CATEGORIES

THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII

We chart the terrifying events of AD 79 that saw Pompeii transformed from a bustling Roman city into an ash-covered hellscape of death and destruction...

LIFE BEFORE THE CATASTROPHE

Pre-eruption Pompeii was a busy and affluent place to live, and where new building projects were transforming the local landscape

The Suez Crisis begins

I 'n early November 1956 the Suez Canal in Egypt was choked with ships. But these vessels weren't sailing down the 120-mile waterway that connected the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

AXIS SALLY: TRUE STORY OF AN ALL-AMERICAN TRAITOR

A troubled child, failed Broadway actress, impressionable lover and Nazi propagandist, Mildred Gillars' life is an American tale that descends into the darkest depths of betrayal

TIMELINE OF...ANTI-TANK WEAPONS

Over the course of a century, armed forces around the world produce a variety of weapons and devices to counter the evolution of armoured warfare

PORTUGAL'S FORGOTTEN COLONIAL WAR

While the US and allies fought the Viet Cong's guerrilla campaign, Portugal mounted its own counter-insurgency in its colonial possessions in Angola and Mozambique. This largely overlooked conflict witnessed one of Africa's last major wars of independence from European colonialism

WWI TAKING ON THE FIRST TANKS

On the morning of 15 September 1916 the British Army altered the course of land warfare forever, deploying 49 Mark I tanks into the Battle of the Somme. This new technology quickly necessitated strong counter-measures

WWII PANZERFAUSTS & PIATs

As highly manoeuvrable armoured units gained huge success on the battlefields of Europe and beyond, increasingly accurate and powerful weapons were put into the hands of infantrymen

MODERN ANTI-TANK WEAPONS

Rapidly advancing technology has fuelled new generations of infantry and aerial anti-tank weapons

Heroes of the Victoria Cross: PATRICK ANTHONY PORTEOUS

Amid the disastrous Dieppe Raid of August 1942, this 24-year-old officer took command of a depleted unit, saved a comrade, and led a charge against enemy positions

INSIDE THE FORTIFIED CHURCHES OF TRANSYLVANIA

Standing on the hilltops of the Transylvanian countryside, the mighty fortified churches protected their citizens throughout centuries of Tatar and Ottoman invasion

COLD WAR ROCKET-POWERED PRECISION

Since the end of World War Il tanks and the weapons designed to destroy them have been locked in a deadly race for dominance on the battlefield

The World Was His Lobster

Derek Lamb looks back over the the long career of versatile and popular actor George Cole

Heritage Highlights

From bell ringing to balloons, and flowers to football, Claire Saul samples some great ideas for days out this month

Ratty Not Tatty

Simon Stabler hops on board the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, to offer a brief history of the narrow-gauge line that is affectionately known as the La’al Ratty

PINBALL WIZARDS

Margaret Mather visits a former working men’s club in Nuneaton, Warwickshire to play her way through Europe’s largest public collection of pinball machines

COOL CATS

François Prins looks back over 100 years of Jaguar Cars, one of Britain’s best-loved marques, which started life as a manufacturer of sidecars

POSTCARD FROM SOMERSET

While taking a tranquil, traffic-free cycle ride through the countryside, Bob Barton discovers that the chocolate box south-western county wasn’t always so peaceful

A Real Dead Ringer

Simon Stabler speaks to actor, comedian and impressionist Jon Culshaw

ALL IS SAFELY GATHERED IN

Harvest time memories from The Francis Frith Collection

You Lucky People!

In the first of a two-part series, Robert Ross looks back on 100 years of BBC comedy, starting with 1922-71

Iced Dreams

Angeline Wilcox uncovers the history of Britain's frozen favourite

Lighting Up Our Lives

Clive Beautyman shines a light on the history of the lava lamp, a British design classic, which was launched almost 60 years ago

"The story of a ship"

Chris Hallam looks back on the making of In Which We Serve, probably the best British film about World War Two to be made during the conflict itself

Green Goddess

A rare Daimler is on public display at the British Motor Museum. François Prins admires its rich and glamorous history

Widow’s Peak

Chris Hallam profiles the stage and screen career of Dame Joan Plowright

LAWRENCE of THE SORTING OFFICE

John Wright on the famous faces who once delivered the post

Sculpture Town

Susan Brewer takes a tour of Harlow’s exceptional collection of public artworks

MORE THAN JUST CHUCKLES IN CHURCH

Martin Handley remembers Derek Nimmo who, although best known for portraying bumbling clerics, did so much more on stage and screen

A CLASS ACT IN EVERY WAY

On the centenary of her birth, Robert Ross celebrates the prodigious talent of character actress Marianne Stone who squeezed maximum fun from minor roles