Paul John Robbins

1: You’ve never had it so Good!

A wonderfully nostalgic look back at society, culture, news and music from the great golden decade that was the 1950’s.

Do you remember white £5 notes, rationing, trams ,the festival of Britain, smog and the third man film? If so, then this is the talk to bring back so many memories!

If you are too young to remember British Pathe news, Muffin the mule, Ford Anglia cars or the wooden tops, then this very popular talk will explain much more about British society and how it changed so much in this decade. It will also explain how even to this day, the changes that took place in the 1950’s still have a very big impact on Britain today.

Was this really a decade where life for ordinary people life improved? Did people have better housing, Health and more money than they had ever had before? Was life really that much better than only a decade before? Finally, be prepared to roll back the carpets and be ready to dance to the music of this Golden era!

2: You Stupid Boy – the story of Britain’s home Guard in WW2.

A look back at Britain’s real Home Guard. Originally called the Local Defence Volunteers. Were the Home Guard a group of doddery old men with a few stupid boys thrown in? Or were they Britain’s last line of defence to protect against German invasion in the summer of 1940?

The talk features the testimony of those who served in the Home Guard during these early days of the Home Guard and how for some of them, the role of a Home Guardsman became something very different from what they expected.

One of the weapons that the British Government used to very great effect all through the Second World War was propaganda, and you will see some unique examples of it during this talk.

3: A decade of change - life in 1960's Britain.

If you remember flower power, Watneys party 7's, the I’m backing Britain campaign, Emergency ward 10, Nitty Nora, dancing to the Beatles, the Shadows, Monkees, or doing the twist at your local Palais de dance on a Saturday night or maybe the cold, cold winter of 1962/3 with ice on the inside of your bedroom window then this is the talk for you!

There is nostalgia in abundance for those lucky to have lived in Britain during this never to be forgotten decade.

For those born after the era of kaftan coats, mods and rockers, ice on the inside of your bedroom windows in winter, Babycham and screaming Lord Sutch, then this is a glimpse of how we lived during the swinging 60’s.

This was also a decade of great change throughout the World, and we look back at these events that helped shape Britain over the remainder of the twentieth century.


4: Jack the Ripper - The Whitechapel Murderer.

Paul returns to the East End of of his childhood to talk about the World’s greatest criminal "who done it” in History. In doing so, he paints a vivid and moving picture of the East End of London in the late summer and autumn of 1888 as he reviews the crimes, the main suspects and offers his own suggestion as to the identity of the Whitechapel murderer AKA Jack the Ripper based on recent new evidence.

In examining the case, Paul discounts many of the names put forward as to who the Ripper was and asks the question of was there a cover up to shield the Ripper from justice?


The talk paints a picture of the East End in the late nineteenth century as it then was and the daily struggle for life that drove the Ripper’s victims into a life of Prostitution and draws on the childhood memories of someone who after 45 years away from the area still regards the East End as his home.

5: The day the Barbarians Came – The Story of Oradour Sur Glane.

This moving presentation, tells the little known story of Oradour sur Glane, a village in France that was tragically destroyed by a detachment of an SS division one Saturday afternoon a few days after the DD landings in June 1944.

Oradour was in many ways, a typical small French village that had existed for over a thousand years. A rural community was surrounded by a detachment of SS soldiers who acting on false information supplied by Vichy forces laid the village waste .

Very few people managed to escape, but Paul tells the story of some of them including an incredibly brave lady and the inspirational tale of how 2 Jewish children survived that day thanks to the actions of their parents.

The talk explains what happened to those responsible for the massacre in the immediate aftermath and the outcome of the search for justice after the war.

6: East London History - Including a free Lesson in how to understand and speak Cockney rhyming slang!

Life and events in East London over the last 300 years. The Speaker is a Cockney by birth and the talk describes how the East End evolved and grew massively during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Viewers learn about the people from all over the World who settled here, and the legacy they left on this part of London that started as green fields, became the site of some of the worst poverty in Britain and how in recent years, it has again become a highly desirable place to live and work.

For the East End, the 20th Century was a period of profound social change and upheaval and listeners will hear how the area suffered so badly from the effects of World War 2.

The stories of 2 of the worst civilian disasters - one of which was covered up by the Government during the war for fear of the effect it would have on morale are retold, including the testimony of those involved in these terrible events.

At the conclusion of the presentation viewers are offered a lesson in how to understand and speak the Cockney Rhyming slang!


7: Britain in the 1940’s.

Britain in the 1940’s is a unique presentation as it focuses on the lives of ordinary British people during the 2nd World War. Talks about this decade often focus on the military campaigns and events that determined the outcome of the war.

This talk examines the lives of ordinary people in Britain and their daily struggle for survival during the 1940's. Paul's presentation examines how people reacted to the blitz, the evacuation of mothers and children from their homes , years of rationing and the dark years of uncertainty.

Paul Robbins explains how even entertainment, popular culture and the news we read or heard, were shaped by the desperate fight for survival. Take a glimpse back to the era of Anderson shelters, sweet rations and the bombing of our Towns and Cities. At the same time enjoy some of the wonderful movies of the era and how there was a hidden and subtle message in many of them.

Moving, informative and entertaining was how this talk was recently described. Britain in the 1940's is one of a series of talks presented by Paul Robbins in his "Step Back in Time" programme of memorable presentations.