A lucky escape

In 1939, at the start of the Second World War, the government planned to evacuate 1.5 million civilians, mostly school children, mothers and other vulnerable people, from cities at risk of bombing to

Dear Simon, Once again, the December 2025 issue had lots of memories to write about. Starting from the front, Gertcha! – I did love Chas and Dave, as did my husband. Of course, the family always watch

I was very interested to read Nicola Johnson’s article exploring the world of stokers in your January 2026 issue. My great grandfather, John Thomas Gray, was a stoker on the HMS Indomitable during the

My February issue of HistoryExtra magazine arrived today and I was fascinated to see the cover image informing readers of “Lucy Worsley’s hunt for a London serial killer”. The image (below) itself see

In 1956, I received a party invitation from Agnes, a girl who lived two doors down from us. I was eight years of age. Our street in the city of Salford was designated a slum area, and despite a procla

I was 17, a trainee surveyor earning £5 a week. Faced with a week’s leave without much cash to spend, I decided to try hitchhiking with my mate Gordon. We started at the gates of Liverpool’s Stanley A