Books

Former Labour MP Chris Mullin (Image: Steve Bainbridge.) He never attained Cabinet rank or held one of the great offices of state. He was no mesmerising orator like his ally Tony Benn or an electoral colossus like Tony Blair. Earnest, bespectacled and slightly diffident, he did not exude charisma or …

Dan Jones releases his new book, ‘Essex Dogs’ (Image: Getty) It is the largest amphibious invasion so far in British history. Waves of determined men crammed into small boats, foundering against the tide as they approach the Normandy coast under a barrage of fire. Amid the screams and shouting, some …

A beautiful seaside town just three hours from London known for its sandy beaches and a range of things to see and do, had one very famous resident. Southwold, on the north Suffolk coast, is known for its pretty Georgian architecture and independent shops and cafes. This week the town …

This much-loved copy was discovered after a Wolverhampton library decided it was no longer fit for circulation. Specialists have identified it as one of just 500 released by Bloomsbury in 1997, with only 300 of those reaching libraries around the UK. The astute purchaser, whose identity has not been revealed, …

M W Craven with a copy of The Puppet Show (Image: GettyImages) Mike Craven wanted to mark the moment his bestselling books about murder and mayhem in the Lake District had done well enough for him not to need to go back to work in the Probation Service. But rather …

Eric Brown flying a Hawker P1040 (Image: Bonhams/Bournemouth News/REX/Shutterstoc) As conversation-stoppers go, Captain Eric Brown’s statement couldn’t have been more arresting: “Well, of course, the second time I met Hitler, it was different,” he said matter-of-factly. Suddenly you could hear a pin drop amidst the noisy gathering marking his 90th …

Eddie Redmayne, main, as Stephen Wraysford in BBC adaptation of Birdsong (Image: BBC) It was a question that endlessly haunted Sebastian Faulks during the writing in an astonishing six-month burst of creativity of Birdsong, his groundbreaking and bestselling novel of the First World War: “How far can you go?” As …

Sharron Davies with silver Olympic medal her father Terry had gold-plated (Image: Shutterstock) For Christmas a few years ago, former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies received a very unusual present from her father, Terry. Secretly, he had taken her Olympic silver medal and had it dipped in gold plate. It was …

Hero Herbert Castelow cycles between Michel and Gilbert Leduc in France (Image: Supplied) A SAS hero hid in plain sight as a mute butcher’s boy in a French village, to evade Nazis who were searching for him after a failed sabotage mission. Herbert Castelow pretended to be a cousin of …

Christina O’Connor with her dad (Image: FOCUS FEATURES) A victim of Britain’s largest sex grooming gang has told of the ongoing stigma that continues to punish her and many other victims, long after the abuse has ended. Almost every day for more than four years Christina O’Connor was raped, beaten …