A model railway often sets out as an entity within a room, and it usually describes an orbit in its early form. The notion of a ‘train set’ where a locomotive, some rolling stock and often an oval of track...

I was born at St Alfege’s Hospital in 1954, nine years after the end of the Second World War, when Greenwich residents were still living under the rationing of food, and bombsites were a visible reminder of the recent global...

Since junior school history of all ages has fascinated me, from ancient history to modern, showing how little emotions and motives have changed through the epochs. Later, I came to be particularly entranced by the Tudor and late-Plantagenet periods. I...

I have always been fascinated by urban history, particularly those towns where continuity and change co-exist, or where new communities spring up alongside historic ones. The first chapter in my book ‘Lost King’s Lynn’ is titled ‘The Lost North End’...

Prior to living in Northampton frequent visits were made to see family as well as the buses, for me at least! In early 1993 the transport scene was one which had changed very little over the preceding years. Council-owned Northampton...

Of the four major railway companies that were combined to form British Railways, the Great Western was perhaps the most independently minded. Resisting the corporate image of British Railways, the Western Region often seemed to be able to retain some...

Five Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Secret Dorking Dorking has a long and fascinating history dating back centuries, but it also has many secrets hidden just below the surface. Many of these secrets have been long forgotten or excluded...

Steam Railways - Final Operations in the Southern Region and the Early Preservation Years, published by Amberley Books is my first book. It traces my first years as a railway photographer, from which the enthusiasm for photography generally has blossomed...

One question often asked of authors of books is, “How long did it take to write?” for many authors, myself included, this is a surprisingly difficult question to answer. It all depends on the starting point. Out of curiosity more...

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...