Search results for ""Author E. C. Coleman""

A farcical twelve-year stand-off between the British and the Americans, with a pig as the only casualty

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Travels of Sir John Maundeville.

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In early 1918, it seemed to many that the British people and the Allies were close to defeat. At home, the chief culprit was the German U-boat. Sailing almost unopposed from the North Sea ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend, the submarines were taking a heavy toll on Allied shipping, and no one seemed to be doing anything about it. The job eventually went to Vice Admiral Roger Keyes, ‘The Modern Nelson’, who had a long record of close action with enemies from China to the Heligoland Bight. Equally, he was unafraid of those senior to him whom he considered to be incompetent. Within days of his appointment Keyes had put together an audacious plan to sink blockships in the enemy-held ports. However, his success, along with the eleven VCs won in the battles, led his detractors to play down his achievement, even by using German propaganda against him. This entirely new account, containing groundbreaking research and rare illustrations throughout, at last sets the record straight about these important engagements.

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Ernest Coleman has led or participated in four expeditions to find out the fate of the Franklin expedition. 129 men were lost from the two ships the Erebus and the Terror, looking for the North-West Passage. Many theories have been put forward – and some of them, in the author’s opinion, have been shaped by political bias. ‘The whole subject has been taken over by academics and politicians, both for questions of Canadian sovereignty and academic advancement – all at the cost of Franklin’s (and the Royal Navy’s) reputation.’ In this work, Coleman is determined to set the record straight: ‘I have provided answers to all their machinations (including the “lead poisoning” tripe, and the “cannibalism” nonsense), cracked the code in the writings of Petty Officer Peglar (bones found and wallet recovered), and given new answers to all the many smaller mysteries that continue to be reproduced by others. I have also revealed the possible site of Franklin’s grave, the biggest mystery of all.’ No Earthly Pole is an adventure set within an adventure. Ernest Coleman’s lifetime quest for the truth at the ends of the earth is an extraordinary tale of determination in itself. The story of Franklin’s expedition remains one of the greatest and most tragic events of the age of exploration.

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Ernest Coleman has led or participated in four expeditions to find out the fate of the Franklin expedition. 129 men were lost from the two ships the Erebus and the Terror, looking for the North-West Passage. Many theories have been put forward – and some of them, in the author’s opinion, have been shaped by political bias. ‘The whole subject has been taken over by academics and politicians, both for questions of Canadian sovereignty and academic advancement – all at the cost of Franklin’s (and the Royal Navy’s) reputation.’ In this work, Coleman is determined to set the record straight: ‘ I have provided answers to all their machinations (including the “lead poisoning” tripe, and the “cannibalism” nonsense), cracked the code in the writings of Petty Officer Peglar (bones found and wallet recovered), and given new answers to all the many smaller mysteries that continue to be reproduced by others. I have also revealed the possible site of Franklin’s grave, the biggest mystery of all.’ No Earthly Pole is an adventure set within an adventure. Ernest Coleman’s lifetime quest for the truth at the ends of the earth is an extraordinary tale of determination in itself. The story of Franklin’s expedition remains one of the greatest and most tragic events of the age of exploration.

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With the exception of the royal marines, who adopted light infantry rank insignia from their earliest days, the Royal Navy was slow to introduce distinguishing rate badges for those serving on the 'lower deck'. Even when they were introduced, in 1853, the corresponding introduction of a uniform was still four years away. As for officers, the design and arrangement of buttons also played a part in distinguishing one rating from another.

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This is the story of a plain silver chalice from the first century AD that now rests in the heart of England. From its momentous beginnings as the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper, and as the vessel used to catch His blood at the Crucifixion, to its unrecognised discovery in the late nineteenth century, the chalice has passed through the hands of saints, crusaders, kings, queens, Templar knights and ‘Guardians.’ This account revisits the beginnings of the Knights Templar and their rise to incredible wealth and power; it introduces a completely new version of the origins of the Arthurian legends; and it disputes the supposed loss of the Crown Jewels in the Wash and the cause of King John’s subsequent death. It re-examines the murder of Thomas Becket and resurrects the forgotten story of a knight who went from disregarded son and child hostage to Regent of England and Guardian of the Grail. The story reveals the reason behind one of England’s greatest church mysteries: an early thirteenth-century clue that has taken over 700 years to be deciphered. Most importantly of all, however, it establishes where the Holy Grail is now.

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For over a century and a half, since the Uniform Regulations of 1856 were introduced, identification of rank amongst officers in the Royal Navy, its branches and its reserves has not been restricted to a single, or even small number, of insignia. Rank may be seen on jacket cuffs, on shoulder badges, on shoulder boards and on epaulettes. It may be seen on swords and buttons, and in the manner in which buttons are worn. Cap peaks indicate rank, as do collars, cocked hat ornaments and cuff slashes.

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