Written by John Buxton and Don Heath, two experienced rail professionals, Lines of Power delivers a comprehensive record of the stuttering progress of electrification and modernisation of Britains railway network, exposing the furtive manoeuvring by competing factions within the railway industry during the 1950s. The book is highly critical of the excessive scepticism of the Department of Transport (DoT later DfT) and the frequent disproportionate, and often imprudent, interventions by politicians that have collectively thwarted the opportunity to progress a more comprehensive and cost effective rolling programme of electrification.

In Unravelled the author unpicks the threads of her comically nuclear family with its deep silences to find what lay hidden, never to be spoken of. Beneath the carefully woven fabric of her family life, she finds clash of cultures on one side Jews fleeing the pogroms of Eastern Europe, and on the other the highest levels of the British aristocracy, from the Earl of Erroll of White Mischief fame to the Twenties socialite Mimi Wimborne. The writer and thinker John Berger mysteriously links both worlds. She finds two grandmothers whose bids to find freedom and fulfilment ended in utter disaster. Her parents, shiny young communists of the 1950s airbrushed both women out of history. But what happens when you deny the past? How do you negotiate your sense of identity?

Never before has the full history of Hatton Garden and its diamond and jewellery trade been revealed in such detail.Stories of individuals who made the community what it is today and events that are usually hidden from the publics eye have been compiled by one of the Gardens best-known jewellers, Vivian Watson FGA, who joined the family business in the 1960s, becoming the third generation of his family to work there. With a unique network of contacts, he has interviewed the great and the good.Richly illustrated from a private collection of hundreds of images and maps, this book will inform and entertain the reader on the secret world of diamonds and gems. Many will feel compelled to read it from cover to cover and others will enjoy dipping in and out.

Aquest volum, escrit per leclesiàstic Joan Binimelis (1538/9-1616), constitueix la primera edició crítica del Llibre V de la Història general del Regne de Mallorca en la versió catalana que, com és s

Shortlisted for The Wolfson History Prize. Discover the true story of St. Kilda. When the last 36 inhabitants of St Kilda, 40 miles west of the Scottish Hebrides, were evacuated in 1930, the archipelago at the edge of the world lost its permanent population after five millennia. It has long been accepted that the islanders failure to adapt to the modern world was its demise. Andrew Fleming overturns the traditional view. Unafraid of highlighting dark times, he shows how they sacrificed their reputation as an uncorrupted, ideal society to embrace and exploit the tourist trade. Creating a prestigious tweed, exporting the ancestors of todays Hebridean sheep, the islanders gained access to consumer goods and learned how to play politics to their advantage. This book tells the absorbing and eventful story of St Kilda from earliest times, up to the evacuation and its aftermath. Previously untapped sources and fresh insights bring to life the personalities, feelings, attitudes and rich culture of the islanders themselves, as well as the numerous outsiders who engaged with the remote island community.

Known by mariners since Viking times as a safe anchorage in notoriously savage waters, Scapa Flow is the seaway that runs between the Orkney mainland and the island of Hoy. As the northern base of the Royal Navy and Allied fleets in two world wars, it witnessed some of the most seminal events in modern naval history. It was from here that The Grand Fleet set off in 1916 to do battle at Jutland; it was from that Lord Kitchener sailed to his death aboard the Hampshire; it was here that the surrendered German fleet was scuttled in May 1919; and it was here that 800 sailors lost their lives in October 1939 when HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed by a German submarine. The late W.S. Hewisons book is the ultimate history of this remarkable place. In addition to the military story, he also tells about the impact war had on the native island community as their remote archipelago was transformed into the hub of Britains naval war machine.

Glenesk is one of the most beautiful of the Angus glens. Though surrounded by high peaks in its upper reaches and seemingly remote, it is no isolated backwater. A network of hill-paths through the Mounth links Glenesk to Deeside and neighouring Angus glens, while its lower end opens out to the low country of the east. This is one reason why the Glen is so rich in the relics of life and work of the people who have lived there and who have passed through it from early times onwards. This is the story of an upland, rural community, told from the perspectives of the people themselves and covers almost every aspect of glen life. From the distant past to modern day, the book looks at peoples changing relationships with the landscape, the buildings they lived, worked and worshipped in and the tools they used. Official documents record the effects of the famine and wars of the 17th-century, and the deprivations suffered either at the hands of marauding Highland caterans or the renegade offspring of their landlords. The text is complemented by many origianl, period photographs which portray the everyday life of the Glen.

Do you remember washing in a tin bath by the fire, using outside lavatories and not having a television? Did you grow up in the 1950s and were you a teenager in the swinging sixties? If the Festival of Britain, food rationing and the Queens coronation are among your earliest memories then you belong to the post-war baby boomer generation.How did we end up here, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, when it all just seems like yesterday?In this fascinating new trip down memory lane, Paul Feeney remembers what it has been like to live through the eventful second half of the twentieth century. This nostalgic journey through an era of change will resonate with anyone who began their innocent childhood years in austerity and has lived through a lifetime of ground-breaking events to the much changed Britain of today. There are also some wonderful pictures to help jog our memories of bygone days.

Exeter is one of the oldest cities in Britain: people have lived here without a break for more than two thousand years. The High Street has been in continuous use as a thoroughfare throughout that long period. For centuries Exeter was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the kingdom and has always been the mother city of the South West.In this book, first published in 1960 and acclaimed as a small masterpiece, the author traces the essential historic development and character of a leading provincial centre. He describes its adventure from a Roman camp to a modern city, with particular reference to its social history, to the lives and surroundings of ordinary people, to the buildings and landscapes of the past. Above all, he is concerned with the recent past and devotes three thorough chapters to the 19th and 20th centuries.W. G. Hoskins died in 1992. The task of bringing the work up to date and preparing text and illustrations for this new edition of a classic work has been undertaken by Hazel Harvey, a distinguished local historian of Exeter. Much of Exeter has been destroyed, but much of the historic past of this entrancing city still remains. Hoskins incomparable text is supported by a new selection of illustrations and maps, with an appendix on the street names of the city and place names in the neighbourhood.This book will be as valuable to the visitor as to the citizen of Exeter, for it tells where to look for the memorials of the past and for the history that lies behind them.

Old East Enders tells East Londons story from Roman Shadwell to the present day, focusing on the little-told story of the medieval and early modern Tower Hamlets. Jane Cox, the former Principal Assistant Keeper of Public Records, is an experienced author and lecturer, and her immensely readable and entertaining new book takes in recent archaeological research and a whole range of new record research. A wide range of fascinating and in some cases previously unpublished illustrations further enliven the text, which illuminates the history of this part of London as never before.

The North East is probably Englands most distinctive region. A place of strong character with a very special sense of its past, it is, as William Hutchinson remarked in 1778, truly historical ground.This is a book about both the ancient Anglian kingdom of Northumbrian, which stretched from the Humber to the Scottish border, and the ways in which the idea of being a Northumbrian, or a northerner, or someone from the North East, persisted in the area long after the early English kingdom had fallen. It examines not only the history of the region, but also the successive waves of identity that that history has bestowed over a very long period of time. Successful nations write about themselves in these terms; so why not regions? Northumbria existed before England began but is still with us in name, and in the way we think about ourselves.A series of sections, entitled Christian Kingdom, Borderland and Coalfield, New Northumbria, Cultural Region and Northumbrian Island, explore the region on the grand scale, from the very beginning, and bring a sharp sense of history to bear on the various threads that have influenced the making of modern regional identity.The book is a work of exceptional scholarship. Never before have so many acclaimed historians addressed together the issues which have affected this special region. Clearly written, and rich in ideas, chapters explore the physical origins of Northumbria and consider just how the pressing political and military claims of adjoining states shaped and tempered it. There are further chapters on art, music, mythology, dialect, history, economy, poetry, politics, religion, antiquarianism, literature and settlement. They show how Northumbrians have lived and died, and looked forward and back, and these accounts of the North Easts past will surely help in the shaping of its future.

Spanning 150 years of South Shields changing fortunes, A Tyneside Heritage is a pioneering work of interwoven local and family history. After the nineteenth-century boom years of coal exporting and shipbuilding for global markets came the First World War, then the mass unemployment and political turbulence of the 1930s. Luftwaffe bombing in the Second World War was followed by the peacetime challenge of attracting new industrial development. Against this background, four generations of the Chapman family played a leading role in the town and in County Durham as businessmen, soldiers, borough councillors, sportsmen, philanthropists and representatives of royalty.

Stourbridge came into existence in the early Middle Ages. It has seen much development from Roman and Saxon times and during the reigns of Elizabeth and Victoria. More changes followed in the 20th century; though an agricultural market town it is also renown for its glass-making.

In the past, Luton was a market town and, for many years, was also a centre for the brewing industry. In the 19th century it became famous for hat making, and more recently it has grown into a thriving industrial centre. During the Second World War it played an important part in the manufacture of army vehicles, and children bound for school had to dodge the Churchill tanks on their way to various theatres of conflict. Nowadays, Luton Airport is the gateway for all types of traveller and the town is well known for its famous football team. Luton has always provided visitors with a warm welcome and many have stayed and made the town their home. Local industry offered employment opportunities in the early 20th century and many had cause to be grateful for its relative prosperity during the Great Depression. Following the Second World War, immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and from the West Indies brought with them colourful new cultures that are celebrated in the annual Carnival. This fascinating and illustrated account of Lutons past will inform and delight anyone who lives in the town and inspire those who grew up here.

Athlone 19001923 is perhaps the most detailed analysis ever completed of an Irish provincial town during this defining period in the countrys history. Using a wide variety of local, national and international sources, this meticulously researched study provides the reader with a comprehensive history of the evolution of Irish nationalism in Athlone, drawing together all of the events, personalities and political philosophies that influenced not only the course of local politics, but also the fate of the Irish nation itself.

The Story of Leicester traces the evolution of this remarkable city. When the Romans arrived they developed an existing settlement into Ratae, an administrative capital. During the Tudor, Stuart and Georgian periods the town lost status, but remained an important market town. Industrialisation and population growth radically changed Leicester during Victorian times and it became prosperous, its economy underpinned by the hosiery, boot and shoe and engineering industries the basis of modern Leicester. This popular history brings the story of the city up to date and provides new insights that will delight both residents and visitors.

Viajero incansable, Armando Fuentes Aguirre, Catón, recorre todos los caminos de México. No hay estado del país al que no lo hayan llevado sus andanzas. Quien ame esta patria y quiera sentir su genio y su figura, su corazon y su alma, encontrara en este libro motivos para amarla mas profundamente y conocerla mejor. Caton hace un recuento de sus vivencias a lo largo y ancho del pais que deriva en un crisol de la cultura popular mexicana: los mercados, la musica, las iglesias, la gente, entre muchas otras cosas. En cada una de estas paginas, el lector sentira el latido de nuestro pais, la nobleza de su pasado, el vibrar de su presente y la esperanza de su porvenir.

Drawing upon historical research and archaeological discoveries, Daphne Brooke brings to life the events and personalities of the ancient realm of Galloway from Roman times until the fifteenth century. This mysterious region of south-west Scotland has for centuries attracted pilgrims to its holy places, especially Whithorn, ever since St Ninian founded Candida Casa (now known as Whithorn) in the early Christian era. Galloways troubles began in Roman times, when the territory was occupied by Britons who had little in common with their northern neighbours, the Picts and the Scots. A few centuries later, the rulers of Northumbria held sway over Galloway, binding the two provinces in culture. But Galloways sense of identity was stronger than its recognition of shared interests. The region stubbornly resisted Anglo-Norman domination and assimilation into the Kingdom of Scotland. Orams new introduction appraises the significance of Wild Men and Holy Places in the new historiography of Scotland that emerged at the close of the twentieth century and its place in the radical revision of our understanding of conversion and state-building in the Early Historic and medieval eras. It explores how Brookes interdisciplinary approach to the poorly documented history of Galloway set a new benchmark for accessible history: she stimulated wider research of this under-studied region, and her enduring impact still shapes public understanding of the role of St Ninian, the Northumbrians, Gall Gaidhil and the kings and lords of Galloway in the story of Scotlands making.

Tales of Forgotten Kent is a collection of twenty-two essays about the people and events that have largely been neglected by historians, but remain an integral part of Kents rich tapestry, featuring the eccentric, unusual and often overlooked tales buried within the garden of England.Who would have thought that the cradle of British aviation was the unfashionable Isle of Sheppey, home to Britains first licensed pilots and the worlds first aircraft manufacturers; or that the greatest technological change in printing computer typesetting occurred in the small town of Westerham; and that the poet who wrote the first sonnet was not actually Shakespeare but Sir Thomas Wyatt of Allington Castle, lover of Anne Boleyn; or that Britains oldest school is The Kings School, Canterbury, whose alumni includes the controversial playwright Christopher Marlowe, and still plays host to ghostly legends.Read on to unearth more of Kents best kept secrets and keep its forgotten tales alive.

Bracknell is well known for being one of the new towns built after the Second World War to relieve the pressure of housing and industry in London but the history of Bracknell goes back much further than that.Early hunter gatherers, Iron Age people and Romans have all called Bracknell their home. Hidden in the royal hunting ground of Windsor Forest for many centuries, the village began to develop with the arrival of the railway. Local brickyards expanded, their output being used in many important buildings, both in Britain and abroad.In The Story of Bracknell, local historian Andrew Radgick sets about uncovering this near-forgotten history, producing a treasure trove of original research from newspaper archives and photographic collections, to personal accounts from residents and examinations of traditional tales associated with the area.Bracknell has a unique history, and this is its story.