Index, ill (b/w plates), p.342.non-fictionThe story of Douglas Bader's life is the stuff of legend. After losing both his legs in a flying accident he returned to the RAF at the beginning the Second World War to become Britain's most famous airman and hero. In the Battle of Britain he led his squadron of Spitfires to kill after kill, keeping them going with his unstoppable banter. Shot down in occupied France, his German captors had to confiscate his tin legs in order to stop him trying to escape. And Bader faced it all, disability, leadership and capture, with a charm and determination that was to become an inspiration to all around himbader douglas - biography, battle of britain - history

Index, notes, appendices, glossary, ill (plates b/w), p.463.non-fictionIt was one of the most controversial and still haunting aspects of World War One: the execution of 351 British soldiers for cowardice and desertion in the face of the enemy. Using new material that only now has become available from the Public Records Office and other sources, this compelling history sets out the facts of these courts-martial and shootings--and just as important, places them in the context of the military, social, and medical context of the period.world war 1914-1918 - history, world war 1914-1918 - military tribunals

Index, Bibliography, ill (b/w), maps, p.896.non-fictionA biography of Britain's greatest hero since Nelson. This volume covers the Middle East campaigns and the invasion of Francefield marshal montgomery - biography, world war 2 - history

Index, ill (b/w plates), maps, p.276.non-fictionThe author has travelled in Nepal and met many Gurkhas to investigate the background to their traditional service to Britain and the threat that this is now under. He recounts famous battles when they collected VC's and earned admiration.great britain - army - history, ghurkha soldiers

Index, maps, ill(b/w), p.285.non-fictionA narrative history illustrated by photographs from the Nation's Archives by A.K. MacDougall, which include the Boer War, World War I, World War II, Korea War, Malaya War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Battle of Britain, Mediterranean War, Tobruk, Battle of the Coral Sea, Desert War, Gallipoli, Dardanelles and diggers. With a list of VC (Victoria Cross) awards from Australia and New Zealand.australia - history - military, australian army - history

Index, bibliography, notes, ill (b/w), p.348.From the 1930s through WWII to Afghanistan today, from total war to counterinsurgency, this history unravels and defines the intangible qualities that differentiate the "Sky Men" from other soldiers Seventy years ago the Parachute Regiment was formed - the army's elite air assault force was tough, well-trained, and designed to fight hazardous operations behind enemy lines with little or no backup. Dropping into the middle of enemy territory, these "Sky Men"- British, American, German, and Russian soldiers - engage in gruelling combat in the most dangerous conflict zones around the world. Ex-Parachute Regiment officer Robert Kershaw reveals the history of these airborne forces and their role during the most dramatic battles of the 20th century. He finds out what drives a "Sky Man" to take these extraordinary risks, and what marks these sky warriors out from ordinary soldiers. How do military paratroopers conquer the fear of jumping from aircraft at low level, by night, and frequently under fire? Has the helicopter replaced the need for parachutists in the 21st Century? Has the increasing lethality of anti-aircraft weapons made the airborne option redundant? These issues are examined alongside the personal experiences of the Soviet "Locust Warriors," German Fallschirmjäger, British Red Devils, American "devils in baggy-pants," and Les Paras. Based on letters, diaries, and exclusive interviews with soldiers from around the world, this book is full of vivid personalities and nail-biting action.great britain - history - military, great britain - parachute regiment

Index, ill (b/w) p.182.non-fictionA history of the Bolton Paul aircraft and their production facilities at Norwich and Wolverhamptonboulton paul aircraft - history, airplane companies - great britain

ill (b/w,col) p.49.non-fictionA descriptive and pictorial history of British tanksarmoured warfare - britain - history, tanks - britain, matilda, crusader

index, ill (maps), p.499.non-fictionIn the nine years of war between 1802 and 1814 Britain triumphed of Napoleon in a number of battles. great britain - history - 1802-1837, great britain - military history

index, ill, p.340.non-fictionWhen war broke out in 1914, no one was more caught up in the popular tide of patriotism than the young boys who wanted to fight for King and country. This is their untold story - the heroics of boys aged as young as thirteen who enlisted for full combat training.world war 1914-1918 - personal narratives - british, child soldiers - great britain - history

Index, ill, p.486.non-fictionFollowing the publication of the remarkable 'Forgotten Voices of the Great War', Max Arthur has once again gone deep into the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive to create this landmark oral history of the most devastating conflict the world has ever seen, the Second World War. The Imperial War Museum holds a vast archive of interviews with soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians of most nationalities who saw action during WW2. world war 1939-1945 - personal narratives - britain, oral history

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, maps, p.497.non-fictionOn a wet afternoon in September 1938, Neville Chamberlain stepped off an aeroplane and announced that his visit to Hitler had averted the greatest crisis in recent memory. It was, he later assured the crowd in Downing Street, 'peace for our time'. Less than a year later, Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began. This is a vital new history of the disastrous years of indecision, failed diplomacy and parliamentary infighting that enabled Nazi domination of Europe. Drawing on previously unseen sources, it sweeps from the advent of Hitler in 1933 to the beaches of Dunkirk, and presents an unforgettable portrait of the ministers, aristocrats and amateur diplomats whose actions and inaction had devastating consequences.great britain - politics and government - 1936-1945, great britain - diplomatic history

Index, notes, references, ill, p.554.A brilliant insight into Britain's atomic scientists during the war from the Costa Award-winning author of The Strangest Man .world war 1939 – 1945 – science – britain, atomic bomb - great britain

Ill, p.286non-fictionIn April 1951, at the height of the Korean War, Chinese troops advanced south of the 38th parallel towards a strategic crossing-point of the Imjin River on the invasion route to the South Korean capital of Seoul. The stand of the 1st Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment, against the overwhelming numbers of invading troops has since passed into British military history. In The Edge of the Sword General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, then Adjutant of the Glosters, has painted a vivid and accurate picture of the battle as seen by the officers and soldiers caught up in the middle of it. The book does not, however, end there. Like the majority of those who survived, the author became a prisoner-of-war, and the book continues with a remarkable account of his experiences in and out of Chinese prison camps. This book is not an attempt at a personal hero-story, and it is certainly not a piece of political propaganda. It is, above all, an amazing story of human fortitude and high adventure. korean war 1950-1953 - history, korean war - campaigns - gloucestershire regiment

Index, bibliography, ill, maps, p.774.non-fictionRudyard Kipling said of the Boer War that it gave the British, 'no end of a lesson'. Thomas Pakenham's account of the terrible conflict shows how the war had unforseen consequences for the Europeans and South Africa.boer war 1899-1901 - history, south africa - history

Ill, p.156.non-fictionA history of British and Commonwealth SAS forces from the second world war to the Falklands war.great britain - special air services, clandestine military forces

Index, Bibliography, ill, maps, p.240.non-fictionDunkirk (Dunkerque), France's fourth port, is an ancient city with a colourful history of war. From here a large part of the British Army escaped.world war 1939-1945 - campaigns - france, operation dynamo

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.688.non-fictionThe untold story of the Sandakan death marches of World War II. After the fall of Singapore, in February 1942, the Japanese conquerors rounded up tens of thousands of British and Australian soldiers and shipped them to prison camps scattered throughout Hirohito's newly won Empire. The fall of Britain's 'impregnable fortress' was the greatest humiliation in British military history, for which Churchill never forgave the Japanese. But nothing would surpass the wretched fate of some 2,700 British and Australian prisoners who were shipped to British North Borneo later that year. They landed in Sandakan, on the east coast of the island, after a 10-day voyage on a Japanese 'hell' ship, and were herded into a jungle camp some eight miles inland. Thus began the three-year ordeal of the Sandakan prisoners of war - a barely known story of unimaginable horror.world war 1939-1945 - prisoners of war - sandakan, japan - prisons and prisoners of war

Index, bibliography, notes, ill, p.179.non-fictionHistory, artifact and art combine to evoke a time in colonial Australia when the Motherland, and the British Army in particular, loomed large. Challenges our understanding of Australia's military history and the primacy of the Anzac legend.australia - history - military, australia - relations - great britain

ill, p.152.non-fictionDescribes the operations of the Lancaster bomber during World War IIworld war ii - aerial operations - britain, royal air force - history

ill, p.128.non-fictionDescribes the operations of the Swordfish torpedo bomber during World War IIworld war ii - aerial operations - britain, royal air force - history

ill, p.157.non-fictionDescribes the operations of the Beaufighter fighter bomber during World War IIworld war ii - aerial operations - britain, royal air force - history

ill, p.304.non-fictionDescribes the operations of the Lancaster bomber during World War IIworld war ii - aerial operations - britain, royal air force - history

Index, ill, p.192.non-fictionIllustrated and textual description of RAF single seat multi gunned fightersfighter planes - great britain, royal air force - history

Index, bib, ill, p.144.non-fictionWar songs - War games - Armistice - Conscription - War propaganda.great britain - social conditions - 1914-1918, world war 1914-1918 - social conditions

Index, bib, ill, p.171.non-fictionDetails the contributions of Britain's Royal Air Force during World War II. world war 1939-1945 - aerial operations - britain, royal air force - history

Index, ill, , map, p.208.A fresh and absorbing account of the greatest air battle in history.world war 1939-1945 - aerial operarions - britain, battle of britain, royal air force

Index, ill, p.175.The Luftwaffe's winged assault on Europe and the Battle of Britain. An illustrated history of air power in the Second World Warworld war 1939-1945 - aerial operarions - britain, battle of britain

Index, ill, maps, facsims, sound disc, p.61.Volume one of a four volume series featuring Blitzkrieg. A four-volume series, published in association with the Imperial War Museum, covering the whole six-year global conflagration. Each volume contains removable documents and memorabilia in pockets or pasted in, featuring personal accounts from British veterans and contemporary letters, diaries, maps and archival facsimile memoabilia from the Imperial War Museum. Memorabilia includes: Order No 1 - the German order to invade Poland which led to the British declaration of war against Germany; The fake passport used by Sub-Lieutenant Heinz Kummer of the Graf Spee to flee back to Germany following the Battle of the River Plate; and, Montgomery's personal diary charting the events of the evacuation from Dunkirk; Roosevelt's handwritten notes for his 'day of infamy' speech which saw America's entry into the war; the order to McArthur to abandon the Philippines; Stalin's handwritten notes on his 'scorched earth' policy; and the letters home of a British officer in Africa telling of his harrowing involvement in the battles of Gazala and Tobruk; Montgomery's orders for El Alamein; Stalin's annotated proof of his famous 5 September 1942 order regarding partisan warfare; and diary kept by a German soldier on the North African front; Montgomery's hand-written D-Day notes; Eisenhower's draft 'in case of failure' message written before D-Day; and, diary of a sergeant in the Royal Hampshire regiment covering his involvement in the D-Day landings, battle for Normandy and Operation 'Market Garden' - the battle for Arnhem.world war 1939-1945 - history, world war 1939-1945 - pictorial works

Index, ill, maps, facsims, sound disc, p.61.Volume two of a four volume series featuring Axis ascendancy. A four-volume series, published in association with the Imperial War Museum, covering the whole six-year global conflagration. Each volume contains removable documents and memorabilia in pockets or pasted in, featuring personal accounts from British veterans and contemporary letters, diaries, maps and archival facsimile memoabilia from the Imperial War Museum. Memorabilia includes: Order No 1 - the German order to invade Poland which led to the British declaration of war against Germany; The fake passport used by Sub-Lieutenant Heinz Kummer of the Graf Spee to flee back to Germany following the Battle of the River Plate; and, Montgomery's personal diary charting the events of the evacuation from Dunkirk; Roosevelt's handwritten notes for his 'day of infamy' speech which saw America's entry into the war; the order to McArthur to abandon the Philippines; Stalin's handwritten notes on his 'scorched earth' policy; and the letters home of a British officer in Africa telling of his harrowing involvement in the battles of Gazala and Tobruk; Montgomery's orders for El Alamein; Stalin's annotated proof of his famous 5 September 1942 order regarding partisan warfare; and diary kept by a German soldier on the North African front; Montgomery's hand-written D-Day notes; Eisenhower's draft 'in case of failure' message written before D-Day; and, diary of a sergeant in the Royal Hampshire regiment covering his involvement in the D-Day landings, battle for Normandy and Operation 'Market Garden' - the battle for Arnhem.world war 1939-1945 - history, world war 1939-1945 - pictorial works