My Haven JAMES HOLLAND

The 50-year-old historian, author and co-founder of the Chalke Valley History Festival in his den at his Wiltshire home

1 TOP DOG

My gingery, four-yearold Irish terrier Betsie keeps me company as I write in my lean-to, which adjoins the 18th-century thatched cottage where my wife Rachel and I have lived for nearly 20 years. Like all terriers, Betsie is quite a character, and she’s very affectionate and wonderful with our son Ned and daughter Daisy, who rightly make a huge fuss of her.

2 BATMAN

Cricket is an obsession of mine. I’m chairman of my local Chalke Valley Cricket Club and play whenever my wife lets me. I tried some blind bat testing at Lords a few years ago and the one I liked best was called The Spitfire, on the left here. I just had to have it. I’ve scored a couple of centuries and flown a Spitfire, so if I drop dead tomorrow I’ll have no regrets. Those were the two life goals I wanted to achieve... and I’ve done them both!

3 SINK OR SWIM

Growing up in Wiltshire, my next-door neighbour was the photographer Sir Cecil Beaton. One of his iconic wartime photos was this one of a striking looking WREN [a member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service]. I’ve no idea who she was, but I just love the ballsy, defiant look she’s giving the camera, which epitomises for me Britain’s bulldog spirit during this most desperate of times for us as a nation.

4 A HERO IN THE FAMILY

I’m proud of my grandfather, Walter ‘Stork’ Gregory [seated, centre], a lieutenant in the 7th London Rifles during the Great War.

He was gassed at Passchendaele in October 1917 – I’ve been to the spot where it happened – and was invalided back to Britain. His lungs were too bad for him to go back into action, but he went on to serve as a fireman in the Blitz in London in WWII, dying in 1960 aged 71.

5 FRENCH FANCY

While in Bordeaux on our honeymoon, a young Frenchman in a leather jacket, smoking a cigarette, pulled up outside a bar in a 1949 Citroen like this black model on the table. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen and I thought, ‘I’ve got to have one!’ I spotted a similar car for sale for £5,000 a few years ago and I bought it [right]. I added a digital radio so I can get the cricket scores.

6 PARALLEL LIVES

This Army uniform, bought at auction, is very special to me. It belonged to a soldier in the Durham Light Infantry, and I went to Durham University. He then joined the 43rd Wessex Division – and I live in what was once that kingdom. He fought in both Normandy and in the final push against Nazi Germany. The RAF flying helmet and goggles on the table are from 1940. Like the pilots that summer, they have taken a battering, but that only adds to their authenticity. A sculptor friend, Harry Jonas, made the stone plinth they hang on.