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Education is constantly in the news, with changes in teaching methods, and the introduction of more and different examinations. Between 1871 and 1903, these same problems were faced by schools all over England. This book looks at the development of Alcester National Schools and how the people involved coped with the constant challenges.

Birmingham born librarian Sue Brown looks at a timber framed building in Bewdley, Worcestershire, and traces something of its fascinating history as a coaching inn. Known as the Wheatsheaf between about 1754 and 1875, it was established as one of two principal inns in the town by 1788.

This is a historic manuscript of World War II air raids, experienced by one Birmingham ARP post and written as the events happened. Both the tension and the relaxation periods of life on duty in a warden's post are captured in this diary of events.

Produced with the aid of the photographic archives of "The Coventry Evening Telegraph", this new edition of a title which has been out of print for several years, should find a new readership interested in the history of Britain's "Motor City".

Tells the story of the formation, training and war service of the first Territorial Artillery Battery to go to France in 1914.

Tells the story of three US Army hospitals located at Brickbarns Farm, Merebrook and Wood Farm in the Malvern Wells area of Worcestershire during World War II. This book looks at the day to day activities at the hospitals using archive material and accounts and various photos from those who were there at the time.

Rangemaster is one of the oldest companies in Europe making domestic appliances. The firm was founded in 1777 by John Flavel and the modern factory still occupies the original site in Leamington Spa on which William Flavel chose to build his new foundry in 1833. This book focuses on Rangemaster.

A biography that reveals the author's complex relationship with Darwin, her love of poetry and the natural landscape, and the personality, challenges and aspirations of an intelligent, passionate and independent woman writer of the early Romantic period.

A non-musical family in the Black Country, a fivepenny piece of bamboo and a ha'penny cork, some time in the Civil Service, and a few years in commerce, might seem like an unlikely foundation for a career as a professional musician. This is Hilda Hunter's story.

Tells the history of the two hospital sites built at Blackmore Park in 1943 and used by American hospital units until September 1945. This book describes the day to day activities on the base. It touches on the work of the other three American hospital sites in the area.

With emphasis on fun and entertainment, this title presents a collection of strange happenings that have enriched the author's life. It also includes some of his hilarious comedy 'jottings'.

This text is a new edition of a biography of the 18th-century historian William Hutton.

British India in the middle of the 19th century and two enterprising families from modest origins who made immense fortunes, one from growing and processing indigo and the other from trading opium into China. In this title, their stories are punctuated by shipwrecks, heroic acts in battles, romantic trysts and sudden death.

With a collection of over 300 photographs, this book covers all aspects of life in Shakespeare's home town throughout the 20th century. The book is part of a series of heavily illustrated books on Midland towns by Alton Douglas.

This first novel by Emilia Williams is a sweeping family saga of life in the working class community of the Birmingham back to backs. Set between the 1920s and the 1960s, the story of the Holtes and Hatfields of Aston and Lozells, and their friends and neighbours, is seen through the eyes of Ada, the family matriarch, Lily, her fiery shop steward daughter, and Grace and Susannah, her granddaughters. The narrative encompasses the social life, politics and fashions of the 1960s and also the winds of change that are coming - as the characters prepare to leave the back to backs, which are to be demolished, as is the entire area - houses, pubs, shops, schools, cinemas and markets - as the 1970s are about to begin. Everyone is looking forward to a brighter future, but with some regrets for leaving the old world behind and the breaking up of a tightly knit working class community.

A mischievous ghost lurks in the Palace Theatre, Redditch; the Technical Manager has seen it three times. The Bull's Head at Inkberrow is haunted by a young seamstress. A female spirit has been seen four times in room 307 at the Falcon Hotel, Stratford. A courting couple went to Henley for the day and were advised by the ghost of an elderly lady to finish their relationship. These and over a hundred ghost stories, both ancient and modern, are packed into this book including many eye-witness accounts and spinechilling anecdotes.

Over ninety public houses and hotels are featured in this book. There is a brief overview of each one, giving type of inn and the fare on offer. Every inn has a story to tell. Some were patronised by royalty, others were smugglers dens or the local 'pick-up joint'! Some were caught up in the civil wars of the 1600s, others were a venue for an illicit romance. A few have even been involved in a murder. Above all, in every one of these hostelries, at one time or another, a ghost has made its presence felt.

It is a grey Saturday morning in August, 1921, and the leaden skies of Birmingham rain down upon a barge full of young Cadbury workers, heading off from Bournville for a week at Camp School. Excitement is high as the itinerary is revealed, but none can foresee the distant milestone besides which two of their number will stumble across a mysterious object. Their discovery sparks an adventure of intrigue and danger, humour and romance, interlaced with a fascinating historical travelogue, through which the quest to unravel the Bournville Barge Mystery unfurls like the weed-choked Warwickshire canal upon which they travel.

Bangkok, Thailand, 1969. Young British lawyer Matt Benson has his first case. He's a long way from home, it's hot and he finds himself facing the might of the American military justice system in a court martial the Pentagon is determined to win. His client is US Army veteran Sgt Al Moreau, accused of selling off military vehicles destined for troops in Vietnam. Matt has to catch up fast with US Army law. His tough client won't make life easy. Nor will his new apartment above a seedy Go-Go Bar or a love affair with a US Army nurse who's hiding a dangerous secret. Al is depending on him. Matt can't let him down. He forms a bond that's hard to break in a case that will stay with him forever. Based on the adventures of David Hallmark, OBE, the only English lawyer to appear in a US court martial during the Vietnam war.

Municipal Boundary changes in 1964 elevated Solihull to County Borough status and at the same time transferred Hockley Heath to the Stratford-upon-Avon Rural District Council. On surveying their newly acquired lands the 'new owners' were shocked by what they found. The Stratford Herald of 5th June 1964 reported that they included the Mount Estate, a badly run-down area that Solihull had neglected. The Chairman of the Rural District Council reported: The county borough of Solihull can gain little credit for having been able to unload that colony of shacks without any main water supply, main drainage or roads on a less fortunate council. To us with our limited resources, it is a gigantic task. It is a problem that cannot be faced without much careful thought, work, planning, consultation and advice. It is a problem that we cannot turn a blind eye on as has been done for the past 30 years. The dreadful situation with which the Mount residents then found themselves facing was only eased when the Greaves Organisation purchased the 143-acre site and built the Village of the Seventies. This is the story of the events of that time, how that new village and its community developed over the next 40 years.

At the end of the 2016 Speedway season, the Coventry Bees Speedway team ceased racing due to their stadium at Brandon being purchased for housing development. Although it sent shockwaves through the Speedway world it didn't come as a complete surprise, as rumours about its future had been circulating for two years or so. Tony Watson is a keen supporter of Speedway Racing and the Bees in particular. In this book he sets out all of the final season's racing results, its team members, the guest riders used and the scoring statistics of the riders. He also touches on the attempts to keep the team's name alive by 'track sharing' at nearby Leicester, a venture which did not succeed. A must read for any Speedway follower

Birmingham's Got Talent! Well, there can't be any question about that - a shopping centre that has always rivalled almost anywhere in existence, a manufacturing industry with a worldwide reputation andtheatres and cinemas in abundance.In this collection we have tried to show that, after the terribleevents of the forties, our city was busy replenishing and starting to flourish again - shops, factories and places of entertainment and, of course, the people. In the fifties shops played an enormous part in our lives as very few people had refrigerators and daily trips were a necessity. Politically the Conservatives held their ground from 1951 until 1964 when Labour came into its own. Musically the Beatles dominated the sixties and television finally burst into colour. So, there you are, in this, our 33rd Birmingham book, there are more wonderful items to enjoy. All proving, once and for all, that Birmingham has ALWAYS had talent!

Jim Simpson of Big Bear Records has been involved in the music business for nearly 60 years, as musician, bandleader, promoter, record producer, festival director, manager, journalist and photographer. In his candid, constantly surprising, frequently amusing and occasionally shocking account you will encounter the joys and difficulties of managing Black Sabbath or of running a jazz festival in sun-kissed, crime-ridden Marbella. At home in Birmingham meet some of the characters who have enlivened 35 years of the Jazz Festival and read Jim's take on the scandals that closed the city's premier jazz club. Revisit the exciting Brum Beat scene, take to the road with some 40 of the best (in some cases, most eccentric) American bluesmen of the 1970s, encounter the Blues Brothers Band in surprising places and enjoy Jim's tributes to some of the great names in British jazz, such as Humphrey Lyttelton and Kenny Baker, with whom he worked closely.