Geoff Wilson Photography

Hazel Hill was a 13-year-old girl living in Britain. Her father, Fred Hill, worked in the Air Ministry during the 1930s. This was a government department which was responsible for looking after all the affairs relating to the Royal Air Force.

Planes were developed during this time to help assist the RAF, one of which was the iconic Spitfire. Early models of the aircraft weren't advanced enough to withstand battles with the enemy and updates to the plane's design were made later on.

One of the improvements made to the aircraft was the number of guns built into it. Mr Hill believed it should include eight guns as opposed to the four that had been planned for initially.

However, he wasn't able to figure out the precise calculations he needed on his own. He decided to go home and ask his teenage daughter Hazel, who was brilliant at maths, to help him out.

1950’s black and white photo colourised

Colourisation of b/w print of Tim Bingham and Dad circa 1960’s

Colourised b/w Edwardian studio print circa 1920's

Motorcycle messenger at the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) training centre, Camberley, 1941.

Women were conscripted in December 1941. They were given a choice of working in industry or joining one of the auxiliary services – the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) or the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS).

Colourisation of b/w print circa 1940, Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport. Children's ward

Photograph by the great Horace Warner in Spitalfields in the early 1900s.
Colourised by myself