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41 Squadron RAF is one of the oldest RAF Squadrons in existence, having celebrated its 95th Anniversary in 2011. The unit has seen service from the First World War through policing duties in the Middle East in the 1930s, throughout the Second World War, and more recently in the First Gulf War. Sadly, however, its history has never been written. Blood, Sweat and Valour is the first comprehensive study of this gallant squadron, concentrating on its Second World War activity between August 1942 and May 1945 with a specific emphasis on the men who earned the enviable reputation the squadron still enjoys today. Blood, Sweat and Valour recounts the unit's role within battles, operations, offensives and larger strategies, and details experiences made by the pilots and ground crew participating in them. The squadron's actions are often revealed for the first time, through records that have hitherto never been available. Sources include over 350 documents from 41 Squadron's archives, and thousands of pages of data from over 250 National Archives files and hundreds of references from the London Gazette, major periodicals, books and websites from across the globe in both English and German. Personal sources also include 35 pilots' logbooks, 40 personal accounts and interviews.

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A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1916-1930: The Men Who Made Manston covers the development of aviation in Thanet up to and including the period of the First World War. Manston had its origins in the Royal Naval Seaplane Station at Westgate that was later expanded for landplane operations. The fact that the landing ground at Westgate was both dangerous and unsuitable lead to the development at Manston. Lieutenant Spenser Grey was the first airman to land in Thanet and he began a popular trend with various aviators being attracted to the area. In August 1913, The Daily Mail organised the Round Britain Aeroplane Race that both began and ended at Ramsgate giving a great boost to the town. The first unit to be based at Manston was 3 Wing RNAS that moved from Detling in April 1916 and the first CO was appointed in May. During the war, aeroplanes based at Manston and particularly its 'War Flight' played an important role in defending the Thames and Medway estuaries. Together with RNAS Eastchurch, Manston's War Flight of Triplanes, Camels and Pups patrolled the coast and amongst its most famous moments was when on 22 August 1917, a German Gotha bomber was shot down near Vincent's Farm. The authors give a detailed history of the units that were based at Manston during this period, their operations and the commanding officers. Manston was unique in many ways, but particularly as it was the only airfield to have built an underground hangar for the protection of its aeroplanes. After the First World War, Manston expanded and it took on the role of a training station. This first book in a three-book series will finish approximately at the end of the war period and continue with the growth of the station during the inter-war years.

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Donald Barnard came to England from St Lucia to join the RAF as a bomber pilot. On his second tour of operations, he was shot down over northern France in September 1942. He was rewarded with the Distinguished Flying Cross whilst missing in action. Donald evaded capture; assisted to Spain by an escape network, and later compiled a detailed diary of his entire evasion exploits. Posted to test fly Spitfires, flying in excess of 1,000 individual aircraft. Barnard then moved to the Far East supply dropping in 1945. In Burma disapproving of the delay in recovering the emaciated allied POWs, he decided to take an aircraft without authority. 25 prisoners were recovered from Bankok to Rangoon. After a full Court Martial, he was dismissed from the RAF. He flew civilian aircraft after the war in Australia and in Britain, joining No.2 Civil Anti Aircraft Co-operation Unit in Norfolk, 1953. Flying ended for him in 1955, and he died in 1997 at the age of 79. Rarely has the opportunity been available to reproduce from a diary such a personal account of evasion. A bomber and Spitfire pilot, Court Martialled for the rescue of Japanese held emaciated allied prisoners of war, creates a unique career story supported by French resistance sources original photographs.

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Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in April 1889, and shot himself in a bunker in Berlin in April 1945 with Russian soldiers beating at the door, surrounded by the ruins of the country he had vowed to restore to greatness. Adolf Hitler: The Curious and Macabre Anecdotes - part biography, part miscellany, part historical overview - presents the life and times of der Fuhrer in a unique and compelling manner. The early life of the loner son of an Austrian customs official gave little clue as to his later years. As a decorated, twice-wounded soldier of the First World War, through shrewd manipulation of Germany's offended national pride after the war, Hitler ascended rapidly through the political system, rousing the masses behind him with a thundering rhetoric that amplified the nation's growing resentment and brought him the adulation of millions. By the age of 44, he had become both a millionaire with secret bank accounts in Switzerland and Holland, and the unrivalled leader of Germany, whose military might he had resurrected; six years later, he provoked the world to war. Patrick Delaforce's book is a masterly assessment of Hitler's life, career and beliefs, drawn not only from its subject's own writings, speeches, conversation, poetry and art, but also from the accounts of those who knew him, loved him, or loathed him. The journey of an ordinary young man to callous dictator and architect of the 'Final Solution' makes for provocative and important - thought not always comfortable - reading.

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Lords and Masters is a work of fiction, but with mastery and style Macdonell uses his undoubted journalistic skill to unmask much that was unpleasant in the West End Society circles of the early 1930s. He exposes the hypocrisy of the monied class and with biting satire weaves a tale of intrigue, turning it into a thriller. His character depiction of the unscrupulous war-profiteer Sir Montagu Anderton-Mawle is a masterpiece and his ability to so ably define all that is wrong in the world - as relevant today as it was in the 1930s - reveals a genius in the art of narrative composition. Although written in 1936, Macdonell was early in seeing that war was becoming inevitable and in Lords and Masters he foresaw with frightening prescience how events would unfold. He was correct in foreseeing the attack on Singapore, but was happily wrong in regard to Japanese attacks on San Francisco and Montreal. The book is built around the character of James Hanson, a steel millionaire, and the cynical manoeuvrings of those who would seek to profiteer out of human misery. James' youngest daughter, Veronica, is a Nazi-lover, presumably modelled on Unity Mitford. "Veronica, dear," said Mrs. Hanson admiringly, "aren't you being a little impertinent?" "No, seriously, Daddy, that atrocity stuff is all rot. Hitler wouldn't allow it for a moment. He isn't that sort of man. A few Jews have been beaten up perhaps, but that's nothing. Veronica, who heartily despised the physical appearance of any male under about six-foot-three, was not so narrow-minded as to despise male intelligence simply because it was encased in a relatively dwarfish body. After all, no one could call the Fuehrer particularly handsome, and yet what a mammoth intellect he had got! Dr. Goebbels was positively ugly, but look how he scattered the non-Aryans with his inner fires of patriotism and genius! Happily for Macdonell, England was not invaded in 1940, otherwise he might have been on the list of those to be rounded up.

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England, Their England is an affectionately satirical inter-war comic novel first published in 1933. It hit the right spot at the time and became a bestseller, and has endured as a classic of humour, transending the passage of time. It is particularly famed for its portrayal of a village cricket match. The plot - if there can be said to be a plot - is set in 1920s England, the book is written as if a travel memoir by a young Scotsman who had been invalided away from the Western Front, "Donald Cameron", whose father's will forces him to reside in England. There he writes for a series of London newspapers, before being commissioned by a Welshman to write a book about the English from the view of a foreigner. Taking to the country and provincial cities, Donald spends his time doing research for a book on the English by consorting with journalists and minor poets, attending a country house weekend, serving as private secretary to a Member of Parliament, attending the League of Nations, and playing village cricket. The village cricket match is the most celebrated episode in the novel, and a reason cited for its enduring appeal.An important character is Mr Hodge; a caricature of Sir John Squire (poet and editor of the London Mercury) while the cricket team described in the book's most famous chapter is a representation of Sir John's Cricket Club - the Invalids - which survives today. The book ends in the ancient city of Winchester, where MacDonnell had gone to school. New introduction by Alan Sutton

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During the five years of the Second World War, the power of engines and speed of aircraft increased as much as it did during twenty years of peacetime. Conventional aircraft and engines reached the limits marked in the original design and surpassed them, very fast. The basis for this huge achievement was exotic fuels, short-lived artificially overpowered engines, propellers with four, five, and even six blades, and thinner wings with special sections of laminar flow. Then the faster Allied fighters began to be attacked by a demon that lived in the air: scientists called it compressibility buffeting and different type of aircraft suffered it at different speeds and manifested itself in different ways. The American and British designers never understood the true causes behind the aerodynamic phenomenon. They were forced to adopt brute force solutions by increasing engine power on the turbojet powered fighters, leaving in the background the research on the last projects of fighters, driven by monster piston engines. The purpose of this book is to present them to the public, for its notable interest.

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In the years after the First World War, thousands of men who had fought on the battlefields were drawn back to the Western Front. For the former soldier, these journeys of remembrance offered a chance to pay homage to their past and to see what peace looked like in those places where they had only known war. Pilgrimage to the Western Front gathers together the first-hand accounts of veterans as they retrace their wartime footsteps and stand again at the scenes where they lived through history's bloodiest conflict. The fascinating reports reveal what they found on their return and their reflections and memories of places still healing from the devastation of the war years. Discover their emotions and what greeted the battle-scarred men as they revisited old haunts, met former friends and foes, and confronted their past. Illustrated with remarkable archive images of the destruction of post-war France and Belgium, many drawn from the collection of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, this volume features fifty personal stories spanning each of the interwar years. Join those who witnessed the Great War on a poignant voyage back to the Western Front and see a world recovering from one great conflict and edging towards another.

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Very few people would include Mexico in the list of U.S. World War II Allies. Sadly, Mexico's aid to the United States and the Allies has been largely ignored by historians and is mostly absent from American history books. When the Mexican aviators had the opportunity to show their courage in battle, they did so with valor. Allied theater commander General Douglas MacArthur commended the pilots and 150 support personnel. The 31 pilots of Mexican Expeditionary Force 201st Fighter Squadron flew missions supporting ground troops in the Philippines and long-range sorties over Formosa. The Aztec Eagles helped the Allies defeat Japan. They helped end the isolationism of Mexico. They paved the way for important agreements between the United States and Mexico. They helped modernize the Mexican Air Force and demonstrated that Mexico could mount a successful expeditionary force. Significant as these achievements are, perhaps the unit's most important legacy is that the Aztec Eagles fought for honor and for Mexico as Allies in WWII, creating national pride throughout their homeland. That pride endures and is evident today as the story of the Aztec Eagles can be heard in towns and villages across the nation.

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Owners of estates and titles in the peerages of England, Scotland and Ireland were more, rather than less, likely than ordinary people to experience dramatic and gruesome deaths and certainly more likely to have them recorded. This study, drawing on the pages of 'The Complete Peerage', describes some 7,000 such deaths, revealing when, where and how they occurred and how they were commemorated. In the Middle Ages, war, execution, imprisonment, plague, poison and sheer misfortune brought an end to many noble lives. In the sixteenth century wars, executions and murders continued to take their toll alongside 'affrays' or 'skirmishes' so often blamed for deaths in Scotland and Ireland; and ill-health in amazing variety. Wars at home, at sea and abroad were fatal for many in the seventeenth century, wars overseas in the eighteenth, but by then death from too much food or drink was much more common and death in fashionable mansions in London's west end more usual than in ancestral castles. In the nineteenth century came deaths in remarkable places, sometimes very suspicious.

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When Hammer Films broke box office records in 1957 with `The Curse of Frankenstein’, the company not only resurrected the gothic horror film, but also created a particularly British-flavoured form of horror that swept the world. `The British Horror Film from the Silent to the Multiplex’ is your guide to the films, actors, and filmmakers who have thrilled and terrified generations of movie fans. In just one book, you will find the literary and cinematic roots of the genre to the British films made by film legends such as Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, Hammer’s accomplishments starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, and the post-Hammer horrors such as Peter Walker’s `Frightmare’ and huge British-made successes such as `Alien’ and the zombie craze of the twenty-first century. Featuring the history, the films, the stars, the directors, and the studios in one fascinating, fun, and fact-filled volume, whether you are an absolute beginner or a seasoned gore-hound, this volume covers everything you ever wanted to know about the British horror movie, but were too bone-chillingly afraid to ask.

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This is a flying adventure book set within the framework of the Cold War and told through the lens of the RAF Pilot's Flying Log Book. Philip Keeble's logbooks cover ten different types of aircraft: from learning to fly in a Chipmunk trainer in 1965, right through to flying the Tornado F3 Fighter in 1994. These true tales are told as anecdotal yarns, ones that put flesh on the bare bones of a logbook in an exciting, amusing and self-deprecating way. The narratives stir up memories of escapades and the events leading up to them. They depict exciting sorties, dangerous emergencies, stupid moments, funny occurrences, and operational practices, but also show the balance and contrast of operating in the Cold War. Keeble got into more than a few scrapes. He flew very high, very low, and very fast with a foolhardiness that at times was culpable. The memories of these events will make you chuckle, break out in a cold sweat, and some may even cause a lump in your throat. The author can vouch for the veracity of every single tale, even the shocking ones. Strap yourselves in securely and hold on tight-for this could be quite a ride.

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A vibrant, accessible social history of Rome, from 753 BCE to the fall of the Empire some 1300 years later. To support its findings the book features hundreds of translations of inscriptions and graffiti from original authors-Roman, Greek and Jewish-and evidence culled from the visual arts, curse tablets, official records and letters both private and official. Each comes with detailed commentaries, placing them into social and historical context. The result is a fascinating survey of how Roman men, women and children lived their lives on a daily basis taking in marriage, slavery, gladiators, medicine, magic, religion, superstition and the occult; sex, work and play, education, death, housing, country life and city life. There are also chapters on domestic violence, family pets and FGM. In short, 'When in Rome' gives a vivid description of what the Romans really did.

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The Haunted Reader & Sylvia Plath takes an unusual approach to Sylvia Plath studies focusing on the readers of Sylvia Plath rather than the historical figure herself. Working from the premise that Plath is a highly visible cultural figure, this book explores why her readers become so attached to her. Why does she have such a large and devoted following? What is it about her that attracts people, and once they are drawn in, how does this fandom manifest itself? This book is based on primary research carried out by the author who has collected stories and accounts from readers of Plath and explores key areas such as the first encounter with Plath, ways in which fans feel they 'double' with Plath, pilgrimages that they make to places where she lived and worked, how they interact with images of Plath and how they respond to objects owned by Plath. This study is unique. There is currently no other book that deals with this subject. As such, The Haunted Reader & Sylvia Plath offers a fascinating and original approach not only to Plath scholarship but to the increasing body of literature on fandom studies.

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Henry VI (1422-61), a man 'more given to God and devout prayer than handling worldly and temporal things', was the third, and least successful, Lancastrian king of England; his wife Margaret of Anjou, 'a great and strong laboured woman', became a formidable political force in her own right; and the Wars of the Roses, so dramatically portrayed by William Shakespeare as bloody dynastic struggles fought for the possession of the crown, brought the usurpation of Edward IV (1461-83), the humiliation and exile of Margaret of Anjou, and the murder of her husband in the Tower of London. Combining a framework of interpretation and a rich selection of passages from contemporary and near-contemporary sources, this compilation enables readers to appreciate just why the rule of Henry VI resulted in the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses, what these internecine conflicts were like, and how they culminated in the end of the House of Lancaster.Keith Dockray was formerly Senior Lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Huddersfield.This volume, following in the footsteps of his Edward IV: From Contemporary Chronicles, Letters and Records (2015) and Richard III: From Contemporary Chronicles, Letters and Records (2013) completes a trilogy of source readers covering English kings, politics and war circa 1450 to 1485

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Monty's desert legions - 7th Armoured Division, 51st Highland Division and 50th Northumbrian Division - helped him win at El Alamein and throughout North Africa, and eventually in North West Europe after D-Day. Monty's Northern Legions is the story of two distinguished formations who played significant roles in the liberation of North West Europe. 50th Tyne Tees Division was a fine infantry division first blooded at El Alamein and later in Sicily. Monty gave 50th Division the dangerous honour of attacking on D-Day in the first wave ashore on 'Gold' Beach. The only D-Day Victoria Cross was awarded to CSM Hollis of the Green Howards. The division fought through the Normandy campaign up towards the German border before disbandment in late 1944. 15th Scottish Division's three brigades swept into Normandy in Operation 'Epsom', Monty's first great battle for Caen. They fought their way through France and the Low Countries and were one of two assault divisions entrusted with storming across the Rhine in Operation 'Plunder'.

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A Flying Life: An Enthusiast's Photographic Record of British Aviation in the 1930s consists of photographs taken by E. J. Riding, the author's father, who spent his working life in the aviation industry. He was apprenticed to A. V. Roe & Company and employed as an aircraft engineer up to the outbreak of war. During the war, Riding became an AID inspector and was seconded to Fairey Aviation, London Aircraft Production, and the de Havilland Aircraft Company, where he signed out Halifax bombers and Mosquitoes as airworthy and ready for test flying. Sadly, Riding was killed in a flying accident in 1950. During his short life, he gained a lasting reputation as an engineer, professional photographer, draughtsman, and aero modeller. Riding began taking photographs of aircraft in 1931, aged fifteen. Fortunately, he kept copious notes recording the locations and dates of when and where the aircraft were photographed. More importantly, he noted aircraft colour schemes - details rarely recorded by the press at the time. The range of aircraft types photographed by Riding includes Tiger Moths, RAF fighters, ultralights, and airliners.Together they give an extensive cross-section of flying in Britain up to the outbreak of the Second World War. The photographs are of excellent quality and taken from a variety of angles - they are not all of the sterile bog-standard side view. Many depict aircraft being stripped for maintenance and servicing, while others show aircraft dumped or having crashed. Although approached in a generally light-hearted manner, A Flying Life features in-depth and informative captions.

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The de Havilland Aircraft Co opened an aerodrome in 1930 on farmland that it acquired outside Hatfield. The company's School of Flying was the first operation to take up residence. Flying clubs moved in and recreational facilities were developed. Garden parties, aerobatic displays and national air races were hosted. Regular visitors included famous flyers, royalty and aristocracy, actors and actresses, politicians, senior military ranks and representatives from Britain's other great aircraft manufacturers. Throughout 1934, new buildings were constructed to house de Havilland's global headquarters, factory production and Aeronautical Technical School. The victory of the sleek, red Comet in the England-Australia air race would have lasting significance for the town. The legendary Tiger Moth and iconic airliners such as the Dragon Rapide came off the production lines. Increasing numbers of RAF pilots were trained by the School of Flying while the garden parties, flying displays and air races continued. Military aircraft contracts were getting larger as long shadows from Europe reached the town.

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In 1841, a twenty-eight-year-old Scottish missionary, David Livingstone, began the first of his exploratory treks into the African veldt. During the course of his lifetime, he covered over 29,000 miles uncovering what lay beyond rivers and mountain ranges where no other white man had ever been. Livingstone was the first European to make a trans-African passage from modern day Angola to Mozambique and he discovered and named numerable lakes, rivers and mountains. His explorations are still considered one of the toughest series of expeditions ever undertaken. He faced an endless series of life-threatening situations, often at the hands of avaricious African chiefs, cheated by slavers traders and attacked by wild animals. He was mauled by a lion, suffered thirst and starvation and was constantly affected by dysentery, bleeding from hemorrhoids, malaria and pneumonia. This biography covers his life but also examines his relationship with his wife and children who were the main casualties of his endless explorations in Africa. It also looks Livingstone's legacy through to the modern day. Livingstone was an immensely curious person and he made a habit of making meticulous observations of the flora and fauna of the African countryside that he passed through. His legacy includes numerable maps and geographical and botanical observations and samples. He was also a most powerful and effective proponent for the abolition of slavery and his message of yesterday is still valid today in a continent stricken with drought, desertification and debt for he argued that the African culture should be appreciated for its richness and diversity. But like all great men, he had great faults. Livingstone was unforgiving of those that he perceived had wronged him; he was intolerant of those who could not match his amazing physical powers; and finally and he had no compunction about distorting the truth, particularly about other people, in order to magnify his already significant achievements.

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In 1925, Adolf Hitler chose a remote mountain area in the southeast corner of Germany as his home. Hitler settled in a small house on the Obersalzberg, a district overlooking the picturesque town of Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. After Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Obersalzberg area was transformed into the southern seat of power for the Nazi Party. Eventually the locale became a complex of houses, barracks, and command posts for the Nazi hierarchy, including the famous Eagle's Nest, and even the mountain itself was honeycombed with tunnels and air-raid shelters. A bombing attack at the end of World War Two damaged many of the buildings and some were later torn down, but several of the ruins remain today, hidden in the woods and overgrown. This guide book will help history-minded explorers find these largely-forgotten sites, both on the Obersalzberg and in Berchtesgaden and the surrounding area, with detailed directions for driving and walking tours.

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This collection of over 350 letters written by William Beckford to his bookseller George Clarke over the years 1830 to 1834, gives a vivid picture of the insatiable connoisseur in the act of gathering the books and prints that ultimately became part of the library of the Duke of Hamilton, sold in 1882. This correspondence, with the addition of Clarke's own letters to Beckford, constitutes the most complete documentary record of Beckford's collecting habits and literary pursuits in existence. They are significant as historical documents that guide the reader into the golden age of the London book trade with its array of wealthy collectors, publishing houses, auction firms, book and print dealers.They also shed light on the negotiations with the publisher Richard Bentley for the publication of Italy; with Sketches of Spain and Portugal and trace the anxiety Beckford experienced in his fruitless efforts to sell the Episodes of Vathek. The editor's explanatory notes are comprehensive, revealing Beckford's enthusiasms and the fury of his attack against competitors in the field.The Consummate Collector will be warmly received by bibliophiles, historians, and readers interested in one of the most fascinating men of his time.

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The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was the paramount Allied sabotage force of the Second World War. Its job - in Churchill's words - was to "set Europe ablaze" through the use of sabotage, insurrection and assassination. One of its "shining Stars" and "legends" was the close-combat pistol instructor, Colonel Hector Grant-Taylor. Grant-Taylor taught the commandos, secret agents and irregular soldiers the art of how to kill at close quarters. He taught them how to be ruthless, lethal and covert, and yet his own life was itself a mystery worthy of a John Buchan thriller novel. Misinformation, deception, bravery, murder, and ultimately redemption, all play a part in his story. At Close Quarters finally puts to rest the myths and legends that surrounded his life, and unravels the mysterious truth behind the enigma that was Colonel Hector Grant-Taylor!

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Raymond Lodge's death from shell shrapnel in 1915 was unremarkable in a war where many young men would die, but his father's response to his untimely death was. Sir Oliver Lodge, physicist, scientist, part inventor of the wireless telegraph and the spark plug, could not let go of Raymond and went on a controversial and bizarre journey into the realm of life after death. Following Sir Oliver's journey, Dear Raymond, explores the untapped topic of spirituality pre- and post-war, the influence that a national tragedy can have on a nation's belief system and the long lasting effects from this time that we still feel today. Alongside Lodge were some of the great names of the day, as a member of the Ghost Club and the Fabian Society he was in contact with famous men such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who went on his own mission into the afterlife after losing a son. Lodge's exploration and the controversy it exploded opens our eyes to how modern religion has been shaped and changed by the conflicts of the Twentieth Century.

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National league glory last visited Manchester City in 1968, when the likes of Bell, Lee and Summerbee lifted the English Football League Championship trophy. Fast forward forty-four years. The 2011/12 Premiership season belongs to Manchester City. It has been a long wait, but premiership glory has finally come to rest at the Ethiad Stadium. My Eyes Have Seen the Glory is a match-by-match, blow-by-blow, superbly illustrated account of the most memorable season of English football in recent years. The world has looked on as Man City has grown in strength under the steady leadership of Roberto Mancini. The chairman expected, the fans expected; Mancini has delivered. It has been a season of magnificent highs - the 6-1 trouncing of Manchester United, named by Sir Alex Ferguson as 'the worst result in my history' - and depressing lows - the infamous Carlos Tevez saga - but there has always been drama, passion and world-class football. Victory in the Premiership is to be cherished; My Eyes Have Seen the Glory is the book every Man City fan has been waiting to read. Read it, bask in the glory of long-awaited victory, and celebrate the birth of a new era in the Premiership - Manchester City's era.

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The first great British aircraft engine manufacturer, the Sunbeam Motor Car Company turned to the sunrise industry of aviation in 1912, and was among the first to buy an aircraft to test their engines, flown by a full-time test pilot, the famous Jack Alcock. Through the First World War Sunbeam was a vital supplier, of both engines and aircraft, particularly to the Royal Naval Air Service. Consistently Sunbeams were the most powerful British engines available, and they were fitted to the first aircraft to torpedo an enemy ship, the only aircraft to fly at the Battle of Jutland, and the first seaplanes to operate in the heart of Africa. After the War they powered the greatest of British Airships the R.34, the first aircraft to fly the Atlantic east to west, and the first to make the double crossing, and the R.33, the British dirigible with the highest flying hours. As Sunbeam reverted to car manufacture their aero engines were fitted to a succession of land speed record-breaking cars, including the first to exceed 150 mph and the first to exceed 200 mph, ironically, faster than any Sunbeam-powered aircraft.

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With the approach of WW2 the de Havilland Aerodrome at Hatfield went through a major expansion, concentrating on Mosquito production and development. The Company also pioneered the production and development of jet engines led by Major Frank Halford, leading to the Vampire jet fighter. Early commercial aircraft were the Dove and Heron, but the major pioneering programme was the Comet, the world's first commercial jet airliner, which first flew on 27 July 1949 and entered service with BOAC on 2 May 1952. The DH.108 tailless research aircraft based on the Vampire fuselage was used to investigate the effects of the speed of sound, exceeding Mach 1 on 9 September 1948. The de Havilland jet airliner developed through the Trident, which was the first aircraft capable of automatic landing with passengers in all weathers, leading to the BAe 146 Whisper Jet, Britain's most successful jet airliner. In addition to developing turbojet engines, the Engine Company also developed rocket engines. The Propeller Company developed air-to-air guided missiles and the Blue Streak stage 1 booster space rocket. Other types developed by de Havilland at Hatfield were the Sea Vixen naval strike fighter and the DH 125 Business Jet.

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In 1938, the Reichsluftfahrtsministerium (German Air Ministry, RLM), issued a requirement for a new twin-engine heavy fighter to replace the Me 110. This type of combat aeroplane was known as Zerst rer (Destroyer). The first prototype flew in September 1939. The Me 210 proved very difficult to fly, having numerous deficiencies. It was said to be deadlier to its crews than the enemy. Nevertheless, the Luftwaffe ordered the Me 210 into production. Operational trials began in late 1941, but it was eventually acknowledged that the aircraft had to be redesigned in order to be accepted into Luftwaffe service. The whole Me 210 debacle proved a huge scandal. A redesigned variant, the Me 410 began to reach Luftwaffe units in mid-1943. Even if the Me 210 and Me 410 were similar in appearance, the latter had to be redesigned to avoid the extremely poor reputation of the Me 210. The Me 410 proved a quite successful aeroplane, being used as a heavy fighter and for reconnaissance duties. Its closest Allied equivalent was the British DH 98 Mosquito. More than 1,500 Me 210/410s were built in Germany and Hungary, with only two Me 410s surviving today.

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Most books about Celtic saints are based on their legendary medieval lives. This book, however, focuses on the sites where these early Christians lived and worked. Archaeology, combined with early inscriptions and texts, offers us important clues which help us to piece together something of the fascinating world of early Christianity. The book is illustrated with the author's own evocative photographs of the sites where the Celtic saints of north Britain worked and prayed. The reader is therefore drawn into the beautiful world which these men and women inhabited. 'Celtic Saints of Scotland' includes accounts of most well-known saints, and a number of less famous individuals. It is not, however, exhaustive: lack of historical data means that there are hundreds more Celtic monks and nuns, of whom we know little beyond their names. The book is easy to read, with an Introduction and maps to pinpoint the sites described and photographed. It is aimed at a broad reading public. Since it is both readable and fully illustrated, it will appeal to anyone interested in history, landscape or spirituality, and to tourists in Scotland, Northumbria and the Isle of Man. Based on sound scholarship, it will also be of value to students of history, religion and culture.

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One of the most popular areas of ancient history is war in the Greek world. The number of books, articles, web pages and blogs on every conceivable aspect of war in ancient Greece is endless, and continues to grow. So why add to the pile? Wars & Battles of Ancient Greece is not just another arid account of wars and battles, with endless, often exaggerated, casualty figures and repetitive tactics. It is different from most other books in the field because it has context as its focus: each of the battles covered is, where sources permit, placed in its historical, political and social context: why was the battle fought, how was it fought, what was the outcome, and what happened next ? No war or battle has ever been fought in isolation - there is always a prelude, a casus belli and a series of consequences. These are revealed wherever possible for each of the wars and battles in this book. In order to reinforce our focus on context the book includes chapters covering warfare in civilisations and cultures before Greece; the Greek war machine; and Greek women and conflict.

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Lance Corporal Dean Bailey was just 22 when he was sent to Afghanistan as a Sniper Section Commander. Craving the opportunity to finally see some action after a disappointing tour in Iraq, he now had the chance to put his elite marksmanship training to the test. To his disappointment, the Taliban proved to be nothing like a traditional enemy and their hit and run ambush tactics mean that more often than not Dean and his men are cooped up inside a Viking armoured personnel carrier, desperate to get out and take the fight to the Taliban on the ground. During one such ambush, Dean's Platoon is attacked from all sides, and Dean's Viking is immobilised. Going up on top of the carrier to fend off the assailants with his rifle, an RPG explodes next to him, covering him with burning diesel. Continuing his stubborn defence, and enabling his men to scramble out the back door of the stricken vehicle, Dean takes a direct hit from an RPG ending his brave covering fire. Dragged from the burning Viking, he is flown back to England with little expectation of surviving the flight home. Dean's next battle was the hardest he ever had to face.

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Major Leif Lundsten flew hundreds of Spitfires during the Second World War. As a fighter pilot with 331 Squadron and test pilot with Vickers-Armstrong, he strapped on as many as seven different marks of Spitfires. All the way from the early mark II up to the rare, brutal XII version. Following Lundsten s career as a fighter pilot through the War, all the Spitfires he flew are covered in this book along with descriptions of his sorties. Behind every Spitfire there is a story to be told. Stories of brave heroism, tragic deaths or determined resilience. Many of the Spitfires disappeared quickly, shot down by Luftwaffe fighters. Others lived longer than our hero did, and still exist today, becoming legendary Spitfires on their own. The author pays tribute to a forgotten Spitfire hero, a gallant and brave man that did his country proud. Time and time again Leif Lundsten took a Spitfire to the air, whether it was an air-test or to meet the Luftwaffe in a dogfight over the channel. He never lived to tell his story, but the stories of the Spitfires he flew remains. This is Leif Lundsten s legacy."

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A generation raised on the British Empire confronted the unexpected horrors of modern war. Never were a nation's expectations so different from the coming clash of the First World War. Expecting a vigorous romp to victory, soldiers endured a brutal quagmire. Presenting letters & diaries of soldiers themselves, many unseen for nearly a hundred years, Smith allows men from Field Marshall "Douggy" Haig to plain Private Smith to have a clear voice. With enough narrative to recall how the Great War unfolded, a wealth of vivid detail brings the miserable life in the trenches back to life. What began with high hopes and horses ended with disillusion and tanks. From the build up at the beginning of the war until the immediate post-war reduction, Letters from the Front: Letters and Diaries from the BEF in Flanders and France 1914-1918 is enlivened with fascinating details and makes a moving, entertaining and informative read.

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The North American F-100 Super Sabre served with the United States Air Forces in Europe for a total of sixteen years at the height of the Cold War. The primary mission of the USAFE units that flew the 'hun' was the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons on targets in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The nuclear mission was practised on the gunnery ranges of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and North Africa. The pilots, called bomb commanders, sat alert all over Europe to take off at a moment's notice and fly alone into the heart of enemy territory carrying just one atomic bomb often more powerful than those dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War. These dedicated pilots acknowledged that many of their targets were situated so far away that there would be no prospect of return to their home base and their families and friends. The secondary mission of the USAFE F-100 units was to prepare for conventional war.

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'Fascist Italy at War: 1939-1943' examines in depth Mussolini's expansionist aims in the Balkans and North Africa; Italy's brazen seizure of Albania; Italy's belated entry into WWII; Italy's disastrous military operations in Egypt, Greece, Yugoslavia, and the U.S.S.R.; the Allied invasions of Northwest Africa and Sicily; and the fall of Fascism.

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On 22 January 1879, British forces in Zululand suffered a shocking and unimaginable defeat at the hands of the Zulus resulting in over 1300 dead, including more than 800 regular British soldiers. But the Zulu victory came at a cost, and their losses were very heavy too. Yet, surprisingly, scattered in archives, museums, and private collections around the world, sits many first-hand accounts from those who were there. Inaccessible to most, these primary sources are vital to our understanding of the battle and how it unfolded, and they shed important light on the experiences of those who were there on that fateful day. British soldiers, those from the colonial forces, civilians, and those Zulu warriors who attacked the camp, all left detailed descriptions of the battle. By bringing these sources together, this book-the largest collection of primary accounts ever gathered on the battle - allows the reader to view all sources under one roof, providing a better understanding of the battle, how it played out, and what those involved witnessed on that monumental day in both British and Zulu history.

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This book charts the story and the events of one of the Royal Navy's last great voyages. Led by one of the most iconic warships to serve with the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, the Special Service Squadron embarked on a journey around the globe, showing the flag for Great Britain and strengthening ties across the British Empire.

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The Second World War was the cause of more civilian casualties, many of them young people, than of military. In Britain, young people were on the front line, facing the threat of enemy invasion and the fragmentation of daily life. Their education was disrupted as their schools were taken over by government, the military and ARP; as pupils were evacuated and staff conscripted; curriculum was diluted and part-time schooling instituted; and concerns over food and accommodation increased. Along with the physical dangers of bombing and the increased disease caused by deprivation and social dislocation, youngsters endured psychological and emotional pressure from anxieties over home and family. Young people worked in industry and agriculture; served in the Home Guard and ARP; carried out voluntary activities in health and welfare; and prepared for military service as cadets and in uniformed organisations. School buildings aided the war effort as military HQs, training centres, research centres for weapons development and, central to ARP, especially in the cities, were often at the forefront of the bombing. This book attempts an overview of the circumstances under which youngsters grew up between 1939 and 1945 on the Home Front, with particular emphasis on the 14-18 age group.

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'Everlasting Love' featured in Kenneth Branagh's 2021 film, 'Belfast,' is a classic song that catapulted the Love Affair to fame and for three years the group were almost as popular, in Britain, as the Beatles. This never before told 'behind the screams' story of the youngest group to have a No. 1 hit, may be fun and fascinating, but it is also a serious piece of rock music history, appealing to everyone who loved, or lived during, London's swinging 60s. Patricia was the secret fiancee of Mick Jackson, bass player, and has catalogued his life in the group in astonishing detail. Whether the boys were being arrested and jailed for causing chaos after climbing Eros or shocking the nation by exposing the music industry's biggest ever cover-up, live on Saturday night TV, a controversy was never far away. Coupled with a revealing, often humorous account of her own and Mick's romance, this is an exceptional memoir. Together for 55 years and still talking, Mick & Patricia have possibly the longest, happy relationship in the memory of pop .

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When the Panzer VI Ausf. E Tiger I tank first arrived on the battlefield, it started the Allied and Soviet intelligence race to discover everything they could about this new threat. The British Army quickly needed to know how to knock it out, then communicate that information back to the troops that had to face this new German metal monster either by official means or via newspapers. This is not a typical book on the Tiger tank. It tries to show the reader what the British and Commonwealth forces knew about the Tiger I tank during the war and the results of scientific firing trials. Unpublished Second World War original documents, discovered in different archives, have been transcribed and reproduced along with any existing photographs found in those official secret reports. These include top-secret Bletchley Park and Enigma intercepts of German messages that were decoded and translated before being sent to wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Illustrated with over 360 images, "How to Kill a Tiger Tank" is the definitive examination of a world-changing fighting vehicle.

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Princess Eugenia (Ena) of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice (Bee) of Saxe-Coburg, granddaughters of Queen Victoria of England, married into the Spanish royal family. In 1906 Ena became the consort of King Alfonso XIII, who had been sovereign since his birth in 1886. Three years later Bee married his cousin, Infante Don Alfonso. Ena's marriage proved unhappy with the ill-health of her haemophiliac sons and her husband's infidelities. The King abdicated in 1931, and they led separate lives in exile until he died in 1941. Bee and her husband Ali were more popular, although personal differences between them and the King resulted in their temporary exile for the first years of their marriage, they later returned to Spain, staying there for the rest of their lives. Bee died in 1966 and Ena three years later. This dual biography, written by Anna de Sagrera with additional material from Dona Beatriz, Bee's granddaughter, looks in depth at the friendship of the mutually supportive cousins against the often turbulent background of twentieth century Spanish politics.

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Nigel Kennedy changed the course of classical music in the late 1980s with his interpretation of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’. He was revolutionary: in his performance and presentation; in his technique and his open-minded attitude. A natural boundary-pusher and musical adventurer, Nigel Kennedy blew minds - and sales records - as he became the best-selling violinist of all time. Instead of an Introduction, Nigel opens with a tongue-in-cheek ‘Warning’: readers should beware of his politically incorrect writing style and his frank take on the BBC, record companies, the Bavarian Police and any other ‘self-appointed wielders of power.’ It sets the tone for a truly original memoir that is as playful, unconventional and carefully executed as his music. The book is structured like a musical performance, with ‘Interludes’, ‘Outros’ and an ‘Encore’ separating the regular chapters which cover Nigel’s life story, from his humble beginnings and scholarship to the newly created Yehudi Menuhin School - and then New York at The Juilliard School - to his flourishing career and break-through as a world-class superstar. ‘Interludes’ cover subjects varying from Nigel’s best and worst gigs (“It might seem strange that shit gigs stick in the mind so much more than the good ones but I suppose it makes sense…”), to run-ins with rock stars and Police forces around the world. His anecdote on the London Metropolitan Police’s handling of a noise complaint at an after-show all-star jam is particularly funny: “These guys (the Met) were cheerful, they dealt with the situation and didn’t escalate the problem when there wasn’t one. 10/10” ‘Outros’ cover Nigel’s thoughts on classical music today - fascinating reading from the perspective of a virtuoso - to Brexit, where the spelling of the word alone leaves the reader in little doubt as to which side of the fence the author sits. ‘Encores’ is a comprehensive section on Nigel’s recorded output, covering his early classical work, the Four Seasons and later albums. There are insights into his work with rock musicians including Robert Plant, the late drummer Michael Lee, Killing Joke singer Jaz Coleman, and producers Eddie Kramer (Jimmy Hendrix) and John Leckie (Stone Roses). Nigel’s writing on Gershwin, Yehudi Menuhin, Stephan Grappelli (‘my biggest inspiration’), Jimi Hendrix and the Doors is compelling. Nigel writes of his interests outside music - boxing and football - which provide inspiration and balance to his creative output (on Aston Villa - “a true blessing for me to have an outlet in which I was surrounded by normal, honest, hard-working people who did ‘proper jobs’”). There is a splendid chapter on ‘Kitchen Golf’, a not-without-risk variation of the game, conjured up with close friend and mischief-maker Gary Lineker, during a messy late night kitchen session. “My whole life has been spent breaking down barriers between people and this book is proof of that.” states Nigel in his ‘Warning’. It’s a Mission Statement borne out in ‘Uncensored’ with aplomb.

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This beautifully illustrated book provides information on the air arms of the nations which took part in aerial warfare during the First World War featuring the Aces and their mounts. The war was a global conflict with 57 nations involved, but with aviation being in its infancy only eight nations had a major air arm to their fighting Services. The Allies: Britain, America, Italy, Belgium, France, and Russia and then the Central Powers comprising Germany and Austria-Hungary. This book is not intended to be comprehensive, for to provide such a work would require many volumes totalling thousands of pages. Instead this should be viewed as a relatively detailed overview; a general introduction to the topic of military aviation in the First World War. The aim has been to produce a well-illustrated book to maintain the interest of the reader with some short biographies of the leading Aces and basic information on the aircraft types used, and their development during the First World War. Furthermore, this book focuses on the air arms initially developed by the respective armies, and therefore the air arms of the navies, although fleetingly touched upon, are not dealt with in much detail. To provide reasonable coverage for the Royal Naval Air Service alone would require a separate and substantial additional volume. In a similar manner, although Zeppelins, other airships and balloons are mentioned and illustrated, little detail is given. The book contains details of the top Aces for each nation and in extensive illustration sections provides an extensive summary of the aircraft flown. While much of the focus is on the Aces, the book provides information on the aircraft flown and also has a separate illustrated section on Manfred von Richthofen and his 'flying circus'.

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For 100 years, the world's oldest independent air force, the RAF, forged a distinguished record in military air operations from the First World War through to recent operations over Iraq and Syria. There is, however, a field of endeavour in which the Royal Air Force has excelled: selling its public image. Of the three armed services, the air force is the one perfectly placed to advertise its wares 'at home' with the facilities to accommodate large audiences, through scintillating flying displays with ever more impressive aircraft and large airfields with readily available facilities. Originally centred on the RAF station at Hendon in North London, the RAF held its first public 'Air Pageant' in 1920. A grand affair, it continued as an annual event until 1937 when it was succeeded by the widespread 'Empire Air Day' held at several RAF stations until war intervened in 1939. The RAF came to true military prominence during the Second World War, particularly the 'Battle of Britain'; this then became the focus of the celebration and commemoration. However, the Battle of Britain Displays constantly contracted, eventually to zero, but for much of their existence were the most impressive air shows around the globe.

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The story of the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough, forerunner of the World’s premier aeronautical research establishment wherein were designed a diversity of aircraft including many of those that equipped the RFC, RNAS and RAF during the First World War. Originally established to build observation balloons for the Victorian British Army, the Factory later expanded to employ over 3500 people by mid-1916, at which time it became the subject of a political controversy that ended in a judicial enquiry. In 1918 its title was changed to the Royal Aircraft Establishment, not only to avoid a clash of initials with the newly formed Royal Air Force but to better define its changing role. Each of the many designs for airships and aeroplanes that were produced by the Factory between 1908 and 1918 is described in detail, illustrated by photographs, and with three-view drawings provided for the more prominent designs.

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Shortly after the end of the Second World War, the United Kingdom was described as one vast aircraft carrier anchored off the coast of Europe. During a seven year period 500 airfields were constructed to serve the needs first of the RAF and later the USAAF as they carried the war to German-occupied Europe. The airfields that were constructed took many different forms from training airfields and Advanced Landing Grounds to grass fighter airstrips and vast complexes used to accommodate heavy bombers. This book charts the history of each Second World War airfield in and around the UK providing a unique insight in to the construction, operational life and post-war history of each airfield. Alongside detailing the history of each airfield, this work comprehensively records the details of each unit that operated from airfields around the UK. The information provided in this meticulously researched book is supported by a wealth of 690 photographs providing an illustration into the life of each wartime station.

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The first B-29 flew over Tokyo on 1 November 1944. It was a photographic reconnaissance aircraft ironically named ‘Tokyo Rose’. The Ki.44 fighters of the 47th Sentai took off to intercept it but as it turned out the Superfortress flew at such an altitude and speed that they could not reach it. The Ki-44-II-Otsu had been specifically designed for this type of interception and could reach the astonishing rate of climb of 5,000 m in four minutes; however it was not good enough. During the following ten months, a devastating bombing campaign of thousands of Superfortress destroyed 67 Japanese cities and half of Tokyo. The cultural shock and the political consequences were huge, when it was realised that the Japanese industry was not able to produce the specially heat and stress-resistant metallic alloys that were required to manufacture the turbo superchargers needed by the fighters in charge of defending the Japanese mainland. They lacked the essential chromium and molybdenum metals to harden the steel. This fact thwarted the manufacturing of numerous advanced projects of both conventional fighters and those derived from the transfer of German technology fitted with turbojets and rocket engines. They are thoroughly described in this book.

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