The Battle of Flodden in 1513 was the largest battle ever to take place between England and Scotland. James IV himself led an army of 30,000 men over the border into England, ostensibly in revenge for the murder of a Scotsman, but in reality to assist their ally the French by diverting the forces of Henry VIII. The Scots were hampered by old-fashioned weapons and tactics, while the English deployed more accurate artillery and their vaunted longbowmen. When King James IV was killed while leading a charge, and many of their officers were killed, the Scots were left in disarray and the English...

The remarkable biography of one of Britain's first black soldiers of World War I, including artwork by the soldier

When the harrowing Great War diaries of one of Britain's first black soldiers were unearthed in a dusty Scottish attic nearly 100 years after they were written, they posed a bit of a mystery. The diary entries, which range from May 1917 until March 1918, were written by one Arthur Roberts while he served with the King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB). They went into great detail about what it was like for him during World War I; such as how he survived the Battle of...

The Little Book of Newcastle is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which no-one will want to be without. Here we find out about the most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters and literally hundreds of wacky facts (plus some authentically bizarre bits of historic trivia). John Sadler's new book gathers together a myriad of data on Newcastle. There are lots of factual chapters but also plenty of frivolous details which will amuse and surprise. A reference book and a quirky...