On 15 May 1940, five days after becoming Prime Minister, Churchill ordered the creation of a new intelligence agency to focus entirely on Germany. M.I.3’s Lieutenant-Colonel Kenneth Strong, and the small staff of three regular officers that had comprised M.I.3’s...

The Special Relationship is one of those oft used and little understood sound bites of international affairs. Is there a special relationship? Did it ever exist? Who benefits most? Is it reciprocal? The problem is that the relationship between Britain...

During the 1970s and 80s the north lost industrial capacity, and political influence. For one reason or another, industries which had employed huge numbers of people fell by the wayside. These were seen as having more to do with the...

Scania AB is Sweden’s second largest, (next to Volvo), manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks and buses. It was formed in 1911 through the merger of Sodertalje company Vabis, and Malmö based Maskinfrabiks-Aktiebolaget Scania. In September 1969 Scania merged with car manufacturers...

Aldershot is proud of being a Victorian town. Every year (pandemic allowing) it holds its ‘Victoria Day’, which begins with a grand parade through the town led by “Queen Victoria”, with marching bands, floats, vintage vehicles, and community groups all...

In my book Mini Cooper: 1961-2000 I quote Rover development engineer and enthusiast Alastair Vines who was part of the team that reintroduced the Mini Cooper to production in 1990 following its first introduction in 1961. When the little car...

Keeping something secret or concealed is exceedingly difficult in the modern world. A snippet of information on social media can go around the world virally in seconds, whilst advances in science mean we know more about the planet we live on...

The contract to write A-Z of Loughborough for Amberley Publishing was signed in August 2019. Publication was set for August 2020. Research was going well, and the text was written up in good time. That just left the accompanying photographs...

When Rudyard Kipling wrote “You be glad you are Sussex born!” in his poem ‘The Run of the Downs’, he was correct, we are indeed lucky to live in our lush locality. Sussex has a long and lively past and...

I am a big proponent of illuminating the areas of history that get little to no coverage. So, in my new book Slinkys and Snake Bombs: WEIRD but TRUE Historical Facts I have collected more than 150 strange and obscure...