Oxfordshire Colony by Christopher Sladen (AuthorHouse, £8.30)

This is a history of what eventually became known as Turner’s Court, an establishment for young men created high up in the Chilterns near Wallingford in 1911. It was founded by Christian philanthropists to provide work training for the 'deserving poor', and some of the themes of the book seem amazingly up to date. Originally it gave agricultural training to boys from 11 upwards, with the idea that they would then emigrate to 'the colonies'. Sladen has delved into the archives to find accounts of inmates and staff, as well as searching Friends Reunited and appealing for more recent memories of the boys. Eventually, its services became too expensive for local authorities in the absence of the 'free labour' which the early inmates had provided, and it closed in 1991.

With Our Backs to the Wall: Victory and Defeat in 1918 by David Stevenson (Allen Lane, £30)

Historian David Stevenson's meticulously researched book starts as the new Russian communist government makes a separate peace with Germany and her allies, releasing nearly a million troops from the Eastern Front. Allied losses during the previous three years had been catastrophic and while America had come into the war, its intervention seemed likely to be too little too late. Stevenson describes how Ludendorff’s doomed offensive Operation Michael proved disastrous for the Germans. He pinpoints the American action far earlier than anyone had thought possible as one of the key factors that led to the Allies’ unexpected but overwhelming victory in 1918. D. McL

And The Band Played On by Christopher Ward (Hodder and Stoughton, £20)

Former Daily Express editor Ward has produced a moving book about his grandfather, band player Jock Hume, who died at 21 when the Titanic sank in 1912 with the loss of 1,513 lives. The luxurious ship — the biggest in the world — hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. It had been considered virtually unsinkable and did not carry enough lifeboats for all on board Every one of the band died, and Hume’s pregnant fiancee was rejected by Jock’s father. A. L.