Blood and Roses
The MP for Blackpool South and ex-editor of History Today describes how his early interest in history bewildered his family but proved ineradicable.
I didn’t read 1066 And All That until well into my teens, but if I had done so earlier, I would have been a sucker for it. Kings, Queens, battles and dates - all those things which some progressives assert children hate, I lapped up from an early age. Perhaps I was a peculiar child.
My mother may well have thought so when, at the age of six or seven in Stockport, the small town in the north-west where we lived, I wanted to investigate the gravestones in St Mary’s churchyard. While my mother shopped at stalls in the cobbled market place nearby with a watchful eye on me, I was in search of the oldest obit I could find. I still remember the date: 1697.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
