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This book takes a carefully considered look at the history of many lesser known but nevertheless advanced British flying wing, delta and tailless aircraft that stretch across much of the last century. The emphasis is on classified projects considered for research or military purposes, but also includes those aircraft that were built, flown and entered service. The first commercially successful British flying wing biplane was designed by John Dunne and undertook limited military duties during the First World War. Soon, the early flying wing designs gave way to sleeker boomerangs that looked impressive, but often suffered with aerodynamic shortcomings. These were followed by the arrival of advanced wartime German jet powered delta projects initiated by Dr Alexander Lippisch. They were massively influential, with most post-war scientists and engineers immediately recognised the potential for a new generation of high performance warplanes. By the late 1940s, the UK required advanced jet powered bombers capable of carrying atomic bombs over long distances. This created many unusual, often German influenced designs that finally resulted in the V-Bombers. They were followed by short lived concepts for even larger aircraft that were not only capable of delivering nuclear weapons, but powered by nuclear propulsion. At the same time, interest in variable geometry wings gathered momentum, leading to the supersonic Swallow with its impressive science-fiction appearance. Sadly this Barnes Wallace concept was too far ahead of its time to overcome a number of technical issues, but the influence on American combat aircraft was considerable. The British also pushed ahead with ideas for vertical take-off fighters and the delta wing was often the first choice for many proposals. By the 1960s, Britain was attempting to gain a foothold in the space race. Plans were drawn up for rocket launching sites within the UK and the development of exotic delta winged space fighters. The ideas were impressive, although the technology was well beyond the UK's ability to fund and develop. These were glorious times for British aircraft designers who often pushed their ideas to the boundaries of what was possible, with design studies that remain influential today.

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No dictator can effectively govern a nation on his own. This was certainly the case with Adolf Hitler, who had little time for or interest in the day-to-day regional administration of the Nazi Party. For that purpose, he appointed his most loyal, charismatic, and brutal subordinates: The "Little Hitlers", officially known as Gauleiters. In this third volume of a series begun in 2012, Michael Miller and Andreas Schulz present, in meticulous detail, the lives, careers, and crimes of 37 such men. Included are several whose wartime career paths took them outside of their home provinces and led to widespread oppression and terror outside the borders of the Reich. Among these were Fritz Sauckel, who presided over the roundup of millions for slave labor in the Reich, Josef Terboven who oppressed the people of Norway with uncompromising brutality for five years, and Gustav Simon who ruthlessly "Germanized" Luxembourg. Perhaps most notorious of all was Julius Streicher, whose virulent attacks- in writing and at the podium- made him the unofficial face of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany.

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During its seventy-one years of existence, the 17th/21st Lancers became one of the best known British cavalry regiments of all time. Beloved by the Press as the 'Death or Glory Boys', their renowned skull and crossbones 'Motto', was one of the most recognised cap badges of the British Army. This volume, written by a former member of the Regiment, tells their complete story for the first time; much of which is in the words of those who served. The Regiment's role during the Second World War---on the Home Front, in North Africa and Italy; Austria; Greece, and Palestine in the aftermath of the war; its four years of service in Northern Ireland at the height of the 'Troubles'; and the Gulf War, where one of its crews achieved the longest ever direct-fire tank kill, are all covered in considerable detail. Personal accounts add colour to descriptions of routine life for a cavalry regiment in Egypt and India; and an armoured regiment during the Cold War, serving in Germany, Hong Kong, Libya, Yemen and Belize. Eleven sketch maps and 128 photographs illustrate the text. Appendices include, a definitive Roll of Honour; all Commanding Officers, Colonels of the Regiment and RSMs.

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A great many books have been written over the years about individual airfields or those in particular counties/areas but this one covers a good proportion of them in one publication, from Abbots Bromley to Zeals. It provides brief details of over 1700 airfields from before the First World War to the present day and describes the main activities carried out, based units/operators and current status. It includes military bases, civil airports/airfields, gliding sites, microlight sites and larger farm strips, together with the probable number of based aircraft. An appendix lists over 500 books which have been published about individual airfields and this, together with the details provided in this book affords a convenient source of reference for further research. It does not pretend to include every flying site that ever existed as this would require a much larger volume but covers what are considered to be the most significant airfields of the past 110 years. It includes over one hundred photographs in colour and black & white, most of which have not been published previously.

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Pamela Colman Smith is the mysterious artist behind the most renowned tarot deck in the world, for many years forgotten. In a revival of interest in esoteric artists and accessible tarot, curiosity about Pamela is now on the ascendant, but there are still many unanswered questions, especially concerning her later life. Born in London to American parents, Pamela was a prolific illustrator and artist who mixed with the great and good of art and theatre, among them W. B. Yeats and Bram Stoker. ‘Adopted’ by actress Ellen Terry, she spent some years with the Lyceum Theatre crowd, also working as an exotic storyteller, known as Gelukiezanger, in bohemian London. People have questioned her sexuality, her ethnic origins and alleged synaesthesia, assuming her to be biracial and lesbian. These are discussed but the biggest mystery of all is why she converted from mysticism to Catholicism in 1911, removing herself from vibrant London to the isolated Lizard in the west of Cornwall. There, living in relative obscurity, she evangelised Catholicism in a heavily non-conformist area, before moving to Bude in her sixties.

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When war broke out in 1939, Hitler created `Strafbattalion’ (Penal Battalion) units to deal with incarcerated members of the Wehrmacht as well as `subversives’. His order stated that any first-time convicted soldier could return to his unit after he had served a portion of his sentence in `a special probation corps before the enemy’. Beginning in April 1941, convicted soldiers—even those sentenced to death—who had shown exceptional bravery or meritorious service were allowed to rejoin their original units. However those in probation units were expected to undertake dangerous operations at the front. Refusal entailed enforcement of the original sentence. The soldiers who `win back an honourable place in the national community’ had done everything that was asked of them: risky advance teams, spyware and shock troops, laying mines under enemy fire. This book examines the penal units, their combat history and order of battle.

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The United Kingdom and the United States governments made a series of signed agreements in the early part of 1941 which allowed for the American Naval, Army and Air force to design and build campaigns against Nazi Germany. Today the United Kingdom and the United States Air Force still have a selection of operational bases but only three used for flying operations. RAF Mildenhall, The host unit at Mildenhall is the 100th Air Refuelling Wing operating the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, which deploys aircraft for and manages the European Tanker Task Force, Also housing the 352 SOW is the Air Force component for Special Operations Command Europe who operate the C130J series and the CV-22 Osprey and the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron which conducts RC-135 Rivet Joint flight operations in Europe and Mediterranean theatres. RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk being the other Airbase host the 48th Fighter Wing (48 FW), also known as the Liberty Wing, assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe--Air Forces Africa. The 48th Fighter Wing aircraft is the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle and here they house 3 Squadrons plus as part of the wing the 56th Rescue Squadron (56 RQS) who are a combat-ready search and rescue squadron of HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters. RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in 1991. It is the US Air Force's only European airfield for heavy bombers. In this book Darren Willmin looks back on the history of USAFE in Britain and how it's developed to the present day. Darren Willmin's superb photographs capture the operational aircraft both from the ground and in the air from inside and outside of the bases.

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This highly detailed, absorbing Cold War guide is the ideal companion for anyone wishing to explore the once divided capital of Berlin. Using his in-depth knowledge as a historian and battlefield/historical guide, David McCormack describes in vivid detail the tension and drama of the long standoff between the superpowers which shaped the landscape of both a defeated Germany and Europe for years to come. Meticulous historical research combines with the author's intimate knowledge of Berlin to produce a user friendly guide rich in historical detail. Prepare for a fascinating journey across the Cold War landscape of Berlin as it is today.

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Every major government's military makes plans for waging wars, hoping that they never have to be employed. In the early part of the last century the US government prepared a number of war contingency plans for invading a number of nations- both hostile and friendly. These color-coded plans were designed for various political and military events, some of which actually unfolded in the Second World War. Never Wars explores and provides details on a number of these key military invasion plans, their triggers, units involved, etc. Some of these plans, if executed, would have altered the globe or changed the events of the twentieth century and beyond. Included with this was the 1914 war plan against a triumphant Germany, a 1935 plan to attack Great Britain, the 1920s US plans to land forces in Mexico to topple their government, a plan for invading China and even a 1905 strike into the heart of Canada. From a plan to invade the Azores to an incursion into Cuba, Never Wars presents never before published plans for the US to strike out at the world.

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California's sawmill and railroad industries grew up together, each at least partially depending upon the other for survival. However, not all of the Golden State's sawmills lay upon the routes of mainline railroads, resulting in the development of a number of shortline railroads connecting remote sawmills with the nation's rail network. In addition to serving the lumber industry, these shortlines often became economic lifelines to other industries in rural parts of the state. Many of these railroads also carried passengers, either as part of their common carrier service in the early years and/or as tourists in recent decades. This book seeks to tell the stories of and relate the important historical roles these small carriers played, long lasting companies such as the Almanor, Amador Central, Arcata & Mad River, California Western, Camino Placerville & Lake Tahoe, McCloud River, Quincy, Sierra, and Yreka Western, along with younger start-ups such as the Eureka Southern, North Coast, Great Western, Modoc Northern, Lake County, Lake Railway, and others.

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Life for Francis Witts is more settled. Victoria has ascended the throne and Francis is now Chairman of the Board of Governors of Stow-on-the-Wold Union Workhouse, a position he takes seriously and maintains until his death. The diaries throw much light onto the setting up of the Unions and the harsh routine there. He does not disapprove of charity being shown to the inmates but is most unhappy at the suggestion that they be allowed to enjoy the Coronation celebrations.

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Francis Witts gained a curacy in Wiltshire in 1806 but did not get on with his Rector and was about to be ousted when an opportunity at Upper Slaughter arose after his Uncle Fernando's death. By 1809 Francis is married to Margaret Backhouse and settled there. Frances discontinued his writing from 1808 until 1820 but, fortunately, details come from his mother, Agnes. The volume ends sadly with the death of his brother, George, in 1823 and Agnes's own death in 1825.

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It was love at first sight. We drove up the long track, pulled into the yard, and wow! What a view. I did the drawings myself, the maximum we were told (in those days) about what one could get away with in terms of planning permission. A local architect did the formal drawings and submitted them for planning permission. I did not intend to do the work myself, it simply happened by circumstance. I put the groundwork out to tender to six contractors. Only one bothered to reply and the quotation was astronomic. The steelwork looked very complicated, but I went to the structural engineer’s office in Gloucester to chat about it. I asked: ‘It looks complicated, but could I do this myself?’ Peter Rowntree was very reassuring. ‘It looks complicated because you are looking at it in its entirety. Let me show you this corner here.’ And he then explained how the steels fitted together and how one wired them up. After a quarter of an hour, he summarised by saying ‘Yes, you could do it.’ And I did! Working only on Saturdays, and even then, not every Saturday, it took me seven years to complete it to a point where we could move into the extension. I was extremely sad to leave Hydefield and putting this book together has been cathartic. I was tremendously proud of what I managed to build and have wanted to produce this photo book to bring back the memories of every little achievement.

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RAF Coningsby played an integral part in the strategic bombing campaign of WWII. With the average age of aircrew being barely 21, the conflict demanded unimaginable dedication. The human experience of this colossal effort is told through the experiences of squadron and station personnel, those who survived and those who paid the ultimate price.

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From a skinny beach bum to a brawny headband-wearing blue-collar hero, through to an elder statesman of rock, Springsteen has been one of the most revered songwriters of his and succeeding generations for half a century. Throughout the decades, his anthemic tracks of personal and political strife have chronicled life in America, providing listeners with character-driven narratives that can be read as short stories of lives they live, lived, or have seen first-hand. After getting a recording contract with Columbia Records aged twenty-two, Springsteen wrote and recorded a string of critically acclaimed albums, including Born to Run, which brought him a wider audience, before becoming a superstar with the release of 1984's Born in the U.S.A. In the twenty-first century, Springsteen continues to release landmark albums such as The Rising and Wrecking Ball and, with the stalwart support of the E Street Band, still performs in sold-out stadiums worldwide, with concerts routinely lasting for over three hours. This volume explores Springsteen's discography in detail, examining his worldwide hits alongside his lesser-known but equally moving tracks.

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Long-ranged maritime reconnaissance aircraft were a part of British wartime strategy since the First World War, in the form of flying boats. During the Second World War, the flying boats were increasingly replaced by land-based aircraft, such as the American Lend-Lease Flying Fortresses and Liberators. After the war, these aircraft were replaced by a purpose-built aircraft, the Avro Shackleton, which traced its ancestry through the Lincoln and Lancaster all the way back to the early Second World War bomber, the Manchester. The road from the Manchester to the Shackleton was a long one, and it is described comprehensively. The Shackleton itself went through two major changes - from the MR.1 to the MR.2, then from the MR.2 to the MR.3. Along with a detailed technical description of the Shackleton and its weaponry, photographs and accurate colour profiles accompany the text, to illustrate the Shackleton. This aircraft is compared and contrasted with its post-war piston-engined counterparts. Its former use with the United Kingdom and South Africa is also described. The current survivors, especially an MR.2 (WR963) in the United Kingdom and an AEW.2 (WL790) in the United States, are described in great detail.

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John Cunningham became a well-known personality following his WW2 combat successes, and his demonstrations of the Comets and Tridents at the Farnborough Air Shows. He was a modest man who did not seek publicity, but was a highly skilled test pilot in Britain's pioneering jet age. He also sold Tridents to China.

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In this absorbing new history of the ‘Galicia’ Division, David McCormack debunks many of the myths that have resulted in enduring controversies amongst the public, the mainstream media, academics, and politicians. ‘The Galicia Division 1943-45 : Just Ordinary Soldiers?’ provides an objective appraisal of the Ukrainian volunteers and conscripts that have been described as both heroes and villains in equal measure. What were the circumstances that led thousands of Ukrainians to volunteer to fight in Hitler’s crusade against Bolshevism in 1943? Why did coercion replace incentivisation as a means of recruitment in 1944? Why was a decision made by the British authorities to ignore Stalin’s demands for the repatriation of the division in 1945? Did the long established German military doctrine of ‘absolute destruction’ provide the foundations for accusations of war crimes against the division? How can the recent fetishisation of the division by Ukrainian nationalists be explained?

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Leslie Wheeler was born in Devizes, Wiltshire in 1909, and in 1927 he enlisted in his local Territorial Army regiment, the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry. Leslie served throughout the Second World War in the Middle East, North Africa, and Italy as a senior non-commissioned officer and was then commissioned as quartermaster into the regiment that he clearly loved. His honest and revealing memoirs depict the final years of horsed cavalry in the British Army, the wartime transition to mobile but poorly equipped desert columns, and finally the transition to a tank regiment. The often-overlooked 1941 campaigns in Syria, Iraq, and Persia as well as El Alamein and the fight north through Italy are described by the author in a typically understated fashion. What makes this tale unique is the often amusing and sometimes cynical perspective of a senior and experienced soldier working tirelessly in the quartermaster’s department to keep his regiment supplied in peace and war.

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During the Nazi regime in Germany, all police forces were centralised under the command of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. The political police (Gestapo), the criminal police (Kripo), and the security service (SD) were all brought together under the RSHA umbrella in 1939, commanded by SS-General Reinhard Heydrich. Using RSHA in Berlin as the centre, the web of Heydrich’s control extended into every corner of Nazi-occupied Europe. British and American intelligence agencies tried to get to grips with RSHA departments at the end of the war, knowing who was who and what they did, relying on what captured RSHA personnel told them along with intercepted documentation. To provide Allied intelligence officers in the field with accurate knowledge, the Counter Intelligence War Room (CIWR) was established to provide this information and list further Gestapo, Kripo, SD, and Abwehr officials to be arrested and interrogated. The informative CIWR reports used here give a precise examination of the RSHA by department, some detailing how Nazi jealousies and rivalries were more helpful to the Allied war effort than the Nazi cause - a portrayal of how Nazi Intelligence agencies went wrong.

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‘Churchill’s Little Redhead’ is the autobiography of much-travelled author and television presenter, Celia Sandys, Winston Churchill’s granddaughter. In 1959 she accompanied her grandparents on the ‘Christina’, Aristotle Onassis’s superyacht, for a grand tour of the Mediterranean with another guest, the legendary diva, Maria Callas. During the extraordinary journey, sixteen-year-old Celia witnessed the burgeoning romance between Onassis and Callas, a love affair which resulted in two divorces within a year. Celia was born in war-ravaged London in 1943, the daughter of Duncan Sandys, her grandfather’s Minister of Supply in his war cabinet, and Diana Churchill. Celia recalls in much detail post-war rationing and the make-do atmosphere that prevailed at the time. In her spirited book she describes the ups and downs of her three marriages, from which she bore three sons and a daughter. The sad death of her divorced mother is touched upon with tenderness, and the death of her favourite aunt, Sarah, who had spent several years deteriorating into alcoholism following the sudden death of her beloved husband is narrated with much understanding and obvious love. Once her children had flown the nest, Celia developed a new career as an author and wrote three books on her grandfather. One of which, ‘Chasing Churchill’, led her to present it as a television series, in which she travelled the world re-tracing her grandfather’s footsteps: from his military escapades in Cuba, the Boer War, his vital wartime meetings with President Roosevelt and countless other visits to his ‘other country’ the United States. A thoroughly modern and independent woman of spirit, Celia’s eventful life makes for a fascinating read.

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Combat gliders were called by some as Death Crates, Purple Heart Boxes, Flying Coffins and Tow Targets . They were not pretty and had no graceful lines. Viewed from the front, they had a pug nose and a sloping Neanderthal forehead. Their wings looked like the heavily starched ears of a jackrabbit placed at right angles on a canvas-covered frame. Twice the length of the body, these wings were eighty-four feet in length, 70 per cent as long as the Wright Brothers first powered flight at Kitty Hawk. They could not become airborne, let alone fly, unless assisted by an engine-powered tow plane. And for those riding in the back, it was like flying through the gates of hell . The men who were trained and assigned to guide gliders into battle were said to be the only pilots who had no motors, armament, parachutes and no second chances. Like the aircraft they commanded, they were called inglorious names such as The Bastards Nobody Wanted, Glider Gladiators in Wooden Chariots; Hybrid Jackasses and Glory Boys. Beautifully written, profoundly illustrated and researched, Silent Invaders: Combat Gliders of the Second World War is a work that is dedicated to those brave men under impossible odds from the British and American servicemen on D-Day, the doomed Operation Market Garden in Holland and Hitler s radical commando raid to rescue Mussolini."

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This book from John Van der Kiste, the eminent historian of European royalty, is an account of Queen Victoria's personal and political relationships with the empires, or to be more exact, the Kings and Queens, Emperors, Empresses and their families of France, Germany, Austria and Russia. Victoria had close connections with the royal houses of Germany long before the King of Prussia became the German Emperor in 1871, and with the exiled former Emperor and Empress of the French and their son, the Prince Imperial, after the fall of the French Empire in 1870. Van der Kiste deftly weaves together the various strands of the relationships-including the close family marriage ties-to provide a fascinating picture of European royalty in the last two thirds of the nineteenth century.

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The Christmas Truce of 1914 remains a moment of enduring fascination more than a century after the day the First World War guns fell silent. Now for the first time hundreds of first person accounts of this most extraordinary period of history have been gathered together telling the story in their own words of the soldiers who met in peace in No Man's Land. The stories of men from English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh regiments who played and joked, sang and danced, swapped gifts and shared food and drink with the enemy before returning to war on the Western Front. 'Christmas Truce By The Men Who Took Part' is the largest collection ever drawn together of letters sent home by the officers and soldiers who laid down their guns and shook hands with their foes. The eye opening accounts of the unofficial armistice between German and British forces capture the trepidation and exhilaration, the curiosity, anger, joy and despair of that first Christmas on the unforgiving battlegrounds of the Great War.

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Every phase of the Third Reich's foreign policy was determined by its authoritarian leader, Adolf Hitler. Following his rise to power, his political acuity and utter lack of scruple enabled him to achieve numerous diplomatic successes against the well-intentioned but largely ineffectual Anglo-French democracies. First by duplicity, then by bluff and bluster, and finally by brinkmanship, Hitler succeeded in establishing a strengthened and united Greater Germany (Grossdeutschland) in preparation for a Second Great War. This book examines in depth the revanchist foreign policy of Hitler's Germany from 1933 to 1939: the withdrawal of Germany from the League of Nations, German rearmament, the introduction of compulsory military service and the enlargement of the German Armed Forces, the remilitarization of the Rhineland, the notorious Hossbach Conference, the Austrian 'Anschluss', the Munich Conference, the brazen seizures of Bohemia-Moravia and the Memel District, the Danzig crisis, the cynical brokering of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, and the German invasion of Western Poland.

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This is the story of the career of the author's mysterious great uncle Raymond de Candolle, who had apparently disappeared into the bowels of London, at the turn of the twentieth century. It begins when he joins a group of enterprising bankers, engineers and tycoons, fascinated by international railway opportunities. They build railroads in Mexico, Spain, China, Columbia, and eventually Raymond heads up Argentina's leading railway. Just as the First World War is about to break out, he is sent to solve a dispute with Germany's Baghdad Railway in Anatolia. He is recruited by the British War Cabinet in 1916 to help stop the German advance in Romania. As chaos erupts in Russia they send him to deal with the Trans-Siberian Railway, the rise of the Bolsheviks, and finally the capture of Mosul in 1918. He is active at the Paris Peace Conference in settling Romania's reparations and the take-over of the Baghdad railway. In 1921 it is back to Anatolia to deal with its dilapidated railway, and the eventual horrors of the Smyrna genocide. He shakes hands with a victorious Kemal Ataturk. Raymond's story concludes with his family, and their good friend Ian Fleming, listening to his conclusions about the future.

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When the future of his family's rope business in Liverpool was threatened at the end of the 1920s Eric Rigby-Jones had to leave his wife and young family behind to risk everything on establishing a new factory in the Irish Free State. He was still an officer in the Territorial Army when he leased a former British cavalry barracks in co. Kildare from the Irish government in 1933. It had lain derelict since the departure of British troops in 1922. Within four years his company, Irish Ropes, was supplying nearly all of Ireland's rope. When war came in 1939 Ireland remained staunchly neutral and faced both German invasion and a British trade embargo. With the government determined to make the country self-sufficient Eric had to resort to increasingly desperate measures to ensure that Irish farmers never ran out of twine to gather the harvest. Tintawn and Binder Twine is the untold story of the foundation and eventual demise of an iconic Irish business, known around the world for its Red Setter twine and Tintawn sisal carpets; of the pioneering Englishman who founded it and introduced new concepts in industrial relations to Ireland; of a family separated in peace and war; and of the regeneration of an Irish town. It is also the story of sisal, the vegetable fibre that became the mainstay of East Africa's colonial economy, and of the first fifty years of an independent Irish state. A member of Eric's wider family, Thomas Jones, was secretary to the British delegation that negotiated the Anglo-Irish treaty in 1921 and his son, Michael, was killed in the Staines air disaster in 1972 while travelling to Brussels with an Irish delegation for talks about the country's imminent membership of the European Union. Well-illustrated and drawing heavily on unpublished family letters, documents, and photographs as well as new research in British and Irish archives, the book reveals intriguing but little-known sides to Anglo-Irish relations during the Second World War. It has particular relevance in today's world of Brexit, borders, tariffs, and the bullying of small nations by large.

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Jack Sweet takes a personal look back to Yeovil during the six momentous years of the Second World War and during the time when he grew up. He tells of the air raids, how people rallied to civil defence, welcomed thousands of young evacuees in 1939 and again in 1944. How people dealt with the many trials of a population facing and enduring total war. Sitting for hours in uncomfortable air raid shelters hearing German bombers flying overhead and wondering whether the bombs would fall on Yeovil. How the townsfolk saved to buy, a destroyer and a Spitfire, and 'Saluted the Soldier'. Heard the roar of aircraft engines from the Westland Aircraft works and watched Lysanders, Whirlwinds and Spitfires flying overhead. Enjoyed the 'friendly invasion' of the US Army preparing for D-Day, saw them go off to battle and finally the joy of VE and VJ-Days. Total war meant that no-one in the town, young and old alike escaped unaffected.

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LIGHTNING STRIKES-THE LOCKHEED P-38 tells the full story of one of the most successful and versatile aircraft of the Second World War. The P-38 (including its F-4 and F-5 photo reconnaissance models) eventually served with all the USAAF's numbered overseas air forces, from early 1942 to VJ Day. The book describes the Lightning's design and its technical details as it gradually evolved and improved, from the original XP-38 to its final variant, the P-38L-5. The main focus is on its service in the combat theatres, from the frigid, windswept Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific to the steaming jungles of the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, the burning sands of North Africa and the more temperate climes of Europe. All the units that flew the Lightning are included, as are the experiences of many of their pilots and groundcrewmen as they fought the Japanese Empire and the European Axis. Also related are the P-38's service with foreign (non-U.S.) air forces, its postwar commercial utilization as civilian aircraft and the surviving examples in museums around the world. The book is extremely well illustrated by over 400 high-resolution photographs, art work and graphics, and is supplemented by detailed appendices.

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In this second and final volume, the whole of the East Coast Main Line between King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley stations is examined closely, with a particular emphasis on the ways and structures: the line, stations, connections, yards, and other physical features. Interposed are accounts of the traffic at the principal stations (including connecting and branch line services) with observations on changes over the period 1939 to 1959. Some emphasis is placed on freight traffic on account of its importance and, perhaps, its relative unfamiliarity to the reader. The lines, stations, and many other elements are described as they were in August 1939, but as some plans on which they are based are dated before the late 1930s, there may be marginal differences from the precise layout in 1939.

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Short Brothers was established in 1908, the first British aircraft manufacturer, with the company moving to Rochester during the early years of the First World War. At Rochester Shorts produced some of their most famous aircraft, beginning with a number of designs for the Royal Naval Air Service. During the inter-war years the company specialised in large flying boats, these undertaking pioneering flights while establishing a series of regular over water air routes operated by Imperial Airways. At Rochester the Company designed and manufactured the Stirling bomber and Sunderland flying boat. 'Shorts: the Rochester Years' not only looks at the development of those aircraft, but is a fascinating account of the early years of long-distance aviation and the airmen that used the River Medway at Rochester as a launch pad for flights of hitherto undreamed of distances.

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When introduced in 1914, the Military Cross filled a large void in medallic recognition for junior officers--the first men over-the-top when going into action. Here the author covers a diverse range of heroic Military Cross actions in exciting detail. Legendary characters like Albert Jacka feature within, as do the high-profile solider-poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. The bravery of many lesser-known but equally gallant recipients are also explored. From dogfights in the air, to hand-to-hand scraps in tunnels below the battlefields and everything in between, 'For Conspicuous Gallantry' tells many stories of individual bravery and heroism that resulted in the award of the Military Cross.

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Following World War I, horse cavalry entered a period during which it fought for its very existence against mechanized vehicles. On the Western Front, the stalemate of trench warfare became the defining image of the war throughout the world. While horse cavalry remained idle in France, the invention of the tank and its potential for success led many non-cavalry officers to accept the notion that the era of horse cavalry had passed. During the interwar period, a struggle raged within the U.S. Cavalry regarding its future role, equipment, and organization. Some cavalry officers argued that mechanized vehicles supplanted horses as the primary means of combat mobility within the cavalry, while others believed that the horse continued to occupy that role. The response of prominent cavalry officers to this struggle influenced the form and function of the U.S. Cavalry during World War II.

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Flying the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom was a young man's dream but the path from "Civvy Street" to operational on a fighter squadron was long, arduous and beset with obstacles. To succeed meant the chance to fly one of the most iconic combat aircraft that ever took to the air but not every fledgling aviator who began the journey fulfilled their ambition to wear the coveted "Op. badge". "Per Ardua--Training an RAF Phantom Crew" describes how Cold War aircrew assimilated the skills needed to fly and fight the complex fighter jet. It follows the progress through every stage and explains why it cost millions to train each pilot and navigator. Philip Keeble and David Gledhill, both former Phantom aircrew, recount the challenges and the emotions encountered during the rigorous training process in a frank yet light hearted way that will leave you wondering how anyone achieved the goal.

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When most people think of the Italian Army in North Africa during the Second World War, they tend to believe that the average Italian soldier offered little resistance to the Allies before surrendering. Many believe the Italian Army, as a whole, performed in a cowardly manner in North Africa. The reality is not so simple. The question remains as to whether the Italians were really cowards or actually victims of circumstance. While the Italian soldier's commitment to the war was not as great as that of the German soldier, many Italians fought bravely. The Italian Littorio and Ariete Divisions earned Allied admiration at Tobruk, Gazala, and EI Alamein. The Italian Army played a significant role as part of the German Afrika Korps and made up a large portion of the Axis combat power in North Africa during 1941 and 1942. In the interest of determining how the Italian Army earned the reputation that it did, it is necessary to analyze why and how the Italians fought.

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After their initial inception as a schoolboy band named The Scorpions in 1962, and following a number of band name and personnel changes, Status Quo eventually hit the charts in 1968 with the massive hit single `Pictures of Matchstick Men’. However, it wasn’t until they ditched their psychedelic duds and took on the denim, accompanied by a radical gear-shift from teenage-friendly pop to out-and-out electric boogie that they came into their own, defining the rock music genre for many throughout the 1970s. A raft of hugely successful albums followed that are still held in awe by an army of loyal fans; the release of `Piledriver’ in 1972 heralded a purple patch in which twelve consecutive long-players charted in the UK top 10. The classic `Frantic Four’ lineup of Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster and Coghlan started to disintegrate in 1981 and eventually imploded after Live Aid in 1985. Although Quo have gone on to post over sixty UK chart hits in no less than six separate decades, this publication focuses on those days of glory, song by song from their earliest recordings until the demise of the classic line-up.

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The Italian airship designer and pilot Umberto Nobile had flown to the North Pole and beyond in 1926. He resolved to go back to the Arctic with a new airship in 1928. There were areas of the Arctic that had not been explored and it was believed that new lands might be there to be discovered. The expedition had geographical and scientific aims, but the political environment was also an important motivator. Mussolini and his Fascist party had come to power in 1922 and a successful expedition to the Arctic would be good propaganda. Instead, however, the 'Italia' was to disappear on its return from Greenland, on 25 May 1928. By the time the expedition was over, eight of the crew and nine attempted rescuers were dead and scores more had been put in harm's way. This is the story of the search for Nobile, the 'Italia', and his crew, and the many men from many countries who searched for them.

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In the days when coal was king, an ambitious plan was laid for an east-to-west cross country rail route, connecting the Manchester Ship Canal at Warrington to a new dock near the small east coast village of Sutton-on-Sea. Grandly titled The Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway, history was to show that this line would reach neither Warrington nor Sutton-on-Sea with only the Chesterfield to Pyewipe Junction section and a branch to Sheffield ever being completed. Taken over by the G.C.R. in 1907, the route was primarily a coal-carrying railway, although it did have a passenger service that lasted until 1955. Discover the former LD&ECR, the self-styled 'Dukeries Route' and its branches, through the lenses of photographers from over 100 years. From the main line between Chesterfield and Lincoln, the Beighton Branch, the Sheffield District Railway and the Mansfield Railway, to the motive power depots at Chesterfield, Tuxford and Langwith Junction. This is a photographic journey bringing you the story of the railway from the early days to its final days, including the last coal train to use the route.

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'Many people say that Nick Ardley is a bit of an eccentric, or an anachronism from a simpler age, for the way he sails his clinker sloop around the Thames estuary, wending among the tide-riddled marshes to drop anchor where the fancy takes him, his trusty mate at his side. In this volume, he has a clear unabashed plan: a reflective journey between the Pools of Rochester and London, a path once of commerce, but now pleasure. Rochester was once of immense importance to Britain's past trading richness, but, even if the belching chimneys pouring acrid fumes and cement dust have evaporated, and oil refineries have slipped away; the wharves lining the banks remain alive. As a distraction, he wanders a little above Rochester and then again, a little above the Pool of London towards Richmond. Between, he lands amongst the marsh and mud, finding graves, the ribs of old sailors and farmsteads enveloped in purslane and lavender. Many towns sailed past were part of this heritage, supplying building materials, food and fodder carried by the tan sailed barge to London. Nick Ardley dips and dabbles into these communities and explores how they have metamorphosed.

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'Cuba Cars and Cigars' is full of glorious colour images of the rare and varied Cuban-owned 1950s American and European automobiles, trucks, and station wagons that were imported before 1961. Among the famous Marques that feature are Cadillacs, Chevies, Buick, Dodge, Oldsmobile, Ford, Packard, De Soto, Pontiac, Plymouth, Edsel, Mercury and Metropolitan, Hillman, Singer and Austin, Nash Sedans, a Lloyd 600 German 2-cylinder/4-stroke 596cc car, Ramblers and SAABs, Mercs, Humber, Standard Vanguard, Ford Consul/Zephyr, Hillman Husky and Minx, Singer Gazelle and Austin. Most of these vehicles are still in running order, and are passed down from generation to generation. Trucks include Fords, a Fargo, Dodges and Chevys, not forgetting cigars, street urchins, and the lovely ladies of Havana. All of these are uniquely photographed, written and compiled by 'our man in Havana'.

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This highly detailed, absorbing battlefield guide is the ideal companion for anyone considering exploring the terrain on which the epic battles along the Oderfront were fought between January and April 1945. Using his in-depth knowledge as a historian and battlefield guide, David McCormack vividly describes these last tumultuous weeks of the war on the Eastern Front, which saw the Red Army advance on Berlin in the face of a dogged, yet skilful German defence. Meticulous historical research, including searing eyewitness accounts and the author's intimate knowledge of the ground, have produced a guide that is both comprehensive and accessible. Prepare for a fascinating journey across the Oderfront battlefield as it is today. The Berlin Strategic Operation 1945 Battlefield Guide: Part One - The Battle of the Oder-Neisse is an essential guide to understanding the triumph of the Red Army and the final shattering defeat of the German land forces defending the approaches to Berlin.

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ELO (The Electric Light Orchestra) were devised by Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne of The Move as a fusion of rock and contemporary classical-style music, combining orchestral instruments, guitars, keyboards and drums in the same line-up. Their aim was to continue from where The Beatles' 'I Am The Walrus' left off. After the release of their debut eponymous album in 1971 and a few live dates at home and in Europe, it became increasingly apparent that both leaders' objectives were incompatible. Wood left Lynne in charge of the group to refine their sound, and their ambitious progressive rock epics gradually giving way to a more accessible style. With keyboard player Richard Tandy and drummer Bev Bevan the only other constant members in an ever-changing line-up, by the end of the decade the group were rarely out of the British and American charts. After disbanding in 1986, ELO Part II (minus Lynne) returned for two albums, but Lynne reclaimed the name with an album in 2001 and a long-awaited reappearance as Jeff Lynne's ELO in 2014. This book provides a comprehensive examination of all the group's studio albums.

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Digital photography equipment and software now give enthusiasts the ability to create images of exceptional quality. For those who want to develop their skills and improve their results, this book will show you how to get the best from your digital camera. It will help you create a collection or portfolio to be proud of, and show you how to achieve outstanding results without a huge investment in equipment. This book is a 'how to' guide for railway photographers. Intended for those comfortable with their digital camera, it will show you new techniques to try and the true capabilities of your camera. Using clear examples, you'll learn how to get the best image quality from prevailing conditions, and maximise the impact and creativity of your images. Once back at home in the 'digital darkroom', the book will offer tips and advice on how to use common imaging software. It will show you how to enhance an image, so you can bring out the best results in a creative manner without losing the inspiration or atmosphere of the original shot.

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This book is a companion volume to the authors Women in Ancient Rome, first published in 2013. It provides a much-needed analysis of how women behaved in Greek society, how they were regarded and the various restrictions imposed on their freedoms, movements and actions. Naturally, given that ancient Greece in most of its manifestations was very much a man's world, the majority of books on ancient Greek society even now tend to focus almost exclusively on men; this book redresses the balance by shining the spotlight on that other somewhat neglected or dismissed half: women had a significant role to play in many aspects of Greek society and culture and this book illuminates those roles. Women in Ancient Greece asks the controversial question: how far is the commonly accepted assumption that women were secluded and excluded just an illusion ?It answers the question by extending from the treatment of women in Greek myth, and the role of women in Homer and Hesiod through the playwrights, poets and philosophers to the comparatively liberated and powerful women in Sparta and Macedon until the end of the Hellenistic era; it covers women's lives in ancient Athens, Sparta and in other city states; it examines the role of women in Crete. It describes eminent women writers, philosophers, artists and scientists; it explores love, marriage and adultery, the virtuous and the meretricious, and the key roles women played in Greek death and religion. Crucially, the book is people- based, drawing much of its evidence and many of its conclusions from the lives lived by actual historical Greek women. In short, Women in Ancient Greece provides evidence for the important active role women played in ancient Greece, highlighting the contribution they made to one of the world's most influential and enlightened civilisations.Amongst many other ground-breaking things, the ancient Greeks developed a form of democracy; however, at the same time, to a large extent, they felt it necessary to keep their women secluded, and excluded from public business. This book acknowledges this seclusion and exclusion as inarguable fact, but contends that it is all very much a question of degree: the presumption through centuries of scholarship has been that women were locked in and at the same time locked out; Women in Ancient Greece goes further to question just how illusory this generalisation actually was.

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The book takes an in-depth look at the East Coast Main Line-King's Cross to Edinburgh-between 1939 and 1959. This is carried out in a series of chapters. In the first one a picture is painted of the state of the network in the late 1930s. It is followed by an account of the historical context of the changes on the ECML over the subject years. This includes wartime 1939-1945 and the fortunes of British Railways in the post-war period until the end of the 1950s; then follows an account of passenger services on the ECML in the summer of 1939 and in the war and changes thereafter. Towards the end of the book there are smaller chapters of specific interest. Amongst these are military and other government installations served by the ECML during WWII; specific wartime locomotive workings; the impact of war on the ECML at various locations along the line; accidents on the ECML September-December 1959 and snow and floods on the ECML in the 1940s and 1950s. The period covered is a crucial one in the history of the line and it is presented in an erudite yet readable manner.

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James VI & I, the namesake of the King James Version of the Bible, had a series of notorious male favourites. No one denies that these relationships were amorous, but were they sexual? Michael B. Young merges political history with recent scholarship in the history of sexuality to answer that question. More broadly, he shows that James's favourites had a negative impact within the royal family, at court, in Parliament, and in the nation at large. Contemporaries raised the spectre of a sodomitical court and an effeminized nation; some urged James to engage in a more virile foreign policy by embarking on war. Queen Anne encouraged a martial spirit and moulded her oldest son to be more manly than his father. Repercussions continued after James's death, detracting from the majesty of the monarchy and contributing to the outbreak of the Civil War. Persons acquainted with the history of sexuality will find surprising premonitions here of modern homosexuality and homophobia. General readers will find a world of political intrigue coloured by sodomy, pederasty, and gender instability. For readers new to the subject, the book begins with a helpful overview of King James's life.

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Pathan Rising tells the story of the large-scale tribal unrest that erupted along the North West Frontier of India in the late 1890s; a short but sharp period of violence that was initiated by the Pathan tribesmen against the British. Although the exact causes of the unrest remain unclear, it was likely the result of tribal resentment towards the establishment of the Durand Line and British 'forward policy', during the last echoes of the 'Great Game', that led the proud tribesmen to take up arms on an unprecedented scale. This resentment was brought to boiling point by a number of fanatical religious leaders, such as the Mad Fakir and the Hadda Mullah, who visited the various Pathan tribes calling for jihad. By the time the risings ended, eleven Victoria Crosses would be awarded to British troops, which hints at the ferocity and level of bitterness of the fighting. Indeed, although not eligible for the VC in 1897, many Indian soldiers would also receive high-level decorations in recognition of their bravery. It would be one of the greatest challenges to British authority in Asia during the Victorian era.

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The massacre and destruction of Civitella on 29 June, 1944 by the 1st Fallschirm Panzer Division 'Herman Goring' as reprisal for the shooting of three German soldiers in the village Dopolavoro-after work social club, left women widows and children fatherless. The book describes the journey of Captain John Percival Morgan and Father Clement O'Shea with the Eighth Army in Italy, to that hilltop village in Tuscany. Even though they had seen much death and destruction during their service in North Africa and Italy, they were moved by the plight of this small community. The two British officers adopted the village, and over a five-month period, regularly brought life-saving supplies and comfort to the women and children. The village organised a farewell Christmas party that survivors still remember today, treasuring gifts they received from their 'Santa in a truck'. Thanks to Keith Morgan, Captain Morgan's son, discovering Civitella in 1997, while retracing his father's wartime journey, this part of Civitella's history would have gone unrecorded and forgotten. In 2001, the village commemorated the work of this father and friends in the naming of a street Costa Capitano John Percival Morgan. A son found his father; a town its hero.

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