In the Victorian era it was said that a gentleman was one who had been to a public school or who successfully concealed the fact that he had not. Public schools were in the business of producing leaders - in national government, in the Empire, and in the armed forces. Their impact on society was immense, and they provided the vehicle by which the sons of the middle classes could be assimilated into the gentry. Part of the price, however, was a general casting out of the local boys for whom so many of the schools had been established in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
This...
In the Victorian era it was said that a gentleman was one who had been to a public school or who successfully concealed the fact that he had not. P...
In the aftermath of the World War II, the long established Rover company of Solihull was fighting to survive. It needed a vehicle that would give it an advantage over its rivals. Taking the American Willys Jeep as inspiration, Rover designers came up with a four-wheel drive utility vehicle that would become an all-time classic. The Land Rover has undergone a number of facelifts in its sixty year life, but the vehicle made today is fundamentally very close to the 1948 original.
In 1970 the original Land Rover was joined by the Range Rover, originally conceived as a more comfortable...
In the aftermath of the World War II, the long established Rover company of Solihull was fighting to survive. It needed a vehicle that would give i...
In 1913 the shipyards of Britain were responsible for building half of all the world's ships. At the Clyde in Scotland at this time a new ship was launched every eighteen hours. For decades Britain was at the forefront of shipbuilding; the history and economy of towns such as Belfast, Liverpool and the Clyde in Scotland were dominated by the industry and thousands were employed within it. Shipbuilding in Britain looks at the subject's long history, back to the Middle Ages through to the advent of steam, providing a comprehensive guide to a transformed industry.
In 1913 the shipyards of Britain were responsible for building half of all the world's ships. At the Clyde in Scotland at this time a new ship was lau...
Old television embraces more than eighty years of progress, from the crude experiments of John Logie Baird in 1925, through the pioneering 405-line days at Alexandra Palace just before the Second World War, to the era when television entered most homes in the 1950s, and the growing sophistication of the 1960s, with the introduction of 625-line colour transmissions. Andrew Emerson explores the British heritage of the black-and-white era of television, and the first years of color up to the early 1980s and the launch of the popular British television channel, Channel 4.
Old television embraces more than eighty years of progress, from the crude experiments of John Logie Baird in 1925, through the pioneering 405-line da...
Growing up as a child during the Second World War could be a frightening, strange or even an exciting experience. For many city children the war brought evacuation to the countryside and a way of life very different from the one they were used to. For children who remained in areas that suffered from German air strikes, escaping to bomb shelters, and donning the 'Mickey Mouse' gas mask, became part of life. War brought new excitement for boys who could now add parts of downed German aircraft, or parts of bombs, to their collections of conkers and string. For many girls the war brought greater...
Growing up as a child during the Second World War could be a frightening, strange or even an exciting experience. For many city children the war broug...
Although misericords were originally installed on the hidden undersides of church folding seats to provide comfort to those standing for long periods of prayer, the have gradually become more ornately carved and decorated. Now they, along with the benches installed in parish churches in the later middle ages, are the objects of a large proportion of the surviving medieval woodcarving in Britain. The subject matter of these carvings is not merely concerned with religion and religious symbolism. This book outlines the history of church seating, considers the status of the craftsmen and the...
Although misericords were originally installed on the hidden undersides of church folding seats to provide comfort to those standing for long periods ...
Fern Fever (or Pteridomania, to give it its official name), hit Britain between 1837 and 1914 and peaked between 1840 and 1890. Although in previous centuries ferns played an important role in customs and folklore, it was only in this period that they were coveted for aesthetic reasons and that man's passion for them reached its zenith.
The craze for collecting ferns reached such epidemic proportions that it affected the very existence of some species. The fern craze started to gather momentum in the 1840s; books and magazines maintained that fern growing was a hobby that anyone...
Fern Fever (or Pteridomania, to give it its official name), hit Britain between 1837 and 1914 and peaked between 1840 and 1890. Although in previou...
Scalextric, the ultimate boys' toy, hit the toyshops in 1957. The first ever electric slot-car system, with uncontrollable tinplate cars running on heavy rubber track, it brought the speed and glamor of motor racing to suburban living rooms up and down the land. Classic marques of the day such as Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lotus featured in the early 60s scalextric sets and over the years that followed all the classic Formula 1 battles were re-created in schoolboy form, followed by sports cars, rally cars, and classic film re-creations such as the James Bond set of 1968, Batman and Knight...
Scalextric, the ultimate boys' toy, hit the toyshops in 1957. The first ever electric slot-car system, with uncontrollable tinplate cars running on...
During the uncertain early months of World War 2, many feared that it was only a short time before an attempt would be made to invade a woefully undefended British mainland. What became Home Guard was formed in February 1940 to help defend Britain's shores from attack, initially just in Dover, but, after the beginning of Hitler's Blitzkrieg, all over Britain.
Originally called the Local Defence Volunteers, this army of men, drawn from those too old and too young to enlist in the regular army were equipped with uniforms, equipment and the know-how to repel the invader-at least such...
During the uncertain early months of World War 2, many feared that it was only a short time before an attempt would be made to invade a woefully un...
Well over half a century after it first appeared in 1948, the Morris Minor has become a much-loved classic car. It is as popular now as when in production. During the Second World War, when Alec Issigonis and his team began to design a prototype small car for the post-war era, few could have foreseen that it would become the first British car to sell a million or that the revolutionary design features would stand the test of time so well. This book traces the evolution of the Minor through the different phases of its development to its demise in the 1970s.
Well over half a century after it first appeared in 1948, the Morris Minor has become a much-loved classic car. It is as popular now as when in produc...
