The BackTracker History Show
Based in the UK, this self confessed history geek takes you for a stroll down memory lane and shares stories and interesting nuggets of information that has been discovered along the way. From tales of tragedy and sadness to epic stories of human courage or creativity, there are many people in history who have made their mark, however small. If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to share or leave feedback. It all helps! Keep in touch via either Twitter or Facebook by using @BackTrackerUK
Episodes
Joe Rogers and the Royal Charter
Joe Rogers and the Royal Charter Season: 6 Episode: 33 It was the night of 25 October 1859, when the wind began to howl across the Irish Sea. By midnight it had grown into a monstrous storm, one so fierce it would later be remembered as th…
Halloween Special 2025
Halloween Special 2025 Season: 6 Episode: 32 Welcome to the Halloween edition of The Backtracker History Show, where we uncover the true origins of this haunting night. Long before costumes and sweets, Halloween was a sacred bridge between…
The Locked Bank Mystery
The Locked Bank Mystery Season: 6 Episode: 31 The curious case of the Welshman murdered inside a locked bank. He was found shot dead, a bullet hole in the window, and a haul of cash and silver missing. This wasn’t a detective show plot — i…
The Robber's Stone
The Robber's Stone Season: 6 Episode: 30 Discover the story behind The Robbers’ Stone, a Grade II listed memorial in West Lavington, Wiltshire. It marks a dramatic 1839 highway robbery and the capture of the culprits—a real-life tale of la…
The Looting of SS Ettrick
The Looting of SS Ettrick Season: 6 Episode: 29 In 1924, the SS Ettrick met a dramatic fate on the River Avon — she ran aground and refused to budge. As the tide turned and the crew gave up hope, the ship capsized overnight, belly-up in th…
Eric Harper: WW2 Life in the Royal Airforce
Eric Harper: WW2 Life in the Royal Airforce Season: 6 Episode: 28 At just eighteen, Eric Ronald Harper swapped the classroom for the cockpit. By May 1940 he was in uniform, training as an Air Observer—what we’d now call a Navigator—with 2…
More Short Tales
More Short Tales Season: 6 Episode: 27 From an unusual change of mind to a woman with bizarre eating habits, here are just a few of the shorter tales in my archive. All interesting enough to share with you.CASTDr. Hocking - Steve SheperdMa…
The Dickin Medal
The Dickin Medal Season: 6 Episode: 26 They call it the animals’ Victoria Cross—the PDSA Dickin Medal. Created in 1943, it honours the bravery of animals who served in war. Since then, more than 70 animals have received it, the highest hon…
The Cheltenham Torso Mystery
The Cheltenham Torso Mystery Season: 6 Episode: 25 The Cheltenham torso mystery, a chilling enigma that gripped the nation, remains one of Gloucestershire's most infamous unsolved crimes.It made national headlines and sparked a massive pol…
Shorter Tales
Shorter Tales Season: 6 Episode: 24 This week’s show packs a punch with three bite-sized but gripping tales – a dash of heroism from a local legend, a stirring act of WW2 bravery, and the bittersweet drama of a woman scorned – as well as y…
HMS Trincomalee
HMS Trincomalee Season: 6 Episode: 23 HMS Trincomalee is one of only two surviving British frigates from her era, alongside her near-sister ship, HMS Unicorn, now preserved as a museum in Dundee. Ordered on 30 October 1812, Trincomalee was…
The Legend of Lady Anne Clifford (Pt 2)
The Legend of Lady Anne Clifford (Pt 2) Season: 6 Episode: 22 The last member of one of England’s great medieval dynasties, Lady Anne Clifford became something of a legend in her own lifetime, and has remained a celebrated figure in the hi…
The Legend of Lady Anne Clifford (Pt1)
The Legend of Lady Anne Clifford (Pt1) Season: 6 Episode: 21 The last member of one of England’s great medieval dynasties, Lady Anne Clifford became something of a legend in her own lifetime — and ever since, she’s stood as a celebrated fi…
Who Killed Young Betty?
Who Killed Young Betty? Season: 6 Episode: 20 On February 20, 1823, young Betty Trump, just 13 or 14 years old, left her home in Buckland St Mary, near Taunton. She was on her way to visit family in the village of Winsham.On the return jou…
Florence Simpson
Florence Simpson Season: 6 Episode: 19 Florence Simpson didn’t just break new ground—she laid the foundation for the future of women in the British military. From voluntary cook to military commander, hers was a legacy of perseverance, ser…
The Suicidal Murderer
The Suicidal Murderer Season: 6 Episode: 18 On April 5, 1936, Beatrice Sutton was found dead in her London flat, lying across the bed with pillows stacked over her face. At first, it looked like natural causes—but a closer look revealed sh…
USS Huron: Bristol's U.S Hero
USS Huron: Bristol's U.S Hero Season: 6 Episode: 17 It was just after midnight on Tuesday, July 21st, 1908, in a quiet little home on Rudgeway Parade, Upper Eastville. The world barely noticed as Antonio Williams drew his final breath. A m…
Lillian Wyles: A Pioneering Police Officer
Lillian Wyles: A Pioneering Police Officer Season: 6 Episode: 16 Lilian joined the London Metropolitan Police in 1919 as a Sergeant, part of the Metropolitan Women Police Patrols. At the time, this was most unusual for women and initially …
The Murder of Billy the Tinker (Pt 2)
The Murder of Billy the Tinker (Pt 2) Season: 6 Episode: 15 Previously, in the quiet village of Bishopsworth…It’s March 1880. Two colliers, out gathering primroses on an otherwise peaceful day, stumble upon a ghastly sight: a body, cold an…
The Murder of Billy the Tinker (Pt 1)
The Murder of Billy the Tinker (Pt 1) Season: 6 Episode: 14 It’s March of 1880. In the sleepy Gloucestershire village of Bishopsworth, two colliers are out gathering primroses when they stumble upon something that will shake the entire reg…
Lillian Bland: An Aviation Pioneer
Lillian Bland: An Aviation Pioneer Season: 6 Episode: 13 Lilian Bland (28 September 1878 – 11 May 1971) was a trailblazing Anglo-Irish journalist and aviator who made history in 1910–11. Defying the conventions of her time, she became one …
Murder at Saxton Grange
Murder at Saxton Grange Season: 6 Episode: 12 In the dark, quiet hours before dawn on September 5, 1933, flames erupted from a barn at Saxton Grange Farm, just outside Tadcaster in Yorkshire. When the fire was finally doused, what emerged …
The HMS Victoria Disaster (Pt 3)
The HMS Victoria Disaster (Pt 3) Season: 6 Episode: 11 HMS Victoria, the proud flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet, collided with HMS Camperdown during a routine manoeuvre gone horribly wrong. The impact tore a massive hole in Victoria’s b…
The HMS Victoria Disaster (Pt 2)
The HMS Victoria Disaster (Pt 2) Season: 6 Episode: 10 On 22 June 1893, HMS Victoria, flagship of the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet, collided with HMS Camperdown during manoeuvres in the Eastern Mediterranean.In part two of this tale, w…
The HMS Victoria Disaster (Pt 1)
The HMS Victoria Disaster (Pt 1) Season: 6 Episode: 9 At around 15:30 on 22 June 1893, disaster struck in the Eastern Mediterranean as HMS Victoria, the proud flagship of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, collided with HMS Camperdown d…
Emily J. Harding: Protesting Through Art
Emily J. Harding: Protesting Through Art Season: 6 Episode: 8 Emily Jane Harding Andrews (1850–1940) was a British artist, illustrator, and suffragette. Starting with miniatures, she shifted to children's book illustration in the 1880s. A …
Martha Scriven: The Sad End of a Young Widow
Martha Scriven: The Sad End of a Young Widow Season: 6 Episode: 7 Martha Scriven died on December 5, 1895. The cause of death was recorded as "exhaustion from peritonitis caused by punctured wound in the uterus and intestines." At the inqu…
The Father of Australian Architecture
The Father of Australian Architecture Season: 6 Episode: 6 Francis Greenway (1777–1837) was a convict-turned-architect who shaped Australia’s early colonial architecture. Transported for forgery, he became Governor Macquarie’s chief archit…
A Poor Victorian Family's Trauma
A Poor Victorian Family's Trauma Season: 6 Episode: 5 On Saturday 30th August 1858, J. B. Gandon, Esq., conducted an inquest on the body of the deceased at the George Tavern on Kingsland Road. Details revealed during the investigation brou…
Death of a Front Line Clergyman
Death of a Front Line Clergyman Season: 6 Episode: 4 He was charismatic, charming and passionate about his faith. Rev. Charles Edmund Doudney just wanted to make the world a better place for everyone, so when World War One required clergy…
The Bristol Dinosaur
The Bristol Dinosaur Season: 6 Episode: 3 In 1834, the bustling quarries of Clifton, Bristol, hid an incredible secret buried beneath their stone walls. As workers chipped away along Worrall Road, they stumbled upon strange bones unlike an…
A Bristol Murder: Killer Boy
A Bristol Murder: Killer Boy Season: 6 Episode: 2 In a rash moment of teenage bravado, two young lives were changed forever. One ended tragically and the other's life would never be the same again. Listen to the story of 19-year-old Willia…
Cpl Theodore Veale VC: A WW1 Hero
Cpl Theodore Veale VC: A WW1 Hero Season: 6 Episode: 1 Corporal Theodore William Henry Veale VC (11 November 1892 – 6 November 1980) was a British Army soldier renowned for his exceptional bravery during World War I, which earned him the V…
Samuel Pepys Tour Around Bristol
Samuel Pepys Tour Around Bristol Season: 5 Episode: 44 Samuel Pepys was a prominent English diarist and naval administrator, renowned for his detailed and vivid Diary, which spans from January 1, 1660, to May 31, 1669. Pepys provides an in…
Death of a Policeman (pt2)
Death of a Policeman (pt2) Season: 5 Episode: 43 xxxCASTElizabeth Paddock - Carrie BallMr. H. S. Wadborough - Marcus KPMr. Thomas Henry Whitehouse Davies - Molly JefferiesPC John Harris - John LockLondon Times - Steve SheperdPoem - Cerise …
Death of a Policeman (pt1)
Death of a Policeman (pt1) Season: 5 Episode: 42 The murder that had shaken the city in April 1869 was no domestic one - common as they were in those times. In fact, if the victim had not been a policeman, it would have been forgotten long…
Local Heroes: Bedminster
Local Heroes: Bedminster Season: 5 Episode: 41 Once an independent town in Somerset until 1831, Bedminster’s roots go back even further than Bristol’s. When Bristol was just a river crossing, Bedminster was already an important settlement.…
The Exercise Tiger Tragedy
The Exercise Tiger Tragedy Season: 5 Episode: 40 Training exercises for the Normandy Invasion, also known as Exercise Tiger, began in the Slapton Sounds, England, area starting on December 15, 1943. However, on April 28, 1944, the rehearsa…
The Dark History of Blackberry Hill Hospital
The Dark History of Blackberry Hill Hospital Season: 5 Episode: 39 Blackberry Hill Hospital in Fishponds, Bristol sounds like an idyllic place from an Agatha Christie novel, but don't be fooled by it's sweet name as this place has seen it'…
Halloween Special: Ghost Tales of Bodmin Gaol
Halloween Special: Ghost Tales of Bodmin Gaol Season: 5 Episode: 38 Bodmin Jail, built in 1779, looms on the edge of Bodmin Moor, a fortress of cruelty and misery. Erected by Napoleonic prisoners of war with 20,000 tons of granite hewn fro…