Stephen Halliday is a historian specialising in British and industrial history. He is an authority on the history of London, with a special interest in the great engineering works. He is the author of Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: London Underground. He contributes articles and reviews to magazines such as Literary Review, Times Higher Education, BBC History and History Today.Stephen lives in Cambridge.

• 1 Introduction 82 Cousins at war 103 Essex rebels 114 Curious encounter 145 Scathing reports 166 Mafeking is relieved 187 Concealing German spies? 208 Don't upset the family 219 Underground refuges 2210 Preferable to hobbledehoys 2311 Wearing the trousers 2512 Standing in line 2613 London to the Lake District 2714 What did they live on? 3015 Spivs at your service 3216 Man of vision 3317 Nowhere is sacred 3618 Not fine dining 3719 Covering costs 4020 Miracles of science 4221 Unduly pessimistic 4322 Shelter from Hitler's wrath 4523 Spitfires from saucepans? 4724 Against the odds 4925 Making the best of it 5126 No guarantee of safety 5427 Troglodytic existence 5528 'Sardines in a gigantic tin' 5729 On the Nazi death list 5930 Origins of 007 6031 Ministry of Truth 6132 Closely guarded secrets 6433 Famously taciturn 6534 Dynamic force 6735 Mickey the Midget 6936 Cover at home 7137 Looking the East End in the face 7338 Bull and Bush 7539 World's longest factory 7740 Mysterious tunnels 7841 Evacuating London 8042 'Patron of our age' 8343 Phoney war 8444 Back and forth 8545 Attendant inconveniences 8746 'Clear Hospitals' 8947 Increasingly irritating 9048 Owing it all to Hitler 9149 Mass audience 9450 Philosophy and health 9651 Asserting 'eternal values' 9852 Paternoster Row hit 9953 Obvious exception 10154 Publishing success 10455 Not forgotten 10656 Not all heroes 10857 Valued allies 11058 Rather ambiguous 11159 Little America 11360 Knights errant 11761 Question of colour 11962 Making a point 12163 Sheer necessity 12264 In uniform 12465 Khaki brigade 12566 Valiant warriors 12867 Amazing devices 13068 At ease, Home Guard 13269 Index