A list of the primary sources used in the compilation of this book is given below. A great deal of the material comes from years of study, listening to lectures, attending seminars, taking part in discussions etc while a history student at King's School, Chester and University College, Swansea. Some of the material related to the Second World War comes from the author's own experience as a resident of Britain during those troubled years. Footnotes and endnotes have been omitted to facilitate the narrative flow of what I hope is an interesting account of how the island nation of Great Britain rose to world mastery in such a short time and with limited resources and how it lost its empire in an seen shorter period of time