Images

Château de Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, France. The promontory on which the royal fortress of Chinon stands has been used for thousands of years. Gradually, the fortress was divided into three distinct parts, which the kings called their "three...

Château de Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France. A unique example of the development of French architecture from the 13th to the 17th centuries, the Château de Blois has been a listed historic monument since 1845. The château has been associated with...

Built in the 15th century at Lémeré, near Chinon in France, the Château du Rivau's origins go back much further, however, as it was built on the foundations of a 13th-century fortified house. Part fortified castle, part pleasure residence...

Château de la Ferté-Saint-Aubin, Loiret, France. First built in the 16th century, it was confiscated during the French Revolution. François-Victor Masséna, son of André Masséna (1758-1817, Marshal of the Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte...

Château de Meung-sur-Loire, Meung-sur-Loire, Loiret, France. It was built from the 11th century onwards and served as the residence of the bishops of Orléans and as a prison. François Villon, the 15th-century bandit and poet, was undoubtedly...

A Second World War (1939-45) propaganda poster produced by the British Office of War Information showing an Avro Lancaster bomber. (National Archives at College Park)

A wartime photograph of an Avro Lancaster bomber dropping its bombload during the Second World War (1939-45).

A photograph of an Avro Lancaster bomber loaded with a 'bouncing bomb' used on the 'Dam Buster' raid. Also known as Operation Chastise, the raid of May 1943 aimed to destroy several Ruhr Valley dams. (National Archives, London)

A photograph of an Avro Lancaster bomber over the German city of Hamburg during a bombing raid of the Second World War (1939-45). (Imperial War Museums Collection)

A 1945 photograph of an Avro Lancaster bomber carrying a 'Grand Slam' bomb which, weighing almost 10 tons (22,000 lbs), was the heaviest bomb dropped during the Second World War by any air force. (Imperial War Museums Collection)