The Great Thorpe Railway Disaster of 1874

The Great Thorpe Railway Disaster of 1874 written by Phyllida Scrivens and

published by Pen & Sword Books - £19.99 - Hardback - Pages 216

The Great Thorpe Railway Disaster of 1874 is the third title from Norwich writer and

biographer Phyllida Scrivens, who lives less than half a mile from the site of the fatal

collision.

At Norwich Station on 10 September 1874, a momentary misunderstanding between the Night Inspector and young Telegraph Clerk resulted in an inevitable head-on collision. The residents of the picturesque riverside village of Thorpe-Next-Norwich were shocked by a ‘deafening peal of thunder’, sending them running through the driving rain towards a scene of destruction. Surgeons were summoned from the city, as the dead, dying and injured were taken to a near-by inn and boatyard. Every class of Victorian society was travelling that night, including ex-soldiers, landowners, clergymen, doctors, seamstresses, saddlers, domestic servants and a beautiful heiress.

For many months local and national newspapers followed the story, publishing details of subsequent deaths, manslaughter trial and outcomes of record-breaking compensation claims. The Board of Trade Inquiry concluded that it was ‘the most serious collision between trains meeting one another on a single line of rails […] that has yet been experienced in this country.’

Using extensive research, non-fiction narrative, informed speculation and dramatised events, Phyllida Scrivens pays tribute to the 28 men, women and children who died, revealing the personal stories behind the names, hitherto only recorded as a list.

I’ve been reading this book during the unfortunate events of the train crash in Salisbury, luckily no one was killed in that. But this story, of the Great Thorpe Railway Disaster in 1874, sadly there were a large number of people killed, 28 men, women and children. So actually the first thing that struck me was the fact that how well trains are built now and how the safety on the railway system has greatly changed since then. This book is written in a report-type style in that it sets out the scene, looks at the moments to impact, the actual collision and then looks into the aftermath and the following days and conclusions. A lot of local research and trawling through many documents has gone on by the author Phyllida Scrivens, who has produced a fascinating read. I enjoyed the way this book was written and would be happy to recommend this one to others.

London A Fourteenth Century City and Its People

London A Fourteenth Century City and Its People written by Kathryn Warner

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

For the medieval period that was witness to a legion of political and natural disasters, the rise and fall of empires across the globe and one of the most devastating and greatest pandemics humankind has ever experienced, the fourteenth century was transformative.

Peering through the looking-glass to focus on one of Europe’s largest medieval cities, and the centre of an international melting pot on the global stage, this is a social history of England's (in)famous capital and its multi-cultural residents in the first half of the fourteenth century.

Using a rich variety of important sources that provide first-hand accounts of everyday life and personal interactions between loved ones, friends, foreigners and foes alike, such as the Assize of Nuisance, Coroners’ Rolls, wills, household accounts, inquisitions post mortem and many more, this chronicle begins at the start of the fourteenth century and works its way up to the first mass outbreak of the Black Death at the end of the 1340s. It is a narrative that builds a vivid, multi-layered picture of London’s inhabitants who lived in one of the most turbulent and exciting periods in European history.

Like the title says this book looks at life in 14th Century London, but from the average person’s level or viewpoint. What I loved about this book is the way it was written by the author Kathryn Warner, rather than chronologically year by year or decade by decade, the book looks at individual subjects in that century, for example, Health, Sanitation, Housing, Beer, Recreation and many more. But all this evidence and research is done through detailed research and first-hand accounts. The book is a fascinating read and a book that if you're a fan of English life, but especially London, you’ll really enjoy. Certainly, a book that enjoy social history. Would I recommend this book, hell yeah it’s one of my contenders for book of the year.

Researching Local History

Researching Local History written by Stuart A. Raymond and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £16.99 - Softcover - Pages 240

How has the place we live in changed, developed, and grown over the centuries? That is

the basic question local historians seek to answer. The answer is to be found in the sources

of information that previous generations have left us. The records of parish, county, and

diocesan administration, of the courts, of the national government, and of private estates,

all have something to tell us about the history of the locality we are interested in. So do old

newspapers and other publications. All of these sources are readily available, but many

have been little used.

Local historians come from a wide diversity of backgrounds. But whether you are a student researching a dissertation, a family historian interested in the wider background history of your family, a teacher, a librarian, an archivist, an academic, or are merely interested in the history of your own area, this book is for you. If you want to research local history, you need a detailed account of the myriad sources readily available. This book provides a comprehensive overview of those sources, and its guidance will enable you to explore and exploit their vast range. It poses the questions that local historians ask, and identifies the specific sources likely to answer those questions.

This has to be said that as someone who has done lots of different jobs in my time involving local history, I can highly recommend this book. Why should I start with this stark statement? This book does exactly what you want when you want to learn about doing local history research, this book shows you how to research people, local government, agriculture, trade, business and leisure records and occupations. Of course one of the best things this book and the series does, is present a wide array of sources and links for you to get direct to the records system you need both via ‘old’ communications or via the internet. The book is well written and presented and fits in nicely to this series dedicated to the local history or genealogy world.

York at War 1939-45

York at War 1939-45 written by Dr Craig Armstrong and published by Pen & Sword Books

- £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 128

York has often been overlooked when it comes to Britain’s wartime experience. The city was not though to have many industries of great wartime importance and it was not a part of the initial evacuation scheme. Yet this does not accurately reflect the wartime contributions of the city, as several of its large confectionary factories were converted to wartime use, while it was also a key rail hub, forming a vital link in the national network.

Unbeknownst to the people of the city, York had been selected as the latest target in the Luftwaffe’s Baedeker Raids. In a short, sharp, blitz raid in the early hours of 29 April 1942, more than 3,000 houses were destroyed or damaged and almost 100 people killed while others were left seriously injured.

Wartime York had a particularly close connection with the RAF as the city was surrounded by airbases. People became very used to seeing the uniforms of men and women from Bomber Command and the city was to prove very popular with airmen seeking relaxation. Places such as Betty’s Bar became infamous as airmen of almost every Allied nationality came to blew off steam. The nearby presence of the airfields also meant that the people of York and the surrounding area were witnesses to tragedies when aircraft crashed on their return to the bases.

As I have said previously, this series published by Pen & Sword, Your Towns & Cities in World War Two is one of my favourite series. The authors they get to write for these towns and cities are excellent and succeed in writing so comprehensively about local history during the war with the war outside enveloping the story. What I love about these books is that we get the local story of a town and its citizens living through a world war, and how the war affects them in their town.

In particular, this book concentrates on Civilians, The Blitz and the Military service of people from York which is fascinating but I actually think the conclusion in the book sums up the whole book. We learn more about Warrant Officer Harry Coates and how his death affected his family and those around him. This in my opinion summed up the war in which York was affected in small ways during the war, but for some of the people of York, the war brought huge effects and consequences. This is a really good book and one that nicely fits into the Towns & Cities series.