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On 1 January 1046 a handful of staff at London's new peace-time airport, Heath Row, prepared to handle its first commercial flight in a converted Lancaster bomber, carrying ten passengers and some newly demobbed RAF pilots, radio officers and flight engineers on an epic journey to South America. Sixty-five years, over 14 million flights and 1.4 billion passengers later, Heathrow - with a staff of around 50,000 people - recently saw its controversial fifth passenger terminal weather a rocky start and find its feet as an integral part of this ever-expanding airport. Time Flies is a fascinating history of Heathrow from its pioneering first days in bruised and battered post-war West London, right up to its present. Bringing together Heathrow's human and commercial histories and using first-hand stories from each decade of the airport's operations, this is a balanced and entertaining look at the triumphs, tribulations and controversies that made Heathrow what it is today.
In 1834 six farm laborers from the Dorset hamlet of Tolpuddle fell foul of draconian Victorian laws prohibiting assembly. Today the names of George Loveless and his brother James, Thomas Standfield and his son John, James Brine and James Hammett, who made up the Tolpuddle Martyrs, stand high on the roll of British men who have been victimized for their beliefs but stood steadfast in the face of persecution. They refused to be persuaded to betray their principles either by the promise of release or by transportation to Australia. The Tolpuddle men fought to win their freedom sustained by their passionate conviction that their sacrifices would not be in vain. Their experience and example have proved to be an inspiration for future generations and they remain icons of pioneering trade unionism.The Author has thoroughly researched their story and the result is a fascinating and revealing reexamination of this legendary saga. Their triumph over legal persecution and abuses of power over 180 years ago is told afresh in this comprehensive and attractively illustrated book which delves deeper into their story than ever before.
“A very nicely presented history of one of the greatest airports in the world, its challenges and its prospects . . . Highly Recommended.” —Firetrench Love it or loathe it, Heathrow is the United Kingdom’s largest and most important airport by a distance. It currently serves over 190 routes to more than 80 countries. Over £100 billion of imports and exports are handled every year, making it the UK’s primary port by value. This fascinating book traces the often controversial development of the airport over the last 70 years from the most humble of beginnings. Thanks to the author’s in-depth knowledge the arguments for and against the building of a third runway are thoroughly and ...
In April 1951, the disappearance of HM submarine Affray knocked news of the Korean War and Festival of Britain from the front pages. Affray had put to sea on a routine peacetime simulated war patrol in the English Channel. She radioed her last position at 2115hrs on 16 April, 30 miles south of the Isle of Wight - preparing to dive. This was the last signal ever received from the submarine. After months of searching, divers eventually discovered Affray resting upright on the sea bottom with no obvious signs of damage to her hull. Hatches were closed tight and emergency buoys were still in their casings. It was obvious that whatever had caused Affray to sink, and had ended the lives of all those on board, had occurred quickly. Sixty years later, in this compelling maritime investigation, Alan Gallop uses previously top secret documents, interviews with experts and contemporary news sources to explore how and why Affray became the last British submarine lost at sea - and possibly the greatest maritime mystery since the Marie Celeste.
Orson Welles' 1938 radio production of The War of the Worlds is now remembered as one of the most sublime, if accidental. hoaxes ever concocted. This is what really happened.
This entertaining account of Buffalo Bill's tours of Britain is richly illustrated, with many previously unpublished photographs, cartoons, and posters.
Illuminating the extraordinary life of the American explorer who found Dr. David Livingstone, the author highlights Stanley's adventures as a soldier fighting for both Union and Confederate armies, a seaman, and a journalist during and after the American Civil War.
This is a true story covering territory rarely featured in history books - a dark time when women and children toiled underground in Victorian coal mines. Using extensive research, the book brings back to life the early Victorian mining community of Silkstone, South Yorkshire. Recreating the sad date of July 4 1838 when a freak rain and hail storm caused a narrow and shallow stream to burst its banks and flood the main passageway shaft leading to the Huskar Pit, resulting in the death of 26 children aged between seven and 15 years. News of the disaster finds its way into The Times and is read by Lord Ashley (later the Earl of Shaftesbury), and an offical enquiry is launched. Lord Ashley and the Commissioner of the Royal Commission on mines and collieries, Jelinger C. Symons Esq., both visit and interview mine owners and workers, and descend into the mines to understand what conditions are really like, particularly for women and children. On August 10 1842 - over four years after the Huskar Pit disaster had brought the subject of women and children working in Yorkshire's coal mines to public attention - a bill is passed to change the country's labour laws regarding their employmen
Drawing on original material form archives in both Britain and New Zealand this story recounts how skilled Maori craftsmen carved and constructed this whare nui at Te Wairoa in the Hot Lakes region of New Zealand's North Island, close to the spectacular Pink and White Terraces. A wonder that it was not lost in June 1886 when Mt. Tarawera erupeted without warning killing over 100 people. Only Hinemihi was strong enough to withstand the rain of fire and stones saving those who sought shelter in it. The story goes on to tell how Hinemihi came to be purchased for £50 by Lord Onslow and shipped to his estate at Clandon Park in Surrey.