A HISTORY expert who has moved to the county to breed alpacas took time out to help students answer an important question at Hereford Sixth Form College.

Derrick Murphy, a top selling history author, was helping A Level modern history students to consider: “Why did Stalin emerge as the undisputed leader of the USSR by 1929?”.

This is a key issue studied by the A Level Modern World History students for their unit on Russia 1855-1964, and for their coursework assignment on Stalin’s rise to power.

Derrick spoke to an audience of more than 70 students for 45 minutes, before taking questions from the floor.

Derrick is the author of numerous historical works, most recently those for the Flagship History series of text books used by A Level History students across the country and beyond. In fact, he has authored and sold more A Level History texts than any other author of similar work.

He has also worked for Cambridge University and been Chief Examiner for History for both AQA and OCR Examination Boards.

He has advised the UK government on curriculum issues and has worked for the government of Singapore, South Africa and Hong Kong.

He is now based in Hereford and is a successful breeder of alpacas.

And his answer to the question?

“The situation in Russia after the Revolution and during the Civil War demanded ruthlessness… Stalin was more ruthless than all the others, that’s why he rose to the top.”