This page is one of several pages which are based on articles in our book entitled Royal Leamington Spa, A History in 100 Buildings which was published in 2018 and is no longer in print. Harrington House was designed by Edward Welby Pugin (1834-1875), son of A W N Pugin, and famous in his own right for … Read more
An article about the Camouflage Directorate which operated in Leamington in the Second Word War can be viewed HERE. This article shows the unveiling a commemorative plaque on the Regent Hotel on 24th September 2025 by the Mayor, Councillor Ruggy Singh. The hotel was the headquarters of the Directorate. The hotel was requisitioned by the … Read more
In October 1940, a fresh-faced young American named John Buccellato, just out of his teens, enlisted in the United States Army Infantry. His parents who were middle-class Sicillian immigrants lived in an apartment block facing Central Park in New York City. His mother was a milliner. Within two years ‘Butch’ Buccellato found himself in … Read more
The photograph to the right, taken in Leamington in 1865, is of former crewmen of the Confederate naval ship, the Shenandoah. What circumstances brought these sailors to Leamington at a time when fellow Americans were celebrating the ending of the Civil War? Four years earlier, the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, sent his representative, James M … Read more
Long before Concorde went into service and as long ago as 1943, the Coventry firm of Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth developed an experimental, tail-less jet aircraft, the AW52 which became known as the Flying Wing. This aircraft had no fuselage or tail section and was essentially a large fixed wing powered by two Rolls … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
June 30, 2026