The BackTracker History Show

Season:  4 Episode: 1 Hidden on a private estate in Ross-shire, Ardross Castle has become one of the most talked-about locations in Scotland in recent weeks as the location of the hit BBC reality series, The Traitors. Find out more about this beautiful location and the people who lived in it before it became famous. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radi...

Season:  3 Episode: 46 As you can imagine from a land steeped in folklore and tradition, there are many customs associated with Christmas that have developed. Some are still going and, thankfully, some have long gone. Listen to just a few of them in this festive episode  THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, England.  If you...

Season:  3 Episode: 45 Every year, Nova Scotia sends the City of Boston a Christmas tree to thank them for the help they provided after the Halifax Explosion. In 1917, Halifax suffered a catastrophic event that nearly destroyed it when two ships collided in the harbour starting off a chain of events that would created the largest explosion before the atomic bomb. THIS PODCAST This podcast has...

Season:  3 Episode: 44 You've heard all about the history of this iconic London tourist attraction but how about it's darker side? In this podcast special, you'll hear about people and events that are not usually mentioned in the holiday brochures. From gangs to murders, Covent Garden had it all. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, E...

Season:  3 Episode: 43 On a recent trip to London with friends, we visited Covent Garden. Now if you haven't been there it's a vibrant area in the heart of the city with lots of little stalls selling crafts and gifts. In this show, we'll be exploring it's history and finding out more about this area of the West End. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radi...

Season:  3 Episode: 42 The 18th century English romantic poet Ann Yearsley, known also as "Lactilla" or "the Poetical Milkwoman of Bristol", was one of only a few working-class women of the era to gain prominence as a writer. She was remarkable in that she had no education to speak of, having grown up in a fairly rustic environment. She rose from destitution to become someone who's talents we...

Season:  3 Episode: 41 About 5 pm on that same day day, Thursday 10th September 1857, Beale and Charlotte were seen by witnesses taking a walk in Leigh Woods, near Bristol. Sometime later the sound of a gunshot was heard. What happened to the gentle Charlotte, known by her friends as being kind and generous? Find out more about this truly heinous crime committed on a woman with only drea...

Season:  3 Episode: 40 Remembrance honours those who serve to defend our democratic freedoms and way of life. We unite across faiths, cultures and backgrounds to remember the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces community from Britain and the Commonwealth. this episode tries to highlight just a few of those brave souls who gave their present for our futures. THIS PODCAST This podcast has...

Season:  3 Episode: 39 HMS Glowworm was a G-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. Under the command of Lieutenant Commander Gerard Roope, she found herself in a situation where she was outgunned, outnumbered and alone. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, England.  If you liked it please leave a rating and ma...

Season:  3 Episode: 38 William Champion’s Zinc and Brass Works was, in the 18th century, probably the largest industrial site in Europe. His methods enabled him to produce a much higher quality brass than his rivals. He prospered until his patent ran out, then his rivals started to use his processes and he went bankrupt. This episode not only tells you more about this remarkable characte...

Season:  3 Episode: 37 Even after her conviction, Sarah freeman claimed she was innocent as a lamb until the day she died, but there's no denying the death toll of people in the family of this woman described as having a vicious temper and character that caused her parent to worry THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, England.  If...

Season:  3 Episode: 36 It was supposed to be an evening of celebration. Two brothers, who'd been at war with each other, were sitting down in the home of their solicitor, Mr Jarrit Smith. One was Captain Samuel Goodere, the captain of Her Majesty's ship 'Ruby'. The argument was over the fact that Sir John Dinely Goodere, Baronet and Admiral had cut off his brother, Samuel Goodere from inherit...

Season:  3 Episode: 35 When war broke out in Europe in 1914, the United States of America adopted a policy of strict neutrality. The sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a German U-boat in May 1915 that changed everything. 128 US citizens lost their lives and suddenly fury spread through the country. and they declared war on Germany. Listen to a few of the letters sent back home from the fron...

Season:  3 Episode: 34 When Queen Victoria took the throne in 1837, politics, religion, and family life were reformed throughout her 63-year reign. And as the times changed, so did the food that was placed on the table. Discover some of the weirder foods they ate as well as some of the ways unscrupulous merchants would try and make more money, with deadly consequences. THIS PODCAST This podca...

Season:  3 Episode: 33 With the sun shining on a wonderful Sunday evening, a group of friends wanted one last bathe in the sea. What happened next would leave their families shattered. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, England.  If you liked it please leave a rating and maybe a comment and if you’d like to support the sho...

Season:  3 Episode: 32 There were only seven hangings in 1936, and Dr Buck Ruxton was one of them as he was involved in one of the United Kingdom's most publicised murder cases of the 1930s, which gripped the nation at the time. The case is remembered now, not only for it's brutality, but also for the innovative forensic techniques employed in solving it.  THIS PODCAST This podcast...

Season:  3 Episode: 31 In August 1896 Temple Crozier was playing his part in the melodrama play 'Sins of the Night', but when it came to the dramatic ending, things went horribly wrong, but what exactly happened that fateful night? THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, England.  If you liked it please leave a rating and maybe a co...

Season:  3 Episode: 30 Sarah Siddons was one of the greatest English tragic actresses. Among her greatest roles were Isabella, Belvidera in  Venice Preserv’d,   Jane Shore  in  The Tragedy of Jane Shore,  Katharine in  Henry VIII,  but it was as Lady Macbeth that she shone. Her success was due to her complete concentration upon the character whom she played:...

Season:  3 Episode: 29 The great age of highwaymen was the period from the Restoration in 1660 to the death of Queen Anne in 1714. Some of them are known to have been disbanded soldiers and even officers of the English Civil War and French wars. In this episode , you'll hear about a few of these robbers of the roads and their stories. THIS PODCAST This podcast ha...

Season:  3 Episode: 28 When he was spotted, Patrick Cotter was working as a bricklayer in the small Medieval town of Kinsale on the west Cork coast of Ireland where he had been born. He was 18 years old and ideally equipped for bricklaying. He was up to 8ft 8in tall and could reach a cottage roof without a ladder, and he had hands so large that they rendered a hod obsolete. Patrick was one of...

Season:  3 Episode: 27 Imagine waking up on an operating table and not knowing what happened. Then you start remembering bits and pieces of events when you realise you’re not supposed to be where you are. Here’s the peculiar story of Ewen MacDonald.  THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, England.  If you liked it please leave...

Season:  3 Episode: 26 Rolls Royce has always been one of the prestigious cars to own and part of it's image in tied up in it's iconic emblem seem on the bonnet of it's cars; The Spirit of Ecstasy, the sculpture of a woman leaning forwards with her arms outstretched behind and above her. Billowing cloth runs from her arms to her back, resembling wings. The story behind that sculpture contains...

Season:  3 Episode: 25 One of the most sensational murder cases in the history of Bristol, Tennessee was the Killing Of Lillie Davis in East Hill Cemetery in 1907. Ack Hale of Bristol was convicted of murdering Miss Davis and was sentenced to life in the state penitentiary. Hale claimed the Davis girl shot herself with his revolver after having repeatedly threatened the end her life but the s...

Season:  3 Episode: 24 In 1948, Mrs Nan Evans sat in her little study, with it's picture lined walls. She was holding a big brown family book on her lap. "I don't really know how valuable the papers are. Some of the letters are probably too personal to be of any historical value to the state, but some are generally interesting. " She was talking about a bundle of around 300 letters written by...

Season:  3 Episode: 23 What most people don't know is that one of the most enduring legends of the Wild West was born in Frampton Cotterell just north of Bristol? The famous ten gallon hat was invented in the old cow town in Gloucestershire and has become an icon of a genre. Find out more about this history as well as a bit more about one of it's most famous wearer's, Tom Mix, the original Co...