From Julius Caesar's arrival in 55 BC to the dawn of the third millennium, here are 300 accounts of exciting and important moments from first hand sources. Featuring snapshots of wartime, political and social unrest, natural disasters, and great individual achievements, plus vignettes of social life - from cockfighting in Tudor inns to a Victorian Sunday in the country. The book includes the Battle of Hastings in 1066; the execution in 1649 of Charles I; an account of the Great Fire of London, 1666; the death of Lord Nelson at Trafalgar, 1805; Wellington's triumph at Waterloo, 1815; the 1912 Antarctic Expedition: the last letters of Captain Scott; Frank Richard's 1914 account of Christmas in the trenches; the Battle of Britain in 1940; England winning the World Cup, 1966; and the death of the Princess of Wales in 1997 - and much more.