Search results for ""author jacky hyams""

They ruled the streets of London in the 1960s. Half a century later, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, unrepentant purveyors of violence and murder, hold more fascination than ever before. Portrayed as charismatic gangsters on the big screen, the saga of the twins, their firm and their thirty-odd years behind bars is one that is determinedly and deliberately embellished with every passing year. Yet it is only recently that the stark, unvarnished truth about the twins has started to emerge after being so cunningly concealed behind the façade of charitable deeds and East End loyalties. Bestselling author Jacky Hyams has carefully re-examined some of the stories, the lies and the myths to reveal a very different portrait of the twins and those closest to them. She reveals the complexity of their relationships and their closest bonds, and contests the police’s belief that Ronnie Kray senselessly murdered ‘one of their own’. Ronnie Kray is said to have described he and his twin as ‘vicious, elegant bastards’. It is one of the few truths ever uttered by either of them.

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They were the unsung heroines of World War II; the wives and mothers and teenage girls who clocked in daily to work in vast munitions factories, helping to make explosives, bullets, shells, bombs and war machines that would ensure victory. It was dangerous, dirty and exhausting work. They worked round the clock, often exposed to toxic, lethal chemicals. A factory accident could mean blindness, loss of limb - or worse. Many went home with acid burns, yellow skin or damaged hair, others were forced to leave their loved ones and move to live with strangers in unfamiliar surroundings. Frequently, their male bosses were coarse and unsympathetic. Yet this hidden army of nearly two million women toiled on regardless through the hardest years of the war, cheerfully ignoring the dangers and the exhaustion, as bombing, rationing and the heartbreak of loss or separation took their toll on everyone in the country. Here, in their own words, are the vivid wartime memories of the 'secret army' of female munitions workers, whose resilience and sheer grit in the face of danger has only started to emerge. Republished to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of VE Day in May 1945, this revised edition now offers an entirely new, astonishing account of a young woman who worked in a vast munitions plant in Lancashire.

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Sunday, 3 September 1939: the dawn of a new conflict that would engulf the world, following the words of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain: 'This country is at war with Germany'. By the time World War II ended in 1945, nearly half a million people from Britain and its empire had lost their lives, and the world had changed forever. Eighty years on, a look back at the lives of British people in September 1939 reveals a very different world from the one we know today. Unprecedented hardship lay ahead for a country where free healthcare for all was unknown: strict rationing of food and petrol, conscription for both sexes, and personal tragedy year after year amidst the chaos of Britain's bombed out cities and ports.What was it really like to be living in Britain in September 1939? The Day the War Broke Out is a fresh insight into the hearts and minds of a nation on that fateful day. With exclusive personal interviews, untold stories, wartime diaries and newspaper reports, it reveals the innermost fears and hopes of a society on the brink of war: through the eyes of young mothers fearful for their families, bewildered children painfully cut adrift from loved ones, and men of all ages, many now facing combat for the second time in their lives. These are personal, intimate snapshots from eighty years ago - when the entire world, virtually overnight, seemed to have been turned upside down - and of how a nation faced this new world with courage, humour and stoicism.

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Britain’s first-ever wartime fighter plane, the Hawker Hurricane, shot down more enemy planes than any other fighter. It was the true aviation hero of the Battle of Britain.Often eclipsed by the legend and aerial heroics of the Spitfire, the Hurricane was the authentic warhorse of aviation history. Stable, rugged, less expensive to build - and far more easily repaired and maintained than the Spitfire - the ‘Hurri’ as it was affectionately known, proved to be the most fearsome fighter plane in aerial combat - at a time when Britain’s survival was at stake like never before.In 1940 the Hurricane made its mark: more than half of the 1,200 German aircraft that were shot down in the war were taken down by Hurricanes. At the time, the RAF could call on 32 squadrons of Hurricanes and 19 Spitfires: the Hurricane was, in fact, the dominant British fighter plane, developing a reputation as a plane that could take more than a

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Britain’s first-ever wartime fighter plane, the Hawker Hurricane, shot down more enemy planes than any other fighter. It was the true aviation hero of the Battle of Britain.Often eclipsed by the legend and aerial heroics of the Spitfire, the Hurricane was the authentic warhorse of aviation history. Stable, rugged, less expensive to build – and far more easily repaired and maintained than the Spitfire – the ‘Hurri’ as it was affectionately known, proved to be the most fearsome fighter plane in aerial combat – at a time when Britain’s survival was at stake like never before.In 1940 the Hurricane made its mark: more than half of the 1,200 German aircraft that were shot down in the war were taken down by Hurricanes. At the time, the RAF could call on 32 squadrons of Hurricanes and 19 Spitfires: the Hurricane was, in fact, the dominant British fighter plane, developing a reputation as a plane that could take more than a few hits from the enemy – and continue to fly. The Spit was the aviation thoroughbred, superb until damaged. The Hurri was much stronger. The skilled airmen came from all over the world; one of them from RAF 80 Squadron would later become a very famous author – Roald Dahl. Using documents, letters and first-hand accounts, this is the historic untold story of the Hawker Hurricane and the lives of the men and women who flew, helped design and construct, fit and worked behind the scenes of the ‘Hurri’, all contributing in ways big and small, to its outstanding success as a legend of the Second World War.

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The Spitfire Story, published in association with Imperial War Museums, is a fascinating anthology of first-hand stories from Spitfire heroes and heroines, as well as the people behind the scenes.The Spitfire is the world’s most iconic aeroplane. Coming into its own during the Battle of Britain, it became famous during the Second World War as the only plane that could match the enemy fighters in the sky.Yet, even today, the history of the Spitfire contains many hitherto hidden or little-known stories of the men and women behind the plane; not only the gifted creators and inventors who brought the Spitfire to life, or the brave fighter pilots from many countries who triumphed in battle, but also the thousands of other people whose lives were affected by their personal connection to it – engineers, ground crew, factory or office workers, and their families. The Spitfire Story recounts the memories and stories of these people, from the birth of the iconic Spitfire in the 1930s to the present day. Among these accounts is the extraordinary tale of the fighter pilot who only discovered, fifty years on, the tragic truth of his last Spitfire flight, the businessman whose blank cheque changed the course of the war, the ninety-five-year-old Royal Air Force engineer who was determined to be reunited with his beloved Spit before he died, and the little girl who inspired the plane’s creation – and went on to marry a movie star.Using documents, letters and photographs from the Imperial War Museums’ unparalleled archive, plus exclusive first-hand interviews, these stories of the Spitfire are a revelatory collection of small but significant histories, to be treasured by all who love and admire the iconic plane.

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Elvis is waiting outside in a big pink Caddy. Or rather, he would be if the dreams and fantasies of millions of teenage girls could only come true...And like so many other thirteen-year-olds, East End schoolgirl Jacky Hyams has fallen under the spell of the man with the swivel hips and sexy voice, an unforgettable moment in time amidst a tidal wave of social change in Britain: the era of the Fifties teenager. All around her, people are shaking off the memory of the drab austerity years after the Second World War. Ration books are now history. The good times have finally arrived. Families like Jacky's are starting to be tempted by the incredible new household goods in high street shop windows: TVs, fridges, washing machines, electric heaters, now widely available on credit. Wimpy bars and frozen fish fingers are changing the culinary landscape. Even the Prime Minister is telling the country: 'You Never Had it So Good.' Now, for the first time ever, teenagers are being wooed as never before, consumers in their own right, rather than mere mini versions of their elders. It is a dramatic cultural shift that sparks a huge rift between the generations. As bewildered parents struggle to cope with her teenage rebellion against old fashioned attitudes, for Jacky all these tempting changes can only lead her in one direction - an all embracing desire for freedom - and a growing determination to break free of the traditional East End way of life.

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For the first time, pensioners outnumber children in the UK. With limited support for carers and no formal training, this book provides everything you need to know about caring for ageing parentsWe're all living longer than ever. But there is, inevitably, a point when most of us have to face the fact that Mum or Dad - or both - really do need more help. For many, the responsibility of supporting their parents and aiding them to make the right decisions at the right time can be challenging. This book covers the key issues surrounding caring for ageing parents:* What are the main health issues you need to be aware of? * What is really involved in moving into sheltered or residential care?* What happens if it's clear a parent can't cope at home but wants to stay there? This book enables you to tackle the small, practical, problems that crop up daily such as shopping, nutrition, cleaning and reduced mobility, as well at the bigger, more complex issues such as independence, health, changing roles, accommodation and financial issues. The invaluable insights contained in TIME TO HELP YOUR PARENTS will enable you to understand your parents' perspectives and enjoy your relationships with them as they grow older.

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Through the darkest days of the Second World War, an elite group of courageous civilian women risked their lives as aerial courier pilots, flying Lancaster bombers, Spitfires and many other powerful war machines in thousands of perilous missions.The dangers these women faced were many: they flew unarmed, without radio and in some cases without instruments, in conditions where even unexpected cloud could mean disaster.In The Female Few, five of these astonishingly brave women tell their awe-inspiring tales of incredible risk, tenacity and sacrifice. Their spirit and fearlessness in the face of death still resonates down the years, and their accounts reveal a forgotten chapter in the history of the Second World War.

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