Fully illustrated description of the Wirral’s well known, and lesser known, places that have been lost over the years.

The historical counties of Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumberland and the Isle of Man have a rich diversity of geology, landscape, vegetation and wildlife. This is an account of an important group of fungi, the rusts and smuts, which are parasites of plants. In the past many host species were seriously affected, including wheat, barley, maize, tea and coffee, with major economic impact. Today the use of agrochemicals and the breeding of resistant varieties have reduced the losses. However, should the coffee rust become established in Brazil the global economy could be affected. After a short introduction to the biology of rusts and smuts, the physical and biological environment of the North West and the Isle of Man is described. The main part of the book is a detailed catalogue of all the species recorded in the region. These records date back to the nineteenth century but are mostly concentrated in the last sixty years, up to the present day.

Wirral at War is a tribute to the wartime record of the people of the Wirral in the two World Wars.

On 4 August 1914 Britain declared war on Germany. Originally perceived as a short campaign to curtail Germanic imperialism, it developed into a four-year long war of attrition. The Great War is justifiably associated with the horrors of trench warfare and the death of a generation but history has overlooked the home fronts' colossal contribution to victory.??On the outbreak of war thousands of troops arrived in Wirral to defend the coast from invasion and guard the docks and shipyards under the watchful eyes of the gunners of the Bidston Hill artillery batteries. The transition to a military garrison also led to the conversion of schools to military hospitals, predominately financed by the community. Thousands of wounded service men arriving at Woodside station were dispersed and administered to by a plethora of military or auxiliary hospitals. Voluntary organizations also procured funds for ambulances and comforts for those at the front. ??At the beginning of hostilities, the Government swiftly introduced draconian regulations to restrict liberty, particularly for those of foreign extraction. Following the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, the xenophobia vented itself in Wallasey and Birkenhead where riots resulted in the destruction of German owned business premises. The resentment was further fueled by the German submarines attempt to destroy the British merchant fleet and starve Britain into submission _ they almost succeeded. As vital cargoes plunged to the sea bed, food became the latest rationed commodity; consequently unused tracts of Wirral land were turned over to food production and German prisoners of war helped clear the river Birkett. ??The local shipyards and factories came under the control of the Ministry of Munitions and unlikely companies were involved in the national preoccupation of producing artillery shells. Following the 1916 introduction of compulsory military service, female workers increasingly replaced the men thereby making undreamed of advances in female emancipation. Also involved in the war effort were school children who collected food for wounded soldiers, boy scouts patrolled the coastline, 'sister Susie famously sewed shirts for soldiers' and a Dad's Army was established to repel invaders. Their activities and others are generally overlooked by twentieth century chroniclers.??This is the fascinating, but forgotten story of how Wirral provided the sinews for war, and made a significant contribution to the comprehensive defeat of Germany.

The latest edition of The Almanac of British Politics has been thoroughly revised and updated to include full details of the new constituencies following the comprehensive boundary changes which will come into force throughout the United Kingdom at the next election. It has firmly established itself as the definitive guide to the electoral map of the UK for nearly twenty-five years, covering in detail each of the constituencies sending representatives to the House of Commons. Its comprehensive coverage provides a witty and informative biographical profile of every Member of Parliament and a detailed social, demographic, economic and political analysis with statistics of seats to give the clearest picture of the British social and political landscape in the twenty-first century. This is the essential reference work on British politics for students, academics, journalists and psephologists.

The relationship between humans and horses has played a vital role in shaping our towns and cities. This book offers a fascinating insight into the history of working horses in Liverpool.

This fascinating new volume is a follow-up to Daniel K. Longman's first book Criminal Wirral; an intriguing and entertaining collection of some of the strangest, most despicable and comical crimes that took place on the Wirral peninsula throughout the Victorian era and the early twentieth century. The tales featured here uncover many fascinating cases that have been long forgotten, and are supported by illustrations which help to bring these events and the people featured in them to life. Read on and uncover the grisly facts of what once lay floating in Birkenhead Park pond, a gruesome suicide on board a Woodside-bound locomotive and the farcical actions of a drunken butler one night at the stately Thurstaston Hall Criminal Wirral II will appeal to anyone who has an interest in the darker side of Wirral's history.