the wonderful, late and great Patricia Hayes? So often the bridesmaid and never the bride, Patricia's moment came when she played the part of Edna in Edna the Inebriate Woman in a 1971 play for television written by Jeremy Sandford and for which Patricia won the Best Actress on Television BAFTA in 1972. Although the majority of her work was in television, Patricia Hayes played parts in over forty films and who could forget (unless you have never seen the film) her role as Mrs

in the case of this gorgeous photograph of Marilyn Monroe, yes it does. At the height of her fame, Norma Jeane could not even walk out of her apartment in New York for being mobbed and, for someone who was essentially a homely girl, popularity was in effect a poison. I love this image as it was captured in an off moment, without the light bulbs and the shouts from the photographer to do this or that - it was just Norma drinking tea, being her, being me...this is all part of m

things about researching history is that it almost always brings you into contact with people you would otherwise never have met. Naturally this has an added advantage in that you are able to chat to people who share your passion and interests and so I was particularly thrilled to begin a new conversation with Ken Parker who is the co founder of the Bedford Boy's Tribute Centre in Bedford, Virginia. When I wrote my book on the SS Empire Javelin and her role in D-Day, I had no

Belgium! During 1941 through to 1944, the beautiful Normandy coastline was gradually fortified by German forces in creating what they called the Atlantic Wall. With the appointment of Erwin Rommel as the officer responsible for these fortifications in late 1943, the tempo of the work increased dramatically but there were still three main types of beach defence (as opposed to shore defences and bunkers etc). Photographs of the actual defences are very rare as it was impossible

it is the supposed birthday of Marcus Tullius Cicero in 106 BCE. Born a novus homo or new man, Cicero came from a good but not noble family and everything he achieved in his early life, by and large, came from his own genius and decisions. Of course no one got anywhere on the cursus honorum - the ladder of civil promotions - without patronage and it would have been his father that helped to begin his career in Rome. By the age of 42, Cicero had climbed to the top of that la

in 1942, the snow had fallen harder and the temperature had dropped lower than many Russian soldiers could ever remember. Over 250,000 German troops were trapped in the suburbs of Stalingrad with new cases of frostbite numbering thousands each day. Adolf Hitler had forbidden his commander in the city to attempt a breakout and their only source of supply came from the air from two Luftwaffe airfields about 60km from the city. What better target then for the Russian high comma

43 BCE, the bounty hunters sent out from Rome by Mark Anthony would finally catch up with Marcus Tullius Cicero. For the last few weeks Cicero had known that he had been proscribed as an enemy of the state and had been receiving news of the murder of dozens of his friends. This was a purge of names put together by Octavian (soon to become Augustus), Mark Anthony (soon to commit suicide with Cleopatra) and the general Lepidus (who even proscribed his own brother). Cicero had

Beatrice Dawson? No I thought not and yet I am surprised and disappointed both in myself and the way history seems to be able to just erase the past. Known to her friends as 'Bumble', Beatrice Dawson was one of the world's leading costume designers in the 1950's and 1960's. She worked with many great stars - Marilyn Monroe would only work with her for the dresses she designed and Dirk Bogarde described her as 'just the best there is'. I cam across Bumble researching for my bo

It seems to me that the US military faces the same problem that German generals did in the 1930's. Both serve a corrupt ruler and yet a man who promises to make their country again - MGGA or MAGA - it is the same thing. For Germany it was the reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936 that was the first test - it could be war with Venezuela for the US generals and admirals - Trump is desperate to take attention off his problems with Epstein so it could be a war of distraction.

Magnificent does not even begin to capture the majesty of this construction and I am so pleased that I eventually made the trip. My book on Marcus Tullius Cicero always takes me to a place where I wonder what the site was like when he stood there and now I was able to imagine hundreds of acres of ponds, marshes, dykes and fields to the east of the forum and the Palatine Hill, a place that was being improved and absorbed as a suburb into Republican Rome. After Cicero's death,

Well its been a while but then I have been busy this week finalising the images for the Maddie Smith biography which is now with a proof...

Mr Michael Hurden - archivist & researcher So, my latest book on German general Hermann Balck is shortly available to buy but this only...

So this morning, about ten minutes ago, I completed the final paragraph on my next book. I have been interviewing the lovely Madeline...

Hey everyone, if you are receiving this message it is because you have signed up to read my Blogs which will be coming out around twice a...

So I am currently working on my biography of Madeline Smith - former Bond girl, model and actress. I had no idea that Roger Moore had...

..I am writing about the relationship between Maddie Smith and Richard Harris. It is fascinating to try to understand how Harris saw...

For those of us who enjoy writing history books, the arrival of the indexing stage is both a blessing and a curse - well for me anyway....

Here it is after many attempts to get something live and I hope that you will enjoy not only my journey writing books but also tel me...