Behind Industry Past is Dr Richard Marks, a published professional freelance historical consultant based in Berkshire. His main areas of research are the history of manufacturing, the industrial revolution, railway and military history. He is also a speaker, researcher and tutor in a wide range of historical subjects.
Richard's latest book 'A History of British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL)' from Pen and Sword Publishing is available now.
Richard previously spent a long career working in technology as a system engineer. He worked with British manufacturing companies across a broad range of sectors. This gave him an in-depth knowledge of industry and business, which has proved invaluable in interpreting economic and business history.
Richard has acted as historical consultant for a number of Reading Museum's exhibitions including ‘On Track: Reading Railways, Past, Present and Future’ and 'Windrush Lives'. He is working on a number of other projects with a variety of museums and organisations.
Following achievement of BA Hons and Masters degrees in history (Open University) while working full time, Richard decided to pursue his historical career full time. In 2024 he was awarded a PhD in economic history (University of Reading) which examines the impact of railways on industrial development in rural counties during the nineteenth century. Richard is also a member of the Football and War Network.
Richard loves to share his interest in history with a range of audiences, getting them to revisit with fresh eyes periods of history they thought they knew, or igniting an interest in a new topic.
He has led courses for the WEA and runs talks and workshops for a variety of academic, community and specialist history groups. Richard is known for making complex topics easy to understand and has a passion for making well-researched history accessible to all.