Search results for ""fonthill media ltd""

The story of Lady Anne Clifford is one of feminine victory in a man's world, the men including King James I, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell and two husbands: the Earl of Dorset, gambler, womaniser and waster, and the Earl of Pembroke, also gambler, womaniser etc. Lady Anne was the third child of George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, Elizabeth I’s Royal Champion. Henry VIII was Anne's great-great uncle. From the age of ten, Anne was a highly regarded figure at Elizabeth's Court. Her two brothers died in infancy, leaving her sole heiress, but when father died in 1605 his illegal will left all to his younger brother. Lady Anne (aged 15) objected to the will and, rightfully, claimed the estates herself. Kings, archbishops and husbands spent years trying to persuade her that she, a mere female, should think of the greater good of society as God and men had ordered it, give up her claim, and let the men have what was properly theirs. By shrewd moves, sheer determination and faith, Lady Anne outlasted and defeated the lot of them, restored her castles and became the grande dame of the north.

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For over two centuries Japan had been hidden behind a veil of seclusion. This changed in when Commodore Perry arrived in 1853. Unsurprisingly for a world power, Britain was fast to get in on the action. But unknown to the intruders their sudden appearance had accelerated the pace of political change in Japan. The newcomers found themselves increasingly out of their depth in a power struggle that they did not understand. The Shogun and the Emperor were at each other's throats, factions were jockeying for position, and the foreigners were at the centre of it. Britain's first diplomats found themselves the targets of assassins and to their confusion discovered that the Emperor had no legislative power and the Shogun's word was no longer law. Yet with the lessons of the Opium Wars still in recent memory, a slew of British soldiers, ambassadors, interpreters and adventurers attempted to protect imperial interests in Japan without causing outright war. This is the story of the rocky beginning of Anglo-Japanese relations, a story of the ‘wild east’, full of political schemes, Gunboat diplomacy, assassins and samurai, set in the dying days of the Edo period and the twilight of the last Shogun.

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British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) is situated in Alberta, amidst the dry, semi-barren, rugged and undulating Canadian prairie, where the Blackfoot, Cree and Sioux tribes once hunted buffalo and engaged in combat. The training area measures 39 miles west to east and 32 miles north to south, with a total area of 1038 square miles. It is slightly larger than Luxembourg and seven times the size of Salisbury Plain. The prime purpose of BATUS is to provide realistic all-arms, battle group manoeuvre training with live firing. Four major `Prairie Storm' exercises are held every year between April and October, involving infantry, armour, artillery, aviation and support arms. Up to 2500-3000 personnel may be on the ground, along with as many as 1200 vehicles of all types from Main Battle Tanks to 4x4s. BATUS was formally established in 1972; making up for the loss of training areas in Libya in 1969. Right from the start it was envisaged that there would be an Army Air Corps element. The original aircraft were replaced by Westland AH1 Gazelles in 1977, they continue in service 40 years later with 29 (BATUS) Flight, which is now part of 5 Regiment Army Air Corps.

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Born in Birmingham, Steve Winwood was already a semi-professional musician, playing keyboards and guitar, while still at school. As lead vocalist with The Spencer Davis Group, he had had two chart-topping singles by the time he was aged eighteen. In 1967 he formed Traffic, long noted as one of the major British psychedelic groups whose music also borrowed from jazz and folk influences as well as rock and pop. A brief hiatus saw him join forces with Eric Clapton in the short-lived Blind Faith, thereafter returning to Traffic until they disbanded in 1974 (and briefly reformed twenty years later). Throughout his subsequent solo career, he has been much respected on both sides of the Atlantic as a vocalist, all-round musician and regular collaborator with or session player for other artists. This is the first biography for nearly thirty years.

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The biggest success of the Focke Wulf company during the Second World War was the choice of a radial engine for the Fw 190 fighter, in this way avoiding to compete against Messerschmitt for the in line engines. The decision of the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe to assign the few turbojets available to the Messerschmitt and Arado firms and the discovery of the terrible aerodynamic effect known as compressibility buffeting by mid-1942, made the life of fighter designers of the time very interesting. The Kurt Tank team proposed to install a centrifugal turbojet of his design in the nose of an Fw 190 A/3 with the intention of replacing it with a Jumo 004 B when available in 1943. Several designs followed that were able to use all turbojets, turboprops, ramjets and rocket engines, either projected or at their disposal. They constitute the documental foundation of this book. After failing in the TL Jagdfleugzeug contests in March 1943, Volksflugzeug in September 1944 and Hochleitungs Nachtjäger in January 1945, Focke Wulf could finally overcome its competitors with the great Jägernotprogramm design Ta 183. Although it was too late to intervene in the Second World War, it served as inspiration for numerous designs of other countries during the first years of the Cold War.

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'Stations and Lineside Views in and Around London' features photographs taken by retired British Medical Council researcher/author Dr B. W. L. Brooksbank and captions by railway author Peter Tuffrey. The photographs span the last years of steam traction c. 1946 to c.1962 and the book uses the M25 motorway as a parameter to define the London area. All the capital's main line railway stations belonging to the four former constituent railway companies are featured. Over 3,000 negatives were scanned while only approximately 250 photographs have been selected for inclusion to maintain a very high standard and give a real indication of this last gasp of steam. It is remarkable that when good photographic materials were painfully scarce after the Second World Wat that Ben Brooksbank was able to achieve some exceptional results from limited resources. Some of his images from the late 1940s are not only pin sharp but exude an almost palpable atmosphere of Britain's run-down post-war railways. He has captured freight trains, expresses and local trains along with staff carrying out their mundane duties or blatantly hanging off a locomotive cab eager to be caught on camera forever.Ben has photographed many of the railway stations in a dilapidated condition before massive renovation work.

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Plt Off Oliver Ormrod, better known as 'Sonny' to his RAF compatriots due to his youthful appearance, was just four days past his twentieth birthday when he was killed in action after his Hurricane was shot down. During his brief fighting career at Malta in February to April 1942, he was credited with only two enemy aircraft destroyed, although he shared in the destruction of three others. Ormrod also claimed three 'probables' and at least six damaged. A total of a dozen successes at a time when the Hurricane was completely outclassed by Bf 109Fs of JG53, his bravery and valour were recognised by the award of a DFC. Although extracts from Ormrod's diary have appeared in various publications over the years, the editors/authors now offer the complete story of his brief period of combat in the skies over Malta. He was one of many young lives lost in the effort to safeguard Malta and he was there when only Hurricanes were available to combat the Luftwaffe's onslaught. This is his story...

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Thunderbirds, Stingray, Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, UFO and Space:1999 just some of the TV series produced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson that have thrilled generations of people worldwide from the 1960s right into the 21st Century. As the new series Thunderbirds Are Go! updates the exploits of International Rescue for a new era, Ian Fryer, film historian and editor of Gerry Anderson s official appreciation society magazine, brings an in-depth look into the making of the iconic television shows that inspired it. The background to the making of the Supermarionation series, and the live action science fiction classics that followed, is brought to life along with the turbulent times for British film making in which they were made. A fascinating read for fans of the Anderson puppet and live action series and for anyone interested in film and television history."

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The single-engine Junkers Ju 52 first flew in 1930. Designed and built by the Junkers Aircraft Company of Dessau, Germany, the Ju 52 was originally intended as a cargo aircraft. An upgraded model, the Ju 52/3m, was powered by three engines, excelling as an 18-seat airliner. By the late 1930s, hundreds of the safe and reliable Ju 52/3m were serving with airlines in more than 20 countries, including the prewar British Airways. It was used as a bomber by the reestablished Luftwaffe, particularly in the Spanish Civil War. During the Second World War, the Ju 52/3m was the mainstay of the Luftwaffe transport squadrons. Affectionately known as Faithful Old Annie and Iron Annie, the Ju 52/3m was used during the invasions of Norway, the Low Countries, Crete as well as the resupply of Stalingrad and Rommel s Africa Corps. In all, more than 5,000 were built. After the war, production continued in France and Spain. Amazingly, captured Ju 52/3ms were rebuilt postwar and briefly operated as airliners on domestic routes in Great Britain! Today, about 50 Ju 52/3ms survive, with less than ten flying. The Junkers Ju 52/3m is one of the most significant transport airplanes in the history of aviation."

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As the main interpreter for Adolf Hitler during the key prewar moments, such as the Munich Agreement, the British Declaration of War and the surrender of France, Paul-Otto Schmidt was well placed to record his impressions of events from 1935 up to 1945. He was an interpreter working in the German foreign ministry where he served from 1923 to 1945, and being fluent in English and French he gained respect and was Hitler s usual first choice for the important meetings. During the war years he served as Hitler's interpreter during his meetings with Marshal Philippe Petain and Francisco Franco. After the 1942 Dieppe Raid resulted in thousands of Canadian soldiers captured, Schmidt was in charge of their interrogations. Schmidt s book is helpful in gaining an insight into the minutiae of Third Reich thinking and planning as much as planning went beyond Hitler s will. One classic nugget is from the early morning of 3 September 1939 when Britain issued its ultimatum to Germany, for it was Schmidt who had to hand the translation to Hitler: After an interval which seemed an age, he turned to Ribbentrop, who had remained standing by the window. What now? asked Hitler with a savage look, as though implying that his Foreign Minister had misled him about England s probable reaction. "

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The North Eastern Railway underwent extreme change after the outbreak of war in August 1914. Within months, the company raised its own battalion of men and was the only railway company to do so. The NER also set to work adapting to the changes and requirements the war would bring. Not only would there be a drop in regular passenger traffic levels and increase in freight, transporting both war material and troops, but the workshops formerly used to build locomotives were turned over to making weapons of war. In December 1914, the railway came under attack from the Imperial German Navy, causing damage to the NER's infrastructure and killing several of its men. As the war went on, locomotives and rolling stock were sent to France to help with the enormous logistics required for operations on the Western Front. The planned opening of an electrified railway line for freight went ahead with a brand new fleet of powerful electric locomotives, adding to the company's portfolio of electrification with the electrified Tyneside passenger line and Newcastle Quayside.N ER land was used to build an enormous munitions factory at Darlington and the unprecedented use of women in the work place meant traditionally male-only roles were increasingly seeing women take over and freeing men for military service.Overseas, men of the NER that joined the forces served with honour, but many were not to come home. The North Eastern Railway in the First World War tells the story of one railway's war, of how it continued to operate and adapt, and the men and women who served with the company or left to fight for the country's freedom.

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The story of the Great Liners begins on the Atlantic route between the Old World and the New, between Europe and the United States. It was the most prestigious, most progressive and certainly most competitive ocean liner run of all time. It was on the North Atlantic that the largest, fastest and indeed grandest passenger ships were created. In this book, William Miller concentrates for the most part on these Atlantic superliners. It has been a race, sometimes fierce, that has continued for well over a century. Smaller passenger ships, even ones of 30,000 and 40,000 tons, are for the most part left to other books. The story begins even earlier, in 1889, when Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II visited his grandmother, Queen Victoria, and attended the British Naval Review at Spithead. The British were more than pleased to show off not only the mightiest naval vessels afloat, but the biggest passenger ships then afloat, namely the 10,000-ton 'Teutonic' of the White Star Line. These ships caught the Kaiser's royal eye. His enthusiasm, his determination and, assuredly, his jealousies were aroused. Her returned to his homeland determined that Germany should have bigger and better ships.The world must know, he theorized, that Imperial Germany had reached new and higher technological heights. To the Kaiser and other envious Germans, the British had, quite simply, had a monopoly on the biggest ships long enough. British engineers and even shipyard crews were recruited, teaching German shipbuilders the key components of a new generation of larger ships. Shipyards at Bremen, Hamburg and Stettin were soon ready. It would all take eight years, however, before the first big German liner would be completed. She would be large enough and fast enough to be dubbed the world's first "super liner". She would only be the biggest vessel built in Germany, but the biggest afloat. The nation's most prominent shipowners, the Hamburg America Line and the North German Lloyd, were both deeply interested. It was the Lloyd, however, which rose first to the occasion. Enthusiastically and optimistically, the first ship was the first of a successive quartet. The illustrious Vulkan Shipyard at Stettin was given the prized contract. Triumph seemed to be in the air! The Kaiser himself went to the launching, on 3 May 1897, of this new Imperial flagship.Designed with four funnels but grouped in pairs, the 655-ft long ship was named 'Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse', honoring the Emperor's grandfather. With the rattle of chains, the release of the building blocks and then the tumultuous roar as the unfinished hull hit the water, this launching was the beginning of the Atlantic race for supremacy, which would last for some 70 years. Only after the first arrival of the trans-Atlantic jet in October 1958 would the race quiet down. The 'Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse' was the great beginning, the start of a superb fleet of what has been dubbed "ocean greyhounds" and later aptly called the "floating palaces". Worried and cautious, the normally contented British referred to the brand new Kaiser as a "German monster".

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Silver was the codename for the only quintuple spy of the Second World War, spying for the Italians, Germans, Japanese, Soviets and the British. The Germans awarded him the Iron Cross, Germany s highest military decoration, and paid him 2.5 million in today s money. In reality Silver deceived the Nazis on behalf of the Soviets and the British. In 1942 the Russians decided to share Silver with the British, the only time during the war that the Soviets agreed to such an arrangement. This brought him under the control of Peter Fleming who acted as his spy master. Germans also gave Silver a transmitter which broadcast misleading military information directly to Abwehr headquarters in Berlin. Silver was one of many codenames for a man whose real name was Bhagat Ram Talwar, a Hindu Pathan from the North West Frontier province of then British India. Between 1941 and 1945 Silver made twelve trips from Peshawar to Kabul to supply false information to the Germans, always making the near-200-mile journey on foot over mountain passes and hostile tribal territory.Once when an Afghan nearly rumbled him, he invited him to a curry meal in which he had mixed deadly tiger s whiskers killing the Afghan. "

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From Gazala to Tunisia: 422 Days in the Life of the 2nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade is the story of the riflemen and their battles of Gazala to the successful end of the North African campaign. These 422 days include the bitter battles of Gazala, the conflict around the Cauldron, the loss of Tobruk before the forced withdrawal with the remainder of the Eighth Army, along the Mediterranean Coast and finally digging in at Alamein. Due to their involvement in the battles around the Alamein Line, the Mine Task Force opened gaps in the Axis defences which allowed British armour to overwhelm the Germans. The riflemen of the 2nd Battalion took on the enemy in the battles at the Mareth Line and Wadi Akirit in Tunisia before joining the First Army in the final conflicts that brought the North African campaign to a successful conclusion. It was this battalion that marched two miles into enemy lines to take occupation of the Snipe position, feeling the full brunt of Rommel's counterattack, before marching back 36 hours later. It has been said that Alamein was the turning point of the war and that Snipe was the turning point of Alamein. This superb book tells all these takes and more in a detailed, powerful and moving account of the 2nd Battalion during its finest 15 months.

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This ground-breaking exploration of the Anglo-Saxon 'Avon valley frontier', combines archaeology and documentary sources, to present a case for remarkable continuity during the Dark Age and Anglo-Saxon period. Based on research in the department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic History at Cambridge University, this study explores the evidence of archaeology, chronicles, charters and place-names to analyse the history of the 'Bristol Avon' as a frontier from the 4th to the 11th century. The result is a regional history that mirrors the history of Anglo-Saxon England. It also reveals a striking continuity in the use of the Avon valley as a frontier; the roots of which are discernible in the Late Iron Age. Yet this continuity tells two different 'stories', either side of Bath, which influenced the actions of successor kingdoms over hundreds of years. In this history, Offa, Alfred, Guthrum, Edward the Elder, Athelstan, Edgar and Cnut all played their parts. Even the legendary Arthur and the semi-legendary Vortigern have walk-on parts. What is surprising is that 21st century civil and Church boundaries still reflect this history, which is over 1,500 years old.

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This collection of 168 colour photographs, which date from 1958 to 1967, features the Western Region of B.R., formerly the territory of the Great Western Railway, and its motive power. Bill Reed took the pictures during a number of visits to stations, sheds and to areas offering an attractive vantage point to shoot film. The engines have been pictured at various locations around the Western Region, ranging from; Barmouth and Aberystwyth in north west Wales to Whitland in the south west; Crewe and Wellington in the north east to London Paddington, Oxford and Princes Risborough in the south east. The places one would generally associate with the Western Region are also present and they comprise; Swindon (depot, station and works), Bristol, Exeter, Newton Abbot, Truro and Penzance.Bill has taken photographs of locomotives working on a number of branch lines around the Western Region and these are particularly evocative of the era. They also point to the future, in the form of the Beeching Report, when mass closures occurred eliminating these stations serving the local communities. The branch line stations featured are often deserted and the carriages partially empty.In some instances the stations would never serve many people, but others would lose passengers after the rise in motor car use in the wake of the Second World War. The W.R. attempted to entice passengers to some lines with diesel railcars, also reducing costs, and an example is seen in this collection at Kemble station. The G.W.R. had also tried this tactic with their own railcars and two have been captured at Worcester.

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Napoleon arrived on St Helena in October 1815 aboard the British 74-gun warship HMS Northumberland. For the first six weeks he stayed at the Briars, a property in the Upper Jamestown Valley where he enjoyed the hospitality of the Balcombe family. By the end of December, the re-building work on his destined home, Longwood, was completed, and Napoleon accompanied by his entourage moved there, much to Napoleon's annoyance. He found the site bleak, inhospitable, and considered it conducive to rheumatism. The British Government was paranoid about Napoleon being rescued and maintained a large military presence on the island, and numerous warships anchored offshore. This paranoia extended to the new Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe. He ran a typrannical and petty campaign against the residents at Longwood and had violent arguments with Napoleon, who refused to cooperate with him. This book is one of the best accounts of Napoleon's five-and-a-half years' imprisonment, which ended with his death from a stomach ulcer. It details all of the personalities, Napoleon's household, the domestic arrangements, the island residents, the military residents and the long-standing feud between Plantation House and Longwood. It also covers Betsy Balcombe, the Deadwood Races, Napoleon's habits and his garden and much, much more. The book has eighty colour and black & white illustrations.

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The fuse to the First World War was lit in the Balkans where simmering hatreds exploded into violence. Like a string of firecrackers, these hatreds had been fuelled by attacks on the Turkish Ottoman Empire in the previous few years. From 1911-1912, Italy seized Libya. In 1912, the Balkan states united to drive Turkey out of Europe in the First Balkans War, and in the following year in the Second Balkans War, turned on each other in a division of the spoils which allowed Turkey to retain a foothold in Europe. This was a war of land campaigns, sea battles and amphibious operations in which the new military technology was first used. Submarine and aircraft attacked ships, aircraft made reconnaissance flights and bombed troops while even electronic warfare was used. It also saw mirror images of the events in the First World War; Bulgarians driven from Salonika where an Allied army would later be contained and Turkish troops held back in the Dardanelles, their guns driving off a naval task force. These now forgotten wars were the overture to the First World War and yet they have overtones a century later.The First World War saw echoes of these campaigns in Salonika and especially in the Dardanelles, while the ethnic tensions would erupt into further bloodshed after the Cold War ended as Yugoslavia collapsed during the 1990s.

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‘Panzersoldaten!’ is a history of the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (MVSN), commonly referred to as the Blackshirts due to their wartime attire. They were an anti-Communist paramilitary organisation that fought for Mussolini while Italy was under fascist rule; following the Duce’s removal from power, the organisation was quickly swept up by the Italian Army, and forced to swear allegiance to the king. Some, however, defected and continued to fight for the Axis alliance as volunteer units in the German Army. This volume covers the history of the Blackshirt Division during the campaign on the Eastern Front, focusing on its relations with the Italian Army, the history of the MVSN, its advance into Ukraine, and the First and Second Battles of the Don River. Morisi, using almost exclusively contemporary resources and battalion war diaries, as well memoirs from senior officers of the division, has created a definitive analysis of the Blackshirts.

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Even by Victoria Cross standards, the exploits of Thomas 'Todger' Jones V.C., D.C.M., of the 1st Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment, are truly extraordinary. It was a miracle that he survived the act for which he was awarded his V.C., but remarkably, after going 'over the top' by himself, he defeated the odds and secured what is believed to be the most prisoners ever captured by a single individual in the entire war. 'Todger', as he was affectionately known, served as a private soldier for the duration of the conflict, but in that time he displayed outstanding levels of gallantry and leadership, far in excess of his rank. A quiet man unassuming man in peacetime, Todger was a force to reckon with when in battle. This book chronicles his life with an added emphasis on his wartime service in the trenches of France and Flanders. Todger was born and bred in Runcorn, Cheshire. In 2014 his commemorative statue was unveiled opposite the town's cenotaph. This book also features never seen before photographs of the statue being made.

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With Edward now his curate at Stanway and married with a family Francis' interest in national and county events is eclipsed by family and local events. The growing Oxford Movement, (or Tractarians), is now mentioned regularly and Francis begins to lean more towards the Movement and away from his previous view of himself as a 'traditional' clergyman. His attitude to the Triennial Music Meeting changes too from the enthusiasm of younger years to a distinctly negative view as he grows older.

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Volume Eight begins with a family holiday, probably the only time in which the whole family, including grandchildren, spent a long time together (May-June 1846). The destination was the Isle of Wight where they had an enjoyable sojourn of five weeks, although Margaret's poor health precluded her doing much walking. Much of the volume covers property matters and the Hunt Trust. The summer of 1847 did not include a holiday, but as a substitute, Francis and Margaret spent nine days with the Hunt family in Stoke Doyle, Northamptonshire, and of course much Trust business was discussed. The following year saw their holiday, with a four-week break in North Wales. From 1848 onwards Margaret's health went into a severe decline. Missing diaries result in us knowing little of what happened between November 1848 and December 1849, but from that point onwards Margaret became bed-bound and by the end of this volume she was lying at death's door. Volume Eight is interesting for depth of detail. The Irish Potato Famine is covered, although not in as much detail as one may have imagined.There is also the say news of the death of Frederick Howell, in South Africa, killed in a conflict with Hottentots. Frederick was the eldest son of Thomas Howell, Francis Witt's closest friend.

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Carrying On presents the complete story of the Carry Ons which have made Britain laugh for generations on film, television, and stage, and of the unique British filmmaking partnership of producer Peter Rogers and director Gerald Thomas. Writer and film historian Ian Fryer takes us on a journey into the glorious days of classic British humour, bringing to life the Carry On films and the vibrant, fascinating world of comedy from which they sprang. This lively and entertaining book presents detailed histories of the thirty Carry On films, revealing a cinematic legacy which is often more clever and complex than expected; from the post-war optimism of Carry On Sergeant and Carry On Nurse, via mini-epics such as Carry On Cleo, all the way to the smut-tinged seventies. Carrying On also turns the spotlight onto the host of other productions the Rogers and Thomas partnership brought to the screen along with detailed biographies of legendary Carry On stars such as Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, and Barbara Windsor who have brought fun and laughter to millions for decades.

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Waterloo is perhaps the most famous battle of the 19th century and surely in the top ten of all military engagements in the last 500 years. Many have sought reasons why Napoleon lost the great battle. This book presents the litany of failures by one of Napoleon's key subordinates, General Drouet d'Erlon, which led ultimately to defeat.

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This reference covers conversions and modifications of kits, superdetailing, modelling vacuform parts and kits, and how to scratchbuild entire models. It will contain easy to understand instructions and photographs to illustrate the techniques described and how to improve the appearance of your models and improve your modelling workflow.

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A unique event-the handing over of an entire country by another that did not own it, to a people who simply laid claim to it by virtue of their myths and traditions-happened in 1917 when the British 'gave' Palestine to the Jews via the Balfour Declaration. The Palestinian Arabs never accepted the theft of their land but have been powerless to resist the weight of support for the Jews given by the most powerful nations. Despite the foundation of Israel in 1948, the region has been plagued by wars, injustice, and a vast refugee 'problem' which has dominated the lives of millions. Today, the future of the Palestinians is dire and seemingly inevitable. In this thorough new examination, J. E. Thomas delves deep into the foundations of the issue, analysing the Zionist claim to the Holy Land in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and their ruthless campaign to dispossess Palestinian Arabs-a campaign that continues to this day.

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The holocaust began for the Slovka Jews in Autumn of 1938, when Slovakia became an autonomous region. Jewish property was confiscated and businesses liquidated at bargain prices all in an effort to "Aryanize" the country. But by March 26, 1942 the first trainloads of Jews deported from Slovakia embarked to their final destination at Auschwitz, and death camps in the Lublin area. The mechanism for rounding up the Jews and subsequent forced deportation was the Hlinka Guard. By October 1942 the Hlinka Guard had overseen the deportation of some 60,000 Slovak Jews. During the 1944-1945 German occupation, another 13,500 Jews were deported and 5,000 imprisoned. Many of the Jews ended up at the Auschwitz Birkenau Concentration and Extermination Camp. After a brief respite, the Hlinka guard once again took to rounding up, and persecuting Jews throughout Slovakia. Slovak Gypsies (Roma) were also persecuted by the Hlinka Guard. Hlinka Guardsmen were used to do the dirty work, killing suspect Roma rebels in front of their wives and children, and then murdering the entire family.

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Belfast, August 1969. A campaign for civil rights in Northern Ireland (which had begun less than two years previously) degenerates into intercommunal violence as centuries of mistrust, animosity, and blatant sectarianism come to a shuddering head. The three days of August 13th, 14th, and 15th drastically changed the course of Northern Irish history and also radicalised a generation of Catholic youths. On the Protestant side, there was similarly little to predict that their young generation would become embroiled in the longest period of Irish Troubles to date. The UVF, dormant since the creation of the state, was revived in 1966, but it was barely mentioned anywhere outside the Shankill Road; by 1972 it was involved in full conflict. Belfast '69 provides interviews with individuals from both sides of the conflict, many of whom went on to join the various 'armies' that sprung up in the wake of the riots. Many British Army officers who were only passive onlookers in those early days also offer up their own stories. By analysing these fascinating personal accounts in the wider context of the Troubles, alongside other key sources, Belfast '69 seeks to answer the most pertinent questions about the events of those days. How were the emerging youth of both sides radicalised by the violence? How did the events drive an otherwise-indifferent generation to carry out some of the most heinous crimes in Irish history? And, most importantly, can today's society learn from the bloody mistakes of our recent past?

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An aviation legend designed in the mid-1940s, the Canberra entered service in 1951 with RAF Bomber Command. It served in the conventional, interdictor and nuclear bomber role with the RAF, in the UK, Germany, the Middle East and Far East. Its performance and adaptability made it ideal as a reconnaissance aircraft, and the final version, the Canberra PR9, only finally retired in July 2006! The Canberra was used in many support roles, especially in signals / electronic warfare. The Canberra was adopted by air forces from South America to Africa and India, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and license-built as the Martin B-57 served. It was involved conflicts from the Suez War and Malaya Confrontation, and various other hot spots with the RAF, to the Australian and USAF ops in Vietnam, and even the India-Pakistan War when both sides used Canberras, and the 1982 Falklands War. Used in trials and evaluation the Canberra held various height and speed records, and NASA’s High Altitude Research Program WB-57s are still active. The Canberra has also had dedicated enthusiasts, and aircraft (or cockpits) still survive in museums, as well as some in flying condition.

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In late 1944, the Second World War in the Pacific was going badly for Japan. The U.S. Pacific fleet had moved to the Mariana Islands in support of General MacArthur’s army, which had landed on the east coast of Leyte in October. The U.S. 7th Fleet was near the Surigao Strait off Leyte. The Japanese strategy was to entrap the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet by its naval forces from the north in the Sibuyan Sea, and with assault from the south from Surigao Strait. On the afternoon of 24 October, 7th Fleet torpedo-boats moved through Leyte Gulf and Surigao Strait into the Mindanao Sea south of Leyte, and by dusk were in position on their patrol-lines. Covering the northern part of the strait, were posted the destroyer squadrons, cruisers, and battleships to form the horizontal bar to a "T" of vast fire power which the enemy would be forced to approach vertically as he moved forward. With overwhelming force, the impenetrable gauntlet defeated the Japanese at Surigao Strait and played a significant in winning the Battle of Leyte Gulf and in so helping to secure the beachheads of the U.S. Sixth Army on Leyte against Japanese attack from the sea.

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Robert Ellis James-Robertson (but always known as Ellis) lived at Worcester from the mid-1950s and travelled extensively around the country building up a large railway archive. In the early 1960s a few of Ellis’s photographs were published in books and magazines and the credit ‘R. E. James-Robertson’ may be familiar to some. This book of mainly unpublished colour and black and white photographs has been created entirely from Ellis’s collection within about a 35 miles radius of Worcester, it will appeal to railway enthusiasts, modellers, and those with an interest in local history. The time period covered is from the mid-1950s through to the mid-1960s, steam is the predominant traction throughout together with occasional shots of early diesel power. Coverage includes much of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire, plus the Birmingham area. Ellis and his wife Norah celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in 2013, and Ellis passed on in April 2015 aged 92. Their daughters, Louisa and Fiona, contacted filmmaker and author Michael Clemens whose late father was a friend of Ellis’s. Ellis’s collection lives on today at films shows around the country given by the author and now in this first of a number of books using his photographic archive.

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From 'Neighbours' TV teen queen to Stock Aitken Waterman's megastar, the rise of Kylie Minogue to the top of the charts is one of the biggest smash hit success stories in pop music. Across 15 studio albums her transition from SexKylie (with help from Michael Hutchence) to IndieKylie (thanks to Nick Cave and Manic Street Preachers), then to undisputed Princess of Pop (courtesy of the irresistible 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head') proved she was not just an actress, a singer and a remarkable live performer (including Glastonbury Goddess), but a true global superstar. After successfully beating cancer, Kylie returned to the top with several big-selling albums, including the critically lauded 'The Abbey Road Sessions', festive fave 'Kylie Christmas' and 2020's history-making 'Disco'. This book is an exhaustive "step back in time" through her complete 'Katalogue' across five poptastic decades. Every released track and collab from her 300+ song catalogue - many self-penned or co-written - over 35 years is examined in detail with new insights, revelations & vital video/remix information. 'Kylie: Song By Song' celebrates this unique artist's truly remarkable and unparalleled career and is a must-have for every dedicated fan of the lucky, lucky, lucky Australian pop princess.

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This book covers the design, development, production and operational service of the Vickers Wellington from before the Second World War through to the 1950s. The aircraft and crews served with great distinction from the start to the end of the Second World War despite heavy losses. The aircraft was operated by Bomber Command until replaced by the bigger four engine heavy bombers, and played a major part in the Mediterranean Theatre. Its versatility was show with maritime operations against the U-boat threat. It was also used for transport and the hazards of aircrew training. It’s geodetic construction, developed from the airship era, made it rugged and capable of absorbing battle damage bring its crews home safely from combat over hostile territory.

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The RAF and Commonwealth air crews were bound by regulations and discipline during WWII. Survival was by no means a certainty, with casualties becoming a part of everyday life. The evolution of non-established clubs was recognised and regarded as an important area within RAF history that boosted moral. The regulations flexed to allow membership pins and badges to be worn on RAF and Commonwealth flying uniforms. This book allows the reader to experience a number of individual stories and understand the relevance of being a: - 'Goldfish' (Lives saved by the use of personal life preservers and dinghies), 'Caterpillar' (Lives saved by parachutes) or: - 'Guinea Pig' (Lives saved by pioneering surgery conducted by Archibald McIndoe at the Queen Victoria Hospital Sussex) In many instances the accounts are recalled in great detail from the official records of medals and awards. True heroism and gallant deeds supported by original photographs create an easy to read book, revealing areas of interest not previously visited in this format.

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Skalski Against all Odds provides a gripping and detailed account of the career of General Stanislaw Skalski, VM & bar, KW & 3bars, DSO, DFC & 2bars, the leading Polish fighter ace. Skalski gallantly served from the first day of the Second World War, becoming the first ace of the conflict, and continued his service through the Battle of Britain, Channel offensive, Tunisian & Italian campaigns, and Normandy landings. He finished the war on staff positions. Returning to communist Poland, he was duly arrested on charges of spying on behalf of Great Britain and sentenced to death. He was not executed, and after spending eight years in prison, he rejoined service, to fly MiG-15 jet fighters. He continued his service at non-flying positions, and following retirement, he was involved in popularizing aviation as well as in politics. The story is based on a number of documents, many of them published here for the first time and in most cases previously unavailable to the English reader.

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In this wry, candid and sometimes poignant memoir, Peter Owen recalls his lonely Jewish boyhood in Nazi Germany and migration to England where he survived the London Blitz, a teenage dalliance with aspiring actress Fenella Fielding, and working with a motley variety of book publishers. He founded his eponymous publishing firm in 1951, becoming one of the youngest publishers in Britain. A pioneer of books on social themes, gay and lesbian writing and literature in translation, Owen’s authors included ten Nobel laureates and brought Hermann Hesse, Ezra Pound and Anaïs Nin to a wider audience. Enjoying their success, he and his wife Wendy were memorably stylish and eccentric figures at the literary parties of the 1960s and 1970s. Owen describes his often hilarious encounters with many of those he published, including John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Salvador Dalí, his adventures in Japan with Yukio Mishima and Shūsaku Endō, and in Morocco with Tennessee Williams and Paul and Jane Bowles. As one of the last of the great émigré publishers, his death in 2016 aged 89 signalled the end of a literary era.

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In the summer of 1956, while on shore leave from the Merchant Navy, Thomas Hicks was spotted playing a new type of music in a coffee bar in London. Having never heard anything like this 'rock' performed in Britain, he became an overnight sensation--never returning to his ship. He changed his name to Tommy Steele and for 65 years he has been Britain's greatest showman. In a remarkable career spanning radio, records, Broadway and Hollywood, Tommy Steele started the rock revolution in the UK before moving to lighter, family entertainment and becoming a well-loved household name. He received an OBE for Services to Entertainment in 1979 and a knighthood for Services to Entertainment and Charity in 2020. He has conquered the West End, Hollywood and Broadway; holds records for the longest-running one-man-show in the London's West End and also the record for most appearances at the hallowed London Palladium. However, his remarkable career has never been detailed accurately and comprehensively--until now. Authorised by Sir Tommy Steele himself, 'A Life in the Spotlight' offers readers a detailed insight into the career of an unrivalled entertainment legend, with countless facts, stories, details and anecdotes never before committed to print.

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Robert Ellis James-Robertson (always known as Ellis) was born in Wales but lived at Worcester from the mid-1950s and travelled extensively around the country building up a large railway collection. In the 1960s a few of Ellis’s photographs were published in books and magazines and the credit ‘R. E. James-Robertson’ may be familiar to some. This book of mainly unpublished colour and black & white photographs has been created entirely from Ellis’s North Wales archives, it will appeal to railway enthusiasts, modellers, and those interested in local history. The time period covered is from the mid-1950s through to the mid-1960s with steam being the predominant motive power. Much of North Wales is covered and in addition to BR standard-gauge lines, the narrow-gauge Penrhyn and Padarn slate systems are also seen. Ellis and his wife Norah celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in 2013, and Ellis passed on in April 2015 aged 92. Their daughters, Louisa and Fiona, contacted film-maker and author Michael Clemens whose late father was a friend of Ellis’s. Ellis’s collection lives on today at films shows around the country given by the author and now in this second of a number of books using his photographic archive.

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The concept of strategic assault of a Nation’s industrial and military base by air was heralded by Britain as far back as the immediate period before the start of WWI. However, stringent post-War economy ensured that the creation of Bomber Command in 1936 witnessed a daunting disparity between the aim of striking at an adversary’s ability to sustain itself on the Field of Battle and the means to do so. The initial three years of WWII left the Command very weak in both human and material terms. The navigational means with which to accurately guide the bombers to targets was almost completely lacking during this period, while the enemy defensive network inflicted serious casualty rates. The punishment handed out was accordingly minimal in effect. The resurgence of the Command’s fortunes coincided with the appointment of Sir Arthur Harris as C-in-C. The advent of the more efficient Lancaster and Halifax designs ensured a greatly increased bomb tonnage could be delivered. Electronic aids such as ‘Gee’, ‘Oboe’ and ‘H2’S’ ensured the task of locating targets was simplified. So it was that by 1944/45 the Third Reich’s industrial base was virtually rendered impotent.

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Steve Smith tells the story of the five Battalions of the Norfolk Regiment who served on the Western Front using previously unseen photographs, diaries, accounts, and letters. He has also had full access to the Norfolk Regiment Museum archives. It is the men who served in the Norfolks who will tell this story. This book will interest readers nationally & locally as it not only studies the Regiment’s participation in well-known battles such as Ypres and the Somme, but also takes a fresh look at the lesser-known battles fought, battles such as Elouges in 1914 and Kaiserschlacht in 1918. Steve has considered the German perspective too, looking at the men who faced them at places such as Falfemont Farm in 1916. Using new evidence from the Regiment’s participation in the Christmas Truce, he separates the truth from myth surrounding the stories of football played at this time, a controversy that still rages. Steve has walked the ground over which they fought and fresh maps complement this research so the book serves as a history book for those at home and a guidebook for those who wish to get out and explore, down to trench level, the ground covered in its pages.

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During the First World War fledgling crews in basic aircraft experimented with dropping grenades and small bombs. The need for elements of accuracy became obvious and evolved from that point onwards. The various light bombers that flew during the inter war period developed procedures which carried on into the early years of the Second World War. Bomber Command eventually witnessed the large 4-engined ‘Heavy Bombers’, namely the Handley Page Halifax, Shorts Stirling and Avro Lancaster develop into significant bomb carrying aerial platforms. This book will provide the reader with an explanation of the origin of Bomb Aimers, the training of these men and the complexity of dropping many types of bomb ordinance is an enthralling story. Technical and scientific developments are examined to provide an understanding of the trade that enabled the Bomb Aimers wing to be awarded to the men who volunteered at this time. Many gallantry medals were won by Bomb Aimers. Accounts of dangerous operational flying will be revealed by Bomb Aimers in numerous aircraft. This book will examine true accounts that took place; many will be based upon personal flying logbooks and other unique material originating from the aircrew themselves.

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The ‘Yamato’ and her sister ship the ‘Musashi’ represented the ultimate development in the battleship. Together, the two ships were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. Named after the Yamato Province, ‘Yamato’ was designed to counter the numerically superior fleet of the US Navy. Built amongst a shroud of secrecy and deception and commissioned shortly after the outbreak of the war in the Pacific she was present at a number of engagements including the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Despite having been designed to engage and sink enemy surface vessels, the ‘Yamato’ would only fire her unrivalled 18.1-inch guns at an enemy surface target on one occasion, in October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In the final months of the war, as Kamikaze aircraft targeted American landing fleets off Okinawa, the ‘Yamato’ herself embarked on a one way mission of sacrifice, in a last desperate roll of the dice in an attempt to wreak havoc on the landing forces around Okinawa, the last stepping stone prior to an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. Despite being products of war from the moment of their construction the ‘Yamato’ and ‘Musashi’ occupied a unique which continues to this day.

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Sir Bob Reid is former Chairman of Shell UK, British Rail, ICE Futures Europe and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Scotland, among much else. His is a story of determination and achievement shot through with political upheaval, economic reversal and industrial catastrophe. His first posting was to Borneo. Stints in Africa, Thailand and Australia followed, after which he became chair of Shell UK, responsible for all oil exploration, production, refineries and coastal shipping. He then steered disparate large organisations through challenging times by drawing on universal principles about people, power and profit that he had absorbed in his youth and expatriate years. Success was often rooted in his understanding that you don’t need to like every member of your team, but you do need to elicit and nurture each individual contribution. The wisdom gained in a lifetime of leadership---of realising the talent and energy of the people you work with---will inspire anyone who wants to make a difference in business and social enterprise, now or in the future.

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This Index is in two books extending to 1482 double column pages. A Places index extends to 45 pages. This is followed by a Subjects index of 192 pages in contextual form broken into six elements that make up the diarist's life. The Biographical index forms the majority of this work detailing more than 3400 individuals, their careers and families.

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Using only original official period documents from the Second World War this book tries to provide the reader with the same information on the Panzer V Panther tank that was available to British and Commonwealth senior officers and tank crews during the war. As soon as intelligence reports confirmed the existence of the Panther tank the hunt was on to find reliable information on how to knock out this new German tank. Most people believe that the only way to stop a Panther was to penetrate its armour with an armour piercing A.P. round. Luckily the British 17 pdr anti-tank gun could do that but the British were also looking how to knock them out by using other weapons. They tested using high explosive artillery rounds and 20 mm air attack aircraft canon rounds to penetrate and damage the tank's rear engine deck and puncture the vehicle's radiators. Loss of water would cause the engine to overheat and stop working. Tank radiators were large and spares were not carried on the tank. If the Panther could not be recovered back to a maintenance depot the crew would have to abandon the tank and disable it by setting off internal explosive charges.

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Primus in armis, 'first in arms', is the motto of the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, Britain's senior Regiment of volunteer cavalry raised in 1794 against the threat of French invasion. The Wiltshire Yeomanry has served for over 200 years and fought in South Africa, the First and Second World Wars and more recently as individuals in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of the places where the Regiment fought in the Second War will be familiar to modern readers including Aleppo, Palmyra, Baghdad, and more bizarrely, meeting the Russian army on friendly terms in Tehran. The battle of El Alamein in the western desert was possibly their finest hour. The author has accessed the extensive Regimental archives and interviewed many families of veterans to obtain a glimpse into the personalities of these soldiers. A wealth of unseen material from around the world has surfaced including stories concerning the aristocracy of the inter-war years and the previously forgotten service of the Regiment's most famous officer. This first, illustrated history of 'The Royal Wilts' will appeal to anyone with an interest in the British Army.

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The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, to give it its full name, owes its origins to the 'Pour le Merite' (Blue Max), an imperial award dating back to 1740. The Complete Knight's Cross volumes tell the story of all 7,364 men who were granted the award (including all the disputed awards). The three volumes have over 200 photos of holders of the medal and over 100 photos of their graves. Volume One deals with 1939-41 (numbers 1-1267) and is subtitled 'The Years of Victory'. Volume Two deals with 1942-43 (numbers 1268-3685) and is subtitled 'The Years of Stalemate'. Volume Three deals with 1944-45 (numbers 3686-7364) and is subtitled 'The Years of Defeat'. The recipients are listed in the order of the date of award. Each entry starts with the recipient's rank and name, followed by details of the action or actions for which they were granted the award. Other interesting facts and stories are also included for many of the awards. Burial locations, where known, are also given. Any higher awards (Oak Leaves, Swords, Diamonds and the ultimate Golden award) are also covered.

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