Hall of Fame – Manchester’s Arlene Phillips
Dancer, choreographer, theatre director, talent scout, TV judge and presenter, author, mentor and teacher –…
Manchester Victoria: From Industrial Gateway to Northern Hub, A Story of Resilience
Opened in 1844, this magnificent structure, once granted special permission for its royal name by Queen Victoria herself, is more…
The RODS. – Railway Reflection No.16
ROD 2-8-0 63775 is pictured here thundering through Manchester Victoria, her headlamps indicating she is hauling a through freight and…
The Wanderer Returns – Railway Reflections No. 15
With the three images reproduced here, we step back in time to more than fifty years ago when, thanks to…
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Get fell in! The vital defence role played by Britain’s ‘Gunner Girls’
At the beginning of July 1940, the UK’s anti-aircraft strength stood at 157,139 men, 1,200…
Dig for Victory – Allotment History
By October 1939 the government launched the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign, we explore what this…
A Potted History of Allotments
When you think of an allotment, what picture comes into your mind? Gnarled older men…
How Lord Beaverbrook gave aircraft production wings!
On 14 May 1940, Winston Churchill appointed the Canadian-British Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, as…
Ship’s anchor blasted more than a mile away by explosion in Liverpool Blitz
The official Luftwaffe order of battle for the raid on Liverpool and Birkenhead on Saturday…
When the nation lived in dread of gas attacks on our cities
Thankfully for us all, the cry Gas! Gas! Gas! was never heard on the streets…
The Trams of Manchester’s Oxford Street
Trams often queued in Manchester’s Oxford Street in the early 1900s – and for good…
Belle Vue – The Golden Age of Music
Belle Vue basked in a golden age of popular music in the 1970s as almost…
The night when Punk rock exploded onto the national scene – right here in Manchester in 1976!
It was described, quite simply, as the gig that changed the world. The date was…
From Formby to Fame – Wigan’s rich musical heritage
Popular music has always struck a vibrant chord in Wigan, stretching from George Formby and…
The Christmas Blitz of December 1940 – Manchester
In what later became known as the Christmas Blitz, Manchester was raided by hundreds of…