A look at the development of hand grenades and the ingenuity of the soldiers who made their own.

An account of how whole families often had to go into the workhouse and once there, they were separated and made to work for no pay

A description of the practicalities and problems the army faced in the trenches when it came to supplies and latrines. Part 3 of a 7 part series

A description of a middle-class family holiday at the seaside booked through Cooks Travel Excursionist.

An ordinary gunner’s story of how he fought aboard Sir Francis Drake’s ship during the Spanish Armada. He gives a decks-eye view of the battle and tactics used during the by the English Navy and international trade during the...

An overview of Elizabethan England, through the eyes of a wealthy woman. She talks about politics, crime, the impact of population growth and the development of towns as well as the treatment of vagrants.



The History Squad...

A war widow explains how women were given the news of their loved one's death and shows that some war pensions were only temporary

A description of going 'over the top'; the noise of the explosions, the vibration, the fear…..  The last in a 7 part series

In part one, a Norman soldier describes the start of the battle of Hastings including a description of Taillefer, the juggler who entertained the Normans before the battle started

Thomas Cromwell talks about the beginning of the closure of the smaller monasteries and convents  

A munitionette talks about the practicality of getting to the shops when, as a munitions worker, you work such long hours and of course there was never much on the shelves due to rationing. Part 3 in a 4 part series

A blue sky and fluffy bright clouds are things that are seen around the world. The atmosphere presents a multitude of sights and phenomena using light, air, water droplets, ice crystals, and dust. Many of the phenomena give clues to...

Thomas More talks about his impending execution together with that of John Fisher.

This video explains what are the laws that control air pollution within the United States? It generally defines the regulatory regime for the regulation of pollutants in the airs, as well as the standards for determining what constitutes...

A description of life in a munitions factory; the danger, the accidents, the camaraderie and of course, the gossip. Part 2 in a 4 part series

A WW1 soldier describes the Lee Enfield rifle, its workings and effectiveness; so rapid was the fire that the Germans actually thought it was a machine gun

This video explores how the dead were disposed of during the Black Death

Part 1 of Henry VIII looks at what Henry VIII was like as a person and how he liked to spend his time

A British WW1 soldier describes the equipment a he was expected to carry during 1914-15 which could all weigh up to thirty five kilos.

Thomas Cromwell explains what happened to the churches and religious houses after the Pilgrimage of Grace. 

A sad tale of a firing squad and a young seventeen year old who, although probably suffering from shell shock, was shot for desertion

Edward Jenner explains what smallpox is, why people feared it so much and how inoculations were sometimes used to protect people.

Vesalius explains why he questioned Galen's accuracy and what he discovered when he was dissecting a human jaw.

In part 4 of this series John Snow describes how he investigated the cause of the outbreak of cholera.