Simon Heffer

The Britain Elizabeth II acceded to was barely recognisable within a decade

Steam trains, historic monuments and the family grocer were replaced by motorways, tower blocks and supermarkets

The Euston Arch is demolished in 1961. [Getty Images] 
issue 14 January 2023

The writer of contemporary history has a number of advantages over his colleagues who deal with the more distant past. It is not only that the profusion of media in recent decades supplies abundant first drafts of that history. There are also the twin forces of living witnesses and the author’s own memory.

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