Virtual Portsmouth - History of Sherlock Holmes

Learning is most effective when it's fun - and that's something the team behind History Bombs knows very well indeed. They're experts at creating fun, fast-paced videos to teach children all about events and individuals throughout history.

Not too long ago the BAFTA-winning History Bombs team turned their attentions to Portsmouth, and more specifically one of our most famous residents, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was right here that Doyle first wrote of Sherlock Holmes - the 'consulting detective' who would go on to have a huge impact not just on detective fiction, but on the whole world of literature.

If you want to get up to speed with the life and times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, let the History Bombs team guide you through a potted history. Of course, there can't be a Sherlock-related video without there being a mystery to solve in there too! Use the time to don your thinking cap (all the better if it's a deerstalker) and try to work through the clues.

In the meantime, take a look at the History Bombs website, which provides parents and teachers with an invaluable resource that looks at much of British history. In addition to the videos themselves there are lesson plans and worksheets. There's also a blog that should keep active minds ticking over for some time yet.