Author: Nick Thomas Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1844159434 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 192
Book Description
Stafford at War is a vivid many-sided portrait of a county town during one of the extraordinary periods in English history. In his wide-ranging narrative Nick Thomas looks at the impact of the Second World War on the townspeople - how it affected their daily lives, their work, their families. And he recalls the contribution Stafford made to the war effort at home and abroad. The story he tells gives a fascinating insight into wartime life and it is a moving record of the sacrifices made by local people. His detailed and fully illustrated account will be fascinating reading for everyone who knows Stafford and wants to find out about its history.
Author: Jon Latimer Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 9780674010161 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 460
Book Description
It also changed the way the British Army fought, using concentrated artillery on a scale not seen since 1918 to break through Axis defences built in depth."--BOOK JACKET.
Author: Stephen Wynn Publisher: Pen and Sword Military ISBN: 1526708329 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 191
Book Description
A photo-filled history of how London’s historic business district endured the Blitz during World War II, and emerged to thrive once again. The City of London was an obvious target for German bombers during the Second World War. What better way for Nazi Germany to spread fear and panic amongst the British people than by attacking their central business district? Although it wasn’t densely populated, there were still enough people working there during the day for attacks on it to take their toll. The city’s ancient and iconic buildings also bore the brunt of the German bombs, including churches designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire in 1666. The book looks at the effects of war on the City of London, including the damage caused by the eight months of the Blitz between September 1940 and May 1941. The most devastating of the raids took place on December 29, 1940, with both incendiary and explosive bombs causing a firestorm so intense it was known as the Second Great Fire of London. It also looks at the bravery of the staff at St Bart’s Hospital, which was one of the medical facilities that remained open during the course of the war. Other stories include the sterling work carried out by the City’s civilian population and the voluntary roles that they performed to help keep the city safe, including the Home Guard and the Fire Watchers, who spent their nights on the city’s rooftops looking out for incendiary devices dropped by the Luftwaffe. Ultimately, despite the damage to its buildings and population, by the end of the war the City of London was able to rise, like a phoenix, from the flames of destruction, ready to become the vibrant and flourishing borough that it is today.
Author: Keith Neilson Publisher: Boydell & Brewer ISBN: 178327705X Category : Great Britain Languages : en Pages : 350
Book Description
Provides a forceful corrective to the idea that Britain 'stood alone' until the invasion of the Soviet Union and the attack on Pearl Harbor brought about 'the Grand Alliance'.
Author: David R Roberts Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd ISBN: 1838593888 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 328
Book Description
This is not a tale of flying aces or great heroics. Set against the unfolding backdrop of the Second World War, it is the story of an ordinary young ground crew airman living through extraordinary times and a long way from home. Told largely through his personal diaries and letters, The Flying Erk charts the highs and lows of Leading Aircraftman Ray Roberts’s war-time experiences. It shows why he volunteers for the RAF, leaving behind his family and his girl. From his home town in Staffordshire, it follows Ray’s journey through basic training and a two-month circuitous sea voyage before recounting his contributions to the North Africa campaign and the relief of Malta (“the most bombed place on earth”). Living conditions are harsh and illness rife, the work gruelling and often dangerous. But close friendships, shared humour and thoughts of a better future inspired by mail from home provide welcome respites from the hardships and toil. And then there’s Dim the Wonder Dog. At its heart is a love story, revealing the stages of a budding romance between two people kept apart by war. At first glance it’s a familiar picture: boy meets girl, boy leaves for war, love develops at a distance. But things do not stay that simple: circumstances and people change. It’s a love story with a difference. World War 2 was a long and bloody conflict in which few lives were left untouched and whose outcomes reverberate to this day. From the outbreak of hostilities in 1939 to the Allied victory in 1945, the main developments of that conflict are tracked and their impact on Ray, his girl and their relationship clearly seen.
Author: Douglas d’Enno Publisher: Pen and Sword Military ISBN: 1473885957 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 409
Book Description
Long before war was declared on 3 September 1939, Brighton had steadily and carefully prepared for the coming conflict by building shelters, organising defence and rescue services, and providing the population with advice of its own or from government sources. These precautions stood the town in good stead when the first bombs fell on it in mid-1940 and during the many subsequent attacks. The resort did not, admittedly, suffer as grievously as some others on the South Coast, yet civilian casualties totalled nearly 1,000, of whom over 200 were killed, 357 were seriously injured and 433 slightly injured. This is not the first book to reveal the toll of the bombs locally, but it is the first to describe, in parallel, day-to-day events and societal responses during the nearly six years of conflict. As elsewhere, restrictions often made life arduous for residents. Yet despite the hardship, the town’s citizens even marshalled sufficient resources to ‘adopt’ two battleships and generously saved towards assisting with other wartime causes, such as help to our ally, Russia. The hospitality trade and resort-related services suffered greatly during the periods when the defence ban on entering the town was enforced. In many respects, however, life went on largely as before, particularly in the spheres of entertainment, leisure and some sports. Douglas d’Enno, an authority on the history of Brighton and environs, shows in meticulous detail, in absorbing text and numerous pictures, how life in wartime Brighton was a struggle for many, but never dull.
Author: Associate Professor of Contemporary History Tommaso Piffer Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0198826346 Category : Languages : en Pages : 292
Book Description
The first comparative and pan-European study of the Big Three's involvement in Resistance movements across wartime Europe. From Yugoslavia to Poland and from Greece to France and Italy, the book vividly depicts and sharply analyses how this proxy war shaped the history of the post-war settlement.
Author: R. A. C. Parker Publisher: OUP Oxford ISBN: 0191647144 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 352
Book Description
The Second World War is a compact but comprehensive and absorbing history of the war. It examines the causes of the war, how it was won and lost, and its far-reaching consequences for humanity. In tracing the key events of both the European and the Far Eastern wars, R. A. C. Parker outlines clearly the strategies of the participants, the economies and societies that underlay them, and the strengths and weaknesses of their fighting forces. He describes the decisive battles and analyses the reasons for their outcome, paying close attention to special features of the war: mobile warfare, forced migration, the Holocaust, strategic and nuclear bombing. Unlike many other histories of the war this book places British and European involvement squarely in an international perspective, and the author never shies away from raising fundamental questions.
Author: Nick Thomas
Author: Jon Latimer
Author: Stephen Wynn
Author: Keith Neilson
Author: David R Roberts
Author: Douglas d’Enno
Author: Louise A. Arnold-Friend
Author: Associate Professor of Contemporary History Tommaso Piffer
Author: R. A. C. Parker
Author: