tales, including the story of the Old Town's most famous phantom, seventeenth-century merchant John 'Auld Staney Breeks' Cowane, whose spirit is said to inhabit his statue each Hogmanay. A playful ghost supposedly throws pots and pans around the kitchens of the Darnley Coffee House, while frequent power failures and mishaps in the Tolbooth Theatre — originally the eighteenth-century Burgh jail — are blamed upon the malicious spirit of the last man hanged, Alan Mair. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources, Haunted Stirling is guaranteed to intrigue and chill both believers and sceptics alike.

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This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Aylesbury over the past century. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader a glimpse of familiar places during a period of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Aylesbury's recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. The book provides a striking account of the changes that have taken place on the streets of the town 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 has changed in Aylesbury in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life.

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Southern England. Late summer 1940. The nation is fighting for its very survival and the Luftwaffe's aerial offensive is unrelenting. All that lies between invasion and salvation for Britain is the 'thin blue line' of RAF Fighter Command and its pilots. This newly illustrated anniversary edition of Life as a Battle of Britain Pilot reveals what it was like to fly a fighter plane in the Battle of Britain. Who were the Spitfire and Hurricane pilots of 1940? How did they spend a typical day? And when pitched together in combat at 30,000 feet, which was the better machine - Spitfire or Me109? Read Life as a Battle of Britain Pilot and then ask yourself: would I have been up to the job?

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During the 1930s the popular press were carrying stories of a death ray that could disable aircraft, and it became such a popular notion that an investigation was carried out by a government scientist, Robert Watson-Watt. His discovery was that it was not that electro-magnetic waves could interfere with aircraft, but that aircraft could interfere with radio transmissions. The strategic importance of this was appreciated and a secret establishment was set up to develop a means of using radio transmissions to detect the approach of enemy aircraft – the birth of radar. As World War II broke out Ian Goult joined this elite group of scientists – aged only sixteen – as a lab assistant, working on GEE, a navigational aid allowing accurate location of targets. Its success allowed Bomber command to effectively navigate as far as the Ruhr.In Secret Location, Goult describes taking part in work on radar and microwave techniques that gave Britain supremacy in the air, and greatly improved submarine detection during the Battle of the Atlantic, saving thousands of tons of materiel and many lives. Told in an engaging style, this book offers a unique insight in those men whose achievements during the war have been underappreciated, but whose efforts were a key factor in the Allied victory. Postwar, Ian Goult was closely involved in the development of ground proximity warning systems and and the very first ATOL.

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From heart-stopping accounts of apparitions, manifestations and related supernatural phenomena, to first-hand encounters with phantoms and spirits, this collection of stories contains both new and well-known spooky tales from around Stockton. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources, Haunted Stockton contains a chilling range of ghostly phenomena sure to chill everyone interested in the supernatural history of the area to the bone.

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The people of Oxfordshire certainly know how to enjoy themselves, and take part in many varied and remarkable customs, sports and traditions that are held annually around the county. Some of these, like the May Morning and Beating the Bounds, go back for centuries but have been altered and adapted over the years. Others are relatively recent revivals, such as the agricultural show at Thame, which is Victorian in origin. The last fifty years has seen an unprecedented number of new celebrations, which have become traditions in their own right. Foremost among these are the Cropredy and Towersey folk festivals. Above all, these events are community-based and often also charity fund-raisers. Some of those featured here include the Bampton Great Shirt race, egg jarping at Chinnor, the Banbury Hobby Horse festival, Abingdon Morris Dancers Mock Mayor Elections, the Pumpkin Club, and the pub game Aunt Sally, which is virtually unknown outside of the county, among many others. Illustrated with 180 superb photographs, this book features funfairs and fêtes, celebrations and carnivals, games and shows, each one a unique celebration of Oxfordshire’s heritage.

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If you dream of country without caravans, where people are free to hunt foxes, smoke in pubs and where the Health and Safety Executive has been disbanded then this is the book for you. Speed Cameras, Ramblers, People Carriers... our country is going down the toilet and nobody in power seems to care - what can be done to make Britain great again?

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Covering the legendary Lofoten and Dieppe raids, the D-Day landings and the capture of Flushing, James Dunning recounts the history of No. 4 Commando, an elite wartime special service unit, from formation in 1940 to disbandment five years later. The author, himself, a ‘Fighting Fourth’ veteran, describes how 500 volunteers, despite initial problems, prejudices and frustrations, developed into one of the most feared fighting formations of the Second World War. The extraordinarily tough and unorthodox training undertaken by No. 4 Commando prepared them for the raids of 1941 and 1942, their protracted involvement on D-Day and for 83 days’ action in the struggle for Normandy. Their last major operation was the storming and capture of the vital port of Flushing in November 1944. This readable and authoritative history of the unit reveals their important role in the Second World War.

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For decades the high walls of Winchester Prison have contained some of the country’s most infamous criminals. Until hanging was abolished in the 1960s it was also the main centre of execution for those convicted in Hampshire. Among the executions carried out here was the hanging of soldier Abraham Goldenberg for the murder of a bank clerk; William Podmore, hanged in 1930 after killing a garage owner in Southampton; and two Polish refugees who murdered a have-a-go hero during a bungled bank robbery. Winchester was also the site of the last triple execution in Britain, when a Teignmouth coachman, a Southampton labourer and an eighteen-year-old rifleman based at Aldershot were hanged together for three unrelated crimes. Fully illustrated with photographs news cuttings and engravings, Hanged at Winchester features each of the cases in one volume for the first time and is sure to appeal to everyone interested in the shadier side of Hampshire’s history.

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From Ace to Zodiac - via the world-beating Land Rover, the thrilling Morgan Aeromax, the eternally young Mini Cooper and the unique London taxi - this is a celebration of the best British cars, old and new, in all their glorious diversity. Don't you believe it when people say there's no such thing as a 'British' car any more. As a nation, the calamity of British Leyland and MG Rover lingers in our collective conscience, but car factories in Britain today build some of the world's most advanced and desirable cars. Some of them have Japanese names, for sure, but then Ford was always more hamburger than roast beef, wasn't it? Britain's engineers, designers and entrepreneurs have for decades been the creators of motor cars with unique style and charm, from the Bentley 3-litre and Morris Minor Traveller of 'then' to the Aston Martin Vantage and Lotus Evora of 'now'. Inside, you'll find out about the country's 100 most significant models, boasting style, speed, ingenuity and The Right Stuff. They'll make you glad they're British!

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Graverobbing was a dark but profitable industry in pre-Victorian Scotland – criminals, gravediggers and middle-class medical students alike abstracted newly-buried corpses to send to the anatomy schools. Only after the trials of the infamous murderers Burke and Hare and the passing of the Anatomy Act of 1832 did the grisly trade end. From burial grounds in the heart of Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh to quiet country graveyards in the Scottish Borders and Aberdeenshire, this book takes you to every cemetery ever raided, and reveals where you can find extant pieces of anti-resurrectionist graveyard furniture, from mortsafes, coffin cages and underground vaults to watchtowers and morthouses. Richly illustrated, filled with hundreds of stories of ‘reanimated’ corpses, daring thefts, black-hearted murders and children sold to the slaughter by their own mothers, and with Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic short story The Body Snatcher at the end, this macabre guide will delight everyone who loves Scotland's dark past.

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This fascinating book charts the history of Bournemouth through a variety of images depicting scenes of yesteryear along with contrasting images of contemporary views from over 100 years later. Where possible, the modern photographs have been taken from the same vantage points to illustrate how the town has changed over the century. The archive postcards and photographs, many of which have previously been unpublished, show the gardens looking totally different, freshly laid out with a large fountain where the balloon now stands, and streets busy with trams and carts. With pictures accompanied by informative captions, this volume will rekindle fond memories in the older members of the town, and reveal a different Bournemouth for the younger members.

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Man City: 50 Classic Matches brings together, for the first time, all the Blues’ finest hours. Revel in the glory and relive some of the best moments from the early twentieth century right up to today. Featuring detailed reports sourced from news clippings of the day, complete with teams, attendance and other statistical data and interspersed with players’ quotes, this book is an entertaining read and attractive to City fans of all ages. From the first game ever played at Maine Road in 1923, to the last in 2003, and from belters at the City of Manchester Stadium to Wembley classics, relegation deciders and thrilling derbies against bitter rivals Manchester United, this book has all the drama you could ever want, and more if you can bear it. Encapsulating City’s reputation for doing things the hard way, this book has a generous smattering of gallows humour and ten mini-entries of ‘games to forget’. All in all, a unique and entertaining read.

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When Christine Cuss (née Pierce), was born in 1934, her doting father began a journal addressed to her. At first he recorded everyday details such as first teeth and family holidays, but as the 1930s progressed his words took on a more sinister tone, as Europe and the world prepared for war. As well as being a rare historical document, Notes to my Daughter shows another side to the Second World War. It was written by a man who was torn between his duty to his country and his duty to his family. In a poignant and heart-warming turn of events, at every crossroads Alexander Pierce chose his family, not least his only daughter, Christine. This little family is an example of the spirit and determination of the British people through difficult times. Old or young, the sentiments expressed in these love letters to a cherished child will not fail to touch and move all who read them, and open a window into the extraordinary life of an ordinary family.

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Jack the Ripper’s brutal murders have left an ineradicable stain on the gloomy streets of Whitechapel and surrounding area. Disturbingly, his infamous butchery was just one of many equally deplorable atrocities committed in the area, which collectively cast a shadow over the history of London’s East End and shocked the nation as a whole. Cases featured here include that of Henry Wainwright, tried in 1875 for the murder and dismemberment of his mistress, Harriet Lane; Polish-born Israel Lipski, charged with the murder of fellow lodger Miriam Angel in 1887; Myer Abramovitch, executed on 6 March 1912 for the gruesome double murder of Mr and Mrs Milstein at their home at Hanbury Street in 1911; and Harold Hall, who savagely murdered Kitty Roman with a penknife at Miller’s Court, Whitechapel in 1909, within sight of the room where Jack the Ripper’s final victim, Mary Kelly, was killed.

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Curious Buckinghamshire is a guide to over 100 unusual and extraordinary sights from all parts of the county. Featured here are tales of unsolved murders, witchcraft, hangings, poltergeists, ‘cunning men’, underground caves, backswording and riots, as well as myths, legends and folklore from around Buckinghamshire. Illustrated with a range of photographs and original drawings, Roger Long’s entertaining stories will inspire Buckinghamshire residents and visitors alike to greater exploration of both familiar and unknown sights of this historically rich and curious county.

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This is a charming compendium of historical oddities, curious customs and strange events from across West Yorkshire. Laid out in an easy to use A-Z format it explores a vast range of subjects, from folklore and legends to Yorkshire's strangest buildings, artefacts and memorials (including a drinker's tomb made from a beer barrel). Here also are some of Yorkshire's most eccentric characters and famous former inhabitants, and the stories behind some of the oddest events that have occurred in the county - and perhaps even in the whole of the British Isles. With countless Civil War curiosities, tragic tales and hilarious happenings, 'tha couldna mak it up!'. Richly illustrated with both modern and archive images, it will delight residents and visitors alike.

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Like many young men of the time, the boys of King Edward VI School saw the outbreak of the First World War as an opportunity for bravery and excitement. By the time the Armistice was signed in late 1918, thirty-one old boys and one Master had been killed. For such a small grammar school the cost was significant, as too were the number of awards for gallantry, including a Victoria Cross. Set against Stratford-upon-Avon and the boys’ schooldays, this intriguing book details the boys’ war and their involvement in the major battles on the Western Front, in Italy, Salonika, Macedonia, Gallipoli, Bulgaria and Russia. Ultimately a tragic and moving account, it captures the heart of a small community and represents the sense of adventure with which young men went to war.

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The third in Guy Halford-MacLeod’s series on the history of independent airlines in Britain after the Second World War, battling against ever-changing government policies, this well-organised book takes us from Harold Wilson’s first administration through the Thatcher years, to the surprising acceptance of Open Skies within the European Community. Britain’s Airlines focuses on the airlines, their managers, the aircraft they flew, and the conditions they contended with for survival. Guy Halford-MacLeod explains how the airlines made and remade themselves, ducking and diving in a slippery and difficult ring; and records the exploits of some well-known heavy-weights, Freddie Laker, Lord King, and Richard Branson. There are unfamiliar slants on the stories of the time, and this readable book offers both structure and expert analysis of the complex issues which faced the airlines and their regulators.

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With a quarter of million cars a day crowding onto the M25, and millions more standing nose-to-tail on our A-roads, Britain is now officially Europe’s largest car park. In Germany it’s illegal to drive on a motorway at less than 37mph, but over here it can be a struggle even to reach such a speed during daylight hours. Over-stressed, over-taxed, with petrol at well over a pound a litre and the morning and evening rush hours merging into one, UK motorists have become the slaves of the machine rather than its master. People, even so, are still keen to go places – according to the Times the A–Z to of London is the most shoplifted book in Britain – and so far at least there’s not better way of doing it than by car. Written with the suffering millions in mind, Blood, Sweat and Tyres is the antidote.Casting a wry eye over the world of modern motoring, and highlighting some of its strangest and more bizarre aspects, it seeks to put the sheer awfulness of commuting into some kind of perspective. Or at least to give the victims – motorists, their passengers, friends and families – something funny to read and to reflect on whilst they join the queue. Find out: why the most successful Le Mans driver of all time wishes he could race a 90 year old lady; why the Fab Three bullied Ringo into selling his favourite French supercar and how big a forest your average football team would need to plant to offset the massive carbon footprint of all the gas-guzzlers in the players’ car park.

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During the great age of steam, most railways in Dorset were operated by the Southern Railway and the Great Western Railway. These Dorset railway companies and daily life on the branch lines during this era and beyond are recorded here amid a wealth of informatively captioned photographs collected by authors Ted Gosling and Mike Clement. Bygone railway stations are affectionately recalled, together with the open cattle trucks and luxurious Pullman coaches that served our great –grandfathers’ generation. This book is a tribute to the men who worked on the demanding coal-fired locomotives of this age for they were truly the unsung heroes of Dorset’s railways.

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For more than a thousand years the Afon Conwy – the River Conway to the English – provided a military gateway into the heart of North Wales, firstly for the legions of Rome and then the English armies seeking to subdue the people of Wales. In later, more peaceful times, it proved a seemingly impossible barrier to the spread of transport links which sought to open up new and improved communications with Ireland – a barrier that can prove troublesome even today. A Postcard from the Conwy takes the reader on a journey in words and pictures along the entire length of the river and its headwaters, using more than 200 old postcards from the authors’ extensive collections. It is a pictorial record of soaring mountains and tranquil lakes, majestic bridges and castles, houses great and small, sailing boats and steamers – all immortalised by past generations of photographers and artists for the benefit of innumerable tourists and travellers.

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Built by Nobles of Girvan gives a wonderfully comprehensive account of one of Scotland’s finest boat-building companies –Alexander Noble & Sons Ltd of Girvan – from its founding in 1946 to the present-day. The phrase ‘Built by Nobles of Girvan’ is synonymous with the construction of finely crafted wooden fishing vessels – in particular some wonderfully elegant and successful ring netters – yet to think of the yard as a builder of ringers only is to deny it its versatility. While the ringers take pride of place in this book it also covers the other types of fishing vessels built in Girvan, including forty-footers, seiners and trawlers as well as the yard’s diversification into construction, using steel, of both fishing and non-fishing boats.This book is the master list of Nobles’ fishing boats. It records the main dimensions of each boat, the major changes which took place during her lifetime and her ultimate fate. The history of the yard is covered in an insightful introduction which includes some fine fishermen’s tales of big catches and happy days spent fishing, as well as detailing the other activities that took place there such as that of maintenance and repair work. Featuring over 180 photographs, many previously unpublished and from the Nobles archives, each fishing vessel is illustrated by at least one image, allowing readers the incredible opportunity to revisit the grand sight of a varnished Nobles boat in her heyday.

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This book contains all manner of grim and ancient punishments from London’s long and bloody history. Over the centuries, many hundreds have expired inside the capital’s dank, rat-infested cells, or whilst ‘dancing the Tyburn jig’ at the end of a swinging rope, and many of the sites in this book have become bywords for infamy. From the Tower and Newgate prison to the Clink and the Fleet, this book explores London’s criminal heritage; also including the stocks and pillories that lie, almost forgotten, in churchyards and squares across the City, and the many shocking punishments exacted inside the region’s churches, workhouses and schools, it is a heart-breaking survey of our nation’s penal history. Richly illustrated, and filled with victims and villains, nobles, executioners and torturers, it will delight historians, residents and visitors alike.

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In this intriguing selection of old images of Newport and district, the Isle of Wight's largest town is evocatively recreated in over 200 photographs, postcards and engravings from the author's own collection and other private sources, the majority of which have not been published before. This collection gives an insight into the every day life in and around Newport from the late Victorian times to the 1960s. The people who occupied these places are wonderfully preserved in this book carrying out their daily island duties and responding to the events that have shaped the Isle of Wight's history. Busy street scenes of Newport on market day are set alongside the splendour of the chalk hills and Medina river of the surrounding natural environment. Newport, Carisbrooke and Parkhurst is a valuable pictorial history of this vibrant area of the Isle of Wight, which will delight those who have visited the island and evoke memories of times past for those who have lived here.

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This collection of old photographs and postcards provides the reader with a fascinating and informative guide to Chippenham and its history over the past hundred years. The book spans the expansion and development of the thriving market town by the River Avon from the nineteenth century to the present day. The history of the area is told through images of events as diverse as Queen Victoria's Jubilee and the recurrent floods throughout the town's past. The book chronicles the changing appearance of the town and follows themes such as the growth of the fire service and the participation and experience of Chippenham in the two world wars. The photographic material is accompanied by corresponding captions amassing to a wealth of historical detail. This tribute to Chippenham is sure to interest the casual visitor and to reawaken memories of long ago for local residents.

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Racing in Doncaster contains a fascinating selection of photographs, charting the ups and downs of this historic course. Famous races, horses, jockeys and trainers can all be found here, along with much detail about the St Leger, Doncaster’s most celebrated and lucrative race of all. Peter Tuffrey has gathered together well over 200 images, many unpublished, to present a comprehensive photographic history of the course, the meetings, and the runners and rider who have graced Doncaster’s turf. This is must-have for all racing enthusiasts.

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Brunel's main line from Paddington to Bristol was, and still is, the most important of the Reading railways. For over 125 years steam dominated this great route, its green-liveried engines, adorned with brass and copper trim, each exhibiting the characteristic style that typified the designs of the Great Western Railway. Among the photographers who regularly recorded the railway scene at Reading was Walter Gilbert, whose trademark was quality. Wally, as he liked to be known, took his camera both east and west from Reading. Captured here through the lens of his camera are striking reminders of the years between 1950 and 1963 - so different from the modern experience of high speed trains and turbo units. Taken from the collections of a number of other enthusiasts, Kevin Robertson illustrates locations such as Henley-on-Thames and Didcot and shows locomotives and trains both at work and at rest. This superb collection of photographs will evoke strong memories for many, and prove an important guide to this part of our railway heritage.

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This seasonal anthology of festive fare will delight Oxfordshire readers - and those further afield - during the season of goodwill, from Advent to Twelfth Night. Here are reminiscences of Christmases past at Blenheim Palace and Broughton Castle, and, contrastingly, the simpler pleasures enjoyed at Flora Thompson's rural Lark Rise. Cecil Day Lewis describes 'The Christmas Tree' in verse, and Henley's first peace-time celebrations after the end of the First World War are poignantly recounted. Pam Ayres and Mollie Harris mingle in this anthology with distinguished Oxford scholars, J.R.R. Tolkein, Robert Southey, John Donne and Joseph Addison, and share with us their experiences of yuletide. This book also includes ghost stories, local carols and traditions and folklore, including the ancient ceremony of bringing in the boar's head at Queen's College and the Boxing Day wren hunt. An Oxfordshire Christmas makes an ideal gift for all who know and love the county.

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This fascinating volume celebrates every aspect of Whitby's Gothic past. With a detailed exploration of the town's connection with Dracula (including historical events such as the beaching of the Dmitri and a visit to many of the book's most famous sites), it will delight all lovers of Gothic fiction. Featuring a complete tour of attractions including the abbey and the churchyard - and full details of the gargoyles, tombstones and many other strange carvings to be found there - it evokes Whitby as it was when Stoker visited. However, Dracula is not the only strange tale told in Whitby, and this volume also collects together many other local ghost stories and legends to make this a volume that no bookshelf in Whitby and far beyond will be complete without.

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Dee Gordon’s new book is the unique and fascinating result of many conversations with people who lived and worked in Stepney during the 1950s and ’60s. Vivid memories are recounted – focusing particularly on social change. As well as school days, work and play, transport and entertainment, there are also memories of Stepney Green, the Royal London Hospital, Charrington’s Brewery, Tubby Isaacs, Cable Street, and Brick Lane. Anyone who knows Stepney, as a resident or as a visitor, will be amused and entertained, surprised and moved by these stories, which capture the unique spirit of the East End.

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For the first time, this book traces the complete history of the world's first jet airliner, and how this aircraft was developed from the civil airliner the Comet into a succession of military aircraft named Nimrod, which has been the RAF's primary Maritime Patrol Aircraft since the 1970s. It includes much previously unpublished data, including information on a remarkable Nimrod version that was unfortunately abandoned, and a version that was previously kept secret. Written by highly respected aviation expert Bill Gunston, Nimrod: The Centenarian Aircraft includes cutaway drawings for each aircraft, detailed numerical data, and is the first publication to record dangerous problems with a vitally important RAF aircraft.

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For decades the high walls of Birmingham's Winson Green Gaol have contained some of the country's most infamous criminals. Until hanging was abolished in the 1960s it was also the main centre of execution for convicted killers from all parts of the Midlands. The history of execution at Winson Green Gaol began in 1885 with the execution of Henry Kimberley, who had shot dead a woman in a Birmingham public house. Over the next seventy-five years many notorious killers took the short walk to the gallows here. They include the poisoner 'nurse' Dorothea Waddingham, IRA terrorists Peter Barnes and James Richards, and child-killer Horace Carter.Winson Green also saw the execution of Stanley Hobday, the West Bromwich murderer apprehended following a pioneering nationwide appeal on the BBC wireless; former police officer James Power, who committed a brutal murder in the shadow of the prison walls; ruthless Staffordshire killer Leslie Green, who battered to death his former employer, and Ernie Harding, who, in 1955, became the last man hanged for child murder. Steve Fielding's highly readable new book features each of the forty cases in one volume for the first time and is fully illustrated with rare photographs, documents, news cuttings and engravings.

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This absorbing collection of photographs and ephemera illustrates life as it was for the coal-level miners of Gwent throughout its industrial past. Accompanying the images are detailed and informative captions that allow the reader to fully understand levels mining in the region. This book begins by examining the coal levels that were operational in the 1980s, including fascinating photographs of men, mines and horses. The second chapter explores the older levels, including their owners, numbers employed, wages and deaths. The final chapter takes a look at the last remaining working levels in Gwent, and reminds us that the current generation may be the last to extract coal using the methods of their forefathers. Colin Spencer is a retired coal miner with twenty-six years' experience in the industry. Here he provides an expert insight into levels minding, using rare images to portray the stark realities of the profession to the reader. This book promises to fascinate anyone interested in mining of the Gwent region.

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In 1939, John Wright, a four-year-old boy from a deprived but loving Middlesbrough home, was uprooted from his family and evacuated to a large house in North Yorkshire, requisitioned as a nursery school. His story is not unlike any other during the upheaval of wartime, but in this remarkably lucid and detailed set of recollections, a seventy-three-year-old man tells his story of love, loss and life with the delight and fear of a wartime child. His poignant memories of cruelty and hurt are set against a beautiful voyage of discovery as a young boy explores the Yorkshire countryside and comes of age in a unique environment, only to be struck by an unbearable tragedy. A bittersweet tale of innocence and stark realities, Child from Home explores why wartime means so much to our collective memory - and reveals the devastating effect we have on children as we try to protect them from conflict.

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Coronations are very public occasions, typically seen as meticulously planned formal ceremonies where everything runs smoothly. But behind the scenes at Westminster Abbey lie extraordinary but true stories of mayhem, confusion and merriment. In this book we travel through over a thousand years of England's history to reveal the real character of its kings and queens. Also packed with facts about how the service, traditions and accessories have changed over the years, Crown, Orb & Sceptre provides both a compelling read and an accessible and irreverent reference guide to one of the most spectacular ceremonies in England's heritage.

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From heart-stopping accounts of apparitions, manifestations and related supernatural phenomena, to first-hand encounters with phantoms and spirits, this collection of stories contains both new and well-known spooky tales from around the county of Essex. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources, Haunted Essex contains a chilling range of ghostly phenomena. From the well-known story of Robin the Woodcutter of Coggshall, to how Thundersley's 'Shrieking Boy's Wood' acquired its name, along with details of the horrific reign of Mathew Hopkins, Witchfinder General, this phenomenal gathering of ghostly goings-on is bound to captivate anyone interested in the supernatural history of the area.

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Once, Southampton was a medieval town borough and a thriving port. Now it is a glittering city, having risen like the proverbial phoenix from wartime ruins. Sadly the once great liner traffic did not rise again with it. Like the rest of Britain, Southampton had to find a new identity. This collection of photographs, enriched by Robert Cook's captions, charts the challenges and changes up to the present day, and a world in which there are no easy answers.

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The railways which operated in Worcestershire were controlled by the Midland Railway and the Great Western Railway, whose struggle for supremacy had considerable effect on the development of railways in the county. The most important route through the county linked the great industrial centres of the Midlands and the seaport of Bristol, while lesser routes included the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, the Severn Valley Railway, and numerous branch lines. The photographs in this book illustrate not only the county's trains and locomotives but also many of the stations, locosheds and locomotive building works, and the picture is completed with timetables and shed allocation.

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