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Brick building came to the Midlands in the 15th century when its adoption reflected its prestige amongst the aristocracy and episcopacy. This study explores its wider acceptance and diffusion and describes the pattern and volume of a locally distinctive material. By 1780 its practical advantages saw its use in churches, chapels, gardens, estate buildings and early industrial factories. As 'hard' brick it was a significant factor in the development of industrial kilns. Based on documentary sources the text examines such factors as the technology of brickmaking, the price of bricks, building costs, the availability of other materials, the impact of fire and the social value attached to brick. It particularly emphasises the visual impact of brick on the landscape, for example in 1789 Lord Torrington recorded that 'At Grantham they leave of the stone and build with flaming red brick of which Newark is built and looks like a new town.'

Many towns and cities expanded and went through continuous redevelopment during the 19th and 20th centuries, and Wolverhampton was one of these, losing a lot of historic buildings. Fortunately, at the end of the 1970s, Wolverhampton Council stepped in to rescue and restore two town centre timber-framed buildings, bringing them back into use, to remind people of what was commonplace in earlier times. The stories of these two buildings are told in this book, along with the background story of the writer who, as a Council surveyor, was happy to play his part in the rescue, and who is pleased to see them both continuing to play their important part in the life of Wolverhampton.

The author's story begins in 1946. He recalls a UK canalside cottage and an early family crisis. He moves rapidly onwards to his sporting school years and forward to his active service at sea from age 16. His narrative includes accounts of early worldwide voyages as a Cadet Officer in the British Merchant Navy. Here is an 'all oceans' story. The author credits his own survival to 'the Grace of God and the kindness of strangers'. His account also refers in verse to the inspiring endurance of an albatross, first observed as a 17-year-old officer in training during a 1963 wild-ocean voyage to South Africa. 'Deep Seas and Tall Ships': A title inspired by the author's first 14-month deep ocean voyages and his long service in UK Tall Ships. Sea service was to mould six decades of the author's active life. He made regular voyages in Atlantic hurricanes and ice. His mid-life BA degree was supported financially by regular employment on worldwide subsea cable projects. The author splices in his salt-stained verse, employing his award-winning poetic style. He includes his recent war poem recalling the daylight bombing of RFA ships during the 1982 Falklands war entitled: 'Sir Galahad - a Lament'. His 25-year span of service in UK Tall Ships ended in 2015.

The letters of a young doctor who was sent to a remote hospital in Bangladesh in the years following its war of independence. They describe the day-to-day life of the hospital, its ups and downs, its triumphs and disasters. Through these challenging circumstances, he discovers a new experience of the presence of God.

Brought up in a large family living in a council house in the Stechford area of postwar Birmingham, David Prosser's childhood was not easy, he knew hardships and hunger, wearing worn out clothes and pumps with holes in. But, along with his best friend Trevor, David enjoyed the freedom of his youth with nearby fields, trees to climb, a river to play in and lots of places to explore. Times were hard so they did anything they could to make money: running errands for neighbours, carrying bags of coal on their backs, spending many hours on the tip collecting scrap metal and collecting rags from door to door to sell for pennies. Just two Brummie lads getting by on their wits trying to earn enough to pay for sweets, trips to the swimming baths and the cinema.

'Old Bill' began as the cartoon creation of Captain Bruce Bairnsfather: born amidst the carnage of WWI 'Old Bill' lampooned life within the trenches and went on to become a beloved character within the play The Better 'Ole which filled the music halls of the United Kingdom. But who was 'Old Bill'?

A collection of stories covering the early lives of two lads growing up in the Warwickshire village of Studley during the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Humorously they speak of their adventures and of other villagers, together with their school days and pastimes. They share with the reader their passion for the countryside and tales of roaming around the village. Also recalled are their memories of the industrial centre of Studley, the cinema and other places of entertainment, now long gone. The text is illustrated with over twenty beautiful paintings and drawings by Roger Thomas and more than forty photographs of 'Old Studley'.