Search results for ""the history press ltd""

Why is Cambridgeshire so flat? Probably because of all the giants who used to stomp around it! If you travel to or live in the land of Cambridgeshire, you could be walking in the footsteps of monsters, kings… or even the Devil!Journey through time to meet the giant-slayers of Saxon times, the shapeshifters of Tudor times, women who were incredible survivors… and even Victorian men who travelled on two legs faster than a steam train! What is truth, and what is myth? Decide for yourself after reading these tales of Cambridgeshire – the home of heroes from history.

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The story of the ill-fated liner Titanic is one that has been told and retold countless times – it is hard to imagine that there could be any new stories or twists to the tale. Yet Titanic’s strong connection with the Midlands is one such story that is not so well known. The ship may have been built in Belfast, registered in Liverpool and sailed from Southampton, but over 70 per cent of her interiors came from the Midlands. This pivotal piece of research from Titanic expert Andrew P.B. Lound explores the role played by the people and the varied industries of the Black Country in the life of the most famous ship in the world.

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It has taken seventy years for the accounts of ordinary German soldiers during the Second World War to be made widely available to an English-speaking audience. This is hardly surprising given that interest in these important documents has only recently surfaced in Germany, where a long process of coming to terms with the past, or Vergangenheitsbewältigung, has taken place. Unlike other historical depictions of the fall of the Third Reich, Dying Days of the Third Reich presents the authentic voices of those German soldiers who fought on the front line. Throughout we are witness to the kind of bravery, ingenuity and, ultimately, fear that we are so familiar with from the many Allied accounts of this time. Their sense of confusion and terror is palpable as Nazi Germany finally collapses in May 1945, with soldiers fleeing to the American victors instead of the Russians in the hope of obtaining better treatments as a prisoner of war. This collection of first-hand accounts includes the stories of German soldiers fighting the Red Army on the Eastern Front; of Horst Messer, who served on the last East Prussian panzer tank but was captured and spent four years in Russian captivity at Riga; Hans Obermeier, who recounts his capture on the Czech front and escape from Siberia; and a moving account of an anonymous Wehrmacht soldier in Slovakia given orders to execute Russian prisoners.

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Flying as an airline passenger is, statistically, one of the safest forms of travel. Even so, the history of civil aviation is littered with high-profile disasters involving major loss of life. This new edition of the authoritative work on the subject brings the grim but important story of air disasters right up to date. David Gero assembles a list of major air disasters since the 1950s across continents. He investigates every type of calamity, including those caused by appalling weather, mechanical failure, pilot error, inhospitable terrain and hostile action. The first incident of sabotage involving a commercial jetliner is covered, as is the first, much-feared crash of the jumbo jet era. Examined alongside less well-known disasters are high-profile episodes such as that of Pan American Flight 103 at Lockerbie in 1988, the Twin Towers tragedy of 11 September 2001 and, more recently, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014 – the greatest mystery of the commercial jet age. Aviation Disasters is the authoritative record of air disasters worldwide, fully illustrated with a fascinating selection of photographs.

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This book romps through the rolling countryside and along the shingled coastline of Suffolk, unearthing the curious along the way. Sandwiched between ecclesiastical penances handed down to adulterers and fornicators, and the odd porcelain incendiary bombs commemorating the Zeppelin raids, is an alphabetical cornucopia of strange, spooky and mysterious facts about the county. Is the supposedly ancient game of dwile flonking quite so old? What did writers like Pepys and Defoe say about Suffolk cheese? Which tower was probably just built to curry favour with the monarch? And who was the unknown, self-taught archaeologist who made one of the most significant finds of all time? The A-Z of Curious Suffolk is a book to dip into, unless of course you can’t wait to turn the page and read more!

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For decades the Earls Court Motor Show was the annual pilgrimage for car idolaters, dreamers and even the odd buyer. Millions jostled to see the latest models, gadgets, showgirls, celebrities and leave with armfuls of brochures. As the Earls Court exhibition centre is demolished in 2016 Russell Hayes returns to the original excitement of the show with this colourful history, including archive images of British, European and American cars at their finest, the landmark models, the heroic failures and the one-offs. Grab a ticket, muscle into the crowd and join Russell as he relives the glory days of the Earls Court Motor Show in this nostalgic celebration. Hang on! Isn’t that Sid James?

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With fairies and dragons, witches and werewolves, the picturesque island of Jersey boasts legends as varied and powerful as any within the British Isles. From its golden beaches to its treacherous cliffs, Jersey is alive with mysterious stories as strange and fascinating as the beings that inhabit them. This unique anthology includes the most famous of Jersey’s fables, such as the Hougue Bie Dragon, the Witches of Rocqueberg, and the demon of Bonne Nuit. It also contains original tales of ancient monsters such as the Vioge of Crack Ankle Lane, the Prince and Princess of Sorel Point and the Crooked Fairy. These spellbinding stories had almost been lost to the shadows of the past, but are brought to life here once more.

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If you love magic and adventure, here is the book for you. In this treasure trove of tales, storyteller Michael O’ Leary has collected stories from the Hampshire Downs (which are up), the New Forest (which is old), the copses and coppices, fields and farms, villages, towns and cities of Hampshire. In these stories you will meet dragons, giants, knights, princesses and some vile Vikings– and of course the Liphook fairies. From ‘Once upon a time…’ to ‘Happy ever after’ you will be transported to Hampshire, where even the stones have stories to tell.

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In the autumn of 1942, British Special Operations Executive agent Ronald Sydney Seth was parachuted into German occupied Estonia, supposedly to carry out acts of sabotage against the Nazis in a plan code-named Operation Blunderhead. Uniquely, it was Seth and not the SOE who had engineered the mission, and he had no support network on the ground. It was a failure. Captured by Estonian militia, Seth was handed over to the Germans for interrogation, imprisoned and sentenced to death, but managed to evade execution by convincing his captors that he could be an asset. What happened between Seth’s capture and his return to England in the dying days of the war reads, at times, like a novel – inhabiting a Gestapo safe house, acting as a stool pigeon, entrusted with a mission sanctioned by Heinrich Himmler – yet much of it is true, albeit highly embellished by Seth, who was quite capable of weaving the most elaborate fantasies. He was an unlikely hero, whose survival owed more to his ability to spin a tale than to any daring qualities. Operation Blunderhead is a compelling and original account of an extraordinary episode of the Second World War – a brilliant blend of fact and fiction, contrasting material taken from SOE and MI5 files with Seth’s own fantastical story.

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Cheltenham in the Great War is the first book to portray the town, its people and the impact of the ‘war to end all wars’ from the declaration of war in 1914 to Armistice Day in 1918. Almost 1,000 Cheltenham women left by train every day for munitions work, hundreds made airplanes in the Winter Gardens, many were nurses and most former suffragettes joined the WVR. Why did two schools do double shifts and for what did the townspeople raise £186,000 in one week in 1918? How did Cheltenham cope with 7,250 soldiers billeted in the town and ‘khaki fever’? This book gives an insight into the lives of different social classes in Cheltenham – including stories of remarkable women – and how their war was fought on the Home Front. The Great War story of Cheltenham is told through considerable new research and is vividly illustrated throughout with evocative, informative images, many of which have not been published previously.

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The Field Marshal was a born commander and, besides being a gifted linguist, was mobilised as a Subaltern for the Boer War to act as a secret agent and to streamline the peace process. With an appetite for battle, in WW1 he became the Allied C-in-C of the Expeditionary Force in North Russia and, being ranked as a knighted Major General at the age of 39, he then modernised the Staff training to deal with armoured and aerial warfare. His Generalship was tested out in the Raj and, in 1939, on the day war was declared, the British Army leadership as CIGS was placed in his hands, so that he was able to defend Calais and free-up the BEF escape route to Dunkirk. Back in business as C-in-C Home Forces he was given his baton. Ironside surely had one of the most varied and long military careers of any military leader in the 20th century.

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LONDON 1881: Panic reigns in Bayswater as a ruthless murderer prowls the foggy streets of the nation's capital. Residents live in fear, rumours and accusations abound, and vigilante groups patrol by night. It is not, of course, a suitable investigation for a lady detective, but when a friend falls victim to the killer's knife, Frances Doughty is drawn into this sinister new case. Myth and reality collide in another thrilling mystery that will stretch Frances' powers of deduction - and her courage - to the limit.

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Willy Cockhead had to live with his name. So too did countless others lumbered with ridiculous monikers, safely hidden away in Oxford’s records and censuses – until now. And what names! Some rhyme (Dick Thick), a few are odd (Silly Waters), others you have to say out loud (Rhoda Turtle) and some are just groan-worthy (Blenda Belcher). Uncovered by local author Paul Sullivan and accompanied with strange-but-true anecdotes, this entertaining volume of baffling, ill-thought-out and just plain rude examples champions the people and places of Oxfordshire that got saddled with the daftest of names.

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When a teacher and pupil are found dead at an exclusive girls’ school in Bath, Jack Swann, the Regency Detective, becomes involved in one of the most intriguing cases of his career. Is it a tragic accident, a suicide pact, or murder? As Swann attempts to solve the mystery, his every move is observed by unseen forces with differing motives for him to succeed or fail. Meanwhile, Swann continues to investigate his sister’s unscrupulous fiancé, combat the local crime boss, and persist in his search for the Scarred Man, who may hold the key to the unsolved murder of Swann’s father. But time is running out . . .

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Frank and Percy Talley of the 1st City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) were destined to leave England to take part in the last, and most costly, single-day battle of the Gallipoli Campaign, on 21 August 1915. In never-before published letters, the Talley brothers describe their training in England and their move to the East Coast to man the trenches there during the invasion scare of 1914 and the Zeppelin attack at Great Yarmouth. Their letters provide a rare insight into the activities of the yeomen in preparing for war, their transportation to Egypt and Suez and their expectation that they would be used in action at Gallipoli. After walking into a maelstrom of fire on 21 August 1915, the trooper-brothers were separated; each wrote home not knowing whether the other had survived. Both were wounded. Their letters from the Suvla trenches are brief but telling – the last, desperate battle for Gallipoli as seen through the eyes of two brothers from London.

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‘This is a very, very smart book. It makes Freud accessible, interesting and relevant.’ - Ruby WaxSigmund Freud is rightly called the godfather of psychoanalysis. He forever changed the way we view ourselves and developed our understanding of human nature. His concepts have become part of our psychological vocabulary: unconscious thoughts and feelings, conflict, the meaning of dreams, the sensuality of childhood. He dared to try new methods and treatments. Everyone knows the term Freudian slip and has a basic understanding of his theories, however, Freud gave us a great deal more. From education to critical theory he changed the way we think. His ideas and clinical practices offer psychological insights that bring help and healing. Freud's work has suffused contemporary Western thought and popular culture. He is the epitome of a pocket GIANT.

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In 1992 Bosnia descended into a savage and bitter civil war, which by 1995 had claimed over a quarter of a million lives. Following the Dayton Peace Agreement between the warring Bosnian Serbs, Muslims and Croats, NATO began its first land operation, taking over from the UN Protection Force. With a total of only 200 men, a British battlegroup was charged to enforce the peace in a 100km area, through which wound a front line separating the territory of the Bosnian Muslims from that of the Bosnian Serb forces. In this updated edition of the acclaimed book A Cold War, Brigadier Ben Barry has produced the definitive account of the British Army’s dangerous and groundbreaking operations in Bosnia.

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A rich, and indeed sometimes bizarre, thread of history weaves its way through the Bristol story. Find out all manner of things, from why a ‘Bristol Diamond’ would never be found in a jewellery shop to why local by-laws restrict carpet beating to certain hours. Along with a fresh look at city life past and present, these and many more anecdotes will surprise even those Bristolians who thought they really knew their city.

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Discovered in 1811, Bignor is one of the richest and most impressive villas in Britain, its mosaics ranking among the finest in north-western Europe. Opened to the public for the first time in 1814, the site also represents one of Britain’s earliest tourist attractions, remaining in the hands of the same family, the Tuppers, to this day. This book sets out to explain the villa, who built it, when, how it would have been used and what it meant within the context of the Roman province of Britannia. It also sets out to interpret the remains, as they appear today, explaining in detail the meaning of the fine mosaic pavements and describing how the villa was first found and explored and the conservation problems facing the site in the twenty-first century. Now, after 200 years, the remarkable story of Bignor Roman Villa is told in full in this beautifully illustrated book.

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The First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today.Great War Britain: Northampton offers an intimate portrayal of the town and its people living in the shadow of the 'war to end all wars'. It describes the local reaction to the outbreak of war, charts the experience of individuals who enlisted and reveals the changing face of industry in the town, including the boom in shoemaking as the demand for hard-wearing soldiers' boots soared. Vividly illustrated with evocative images from the Northamptonshire Regimental and Northamptonshire Yeomanry collections and from the Northampton Museums & Art Gallery archives, this detailed account commemorates the bravery and the resolution of the people of Northampton during one of the most tumultuous eras in British history.

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Death, Danes and disaster in Dark Age Ipswich! The castles are burning! Attacks, rebellions, battles and wars in ancient Suffolk! Queen of Blood and Fire! The dark days of Bloody Mary revealed! Sea of blood! Smugglers, sea battles, U-Boats and invasions along the Suffolk coast! The Zeppelins are coming! Bombs and bodies in the First World War! Suffolk has one of the most amazing histories of any British county. Betrayals, conspiracies and invasions have left their mark on this eastern frontier. Discover how vicious power struggles between the Danes and the Vikings shaped the history of not just the county, but the United Kingdom as a whole. Read of the troublesome Bigod dynasty, the Suffolk city under the sea and the strange story of the thousands of burnt corpses that washed up on the county’s beaches during the Second World War. Discover the dark truth inside!

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Experience 100 key dates that shaped Norwich's history, highlighted its people's genius (or silliness) and embraced the unexpected. Featuring an amazing mix of pivotal, social, criminal and sporting events, this book reveals a past that will fascinate, delight and even shock residents and visitors alike.

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The Little Book of Yorkshire is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which no-one will want to be without. The county’s most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters, royal connections and literally hundreds of wacky facts about Yorkshire’s landscape, cities, towns and villages (plus some authentically bizarre bits of historic trivia), come together to make it essential reading for visitors and locals alike. Soak up the vast array of quirky tales from the regal Richmond of John of Gaunt to the sporting Barnsley of Dickie Bird. A handy little book for residents and visitors alike.

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Sir William Davenant (1606–1668) – Poet Laureate and Civil War hero – is one of the most influential and neglected figures in the history of British theatre. He introduced ‘opera’, actresses, scenes and the proscenium arch to the English stage. Narrowly escaping execution for his Royalist activities during the Civil War, he revived theatrical performances in London, right under Oliver Cromwell’s nose. Nobody, perhaps, did more to secure Shakespeare’s reputation or to preserve the memory of the Bard. Davenant was known to boast over a glass of wine that he wrote ‘with the very spirit’ of Shakespeare and was happy to be thought of as Shakespeare’s son. By recounting the story of his eventful life backwards, through his many trials and triumphs, this biography culminates with a fresh examination of the vexed issue of Davenant’s paternity. Was Sir William’s mother the voluptuous and maddening ‘Dark Lady’ of Shakespeare’s Sonnets, and was he Shakespeare’s ‘lovely boy’?

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R.J. (Ron) Buckley’s photographs illustrate the locomotive scene in Scotland, witnessed across his long career on the railways. This evocative collection of images commemorates the age of steam and reveals the changes wrought across that era, from the 1930s ex- Highland ‘Castle’ and ‘Clan’ 4-6-0s and the graceful looking ex-Great North of Scotland 4-4-0s, to the ex-North British ‘Glen’ and ‘Scott’ 4-4-0s, the Caledonian 4-4-0s, numerous 0-6-0 classes and the few Glasgow and South Western locomotives still working. By the early 1950s all the ex-Glasgow and South Western locomotives had gone and there were few ex-Highland or Great North of Scotland locomotives in service, but many ex-North British and Caledonian locomotives could still be seen. It is a must-have volume for Scottish railway enthusiasts.

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In 1914, the East London Federation of Suffragettes, led by Sylvia Pankhurst, split from the WSPU. Sylvia’s mother and sister, Emmeline and Christabel, had encouraged her to give up her work with the poor women of East London – but Sylvia refused. Besides campaigning for women to have an equal right to vote from their headquarters in Bow, the ELFS worked on a range of equality issues which mattered to local women: they built a toy factory, providing work and a living wage for local women; they opened a subsidized canteen where women and children could get cheap, nutritious food; and they launched a nursery school, a crèche, and a mother-and-baby clinic. The work of the Federation (and ‘our Sylvia’, as she was fondly known by locals) deserves to be remembered, and this book, filled with astonishing first-hand accounts, aims to bring this amazing story to life.

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A quiet market town with no military presence was chosen as the secret communications centre for Britain as the country prepared for war with Germany in 1937. When hostilities began, ‘Q Central’ attracted a dozen other clandestine operations set up to defend the country or designed to confuse and undermine enemy morale. The headquarters of radar, RAF Group 60, also came to Leighton Buzzard to be hidden from German attack and to be close to the telephone and radio communications needed to run its vast chain of radar stations. These directed the defending fighters that saved the country in the Battle of Britain and then took the bombing war to Germany. Close by, for the same reasons of secrecy and safety, were the satellite stations of Bletchley Park, the now famous code-breaking centre; the Met Office at Dunstable, which gave the all clear for the D-Day landings; Black Ops units that set up false radio stations and wrote propaganda to confuse the enemy; and airfields used for dropping agents behind enemy lines. At Q Central itself was the largest telephone exchange in the world, with more than 1,000 teleprinters communicating with all the armed services in every theatre of war and directing the operations of the secret services. Now the restrictions of the Official Secrets Act have been lifted, enabling eight members of the Leighton Buzzard and District Archaeology and History Society to piece together this compelling story for the first time.

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Its garden squares distinguish London most clearly from other great cities. All have their ceremonial and market squares, but none the quantity, quality, and variety of residential squares that sets London apart. The history of the London square begins in 1631 with the great name of Inigo Jones, whose houses and church in Covent Garden were both started in that year. Lincoln’s Inn Fields followed from 1638, before the Restoration and the Hanoverian Succession gave the political impetus to the first and second great waves of square building. This book provides an alphabetical guide to all the London squares, large, small, famous, obscure, existing or long vanished, founded before 1900. For each of the 578 identified there is a brief history, a description of the architecture and an account of notable former residents; for many, a photograph or engraving, and for the major squares several. This comprehensive and unique study also includes an index of notable residents, architects, builders, and developers, and a select bibliography.

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Was Philip de László a secret agent and was MI5’s source really as they claimed? Did an enemy spy really paint the portrait of the young Princess Elizabeth? In 1917, noted society portrait painter Philip de László, who painted such luminaries as the Pope, the Austrian emperor, King Edward VII and Prince Louis Battenberg, was subjected to a secret tribunal which interned him for trading with the enemy. At the outbreak of the First World War, de László had pulled strings to be naturalised as British, but in 1919 he was referred to a public committee to revoke his naturalisation. With the aid of skilled counsel, de László had the application overturned – however, newly discovered records show MI5 had evidence obtained from a top-secret source that alleged that he was supplying the enemy with important information on politics and industrial production. Crucially, the source’s anonymity prevented MI5 from presenting evidence to the tribunal, which has particular resonance in the contemporary War on Terror. In the only book to examine MI5’s secret evidence, Phil Tomaselli explores these allegations and reaches a shocking conclusion.

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This is the remarkable story of the American First World War serviceman Arthur Clifford Kimber. When his country entered the Great War in 1917, Kimber left Stanford University to carry the first official American flag to the Western Front. Fired by idealism for the French cause, the young student initially acted as a volunteer ambulance driver, before training as a pilot and taking part in dogfights against ‘the Boche’.His letters home give a vivid picture of what Kimber witnessed on his journey from Palo Alto, California to the front in France: keen-eyed descriptions of New York as it prepared for the forthcoming conflict, the privations of wartime Britain and France, and encounters with former president Theodore Roosevelt and Hollywood actress Lillian Gish. Kimber details his exhilaration, his everyday concerns and his horror as he adapts to an active wartime role.Arthur Clifford Kimber was one of the first Americans on the front line after the entry of the US into the war and, tragically, also one of the last to be buried there – killed in action just a few weeks before the end of the war. Here, his frank letters to his mother and brothers, compiled, edited and put in context by Patrick Gregory and Elizabeth Nurser, are published for the first time.

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'Reg Fearman is the man who knows all of speedway’s secrets … and is prepared to reveal them. He has taken a unique, full-throttle, white-knuckle ride to the top as an international rider, a world-class team manager, a successful promoter and a formidable administrator. He has never ducked a confrontation, on or off the speedway track; he knows the glamorous and the murky side of a tough, fabulously exciting and sometimes cruel sport, and he spares no one's blushes … not even his own' - John Chaplin, speedway's leading historian'From humble origins in London’s East End, this is the story of how Reg Fearman became a local hero with West Ham, the cockney giants of speedway, and went on to represent his country, first as a rider at the tender age of 17, and then as an international manager. A captivating mixture of sporting achievement, politics and business and social history, it also looks at how speedway was resurrected from the doldrums of the late 1950s and dragged into a new ‘Jet Age’ golden era, a time which paved the way for the heights that the sport has enjoyed in the twenty-first century as a global phenomenon. Including a plethora of untold truths, revelations and a rich treasure trove of photographs, Reg lays bare for the first time the sensational inside story of the resurrection of speedway … warts and all!' - Dr Brian Belton, JP and author

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As the war in Europe entered its final months, the world teetered on the edge of a Third World War. While Soviet forces hammered their way into Berlin, Churchill ordered British military planners to prepare the top secret Operation Unthinkable - the plan for an Allied attack on the Soviet Union - on 1 July 1945. Using US, British and Polish forces, the invasion would reclaim Eastern Europe. The controversial plan called for the use of Nazi troops, and there was the spectre of the atomic bomb. Would yet another army make the fatal mistake of heading East? In Churchill’s Third World War Jonathan Walker presents a haunting study of the war that so nearly was. He outlines the motivations behind Churchill’s plan, the logistics of launching a vast assault against an enemy who had bested Hitler, potential sabotage by Polish communists, and he speculates whether the Allies would have succeeded had the operation gone forward. Well supported by a wide range of primary sources from the Churchill Archives Centre, Sikorski Institute, National Archives and Imperial War Museum, this is a fascinating insight into the upheaval as the Second World War drew to a close and former alliances were shattered. Operation Unthinkable became the blueprint for the Cold War.

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In 1907, H.G. Wells published a science fiction novel called The War in the Air. It proved to be portentous. In the early years of the First World War, German lighter-than-air flying machines, Zeppelins, undertook a series of attacks on the British mainland. German military strategy was to subdue Britain, both by the damage these raids caused and by the terrifying nature of the craft that carried them out. This strategy proved successful. The early raids caused significant damage, many civilian casualties and provoked terror and anger in equal measure. But the British rapidly learnt how to deal with these futuristic monsters. A variety of defence mechanisms were developed: searchlights, guns and fighter aircraft were deployed, the British learnt to pick up the airships’ radio messages and a central communications headquarters was set up. Within months aerial strategy and its impact on the lives of civilians and the course of conflict became part of human warfare. As the Chief of the Imperial German Naval Airship Division, Peter Strasser, crisply put it: ‘There is no such thing as a non-combatant any more. Modern war is total war.’ Zeppelin Blitz is the first full, raid-by-raid, year-by-year account of the Zeppelin air raids on Britain during the First World War, based on contemporary official reports and documents.

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In 218, Hannibal Barca, desperate to avenge the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War, launched an ambitious ground invasion of Italy. With just a small force, he crossed the Alps – a feat reckoned to be impossible – and pitted his polyglot army against Rome’s elite citizen infantry. At Cannae, in 216, Hannibal destroyed an 80,000-strong Roman force in one afternoon, delivering a blow unequalled in Roman history for half a millennium to come. The Romans had no answer to Hannibal until the young Scipio volunteered to take over Rome’s armies in Spain, which were close to defeat, and left leaderless by the death of Scipio’s own father and uncle. In the decade which followed, Scipio turned Rome’s desperate fortunes into a stunning victory over Carthage. The portrait of Hannibal and Scipio takes the reader through one of the greatest military campaigns in history, driven by two remarkable and fascinating men.

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The Trio tells the story of three war correspondents, two Englishmen and an Australian, all in their 30s, whose friendship was forged during the Second World War. They became so close that their colleagues dubbed them ‘The Trio’, sometimes out of disgruntled rivalry. Alan Moorehead, Alexander Clifford and Christopher Buckley worked for the Express, Mail and Telegraph respectively. Clifford and Moorehead lived together more closely than most married couples, and all three correspondents spent the war years travelling relentlessly, chasing news and writing stories, while being reliant on each other’s friendship and mutual trust. They slept under the desert stars, in sumptuous Italian villas, in trains and army trucks. They were frequently in the line of fire, while their names became synonymous with the best war reporting. The Trio describes their relationship, what happened to each of them in the war and finally, when the fighting was over, how success gave way to personal tragedy.

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In September 2014, a referendum will be held in Scotland to decide whether or not Scotland should become independent and cease to be part of the United Kingdom. In this book, two of the nation’s leading political commentators will address both sides of this historic debate. George Kerevan will put forward the case for voting Yes, and Alan Cochrane will make the case for voting No. In this volume, the first title in this Great Debate series, the authors will present the distinctive arguments for both sides, fully preparing you to make up your own mind on a decision that will shape the future of Scotland and of Great Britain.

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The Battle of Bannockburn is the most celebrated battle in history between Scotland and England. Fought over two days on 23 and 24 June 1314 by a small river crossing in Stirling, it was a decisive victory for Robert the Bruce in the Scottish Wars of Independence against the English, which saw a mere 7,000 Bruce followers defeat over 15,000 of Edward II’s troops. It was the greatest defeat the English would suffer throughout the Middle Ages, and a huge personal humiliation for King Edward II. Chris Brown’s startling account recreates the campaign and battle from the perspectives of both the Scots and the English. Only now, through an in-depth investigation of the contemporary narrative sources as well as the administrative records, and through a new look at the terrain where the battle was fought, can we come to firmer conclusions on what exactly happened and why.

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From unexplained sightings to the search for evidence of ghosts, this book contains a chilling range of spooky tales from Old and New Stevenage and the surrounding area. Compiled by paranormal historian Paul Adams, this collection features the restless phantom of Henry Trigg, whose coffin still hangs from the roof of a local bank; a spectral monk seen wandering the corridors of North Hertfordshire College; the mysterious apparition of Lady’s Wood; and the extraordinary case of the Stevenage Poltergeist. Richly illustrated and drawing on historical and contemporary sources, Haunted Stevenage is guaranteed to make your blood run cold.

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Athlete and TV presenter Sally Gunnell, actress Joan Sims, singer Billy Bragg, footballer Bobby Moore, chef Jamie Oliver, author John Fowles, film director Basil Dearden, playwright Sarah Kane, and the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin are among personalities through the ages who have been born in Essex. The county can claim many more who spent much of their lives here and left their mark on the area, including authors Douglas Adams and Margery Allingham, magician David Nixon and comedian Lee Evans. This book features mini-biographies of all these and many more, and will make fascinating reading for residents and visitors alike.

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Walney Island, lying just off the Furness Peninsula, is just 11 miles long and covers 5 square miles. Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the island was only sparsely populated until the Jubilee Bridge was built in 1908; before this there was a ferry. Now home to over 13,000 people, Walney still retains the feeling of ‘a place apart’. Born in 1920 and brought up on Walney Island, Katie Percy has recorded her early memories which illustrate the reality of everyday life in England before the Second World War. Evocative and moving, Katie’s memoir describes her struggle as one of seven children in a poor family, living in a draughty caravan in a farmer’s field. Katie had to grow up fast: she would take on a plethora of chores for her mother, taking care of her siblings and foregoing her own leisure time – not that there was any money for treats. Katie left school at fourteen and worked as a domestic in a pub, enduring a horrendous workload and her boss, the overbearing landlady, for a pittance of pay. Later, at the beginning of the war, she was called up to work at Barrow Steelworks, where her insurrection caused a strike among the female workforce. Walney Island Girl is a charming memoir, full of eloquent recollections of family, friends and neighbours.

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Cumbria Curiosities brings together a series of unusual, intriguing and extraordinary buildings, structures, incidents and people from all parts of the county. Included in these pages are the Fairy Steps of Beetham Fell; Bonnie Prince Charlie's Chimney; schoolboy graffiti by William Wordsworth at Hawkshead; a hilltop tower at Hampsfell which has poetic advice for travellers; and the world-famous gurning competition at Egremont. As well as these fascinating relics from Cumbria's industrial, ecclesiastical and military past are curious customs at locations ranging from the Irish Sea, to the dramatic peaks of the Lake District and the fertile lowland areas.

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Some maintain that ley lines are the result of some 'earth force', others that they are the earliest routes marked out across the land. In his new book Anthony Poulton-Smith examines the origins and meanings of these ancient trackways, tracing them on foot and taking in markers that have been in existence for millennia to travel in a straight line from Shropshire and Gloucestershire in the west to Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire in the east. Whether they are tracked by dowsing or by a simple line on a map, Ley Lines across the Midlands is a fascinating read for walkers, historians, visitors and locals alike, and provides a very different view of the ancient history of the Midlands.

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This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Belfast during the 20th century. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during this century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Belfast's recent and often turbulent history are covered, famous occasions (even infamous) and notable individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed.The book provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered Belfast's appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, all chosen from the impressive collections of the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland, this book recalls what Belfast has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

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When Gloucestershire was hit by flash flooding after heavy rainfall on Friday 20 July 2007, the result was catastrophic. Roads were blocked and cars left abandoned in towns and villages around the county. After floodwater overwhelmed the Mythe pumping plant near the normally peaceful town of Tewkesbury, 350,000 people were left without running water and electricity supplies, while hundreds of homes and businesses were wrecked by the floodwater.Included here are vivid accounts of evacuation and helicopter rescues by the RAF (their largest peacetime rescue operation to date), bowsers, bottled water and, of course, the gruelling clean-up operation. As the police, Environment Agency, emergency services and the military joined forces to deal with the crisis and subsequent water shortage, contributors to this book also recall tales of community camaraderie and acts of bravery by ordinary people.

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A Century of Bromley offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during a century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Bromley's recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. A Century of Bromley provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered the town's appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book recalls what Bromley has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

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A Century of Coventry offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during a century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Coventry's recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. A Century of Coventry provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered the city's appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book recalls what Coventry has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

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A Century of Barnsley offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during a century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Barnsley's recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. The book provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered Barnsley's appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book recalls what Barnsley has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

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Sheffield Past & Present gives a fascinating insight into the dramatic changes that have taken place in the city during the 20th century. The book recalls houses and public buildings, shops, factories and pubs that have vanished or been changed almost beyond recognition. The pictures show changing types of transport and fashion, and the developing character of streets and districts as they took on the form that is familiar today. The astonishing periods of growth that occurred during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, and since the Second World War, are particularly well illustrated. Many aspects of the changing city are recalled - hospitals and schools, places of work and recreation, parks and squares, suburban streets and the main thoroughfares - and the pictures record the ceaseless building and rebuilding that characterises the city today. The author has combined a remarkable selection of archive photographs with modern views of the same scenes in order to record the transformation that has occurred. The book will add to the knowledge, appreciation and enjoyment of all those who take an interest in this distinctive city.

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