Niall Devitt
@historyniall.bsky.social
450 followers 500 following 3.3K posts
Author, tenacious historian and researcher, love all trains-Camelot, QPR, The Fall, opera, film and comedy, Warner Brothers cartoons, Will Hay and importantly, where to find the best doughnut in London and how to make the perfect pot of tea to go with it!
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www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Underground-...

Now due on the 30 Jan 2026, Tec issues but worth the wait my friends!

First of four covering 1801-2050. Uses countless new primary sources. This is different and fresh! Quote by a kind reviewer -' written by an expert researcher and genuine historian.'
Underground Railway 1801-1902
The London Underground, the very essence of a great metropolis, is a story which has fascinated and captivated generations since its first opening in January…
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
It does not get better than this as a lineup of British steam classics!

Today at Sheffield Park L TO R: 'Camelot' and new builds 'Lady of Legend' and 'Tornado'.

Giants of Steam starts on Friday! Be there!

Fab shot as ever by the superb Mark Wilson.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY. An East London “knocker-up” whose job was to wake up workers in the morning (1929). 📷 J.Gaiger
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PERSON OF THE DAY. 11 October 1937. England and Man Utd football star Bobby Charlton was born in Ashington, Northumberland. He played 606 league games for the club, scoring 199 goals. He played 106 times for England, notching up 49 goals. He was a member of the 1966 England World Cup winning team.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY. The famous Hollywood sign which was originally called Hollywoodland (1923) 📷 S H Woodruff
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PHOTO OF THE DAY. Archduke Franz Ferdinand posing as a mummy on a trip to Cairo (1896). 📷 google images
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FACT OF THE DAY. 14 October 1969. Bank of England introduced the 50p coin to replace the 10 Shilling (“Ten Bob”) note. It was part of the transition towards the full introduction of decimal currency in February 1971.
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FACT OF THE DAY. 15 October 1956. The last RAF Lancaster MR3 bomber took off from RAF St Mawgan on its way to the breakers yard. This was the last operational flight of an RAF Lancaster, which had become famous during the Second World War and participated in the 1943 Dambusters Raids.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY. A Thracian chariot and horses, found in the village of Karanovo, Bulgaria, thought to date from 1st century AD. 📷 Veselin Ignatov
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#OnThisDay in 1941, after 538 examples had been built, Rolls-Royce stopped work on their Vulture engine. The Vulture engine was used on the Avro Manchester, Vickers Warwick and Hawker Tornado. #ww2 #WorldWar2
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London is always full of surprises. Tonight it’s the remarkably soothing sound of leaves gently rustling in the breeze on the plane trees of Holland Park. 🍂 🍁
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www.podbean.com/media/share/...

Also available from all your usual podcast providers. Get yourself a brew, sit back and learn about a critical event in the history of London.

Came close to being a very dangerous political crisis for Churchill as bombs rained down in 1940. Who now ran the tube?
36. The shelters of the London Underground in two world wars with Niall Devitt
On this episode, Mark welcomes Niall Devitt to discuss the shelters of the London Underground during the First and Second World Wars. Niall was proudly raised from a London Underground railway family ...
www.podbean.com
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All of them when I was 12 🤣 #nothingtoseehere it makes me sad that kids in this country anyway, no longer know the boredom where they discover the joy of drawing & reading for hours
On this day, in 1892, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" was published. Although the stories it contained had appeared before in magazines, this marked their debut in book format. Are you a #SherlockHolmes fan? What have you read? #💙📚 #Booksky
An image with fix book covers of different editions of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes."
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1956: Women's Clothing from Littlewoods

(+Slim-line Skirt; Lumber Jacket; Cap-sleeved Jumper; Pleated Skirt; Four-gore Skirt; Three-quarter Dolman-sleeved Jumper; Jacket; and Dolman-sleeve Jumper)
This is a catalogue page showcasing women's jersey knit separates in powder blue and grey with contrasting colours. The page features various styles of jumpers and skirts, with detailed sizing charts and pricing.

(+Cap-sleeved Jumper
Dolman-sleeve Jumper
Four-gore Skirt
Jacket
Lumber Jacket
Pleated Skirt
Slim-line Skirt
and Three-quarter Dolman-sleeved Jumper)
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Le Grand Canal à Venise (1874)
by Édouard Manet
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Girl in Bed (1952)
by Lucian Freud
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NEW EPISODE The #KGB #defector who saved #MI5 and changed the #ColdWar

🎧🎧Listen here coldwarconversations.com/episode425/
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Photos d'artistes à Montmartre: Johnny Hallyday (1960)
by Jean-François Peyrouse
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Sunrise (Marine) 1873
by Claude Monet
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Algiers, Test Gardens (1881)
by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
No worries!

Getting over Covid, so will get in contact v soon.
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If the bowling club shuts down, the land will be sold to a developer and the story of First Hampden will amount to nothing more than a plaque on the wall of some modern housing.

That can't be allowed to happen.
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Hampden Bowling Club is under threat.

With dwindling memberships and a lack of wider funding support, Hampden Bowling Club, which sits on the site of the First Hampden Park, could be wound up as early as February.