Videos

A Touch of History

Our history is all around us.

It can, though, be difficult to connect to history, and for many of us, it feels like a far-off place of dates and timelines, kings and queens, and events we didn’t witness and feel we have no real link to.

In A Touch of History, Sarah and her fellow historians travel to places and investigate objects that provide us with the tangible links to the past we are looking for.

From castles and hillforts to islands and tunnels, and from chess pieces and standing stones to aircraft, ships and monuments, we investigate the history around us through the places and objects it left behind - objects which connect us to the past.

Join us for a Touch of History!

Sarah produces and writes the episodes for the Secret History series, as well as appearing in them with other historical experts.

Practical Tips for Flying In Spitfires

In this series, Sarah shares some practical tips for flying in Spitfires (applicable to other warbirds too), following her flight in Spitfire IX PT462.

In this episode, Sarah visits Bentley Priory - the wartime HQ of RAF Fighter Command - to find out more about the Dowding System, the world's first integrated fighter defence system and the immensely important role it played in the Battle of Britain.

Sarah visits Bletchley Park – the home of the wartime codebreakers – to investigate the work of the WAAF in signals intelligence there.

Sarah visits the International Bomber Command Centre, and the Derwent Valley Dams in Derbyshire, to learn more about Bomber Command's operations and the work of the WAAF behind them.

In episode five, Sarah visits Danesfield House Hotel – known as RAF Medmenham during the Second World War. There, she investigates the work of the WAAF in photographic intelligence behind the RAF’s operations.

Speaking to BBC History Extra, Sarah suggests five heritage sites and museums to visit to uncover the story of the unflappable women of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose work during the Second World War ensured success for many vital missions