A former Fleet Street journalist who founded a group of weekly newspapers has written a book which aims to help children remember their English history.

Tony Boullemier, left, former managing director of the Northants Post group, has written The Little Book of Monarchs because of his belief that history is slipping off the curriculum in many schools.

Tony is a former Daily Express sub-editor who left the title in 1975 to launch the Northants Post with his wife and business partners, building it into a group of 16 titles, before selling the business to Thomson Regional Newspapers in 1988.

The book, which is sub-titled English History with a Smile on its Face, includes a page of essential information about each monarch’s reign since 1066, along with a cartoon for each one.

Said Tony: “Children should know their kings and queens and the order they come in. But these days they’re often taught topics like the Tudors and World War ll. They know more about Hitler than Henry V.

“I saw a child interviewed on TV who thought Churchill was the nodding dog in the insurance ads. And I discovered that 159 comprehensive schools failed to enter any children for GCSE history in 2010.”

The book is aimed at readers over 10 to give them a chronological account of monarchs but Tony believes older readers will also find it useful as a fun reference book.

It has won praise from TV historian and author Suzannah Lipscomb, who said: “Take Tony Boullemier’s pithy, precise and lively text, add Adrian Teal’s delightful and amusing cartoons, and what do you get? A wonderfully accurate and fascinating little guide to English monarchs.

“It takes monumental discipline and expansive knowledge to fit each monarch into 90 words – but Tony pulls it off with aplomb.”

Since selling the Northants Post, Tony returned to freelance at the Daily and Sunday Express in the 1990s before embarking on consultancy work and then writing, having previously published historical novel Leonie and the last Napoleon six years ago.

The Post is now owned by Local World and known as the Northampton Herald & Post.

The book, which costs £7.99, is available from the website of publishers Troubador here.