This summer our patron, Queen Elizabeth II, has her Platinum Jubilee. It is the longest reign of any British monarch. For many of us in the UK and abroad, she is the only head of state that we have ever known. In those 70 years that she has been queen,...

On its 75th anniversary, historian Paula Kitching reflects on the significance of and events leading up to VJ Day in 1945. You can also listen to our new podcast on post-war Japan which explores the topic in further detail. 15 August is VJ Day – Victory in Japan – and marks...

This September marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem in 1944 - otherwise known as Operation Market Garden. Launched on 17 September, it was an Allied attack to take further parts of Western Europe from Nazi control and continue the push created over the summer. Building on the successes...

“One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” is one of the most famous sentences of the 20th century, and it was about science and exploration not conflict – or was it? For centuries humanity has stared at the Moon and attributed to it portents of good...

Historical romances are not always confined to fiction and flights of fancy – sometimes they actually occur within our own communities. The real-life romantic story of two young people separated by war was uncovered by Sue and Peter Mowforth who revealed the experience of their parents in a talk to the...

The end of June 2019 marked the centenary of the formal ending of the First World War. 11 November 1918 was only the Armistice – it needed a peace treaty to truly end the war. The Treaty of Versailles between the Allies and Germany was signed on 28 June 1919:...

This month it will be the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. That courageous and astounding action was one of the key turning points that led to the end of the Second World War and the defeat of Nazism. The further in time we move from that day...

It was the Battle at Bosworth that brought an end to the War of the Roses. Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor, ushering in a new dynasty to the monarchy of England and Wales. In recent years the battlefield at Bosworth has been investigated with archaeological excavations and new...

Archaeologists using hi-res motorised ground-penetrating radar have recently detected a well-preserved Viking ship burial, lying just 50cm below topsoil in farmland in south-east Norway. The ship’s 20-metre keel and timbers represent the fourth intact ship burial so far discovered in Norway. It is remarkable that this one has survived, because...

The Maya was one of the world’s greatest ancient civilisations, and its apparently sudden decline in the 9th century AD has long been a subject for historical debate.   Now scientists have found evidence which appears to confirm the theory that the large-scale abandonment of Maya city states was precipitated by a massive drought...