The conference will feature five presentations with refreshments and lunch included in the ticket price. The speakers and topics are:

• Julian Hunt - English Coaching Inns
• Dr Rudi Newman - On a ‘Wing’ and a Prayer: The British Imperial Airship Scheme 1924-30
• Fabian Hiscock - Iron and Gravel: Canal Transport in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire
• Lucy Lawrence - The Archaeology of HS2 in Buckinghamshire
• John Cartledge - One hundred years of buses in Borehamwood and Elstree

Julian Hunt worked in libraries in Birmingham, Oldham and Aylesbury and has written books on Lancashire cotton mills, Buckinghamshire market towns, and Worcestershire industrial towns.

Dr Rudi Newman is a PhD historian with a long-standing passion for transportation history. Author of several books including Travelling to Tragedy, an anthology of transport disasters based on many of these lecture topics, and a collector of period memorabilia associated with the Titanic and maritime history, he has presented numerous lectures and articles on transportation themes. Formerly the Honorary Secretary of the British Titanic Society, he has acted as advisor and been interviewed for the BBC and international radio, has featured in television documentaries on Channel 4 and across Europe, and has lectured at the National Archives, the National Railway Museum, Trinity College Cambridge, Hertford Archive, and other organisations.

Fabian Hiscock completed his MA by Research in History at the University of Hertfordshire in 2016, after careers in the Royal Navy and in industry. He has a long-standing interest in the history of waterways, and is also involved with the heritage education charity Rickmansworth Waterways Trust.

Lucy Lawrence is Archaeology Officer for Buckinghamshire Council, and alongside her colleagues oversees all planning related archaeological work within the county.

John Cartledge has lived in Borehamwood for more than 50 years, is a trustee of the town's museum, and was formerly one of its county councillors. Until retirement, he was head of policy and research at London TravelWatch, the official consumer body championing the interests of London's travelling public. A lifelong bus user, he has written and spoken about the evolution of bus services in his locality, as well as the history of Elstree & Borehamwood station, and recently authored an article in Herts Past and Present on the story of Aldenham Reservoir.

A small number of free tables are also available for organisations and societies, please contact outreach@balh.org.uk if interested.

Bookings including lunch to close on 24 September 2025