When Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, the Army numbered just over one million men, comprising both the regular forces and the part-time Territorial Army. The National Service (Armed

I was a teenager during the Second World War, although the term teenager was not in use in those days. You were just a lad. What’s more, one often left school and became a worker at age 14, as I did i

By spring 1941, the Afrika Korps was advancing across eastern Libya towards Egypt and the Suez Canal. But a dusty port town lay in their path

Leading historians share the texts that have inspired and informed their work

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

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