Like other towns across the country, Northampton was changed forever in how people in the town lived, worked and endured the Great War of 1914-18. It changed the way industry operated, broke down barriers and created opportunity, particularly for women. Homes lost their breadwinners. Industries were forced to change long-held views and working practices. Wasteland was ploughed and planted to increase crop yields for food, families dug up their gardens, the Army formed Home Guard units, workers were persuaded to buy War Bonds, and in many places Zeppelins successfully crossed the Channel and bombed towns. This was a people's war in all respects. Northampton at this time had a population of around 95,000 living in mainly terraced, poor-quality housing, with poor sanitation. Of that total, 29,700 were men of working age with the main employer being the shoe industry. The rest of the workforce held down jobs in engineering, the various breweries, flour mills or the building industry. But in that summer of 1914 the Castle Ashby 32nd Annual Flower Show went ahead as planned with a panel of horticultural experts giving their verdicts in the judging of over 1260 entries in a variety of gardening categories, and the Annual August Parade went ahead, headed by the Brixworth Brass Band. Around the same time, enlisted men of the Northamptonshire Regiment, training at Ashridge Park Hertfordshire, were ordered back to Northampton. On the food front, impending war pushed up prices on staple foods like bacon, cheese, butter and sugar, but it was widely believed that the conflict would be short-lived. Business owners and people with German names found themselves under pressure, verbally abused or their premises attacked. The shoe industry however saw a sudden increase in business - the army needed boots. Here too is the story of Northampton's remarkable people and how they helped Belgian refugees who had fled the German invasion, organised fundraising events for the troops in local hospitals, accepted soldiers of the Welsh Fusiliers into their homes, and worked long hours producing boots for the army. Against a background of key military events, the book celebrates the city's contribution to the war effort. With poor quality but nevertheless interesting archive photos, 142pp in large softback.

From an exciting and modestly-priced series of railway books from Trams-Pennine Publishing packed with period colour photographs and a highly informative text telling the history of various diesel and electric locomotive and multiple units used on Britain's railways. Veteran railway enthusiasts will love these hitherto unpublished colour photographs and this volume charts the careers and liveries that later became known as Classes 44, 45 and 46, collectively nicknamed as Peaks after the 'mountain top' names that were bestowed upon the first ten members of the class to be delivered, plus those bearing regimental names, then passing through the different variations in appearances and liveries over the years. In addition, there are 17 of which have been preserved, and for modellers they can be recreated in miniature. Released into service all over painted green, there were later additions of small yellow warning panels to improve visibility to those on the trackside. The life stories of individual trains pictured show how all their name changes, re-numberings, going into storage, resting, restoration, missing name plates and final withdrawal, their nicknames like The Lady for one Class 46, originally named Leicestershire and Derbyshire Yeomanry on 14th April 1962 in front of a crowd at Derby Midland Station. With their distinctive yellow noses, the book has approximately 60 marvellous archive colour photos. 60 page paperback.

This glossy paged, heavily illustrated volume explores and discusses the three biggest developments in London's railway for many years - the East-West Crossrail (Elizabeth) Line, the Thameslink North-South large-scale upgrade, and what may become Crossrail 2. All are aimed at providing extra capacity and relieving many railway routes of severe congestion problems. In the 1930s, the Government kick-started an investment programme that was cut short by World War Two and this book explores the severe consequences this had for the network. In reality, apart from some electrification works, the financial realities of post-war Britain meant that very little happened at all. The Victoria Line, identified as a prime requirement in 1949, opened over 20 years later. Now with the sleek long modern carriages and extra-long platforms on the Elizabeth Line, the book is a timely examination of the fascinating and often troubled history of attempts to improve railway connectivity in the metropolis. The New Works Programme of 1935 to 1940 was never completed and was succeeded by the ambitious County of London Plan of 1943 and its derivatives. These would have expanded the main-line railway network across the capital. Numerous reports had only limited success but resulted in some main-line electrification, and later the creation and extension of the Jubilee Line. Restoration of the Farringdon to Blackfriars link branded as Thameslink went ahead and the original Crossrail Bill, although defeated in Parliament in 1994, was later replaced by a new scheme. Plans for Crossrail 2 on a North/South-West Axis across London are being pursued actively. The book includes and analysis of the prospects for the mainline railways across London and over 170 photographs, maps and illustrations. 28.7 x 22cm.

Updated and enlarged edition of the Scenes from the Past 11A in the series, this is a truly nostalgic collection of archive images and the original 1991 text reproduced in facsimile, now a rather dated looking design, but a valuable historical record. 'It all began in the 1980s with a handful of railway pictures which I hoped would be accepted by Becknell Books to emerge as 'The Railways of Nottingham' but they ceased publishing shortly after they received my offering so it came to nothing. Thankfully the project was rekindled and the well written and carefully researched manuscript and good quality images reproduced on the right kind of bright white glossy paper plus illustrations showing the entire railway scene.? With humour and anecdotes, the history covers approximately 140 years. In 1850, the then Midland Station was to be found on a route from Derby to Lincoln to which was connected a branch line running through the northern suburbs of Basford and Bulwell proceeding up the valley of the River Leen and ultimately reaching Mansfield. A few miles to the east of the city at Netherfield a connection went off in a south-easterly direction crossing the River Trent near Radcliffe and joining what is now the East Coast Mainline from Kings Cross to Edinburgh at Grantham. The GNR spread its tentacles beyond the coalfield to reach the breweries of Burton-on-Trent and out as far as the rich pastureland east of Stafford from which district it secured a valuable traffic in milk for London. Much land was available at Colwick, east of Nottingham, and there a facility blossomed to become a main shed in LNER days housing well over 200 engines. On 1st July 1878 a line from Bottesford West Junction on the Grantham Line to Newark was opened. There remain in Nottingham two railway built clock towers, and a journey through the pages of this book take young and old alike to the most relevant places in and around the city and we are rewarded with hours of nostalgic pleasure looking at the engines and coaches, civil engineering works of cuttings and concrete drainage channels, colliery closures, the booking office, and in the colour section of eight pages a smartly turned out LMS Jubilee 46560 Blake Director No. 62667 Somme, Britannia No. 7001 to John of Gaunt, or a Stanier 2-6-4T No. 2550 waiting patiently among this gallery of hundreds of superb archive images, tickets reproduced and beautifully drawn maps. Large sized softback.

Steel production and downstream manufacturing would be perpetually embedded in the military legacy of this seat of industrial innovation and production. The Vickers steel foundry was established in Sheffield in 1828. Following the manufacture of the factory's first artillery in 1890, Sheffield expanded to find itself a leading supplier in the First World War, feeding the military with shells, artillery, naval guns, armour plating, aircraft parts, torpedoes, helmets and bayonets. A proud tradition of answering a call to the colours spawned the 84th Regiment of Foot, the Loyal Independent Sheffield Volunteers of the 1700s, the Hallamshire Rifle Volunteers raised in 1859, and the Sheffield Squadron, Yeomanry Cavalry. The 1899-1902 Anglo-Boer War would also have an enduring legacy - the Sheffield Wednesday Football Stadium was named Spion Kop, while local road names include Ladysmith Avenue and Mafeking Place. On 1st July 1916, the Sheffield City Battalion fought in an heroic and costly but hopeless action on the Somme to capture the village of Serre. Through the Second World War right up to Afghanistan, the city's men and women in uniform have not been found wanting. The York and Lancaster Regiment elected to disband when the British Army was reorganised in 1968, only one of two regiments to do so. The colours were laid up for the last time in the Regiment's own St. George's Memorial Chapel in Sheffield Cathedral. The uniquely titled Hallamshires would in the Second World War ensure that Sheffield's military pride will be indelibly inscribed in perpetuity in the city's legacy. They proudly wore the polar bear shoulder patch that identified them as members of the 49th Division, and from the frozen Norwegian and Icelandic theatres to North-West Europe, the battalion led the division across the Seine, the Dutch border, and finally the Rhine as the war drew to a close. 128 page very well illustrated large paperback, with eight pages of colour images and maps.

A large sized volume almost entirely pictorial in content with captions, there are rainy day parades, royal visits, a busy day at the Quadrant Bus Station in the early 1980s, a landward view of the city centre from the top of the Meridian Tower 2015, blue sky and sunshine around the Ferris wheel in the grounds of the National Waterfront Museum, rugby players celebrating in style, fire and rescue vehicles, Weaver's Flour Mill before the construction of the river barrage in 1990, the erection of the Liberty Stadium, the steep Constitution Hill, children dressed in period costume, gasholders, a fascinating panorama of the mouth of the River Tawe and Swansea Docks, the original Mumbles Road stand of St Helen?s Rugby, lifeboats and helicopters. The book salutes the city in celebration of the passing of 50 years since Swansea was granted city status. When Charles, then Prince of Wales, declared just two days after his investiture in July 1969 that Swansea was to become a city, he couldn't have realised what an adventurous journey he was launching it on. This is reflected in this fantastic gallery of archive and very nostalgic images, mostly in black and white but with one colour section of 16 pages. 176 very large pages in a Golden Jubilee salute.

In the years leading up to the outbreak of war in September 1939 there had been a considerable decline in the number of tramway operators in the British Isles, but there still remained some 50 operators of varying sizes. There were four in Scotland - Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, or five if the freight-only line at Cruden Bay is included; four in Wales - Cardiff, Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, Great Orme and Swansea & Mumbles - as well as six on the island of Ireland. Plus a number in England, from Bristol in the Southwest to Newcastle and Sunderland in the Northeast, and from Blackburn and Bury in Lancashire to London and Southampton in the South. Even with the pre-war abandonments, most significant towns and cities in England, with the exception of places like Nottingham and Derby, still possess some tramcar routes. Many of these systems like Bradford, London and Manchester had been converting their routes to either bus or trolleybus operation during the 1930s, and so many of the surviving systems were a fraction of the size they had been at their peak. The largest to survive World War Two that was serving Glasgow was a fleet of trams in excess of 1,000. The largest element were the Standard cars built between 1898 and 1924, such as number 48 seen on page 5. During the 30s Blackpool had a significant number of new single and double-deck trams. A system to be heavily influenced by a pro-tram manager was Sunderland, where Charles Albert Hopkins was in charge for two decades. One of the smallest undertakings to survive the war was Darwen, which latterly had a serviceable fleet of some five cars including two modern, centre-entrance streamliners built by English Electric in 1936. On closure both were regauged to 3ft 6" and sold, where they saw limited service until 1954 in Wales. The story of the decline of the tram car over these years is one filled with missed opportunities as new tram cars and route extensions were needlessly scraped or abandoned well before their economic life dictated. From the major to the smaller operators such as Giant's Causeway, the period was to witness an almost unrelenting retreat of the tram. The author records the story of those systems that were doomed from the moment peace was declared in 1945, through those that sought initially to invest but still succumbed, to the handful that managed to survive. A nostalgic 64 page fully illustrated softback.

Covering Swansea and the beautiful Gower peninsular, the book includes 20 walks of up to six miles chosen to give you an enjoyable day or half day, and suitable for all members of the family. The first walk of three miles begins in Laugharne, the part of Wales that gave Dylan Thomas to the world, 'the ugly, lovely town' of Swansea. Visit the house in which he was born and brought up and then explore the green oasis of Cymdonkiin Park where he played as a boy. In Margam Country Park, fans of Torchwood and Doctor Who will experience a deja vu as they come across a replica of the TARDIS. Neolithic Chambers testify that while an artificial warren is evidence that it was the Romans who were responsible for unleashing the rabbit upon us, they then introduced it as a source of meat. There are strategic locations including Iron Age Forts and stories of Norman invaders defeated and beheaded, and the barbaric murder of the female hero Princess Gwenllian, whose death resulted in The Great Revolt when all of Wales rose up. In more recent history, the famous female aviator Amy Johnson used Pendine Sands as a runway for one of her record attempts which was later used for the world land speed record attempt. Includes OS style colour maps blown up to a large size, colour photos and very clear steps through each tour to Llandeilo, Llanelli, Pembrey, Rhossili and Gnoll among the 20 chosen walks. 96 page pocket size paperback, colour. Last sold at

Sewage systems to sculpture, chocolate to coal, free trade to electoral emancipation, the book is a personal exploration of why and how village utopias came about, what they tell us about the past, and how they still resonate with us today. 20 years ago Jacqueline Yallop began her working life leading guided walks at a small village high in the fells of the North Pennines. Built by philanthropic employers for families working the lead mines, the isolated settlement was one of a network of 'model' villages which sprang up across Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. Here she visits and revisits some of these utopian experiments to understand the social, political and cultural contexts from which they emerged. From Scotland's New Lanark Mills to the imposing market square at Tremadog in Wales and the Arts and Crafts cottages of Port Sunlight, she walks the avenues and terraces and considers what remains of the ideals which made these villages so fashionable. Mixing social and political history, art and architecture, travelogue, biography, aesthetics and philosophy with memoir and on-the-ground observation, her years of experience as a novelist brings Yallop's scholarly research to life in her energetic account of the complex and contradictory factors which changed the British landscape. 218pp, archive photos.

Like a huge jigsaw with pieces the size of the book (27.5 x 20cm) 34 pull out posters can be removed and perhaps even linked if you're clever! Or framed and admired for their astonishing detail and humour, witty observations about cultural life (very expensive nightclubs, football and Ford). In his fantastically detailed maps of the city, Stephen Walter translates these elements into a tangle of insightful yet humorous words and symbols as he explores the boroughs and the City, places of historic interest and birthplaces of important figures. His groundbreaking, oversized map The Island was one of only two works by contemporary artists to feature in the seminal Magnificent Maps exhibition held at the British Library in 2010, the other by Grayson Perry and was exhibited together with some of the most important maps in history, such as Pierre Desceliers's 1550 world map. The work, which reimagines London as an insular body of land surrounded by water, has now been reconfigured and turned into Walter's own version of a London street atlas, from Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Haringey, Islington to Kingston. A key at the end explains symbols like pawn broker, markets, or where public hangings took place. The large-scale, detailed reproductions allow for close examination of his witty and inventive depictions. Walter's cartographic renderings have a cult following. 33 posters on heavy art card and key to symbols. Rare Prestel first edition 2015. 144 pages.