Britain First

William the First, who was also called William the Conqueror, and in some cases, William the Bastard, was the first Norman emperor of England, ruling from 1066 till his death in 1087. Around this time, many wars and battles were waged over the kingdom and distribution of territories in Europe. France, the Anglo-Saxons, and Scandinavian troops were engaged in raids, struggles, and battles to claim their lands and gains. I invite you to learn more about this first king of England, who lived almost 1,000 years ago.

From the author of the best-selling Forgotten Voices of the Great War comes a final look at the last 21 living British veterans of the First World War. These interviews, conducted in 2004, will never be repeated, as the youngest was 106 years old, and most are now gone. These first-person accounts follow the young soldiers from their homes throughout Britain to the raging battles while in the service of the Royal Field Artillery, Black Watch, Royal Navy, and others.

In the 18th century five men created the biggest industrial city civilization had ever seen. They were the Iron Masters, masters of metal and men. Their cannons saved a kingdom, forged the greatest empire in the world and changed the history of the human race. Intrigue, bribery, adultery, and murder were common in Merthyr Tydfil, a town where the furnaces burned day and night, the sun seldom pierced the sky, and the Iron Masters ruled without pity. Nye Vaughn, a humble farm boy, walked to Merthyr to find his destiny, unaware that a war was coming that would engulf the world.

Throughout the centuries, the castles of Dover, Deal and Walmer, in Kent, have been of prime strategic importance to England, protecting the south-east tip of the country from invasion. This is an authoritative account of their British importance and includes fascinating stories of historical characters associated with them, from King Henry VIII through to the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

While some might think of the war as being a continuation of the feudal tradition of knights and peasants, the Hundred Years’ War revolutionized Western European warfare, and it truly helped to usher in the concept of nationalism on the continent. In England, it is remembered as a period of grandeur and success, even though the English lost the war and huge swathes of territory with it, while the French remember it as a strategic victory that ensured the continued independence of France and the denial of English hegemony.