Amberley Publishing strana 19 z 20

In 2025, South Wales-based Edwards Coaches celebrates 100 years since its founders formally ventured into public transport. Today, Edwards operates around 250 vehicles on a diverse portfolio of work which includes local bus services, home-to-school transport, holiday and tour programmes, private hires, executive contracts and National Express diagrams. This book showcases some of the vehicles that Edwards have operated from its humble beginnings in 1925 to the present day. Featuring photographs from the Edwards family archive as well as those taken by valued clients, employees and enthusiasts, this book forms a wonderful tribute to Wales’ largest independent public-transport operator, the much-loved and multi-award-winning, Edwards Coaches.

As time goes by, progression is always happening across the UK rail network, and a major aspect of this is the trains that operate on the network. The replacement of the trains is a significant part of this process. Train operating companies around the country periodically undertake the removal of some of their life-expired, older trains in preparation for newer, much more modern units to take over the day-to-day operations of passenger work as the numbers of people travelling on the railways rises every year. Once removed from service, the next destination of these units varies as they are either transferred, stored or sent for scrap.With fascinating illustrations and informative captions, Adam Head looks at the final months of a variety of elderly EMUs operating all over the UK network in their many different liveries and locations.

Aberystwyth is the unofficial capital of Mid Wales. Situated on Cardigan Bay, it attracts many as a seaside resort and university town, as well as being a gateway to the Cambrian Mountains inland. The ruins of the castle, destroyed in the Civil War, attest to the town’s importance in the Middle Ages, and with the coming of the railways in the nineteenth century, which brought an influx of visitors, many hotels and grand houses were built. Many buildings and the pier were damaged or destroyed in a great storm in 1938, and post-war to recent decades Aberystwyth has witnessed many more changes.Lost Aberystwyth presents a portrait of this corner of Wales over the last century to recent decades that has radically changed or disappeared today, showing not only industries and buildings that have gone but also people and street scenes, many popular places of entertainment and much more. This fascinating photographic history of lost Aberystwyth will appeal to all those who live in the area or know it well, as well as those who remember it from previous decades.

Coventry has been a major centre of trade and industry since the Middle Ages. Medieval Coventry was known for making tiles, cloth, buckles, statues and stained glass. Other textile industries followed, the dyeing of cloth with the famous Coventry true blue and silk-weaving. Much later, in the twentieth century, Coventry became a pioneer of synthetic fibre manufacturing. Clock-making grew from the sixteenth century, and later watch-making – Dickens carried his Coventry watch until he died – and in the nineteenth century Coventry also became known for bike manufacture. This also led to Coventry becoming the hub of car manufacturing in the twentieth century. It was Coventry’s expertise in this area, as well as aircraft, military vehicles and armaments, that led to it being targeted by enemy bombing in the Second World War.Coventry at Work explores the working life of this city in the East Midlands and its people and the industries that have characterised it through the ages. This book will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of Coventry.

Between 1972 and 1986 the roads of England and Wales were served by the country’s own National Bus Company, carrying a corporate livery introduced to bring the thirty-six or so companies together and help the public see it owned its bus services. At the time, it was the largest bus company in the world, and there was much interest in its vehicle fleets, along with the changes to operating areas and fleet amalgamations.In the 1970s, most towns had a bus station and garage, and the constituent companies still retained much individuality even if the buses were painted in a similar fashion. Information was not as readily available as today, so there was plenty of interest to be discovered. In this book, Mike Hitchen takes a look back to a time when variety was the norm; red or green (and occasionally blue) buses connected communities across the country from Cornwall to Kent, Hampshire to Northumberland and most places in between.

Yarn production and the rearing of sheep have shaped the county of Cumbria, from ancient sheep breeds and farming methods impacting the landscape to yarn production and garment manufacture shaping many of the towns. Different breeds produce different yarns for different purposes, and today the Cumbrian sheep are competing on the world stage with yarns from around the globe.In Cumbrian Yarn: The Wool That Binds the County Beth and Steve Pipe follow local yarn production from the sheep to the sweater. They describe the breeds of sheep associated with the county, look at how sheep farming has shaped the landscape over the centuries, explore how the wools differ and how fleeces are obtained and then turned into yarns, and also look at how spinning and dyeing has changed over time. Sheep rearing and yarn and wool production have been a vital part of Cumbria for centuries and all face new challenges today. This fully illustrated look into the world of Cumbrian wool provides a unique insight into its fascinating history and its importance today.

Britain has a rich Cold War heritage and here its significant historical and cultural aspects are explored. Adopting a chronological approach, key events, technologies and social impacts are detailed through the many sites, collections and artefacts that are accessible to the public. Peter Robinson and Milka Ivanova take readers on a journey of discovery, from the secret bunker at Kelvedon Hatch to the Nuclear Missile Storage Facility at RAF Barnham, where local people believed monkeys were being prepared for space travel and beyond. They also consider civil and military defence, the CND movement and the Cold War in popular culture and conclude with a list of fifty Cold War sites that can be visited today.

From Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Hiltzik, a definitive new history of California ? from the Spanish conquistadors to the state’s meteoric rise as a tech powerhouse and bulwark of progressivism ? and of its indelible mark on the world.California has long reigned as the land of plenty, where the sun always shines and opportunity beckons. Even prior to its statehood in 1850, it captured the world’s imagination. We remember the Gold Rush era for bearded prospectors lured by riches; we think of its early embrace of immigrant labour during the railroad boom as prologue to its diverse social fabric today. But what lies beneath the myth is far more complicated.Thanks to extensive research by Michael Hiltzik, one of the clearest voices on California, Golden State uncovers the unvarnished truth about the state that everyone thinks they know well. From Spanish incursions into what became known as Alta California to the rise of Big Tech, the history of California is one of stark contradictions. In rich detail, we see its earliest statesmen wreak havoc among native peoples while racing to draft their own constitution even ahead of statehood. We follow gold-hungry settlers who venture into the Sierra foothills and often leave with nothing, while a handful of their suppliers become millionaire railroad magnates. We witness water wars erupt as Los Angeles booms and see early efforts to tame the vast landscape create an arena for fossil fuel extraction and environmental conservation alike.From its very beginnings, Hiltzik shows, the story of the United States was written in California.

The campervan came to prominence in the 1950s and remains hugely popular today. Starting out as converted commercial vans, such as those produced by Commer and Austin, campervans developed further with the likes of Westphalia conversions of the VW Kombi, Ford Transits and Toyota Hi Ace vans in the 1960s and 1970s. Over the decades, the campervan has become more sophisticated with comprehensive layouts and extra features, such as internal heating, double-glazed windows and even solar panels. Caravan makers also became involved with conversions, as did individuals, creating their own bespoke vehicles as well as following manufacturers’ plans. In the 1980s, companies such as Hymer and Trigano entered the British market alongside established makes such as Fiat, Peugeot and Talbot. More recent times have seen the rise of the luxury campervan, but the vehicle faces new challenges with radical changes in the way all vehicles are powered.Recognised expert Andrew Jenkinson explores the evolution of the campervan and its enduring appeal through his personal archive and company images. Having received a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, the campervan continues to be regarded as a practical, enjoyable and liberating alternative for self-catering holidays and breaks.

On 3 July 1930, a maid discovered the dead body of her employer on the floor of the sitting room in an upmarket apartment in Temple, London. The victim was 37-year-old Sidney Russell Cooke, mysteriously shot through the stomach by a hunting rifle. He was the husband of Titanic Captain Edward Smith’s only daughter, Helen, known to friends as ‘Mel’. Unknown to many, he was also an MI5 spy, described as a ‘prototype James Bond’ - and the esteemed Cambridge economist John Maynard Keynes’ lover.Never before published private letters and family photographs tell the true, untold story of a legendary captain, the mysterious death of a British spy and an inspirational daughter who stepped out of the shadow of misfortune to carve her own path. By the time Mel was 49 she had lost her father, mother, husband, son, and daughter, all in unusual circumstances. Yet she would become a pilot, a driver of fast cars, an artist’s muse and collector of fine art, living within a coterie of suffragettes, politicians, Russian spies, yachtsmen, gay lovers and the fabulously wealthy.

Beneath the surface of the West Yorkshire city of Wakefield lies a subterranean world, including ancient cellars, disused railway tunnels and a burial ground. Coal mining had taken place around Wakefield for centuries, with the last pits closing in the 1980s. Many large cellars are a legacy of the city’s history as an important centre of the wool trade going back to the Middle Ages, where additional safe storage was needed for the produce. Catacombs beneath the Unitarian chapel are the last resting place of some of the most influential and important persons in local, regional and national history, including four MPs, French revolutionaries, diarists, as well as women of influence on the national stage. The macabre space is unique in the north of England, with ‘residents’ from Manchester and Ireland, as well as elsewhere in Yorkshire. Nearby is a secret tunnel to a property that was the scene of a tragic attack by a grizzly bear. Wakefield also has other crypts: the medieval bridge chapel has a crypt completed c. 1347, the cathedral has a crypt completed in 1902 and the Georgian new church also has a crypt.This book provides a fascinating portrait of subterranean Wakefield, and the often strange stories associated with these hidden areas will interest all those who know the city.

Love it or loathe it, the British press is a remarkable institution. Sometimes referred to as the fourth estate and accused of wielding power without responsibility, it has often been a channel for the dissemination of information that those at the top of the pyramid of power would rather stayed hidden. It has also delighted in scraping the bottom of the barrel of public interest, deliberately manipulating facts and revelling in gossip and scandal.But where did this naughty child start? Ruth Herman takes the reader back to the early days of the British press. Grub Street follows the unsuccessful attempts of the government to strangle it at birth and looks at how an army of journalists found their feet and honed their craft. It considers the personalities who wrote fearlessly and the role played by some of English literature’s most famous names. Printers and booksellers played a big part in the development of the press, and they are given their own share of the limelight.Along with stories of sedition and insider trading, Grub Street looks at the remarkable variety of content that appeared in these early periodicals, including the earliest examples of writing targeted at women and the often bizarre or downright astonishing advertising that shared the same pages. There have always been two sides to the press: one that serves the greater good with noble intent, and another preoccupied with profit, scandal, and circulation. This is not a modern phenomenon.

Essex is a diverse county ranging from the urban areas in the south, such as Brentwood, Basildon and the huge Southend conurbation, to the less built-up central and northern areas, which include interesting places such as Chelmsford, Braintree, Halstead, Colchester, Billericay, Finchingfield, Clacton and Walton on the Naze. The varied nature of Essex is reflected in the fascinating abundance of bus operators in the county, ranging from national operators such as Arriva and First, to growing regional companies such as Stephensons and Hedingham and small independents such as the now defunct Panther and Regal Busways.David Moth explores the buses covering almost every corner of Essex through a wealth of colour images and informative captions.

Kent is the largest and most heavily populated of the home counties. It is a county of contrasts: in the north and west it borders London and its population there has moved to and from the metropolis for centuries, but it is also known for agricultural produce and heavy industries including coal mining, as well as historic towns and cities such as Canterbury. Kent’s history has been shaped by its extensive coastline and today people and goods still transit through the county from its chief port of Dover.Kent was famous for the number of smuggling gangs who plied their trade on its coastline in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries including the Hawkhurst Gang and the Romney Marsh Gang. Other crimes included the Train Robbery of 1855 and an attack on Charles Dickens by two rogues in 1862. There are a number of infamous murders linked to the county, such as Alphege, Becket and Arden of Faversham, the latter made famous in the play of the same name. The nineteenth century saw the unsolved murder of the Bonars in Chislehurst, the cruel murder by neglect of a wife and child in the Cudham of 1877, the death of a soldier in Bossenden Woods by Mad Thom and the death by opium of Dr Lyddon in Faversham in 1890. The murder of Ightham’s Caroline Luard in 1908 remains unsolved and the 1946 Wrotham Hill murder still resonates today. In more recent times, the Krays spent time in Canterbury Prison and the notorious criminal and murderer Kenneth Noye lived in the county. Kent was also briefly the home of serial killer Peter Tobin.This collection of true-life crime stories gives a vivid insight into life in Kent through the centuries to the present. This book will fascinate anyone with an interest in the history of crime as well as those who want to know more about the history of this county in the south-east of England.

Growing up in north-west London in the 1950s and living alongside a busy freight line, the seed for a fascination with steam was firmly planted in the young Geoff Barker’s head. Later in life he was able to visit Barry Scrapyard and recorded the locos seen there over a seven-year period from 1977 to 1983. He then went back in the early 1990s to photograph every last remaining locomotive. Those holiday stop-offs at the famous scrapyard created a wonderful photographic record of a unique place.Through this selection of striking images and informative captions, Geoff Barker and David Holland celebrate this long-gone but much-cherished scrapyard.

In the Middle Ages, Barrow was a small settlement close to Furness Abbey. The Furness peninsula is still a largely rural area, and Furness Abbey is now a ruin, but the town of Barrow-in-Furness grew during the Industrial Revolution to become an important steel producer and exporter, exploiting the mineral deposits in mines nearby and its position on the coast. Later it became a major manufacturer of naval vessels, best known today for building Royal Navy submarines. The monastic movement played an important part in the settlement and economy of medieval Furness, not only at Furness Abbey but also Conishead Priory, alongside the manorial system. Over the centuries the area experienced Scottish incursion and other invasions, piracy and smuggling, plague, uprisings, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Civil War battles, the Quaker movement, the attention of Romantic writers and artists, railways and industrialisation and the effect of both World Wars.Illustrated throughout, this accessible historical portrait of the transformation that Barrow and the surrounding area has undergone through the ages will be of great interest to residents, visitors and all those with links to the area.