The Beatles

Being less serious, you start thinking of other possibilities.

William Tyndale

It always seems tp me that William Tyndale does not feature in Days of Glory (or similar works). It seems most people are relatively ignorant of their greatest hero. Here are two mock ups I got AI to do for me.

Purton gets the DoG treatment

 

Imagined Interview with the late R W Purton

Interviewer: Mr Purton, looking back at the 1960s, what sparked your desire to write history books specifically for children?

Roland W. Purton: The post-war era brought a massive shift in education. Children were naturally curious, but standard textbooks were dry, dense, and frankly discouraging. I wanted to create books that acted as windows, not walls. My goal was to make history feel alive, visual, and deeply human.

Interviewer: Your book Days of Glory is highly remembered. What was the core message you wanted to convey to young readers?

Purton: Days of Glory focused on pivotal, heroic moments in history. I wanted children to understand that progress is driven by courage and determination. It was about capturing the imagination through narrative. If you make history a story of people rather than just a list of dates, children will remember it forever.

Interviewer: You wrote several other books in the 1960s with similar educational themes, like Man in Society and your contributions to the Star Books series. How did those fit into your vision?

Purton: Those books were all about connection. Man in Society was designed to help older children see their place in a rapidly changing world. The 1960s were turbulent and exciting. The Star Books series, on the other hand, focused on foundational topics - things like clothing, food, and transport through the ages. I wanted to show that everyday items have vast, fascinating histories.

Interviewer: The visual layout of your books was quite distinct for the time. How involved were you in the illustration process?

Purton: Very involved. In the sixties, printing technology was evolving, allowing for more vibrant, integrated illustrations. I collaborated closely with artists because a picture can explain a complex historical concept faster than three paragraphs of text. For a child, the visual anchor is everything.

Interviewer: How do you feel about the legacy of your 1960s books today?

Purton: I am always delighted when someone tells me my books sparked a lifelong love of history. We didn't have the internet or digital media back then. The book was the primary portal to the past. Knowing that those pages helped shape how a generation viewed the world is incredibly rewarding.

Interviewer: Mr Purton, a blog exists to perpetuate the memory of you and your book Days of Glory. What are your thoughts on your name and work being referenced in this modern way?

Purton: It is quite remarkable, really! When I was writing Days of Glory back in the 1960s, our version of sharing information was the school library or a physical pamphlet. The concept that anyone can spin up a digital ledger or a "blog" to archive history, share thoughts, or track obscure mid-century children's books is fascinating. If people are using these modern platforms to keep the memory of twentieth-century educational books alive, then it serves exactly the purpose I had in mind when I started writing. It democratises knowledge. It makes the past accessible to anyone with a screen, which is precisely what we were trying to do with our heavily illustrated text layouts decades ago.

Cardinal Wolsey (31)

1. Where is Hampton Court? Who had it built?

Today Hampton Court is found in West London. It is 12 miles southwest and upstream of Central London. The palace there was famously built by Wolsey for himself. He only gave it to the king to avert his anger.

2. Why did some people not like Cardinal Wolsey?

He was unpopular with some becasue he seemed rather proud. Others were simply jealous ofthe way the butcher's son had got on in life and was rch and was in such favour with the king.

3. Why was Wolsey arrested?

The king was angry at being unable to secure the divorce from Katherine of Aragon that he desired. Because WOlsey appeared to side wiht the Pope against the king, Henry had him arrested.

Columba (14)

1. Why did Columba leave Ireland?

Columba left, as Purton pits it, because he borrowed a book without asking if he could. In fact he copied it out for himself but without permissionto do so. There may well have been other issues that clustered around this one.

2. Look on a map of Scotland for Iona and Inverness

 

3. Pretend you are Columbus and tell the King of Scotland why you have come

We have come O King to tell you aboout a King greater than yourself, a King who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Just as men bow down to you so you must bow down to him for he is the Son of God. God sent him into this world long ago to live and die for all who trust in him. Turn then from the worship of idols and begin to worship the one true God who has sent his Son into the world. Trust in him.

Some Illustrations from the Book