Search results for ""Pen Sword Books Ltd""
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Sailor Malan Freedom Fighter
This biography of a remarkable airman and politician is written with the support of the Malan family. The author has been allowed access to family records, facilitating a much more personal biography than those previously.
£17.09
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Catastrophe at Spithead
A riveting account of one of the most sensational disasters in the age of sail.
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Today's London Overground: A Pictorial Overview
200 colour illustrations and a system map
£27.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Colourful Fun Embroidery: Featuring 24 modern projects to bring joy and happiness to your life!
Take time out to be creative and de-stress with these colourful, fun embroidery projects from Hello! Hooray! Ranging from things you could complete in an afternoon to others that you can take your time over, enjoy every step of the making process as you focus on feeling good through being creative. The finished makes will bring colour and joy to your home, workspace and wardrobe. The projects in this book allow you to craft your creative time by selecting makes according to timescale. Choose one of the crafternoon makes' if you want that sense of joy at finishing something, a medium makes' project for the days where you have a little more time for crafting, or for something to really take your time over you could stitch one of the longer pick me up' projects. Each project includes step-by-step instructions, beautiful photos and inspirational ideas for how to make each project your own. So take time to be creative with this colourful, feel-good craft book!
£14.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Lost Queen: The Life & Tragedy of the Prince Regent's Daughter
As the only child of the Prince Regent and Caroline of Brunswick, Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796-1817) was the heiress presumptive to the throne. Her parents' marriage had already broken up by the time she was born. She had a difficult childhood and a turbulent adolescence, but she was popular with the public, who looked to her to restore the good name of the monarchy. When she broke off her engagement to a Dutch prince, her father put her under virtual imprisonment and she endured a period of profound unhappiness. But she held out for the freedom to choose her husband, and when she married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg she finally achieved contentment. Her happiness was cruelly cut short when she died in childbirth at the age of twenty-one only eighteen months later. A shocked nation went into mourning for its people's princess', the queen who never was.
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Images of The National Archives: Suffragettes
1918 was a watershed moment for the development of British democracy: for the first time, some women could vote. The occasion marked the culmination of a fifty-year long and arduous struggle of thousands of women and men up and down the country. Using unique documents and images held at The National Archives, we will delve into the world of suffrage and trace the journey of these thousands of individuals, fighting to achieve women's rights in a man's world, and how they were ultimately able to emerge largely victorious.
£13.49
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The East Kent Railway: The Line That Ran to Nowhere
The East Kent Railway was one of Britain's less well known light railways, a part of the Colonel Stephens group of lines, the East Kent Railway was meant to open up the newly discovered Kent coal field and help to make its shareholders wealthy, however things took a different turn, when the projected colliery's along the line did not materialise the way the promoters had first envisaged. The only colliery to produce quantities of coal being Tilmanstone near Shepherdswell, which opened in 1912. There were other pits started along the formation of the line from Shepherdswell to Wingham, but in the cases of the other pits, only the surface buildings or test shafts were constructed, before the work was abandoned. This was largely due to flooding and the poor calorific quality of East Kent coal, which had to be mixed with other coal to be effectively used. There were four colliery's completed in Kent, the East Kent Railway only served one of them and this together with the other three lasted until the latter part of the 20th century. The railway operated a loss making passenger service to Wingham and for a few years to Sandwich Road halt on the line to Richborough Port line, however the service to Wingham Canterbury Road came to an end in October 1948, after British Railways had taken control. The East Kent Railway lasted through two world wars and was nationalised in 1948, becoming part of the Southern Region of British Railways, it closed to traffic in 1984, during the coal strike.
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Luxury Railway Travel: A Social and Business History
British luxury rail travel was not just the domain of the Pullman Company. In fact, they were far from the only providers as railway companies in Britain were extremely active from late Victorian times competing for leisure business. Various railway operators were at the forefront of deluxe rail travel services across pre-grouping, Big Four and BR eras when first-class travel was increasingly adapted for the needs of the business community. Recently Britain's railway heritage has been responsible for kick-starting a modern tourist spectacle as specialist operators run luxury day excursion, sleeping-car and fine-dining trains. Martyn Pring has carried out considerable research tracing the evolution of British luxury train travel weaving railway, social and travel history threads around a number of Britain's mainline routes traditionally associated with glamorous trains. Drawing on contemporary coverage, he chronicles the luxury products and services shaped by railway companies and hospitality businesses for Britain's burgeoning upper and middle-classes and wealthy overseas visitors, particularly Americans, who demanded more civilised and comfortable rail travel. By Edwardian times, a pleasure-palace industry emerged as entrepreneurs, hotel proprietors, local authorities and railway companies all collaborated developing upscale destinations, building civic amenities, creating sightseeing and leisure pursuits and in place-making initiatives to attract prosperous patrons. Luxury named trains delivered sophisticated and fashionable settings encouraging a golden age of civilised business and leisure travel. Harkening back to the inter-war years, modern luxury train operators now redefine and capture the allure and excitement of dining and train travel experiences.
£31.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Children in the Second World War
Extensive use of previously unpublished primary sources
£14.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The London LS: The Leyland National Bus in London Service
Dissatisfied with the reliability of its AEC Merlin and Swift single-deck buses, London Transport in 1973 purchased six Leyland Nationals for evaluation. Liking what it saw of this ultimate standard product, where even the paint swatch was of Leyland s choice, LT took up an option to buy fifty more from a cancelled export order and then bought further batches of 110, 30 and 140 to bring the LS class to 437 members by the middle of 1980\. A year later the last MBAs and SMSs were replaced on Red Arrow services by sixty-nine new Leyland National 2s. Straightforward but reliable, the LS satisfied London Transport s single-deck needs for a decade and a half, often standing in for double-deckers when needed, and then going on to help hold the fort during the tough years of early tendering, during which some innovative LS operations introduced several new liveries and identities. The type served the ten years expected out of it with few worries, only starting to disappear when minibuses came on strength at the end of the 1980s. Although the LS was formally retired by 1992, refurbishment programmes gave survivors an extended lease of life, bringing us the National Greenway, the ultimate development of the Leyland National. Most of the Red Arrow National 2s thus became GLSs, and lasted until 2002. Matthew Wharmby is an author, photographer and editor specialising in London bus history. His published books include London Transport s Last Buses: Leyland Olympians L 1-263, Routemaster Requiem and Routemaster Retrospective (with Geoff Rixon), London Transport 1970-1984 (with R. C. Riley), The London Titan and The London Metrobus. He has also written many articles for Buses, Bus & Coach Preservation, Classic Bus and London Bus Magazine.
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd London Enviro 400
Developed by Alexander Dennis in 2005 as an all-encompassing replacement for the Dennis Trident and its two bodies, the Plaxton President and Alexander ALX400, the integral Enviro400, immediately sold in large numbers, not least to London operators, which in the next eight years bought over 1,500 of them. Late in the production run, the hybrid E40H was introduced and also made good headway in London, funded largely by environmental grants. Nearly 300 of these are in service in London. Valid to May 2015, this book finishes by introducing the MMC, the all-new development of the Enviro400 unveiled in 2014 and exemplified in London so far by two batches for Abellio and Metroline.
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Tunbridge Wells in the Great War
Using original material and letters from the First World War, this captivating and eye-opening account uncovers the unnerving realities of the First World War and the impact it had on the town of Tunbridge Wells. It looks at world events, which ultimately determined the outbreak of the war, and how these same events affected the small town in Kent and the people who made up the community. From an early stage the hostilities of the war became very real for the people of Tunbridge Wells. Because of its geographical location, close proximity to major ports and rail links, the town became the headquarters of the nations Territorial Army, which brought with it 5,000 troops from all over the country. Out of nearly 3,000 people from Tunbridge Wells who enlisted in the military between 1914-1918, a staggering 801 did not return, and out of those who did, many suffered terrible wounds and injuries, both physically and mentally. Many moving stories are illustrated throughout, such as that of Private William Starks Vidler of the Royal Marines Light Infantry who became the town's first casualty of the war when his ship, HMS Amphion struck a mine and sunk.Ironically, eighteen others who died in the disaster were German sailors who had been rescued by the Amphion when their ship was sunk by the British Royal Navy. The book looks at letters sent from husbands and sons, who had seen action in the war, and how they were received by families on the Home Front, who were anxiously waiting for new of their loved ones. It documents the triumphs and tragedies of Tunbridge Wells' people as they sought to find normality amongst a reality far removed from anything they had ever known before.
£11.69
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Cambridge in the Great War
Cambridge is one of the most famous universities in the world and its library is one of only five copyright libraries in the UK. At the start of the twentieth century it was a privileged life for some, but many in Cambridge knew that war was becoming truly inevitable. What the proverbial 'gown' feared communicated itself to the surrounding 'town'. Terrible rumours were rife, that the Germans would burn the university library and raise King's College chapel to the ground, before firing shells along the tranquil 'Backs' of the River Cam until the weeping willows were just blackened stumps. Frightened but determined, age-old 'town and gown' rivalries were put aside as the city united against the common enemy. This book tells Cambridge's fascinating story in the grim years of the Great War. Thousands of university students, graduates and lecturers alike enlisted, along with the patriotic townsfolk. The First Eastern General Military Hospital was subsequently established in Trinity College and treated more than 80,000 casualties from the Western Front.Though the university had been the longtime hub of life and employment in the town, many people suffered great losses and were parted from loved ones, decimating traditional breadwinners and livelihoods, from the rationing of food, drink and fuel, to hundreds of restrictions imposed by DORA. As a result, feelings ran high and eventually led to riots beneath the raiding zeppelins and ever-present threat of death. The poet, Rupert Brooke, a graduate of King's College, died on his way to the Dardanelles in 1915, but his most famous poem The Soldier became a preemptive memorial and the epitaph of millions. If I should die Think only this of me That there's some corner of a foreign field That is forever England.
£9.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Roman Military Disasters
There is a tendency when dealing with world superpowers to focus on their successes. After all, these are what made them superpowers in the first place. However, reverses and disasters suffered on the way to preeminence are equally significant. The experience of ancient Rome is no different. This book is the first to examine the paradoxical role lost battles and defeat played in the success of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Over some 1200 years, the Romans proved adept at learning from military disaster and this was key to their eventual success and hegemony. Roman Military Disasters covers the most pivotal and decisive defeats, from the Celtic invasion of 390 BC to Alaric's sack of Rome in AD 410. Paul Chrystal details the politics and strategies leading to each conflict, how and why the Romans were defeated, the tactics employed, the generals and the casualties. However, the unique and crucial element of the book is its focus on the aftermath and consequences of defeat and how the lessons learnt enabled the Romans, usually, to bounce back and win.
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Buses in the Border Towns of London Country 19692019 South of the Thames
London Transport was created in 1933 with monopoly powers. Not only did it have exclusive rights to run bus (and tram and trolleybus) services in the Greater London area, it also ran services in a Country Area all around London. Green Line express services linked the country towns to London and in most cases across to other country towns the other side of the metropolis. This country area extended north as far as Hitchin, east to Brentwood, south to Crawley and west to Windsor.But what of the towns at the edge of the country area? Here the green London Transport buses would meet the bus companies whose operations extended across the rest of the counties of Berkshire, Surrey, Kent etc. In some cases the town was at a node where more than one company worked in. Elsewhere, such as at Guildford there were local independent operators who had a share in the town services.It would all change from 1970 when the London Transport Country Area was transferred to the National Bus Company to form a
£31.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Model Building and Super Detailing
This book in the railway modelling series drills deeper into the tips and techniques that can be utilised by the modern modeller to produce a detailed and cohesive model railway. Through rich and varied imagery from the Market Deeping club, British and international examples, a number of different styles of scenery are covered. Subject chapters include locations from open country to heavy industry. Background and foreground tricks to draw the eye, that difficult to emulate water feature, and composing your scenes as independent units for later inclusion. Use is made of construction examples as varied as a tube station in OO to a farm in N. The basics of plastic stock kit building, adapting a model with a detailing kit, as well as scratch build from spare parts are demonstrated. Whilst 3D printing feels an impossible dream for many, practical ownership and operation of both thermal extrusion and resin based 3D printers is covered. With demonstration examples from the very basic, such as
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Great Scandals of the Victorians
Great Scandals of the Victorians features a collection of true stories that shocked, outraged, angered or simply amused the Victorians in nineteenth-century Britain. Drawing on a wide variety of original material, seven disreputable stories that dominated the national newspapers for many weeks are explored, including the Great Warwickshire Scandal, a highly publicized divorce case where for the first time in history a Prince of Wales was called to give evidence in court; a baby' scandal that disrupted Queen Victoria's court and threatened the monarchy; the sex scandals of the Abode of Love, a mysterious religious cult founded by a defrocked clergyman, Henry James Prince and the sensational trial of Fanny and Stella, two outrageous cross-dressers accused of sodomy. Some scandals, though traumatic for the people involved, produced a positive outcome, such as the scandalous custody battle between Caroline Norton and her husband, which led to the passing of the Custody of Infants Act, gr
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The School of Fencing
Domenico Angelo's book, complete with diagrams, embodies the ideas of an era. Philip Stafford in The Times Literary SupplementThis is a fascinating read and surprisingly up to date. Every fencer will learn from it . . . Very highly recommended. The SwordIf there is one book on smallsword technique that a person should have in their collection, Angelos treatise is certainly that book. JL Forgeng in Man At Arms magazineDomenico Angelos The School of Fencing was first published in 1763 as LEcole des armes and was one of the most popular and influential treatises of its time. Today, it remains essential reading for any historical swordfighter, student of martial arts, or military historians, giving the reader access to one of the great masters of the art. This modern edition is annotated by Maestro Jeannette Acosta-Martinez, who is currently the foremost expert in the French small sword. Her additions to this edition help clarify Angelos text for the modern reader. This edition also incl
£14.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Witches and Witch Hunts Through the Ages
Witchcraft! Just the mention of the name is enough to cause fear, even terror, in the minds and hearts of many people. But that is not the full story. Yes, there have always been proponents of the ''dark arts,'' witches and warlocks willing to use their powers for evil, but the wise men and women of the ancient and medieval world - men and women eager to use their spells and potions for good - have often been overlooked.This book looks at witchcraft from the early days, tracing its development as a pseudo-religious cult, the good and the bad, from the wild plains of Babylon to the present day. It highlights witch scares and individuals, particularly the witch hunts of the medieval period when 100,000 women were accused of witchcraft and nearly 80,000 executed. It examines the concept of witch hunting, detailing the activities of men like Matthew Hopkins, the famous Witchfinder General.The book does not just focus on medieval and ancient witches, it takes in modern witch hunting - with
£19.80
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Victorian and Edwardian Locomotive Portraits The South of England
The Victorian and Edwardian periods saw the development of the steam locomotive in Britain from a comparatively simple machine to a powerful main line express capable of speeds of a hundred miles an hour. The book starts with an introduction dealing with the main line of development and that is followed by a picture section with over 190 photographs. Each illustration has an extended caption giving details of the engine and its history. The material is arranged geographically, starting with the railways of southern England and ending with Irish railways. The Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man are also included, and there is a section on English light railway. The photographs are all of the locomotives in their working days, many showing them in action on both passenger and goods trains. This splendid collection shows the rich diversity of Britain's railways and how different companies and their engineers produced engines of great individuality. This is a book that w
£33.26
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The World War One Diary and Art of Doughboy Cpl Harold W Pierce
April 1917. Eighteen-year-old Harold W. Pierce leaves school to join the U.S. Army, specifically the National Guard infantry company from heavily forested Warren County in northwestern Pennsylvania. He's big for his age and he's determined to serve his country. Thirteen months later, having trained at the steaming hot tent city of Camp Hancock in Georgia, Pierce and the rest of the 28th Division's 112th Infantry Regiment is on its way to England and then to France. He's one of the First Battalion's scouts so he'll see the war from a different perspective than the rest of the infantrymen, which includes his older brother Hugh. What Pierce sees, hears and feels will fill the small diary he keeps in his pocket. His descriptions become a diary of 79,000 words. His descriptions, his insights, his fears and his hopes bring the war to life as a young man experiences it. This young man, though, has a keen ability to express and describe that goes beyond his years: The abject terror of being
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Battle of Britain Attack of the Eagles
In this unprecedented series exploring the big story of the Battle of Britain, renowned historian Dilip Sarkar investigates the wider context and intimate details of the epic aerial conflict in the summer of 1940 from all sides. In so doing, he gives due acknowledgement to the roles of Bomber and Coastal Commands in addition to the fabled Few of Fighter Command.This unique narrative draws upon a lifetime of research, the author having enjoyed a long relationship with survivors and the relatives of casualties; his innumerable interviews and first-hand accounts collated, in addition to privileged access to personal papers, providing essential human interest to this inspirational story.In this the third volume, Battle of Britain: Attack of the Eagles, Dilip continues to examine the fighting on a day-by-day, combat-by-combat basis between 13 and 18 August 1940. This period began on Eagle Day' and the start of the Luftwaffe's Eagle Attack' on Fighter Command.This period of intense fighting
£31.91
Pen & Sword Books Ltd DDay to VE Day
On the evening of Monday, 5th June 1944, the people of Britain went to bed with a sense of great events impending. They knew that any day now would come news of the battle that would forever alter the course of their lives, and the lives of their children and their grandchildren. The following day's morning newspapers and early radio news bulletins were full of the fall of Rome to the Allies, which had been announced the day before. But then, at 9.33 am on that Tuesday, came the brief announcement: Allied naval forces, supported by strong air forces, had begun landing Allied armies on the coast of France.' D-Day had finally dawned. _D-Day to VE Day_ tells the story of the last year of the Second World War in Europe, from the Normandy landings and on through the hard slog to that long-awaited day 8th May 1945 when Britain broke out the bunting, rolled out the barrel, and celebrated victory over Hitler. The air-raid sirens were silenced, the lights could be switched on again, and t
£20.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd A German Soldier on the Eastern Front
Following the German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, the German-Soviet non-aggression pact was officially broken.After initial successes, it quickly became clear that the enemy could not be defeated that easily, as the unknown terrain and extreme weather conditions continued to exacerbate the problems.Lieutenant Hohberg, who had previously fought in the French campaign, had been sent to the East after receiving his promotion. Having led his battery several times, he was now waiting in vain for tank support. However, the lack of supplies, not to mention the fire raids and air raids, made any further advance impossible, and with the Russian winter approaching, he knew that they would have to reach the Donets as soon as possible
£19.80
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The English Convict Hulks 1600s 1868
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Britain had eased its problem of crowded jails and surplus criminals by packing them into ships and sending them off to the American colonies to be sold as what amounted to slave labour. All this came to an end with the revolution of 1775 and the legal system was stuck with an ever-increasing army of desperate felons. As there was no national prison system, these felons were crammed on to derelict sailing ships, the hulks, and put to hard labour in appalling conditions, mainly along the rivers Thames and Medway. Their story has been largely ignored by generations of historians and here, for the first time, detailed accounts of their plight, along with the lives and careers of the quite extraordinary men who ruled over them, is examined. Duncan Campbell, for instance, was the ship's captain and plantation owner who first organised the hulk system, and Aaron Graham the magistrate who spied upon, and then defended, the leader of the Nore muti
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The British Army of George II 17271760
Gabriele Esposito provides a detailed overview of the history, organization and uniforms of the British military forces during the long reign of George II (1727-1760). Perhaps best known for the Jacobite Rebellion, this period saw the British military forces greatly expanded and involved in two major international conflicts: the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. The latter was truly a global war, subsuming the French and Indian wars fought in the Americas, as well as conflicts in India and elsewhere. By 1760, despite achieving little in Europe, Great Britain had been able to expel the French from both Canada and India. After a brief overview of the British forces prior to the period, the author examines each component. He covers not only the regular cavalry and infantry (the Guards, line, Highland and light regiments) but also the artillery and Royal Engineers, Corps of Invalids, the Fencibles, naval infantry, the auxiliary corps created to face the Jacobite Ri
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Women of the Jacobite Rebellions
The flight of King James II in November 1688 was a seminal moment in British history. The deposed Catholic King set up house and home in Paris, William and Mary succeeded to the throne of England and over fifty years of trouble, strife, war and execution began to consume England, Scotland and Ireland. The Jacobites - supporters of the dethroned Stuart dynasty - were adamant that James and his heirs should sit once more on the English throne. Invasion followed invasion, battle came after battle, culminating with the defeat of Charles Edward Stuart at Culloden in 1745. The story of those battles and invasions has often been told. However, they have invariably focussed on the male participants, from Scottish clansmen to men like Rob Roy and Bonnie Dundee, from the Old to the Young Pretender Bonnie Prince Charlie, the darling of the late Jacobite movement, they created a legend that still hovers over the period. But very little has ever been written about the women who were involved. A
£19.80
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Hermann Goring The Rise and Fall
A former Great War fighter pilot, Hermann Göring became, at his height, the second most powerful Nazi. Ambitious and ruthless, in addition to being a primary architect of the Third Reich state police and Gestapo, his numerous appointments included Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Director of the Four Year Plan and playing a leading role in the Final Solution to the Jewish Question'. By the outbreak of the war in 1939, he was acknowledged as Hitler's successor and in 1940 was given the special rank of Marshal of the Empire and senior to all field marshals through the German armed services. Due to being held responsible for a number of military disasters, Göring's pre-eminent position declined as the war dragged on to the point where he was expelled from the Party for illegally attempting to seize control of the State'. Captured by the Allies, he was found guilty at Nuremberg of being a leading war aggressor and advocate of the persecution of Jews and other races. He cheated the hang
£14.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Montys Greatest Battles 19421945
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery had a dynamic personality that often led to difficulties with political or military superiors but made him an immensely effective leader of men. He identified himself closely with his soldiers whose welfare was his continual concern and whom he treated almost as family. In return, they fought for him magnificently in some of the most important battles of the Second World War. These battles varied in type, terrain and tactics: defended river crossings including that of the Rhine; amphibious landings including the D-Day landings; defensive encounters including Alam Halfa and the Ardennes; mobile operations including the capture of Tripoli, the left hook' at the Mareth Line and the dash from the Seine to the Scheldt culminating in the daring attempt to seize the Rhine bridges; set piece' conflicts against enemies in prepared positions equipped with often superior weapons including Alamein and Normandy. In addition to describing the battles that mad
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Console
THE CON50LE is a comprehensive yet conversational account of 50 years of home video gaming history, leaving no rarely sighted system unturned and providing a chronological account of the evolution of the biggest entertainment medium in the world. From the earliest consoles of the 1970s to the cutting-edge machines of the here and now, a line is drawn from one man's eureka moment to the multi-billion-dollar global industry of today. All the well-known names and massive-selling consoles are here: the Nintendo Entertainment System, the SEGA Mega Drive, the Atari 2600, the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 2. But there's plenty of room for hardware that many a gamer won't have heard of before, from Japan-only releases and home computer conversions to ill-advised experiments with VHS and all manner of micro-console magic. Learn about the creators and their inspirations, the games that made the biggest consoles' eternal reputations, and the failures and flops along the way. Even the consoles that ca
£27.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Churchill Crocodile 141 Regiment RAC The Buffs
The British Army started the development of flame throwers in 1938, but progress was slow and interest was side-lined after Dunkirk while the army reequipped. Investment in a flame-throwing tank only returned to the agenda thanks to interest by General Percy Hobart when he developed funnies' for 79th Armoured Division and the concept gained the support of General Sir Alan Brooke.141 (The Buffs) Regiment RAC had been converted to Churchill Tanks at the end of 1941 and in early 1944 they were earmarked for another change of role to the Crocodile conversion of the new Mk VII Churchill tank. This flame throwing system was secret and started to arrive with the regiment in April 1944. By D-Day only one squadron was equipped and trained, with space on the landing craft only available for two troops to land in support of 50th Division.The rest of the regiment arrived by the end of June and were in action with various formations across the front. There followed a period of misuse by those they
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Female Security Operative
In the gripping memoir _Female Security Operative_, the author takes the reader on a trailblazing journey of chaos through her life in the world of security. Breaking barriers and heroic beliefs, she reveals her remarkable journey as she navigates a male dominated industry with unwavering determination and courage. From her early days as an unassuming woman from England to her transformation into a formidable security operative, the author shares the pivotal moments that shaped her character and propelled her into the realm where resilience and vigilance are paramount. With no-nonsense storytelling and raw honesty, she invites readers on a heart pounding adventure through the treacherous landscapes of war-torn IraqWith Saddam Hussein captured, she's assigned to ensure the safety of civilian flights at Baghdad's International Airport, the author witnesses the harsh realities of a nation torn apart by conflict. With vivid descriptions and a remarkable attention to detail, the author
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Death of General Sikorski
The plane crash at the height of the Second World War which claimed the life of the Polish Prime Minister, General Wladyslaw Sikorski, ranks among the most enduring mysteries of the conflict. It was a death that shifted European alliances and loyalties, brought Stalin into the Anglo-American camp, and sealed Poland's fate for the remainder of the twentieth century. Poland and the Soviet Union's historically precarious relationship had taken an even darker turn in September 1939 when the Third Reich's Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union's Josef Stalin divided the nation and forced its government to relocate first to France and then to Britain in 1940. Sikorski's Polish government-in-exile established a military, political, and personal relationship with Winston Churchill's government, only to see it fractured by the United States' entrance into the war and the Western Allies' courtship of Stalin following Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union. The Allies overall support of Stalin's
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Royal Marines in Russia 1919
At the height of the Russian Civil War in 1919 Britain poured in thousands of troops and vast amounts of munitions to assist the White Russian opponents of Lenin's Communist forces. This was despite exhaustion following the Great War and the Spanish flu epidemic. One man involved was 23-year-old Royal Marines officer, Thomas Henry Jameson. His mission took him and his men on a journey of 5,000 miles from Vladivostok to the battlegrounds not far from Moscow. As part of a White Russian Flotilla they steamed down the huge Kama River and fought a series of successful battles against superior Bolshevik gunboats. Later they were forced to retreat and, becoming cut off behind enemy lines, had to fight their way out knowing that, if captured, they faced summary execution. Eventually after a long and hazardous journey they made it back to their parent ship. Jameson and his Marines faced a multitude of hazards in this cruel civil war including disease which he described as the biggest challe
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Proposed Airborne Assaults during Operation Overlord
The airborne landings on D-Day played a major part in the success of the largest amphibious operation ever mounted. Yet just over three months later Operation _Market Garden_, the largest airborne operation ever attempted, failed to take all its objectives. It is notable, however, that in the film _A Bridge Too Far_ Dirk Bogarde's Lieutenant General Boy' Browning refers to a large number of cancelled operations since D-Day. What were these operations? Why do we know so little about them? And what can they tell us about Allied airborne planning, and the way that the allies fought, in 1944?As James Daly reveals, plans were considered or drawn-up for a number of ambitious airborne assaults that could have formed part of the Allies' efforts to break out of the beachheads. Of these, three, operations _Wastage_, _Tuxedo_ and _Wild Oats_, might well have been part of the fighting in Normandy itself. Operation _Wild Oats_, for example, was to see the 1st Airborne Division help capture Caen in
£19.80
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Final Wicket
While cricket remains popular today, at the beginning of the 20th Century it was THE national game. Cricketers were the sporting icons of their age, as footballers are today. When the call to arms was made in 1914 and the years of war that followed, it was answered in droves by young men, including Test and First Class cricketers. The machine guns and gas of the Western Front and other theatres did not discriminate and many hundreds of these star performers perished alongside their lesser known comrades. The author has researched the lives and deaths of over 200 top-class cricketers who made the ultimate sacrifice. He includes not just British players but those from the Empire. The enormity of the horror and wholesale loss of life during The Great War is well demonstrated by these moving biographies.
£16.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Down to the Sea in Submarines
This unique memoir charts the career of the author in the Royal Navy Submarine Service during the period 1967 to 1997, and in doing so details many of the Silent Service's remarkable achievements since the end of the Second World War. And it provides a dramatic first-hand account of the underwater confrontation during the Cold War between submarines of the West and the huge submarine force of the Soviet Union.Dan Conley narrates the successive stages from his basic submarine training to taking command of two nuclear attack submarines, but he does not demur from describing the personal and professional difficulties he encountered in this journey. He sets out in detail what life was like serving onboard both diesel and nuclear submarines, and in particular, the book describes the British submariner's remarkable transformation from the somewhat buccaneering, free spirit serving on a clapped-out WW2 boat during the sunset of the British Empire, to the highly professional individual who spe
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd How Strategic Airpower has Changed the World Order
In this book, the history and utility of land- and carrier-based strategic airpower is brought to life by the gallant exploits and photographs of B-17 aircraft Quittin' Time and of its Navigator, Fred Julian in the Second World War, and by the unforgiving and unswerving dedication of Sharkey Ward and his Sea Harrier team in the Falklands war. The overarching message is that the strategic airpower lessons of the past eight decades underpin the urgent need for the UK government to invest more wisely in its Fleet so that the latter may work effectively in conjunction with the US Navy on the global mission to deter those that would harm us, and to maintain the freedom of passage of all shipping throughout the global commons. The authors show how a maritime deterrence strategy in a challenging world is critically underpinned by strategic air power at sea and on land.
£19.80
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Glasgow Museums: The Ship Models: A History & Complete Illustrated Catalogue
This publication will be the first full catalogue of Glasgow Museums' internationally important collection of ship models. Almost all of the 676 models, which range from elegant cruise liners to humble Clyde puffers, and from simple half-hull design models to magnificent display models, were produced by Clyde shipyards or Glasgow-based ship owners. It is the representation of models from such a distinct geographical area, together with the quality of the models, which makes this collection so exceptional. As well as general chapters about the collection, each of the 676 models has a description and colour photograph. Some of the most famous ships launched on the Clyde are represented, such as RMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Hood, as well models of historically significant vessels such as the first European passenger steamer Comet and the world's first commercial turbine-powered vessel King Edward. The ship models form one of Glasgow Museums most popular and most viewed collections, and enquiries about them come in from all over the world. A stunning collection of photographs will complement newly researched and in-depth chapters. The book will give readers worldwide a chance to see images of the models, a sense of the breadth and importance of the collection and a deepened understanding about the whole history of the ship.
£31.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The History of The Channel Tunnel: The Political, Economic and Engineering History of an Heroic Railway Project
The Channel Tunnel, has been one of histories most protracted and at times acrimonious, construction projects. From the paranoia of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when there was a fear that foreign hordes would rush through the tunnel and invade Britain, to the lethargic attempts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its a miracle, that this great feat of Engineering, was ever constructed at all. Nicholas Faith, has delved into the archives and researched the fascinating truth about this project, that took so long to authorise and construct. The author has found material in the archives, both in Britain and abroad, that has not been previously published or seen, outside a closed group of people.
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Make Your Own Crochet Animals: Create Your Own Unique Animals and Patterns
The aim of this book is to bring the age-old art of crotchet into the 21st century. Gone are the days where all it was good for was creating placemats and jumpers for your teapots. Aimed at the intermediate crochetier, this book assumes you are already proficient in the basics and are looking to increase your creative output through the use of interesting colour and design. With an insight into ten bespoke patterns that can be easily followed, starting with a cute racoon and progressing to the more advanced sloth. The aim is to introduce you to new ways of approaching crotchet; you will be able to confidently create your own unique animals and patterns upon completion of the book. Each animal created teaches a new technique, from establishing a simple ball; we progress through more elaborate designs with each unique pattern learning new skills and new ideas. Annotated through out with pictures, and scattered with top tips, with links to videos of each stage you can feel confidant that the resources are here to crotchet out of a hole. Easily adaptable, these designs will give hints about new aesthetics for seasonal versions as well as more interesting use of colours to create exciting pieces and inspire a new generation of crochetiers.
£14.39
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Instruments of Darkness
The standard reference work on electronic-warfare systems during the Second World War.
£16.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Radioman: Twenty-Five Years in the Marine Corps: From Desert Storm to Operation Iraqi Freedom
_"RADIOMAN tells a universal story -- about war, family, and growing up. Andy Hesterman's 25 years in the Marines span a huge range of world events and personal experiences. I found myself laughing, rooting for him, and shaking my head at the insanity of it all. A great book!" _- Nathaniel Fick, NY Times best-selling author of ONE BULLET AWAY _ From a recruit surviving boot camp to a Major flying combat helicopters and controlling F/A-18s in Iraq, Andy Hesterman shares the pride of the Corps and the pain of saying goodbye to your family for yet another deployment. With Radioman, you'll feel like you've put on the Marine cammies and marched alongside Hesty for over two decades of service to our country. _ - Dell Epperson, Captain, U.S. Navy (Retired) _"Radioman is far more than the story of one man's 25-year journey through the modern Marine Corps - as fascinating as that story is. It is also an account of the extraordinary changes - technological, tactical, moral - that have utterly transformed the American military in that time. Both gripping and honest, Radioman is also told with a humor and humility that makes for an extremely pleasurable read."_ - "Scott Anderson, New York Times best-selling author of THE QUIET AMERICANS" From a Gulf War grunt to a full-fledged Marine Major in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Andrew Hesterman saw it all. _Radioman_ offers a highly personal and unfiltered view of the Marine Corps as it transitioned from the post-Vietnam analog Reagan era to the post-9/11 high-tech George W. Bush and Obama years. _Radioman_ begins with Andy as a recruit at boot camp and the ensuing training that leads to formally becoming a Marine. After comm school and the reserves, Andy is called to active duty in 1991 for the Gulf War, where he experiences combat up close in Kuwait. The next personally, professionally, and politically tumultuous decade brings marriage (and divorce), flight school and helicopter missions in Kosovo, the shock of 9/11, another marriage, and children. Andy's journey culminates as an officer in Iraq, where he directs air support for the Marines in Fallujah. Co-authored by Robert Einaudi, a close friend of Hesterman's since high school, _Radioman_ provides an honest and vivid military portrait of the Marine Corps and the modern US military seen through the experiences of one Marine.
£25.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Art of Leadership
After their independence and civil wars, Americans never faced a greater threat than the sixteen years of global depression followed by global war from 1929 to 1945. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the president for the last dozen of those years, during which he led the nation first to alleviate the Great Depression then led an international alliance that vanquished the fascist powers during the Second World War. Along the way, he established the modern presidency with centralized powers to make and implement domestic and foreign policies. He was naturally a master politician who eventually, through daunting trials and errors, became an accomplished statesman. For all that, historians regularly rank Roosevelt among the top three presidents. Yet, most historians and countless others criticize Roosevelt for an array of things that he did or failed to do. Conservatives lambast him for creating a welfare state and trying to pack federal courts with liberal judges while liberals condemn him
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Operation 'Torch' The Invasion of North Africa: Then and Now
In 2012 Jean Paul Pallud wrote the After the Battle account of the Desert War; now he completes the story with detailed coverage of the landings of Operation `Torch’ in North-West Africa in November 1942. When the western Allies decided to launch a second front in North Africa, they carefully considered the anti-British feeling left in France by the ill-advised attack by the Royal Navy on the French Fleet at Mers el Kébir in July 1940. Consequently, the operation was given an American rather than a British complexion, General Eisenhower was chosen to lead a mostly American force into battle and the major Royal Navy contribution was kept as inconspicuous as possible. At this point in the war, the Allies had almost no experience with amphibious operations and it was a risky undertaking to carry out such an immense operation covering multiple landings over 600 miles apart. Even more amazing was the fact that part of the invasion forces was to depart from the United States, 6,000 miles away. As the orders were not confirmed until a month before Operation `Torch’ was launched, there was very little time to organise such a logistically complex operation involving American and British forces, and even less time for the pro-Allied French to organise more than small measures of support. There were two landings in the Mediterranean, at three main points near Algiers and three near Oran, and three landings on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. There, the main landing came ashore at Fédala, 18 miles north-east of Casablanca, and the armour was brought ashore at Safi, 140 miles south-east. In spite of all the difficulties, the landings all went well and the operation quickly achieved all of its initial objectives. However, the Germans reacted swiftly and, with little Allied interference, they rushed in reinforcements to Tunisia by air and sea. The Allies were thus drawn into a six-month campaign in Tunisia, the First Army from Operation `Torch’ soon joining hands with the Eighth Army advancing from Libya to finally clear Axis presence along the southern shore of the Mediterranean. This operation marked the first time that American troops fought against German forces during the Second World War. They had a rough baptism of fire in southern Tunisia in February 1943, training, equipment and leadership failed in many instances to meet the requirements of the battlefield, but the US Army was quick to learn and revise army doctrines, particularly with respect to the use of armour. The successful campaign created thousands of seasoned soldiers of all ranks whose experience would prove decisive in subsequent campaigns. The next test was only two months away — the invasion of Sicily. In addition, Operation `Torch’ brought the French army back into the war. Most important of all, the Allies had seized the initiative in the West.
£39.95
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Before Endeavours Fade
NOW UPDATED AND IN COLOUR. From the Belgian coast, across the fields of Flanders, over the valley of the Somme and down the line to the Argonne: all the major battlefields of the First World War -- Ypres, Arras, Cambrai, Amiens, St Quentin, Mons, Le Cateau, Reims, Verdun and St Mihiel -- are criss-crossed in this book over more than thirty different routes, each clearly shown on a Michelin map. Every significant feature is described in detail. Indispensable for anyone contemplating a tour of the battlefields in Belgium and France, this book combines the years of knowledge, travel and research of its author, Rose Coombs, who worked at the Imperial War Museum in London for nearly forty years. Since her death in 1991, After the Battle's Editor, Karel Margry, has travelled every route, checking and revising the text where necessary, as well as re-photographing every -memorial. Many new ones are included, yet we have striven to keep true to the flavour of Rose's original concept ...before endeavours fade.
£25.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Ace Cafe Then and Now
During the 1960s swarms of motorcyclists roamed along London's North Circular Road in nightly burn ups. Their pit stop was the Ace Cafe at Stonebridge Park. This is their story as told by the boys who raced and the policemen who chased, woven against a background of contemporary reports.
£16.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Military History of Late Rome 425-457
_The Military History of Late Rome 425-457_ analyses in great detail how the Romans coped with the challenge posed by masses of Huns in a situation in which the Germanic tribes had gained a permanent foothold in the territories of West Rome. This analysis reassesses the strategy and tactics of the period . The book shows how cooperation between the West Roman Master of Soldiers, Aetius, and East Roman Emperor Marcian saved Western civilization from the barbarian nightmare posed by the Huns of Attila. A fresh appraisal of the great clash at the Catalaunian Fields in 451 offers new insights into the mechanics of the fighting and shows that it was a true battle of nations which decided nothing less than the fate of human civilization. Had Aetius and his allies lost the battle and had Marcian not cooperated with Aetius in 451 and 452, we would not have seen the rise of the West and the rise of the scientific thinking.
£27.16