From the Editor…

Best of British is the UK’s premier nostalgia magazine. Published since 1993, Best of British magazine is packed with stories and pictures guaranteed to bring the memories flooding back. Offering page after page of timeless reading, Best of British covers every aspect of life from the 1930s all the way through to today, recording the way it once was and demonstrating what makes Britain so special.

At the heart of the magazine is our Yesterday Remembered section, where we explore reader’s own recollections and memories of British life gone by. Add to this dedicated stories on everything from vintage transport to great Britons, from Christmas traditions to great days out, and you have the perfect mix. Other regulars include reader favourites such as Treasures in the Attic, 1940s Post, Postcard from… and of course our Puzzle Page and Crossword.

We hope you enjoy reading our magazine as much as we love compiling it. In the meantime here is this month’s letter from our Editor, Simon Stabler…

Speaking Supersonically
As I sat down to write, an email from my brother came through to say that he had safely arrived in New Zealand. It’s amazing how quickly and cheaply a message can be sent from the other side of the world these days; a far cry from the days of frantically feeding a payphone with coins to make even the shortest of international calls.
And while technology has brought the virtual world closer together, the physical world seems much further away following Concorde’s retirement. This issue celebrates that wonderful machine, a passenger airliner that was never bettered.
Equally as stylish – in its earliest incarnations, at any rate – is the Ford Escort, which is still winning races, as you’ll see in our article. Another eye-catching road vehicle, the AEC Routemaster, has all but disappeared from London’s streets. But many are finding new uses, like the 1967 example covered in our food and drink section, which has been transformed into a mobile fish and chip shop, serving the villages of south Lincolnshire.
But it’s not just technology that has changed over the years, social attitudes have too. And while there is a generation unable to get its head around life before email, many of us find it difficult to believe that women were once prohibited from certain jobs for reason of gender alone.
As the father of a girl, I am heartened to know that my daughter’s career will be decided on her ability and determination, nothing more. And it’s the likes of railway signalwoman Gertrude Richardson and Allied spy Louise de Bettignies, who all feature in this issue, that I have to thank.

---

Bookmark this with...