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Just finished a war novel:

 

From The City From The Plough

 

Alexander Baron ISBN 978-0-9482238-44-4 first published Jonathan Cape Ltd 1948 republished with additional historical notes and critique with notes about the Author 2010 Black Spring Press. The book is available from the usual on line sources for not very much money.

 

I'm not a huge fan of novels but this is based on the authors experiences and observation of a real front line infantry Battalion just prior to D Day and in action up to and including the the Mont Picon action. The names are fictitious but based on real people and real events in the correct time frame and settings.

 

Highly acclaimed when first published in 1948 and I would suggest 40 years ahead of it's time in terms of character portrayal it is a highly detailed study of the ordinary British infantry man of the period.

Highly recommended

Pete

I saw it described in CMV and remember reading it in the 1970's. it was excellent. The bit I recall is the OC of the company walking across a bridge picking a few flowers. Said officer encouraging his me on to overcome the enemy fire, a fine display of leadership with the resulting outcome......

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  • 5 months later...

Just finished 'Fighting with the Screaming Eagles' Robert M Bowen ISBN 1-85367-465-6 first published 2001 by Greenhill books in the UK and Stackpole books in the US

The book is a personal account by a Robert M Bowen a member of the 401st/327th Glider Infantry Regiment and covers his active service from joining and training in the US,  subsequent shipment to the UK located at Brock barracks Reading then on through actions in Normandy, Holland and the defense of the Bastogne perimeter where he was wounded and taken prisoner.  The book then goes on to describe his experience for the next six months as a PoW.  The narrative is fast moving and in incredible detail written very soon after the end of the war using the authors recent memory and letters he sent home to his wife on a daily basis up to the point of capture. 

 I found this book informative, incitefull and thought provoking  and would highly recommend it as an alternative perspective to the memoirs produced by various members of the 101st Para troop units.  I was left certain that Robert M Bowen deserves a place among the more well known and publicized authors of the subject.  

Fighting with the Screaming Eagles appears on the usual web sites at a variety of prices, I picked my new copy up from a local antique shop....... an excellent read.   

Pete

Edited by Pete Ashby
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  • 7 months later...

D-Day  through German eyes by Holger Eckhert, very interesting book which is made from interviews with German troops defending the invasion beaches. The interviews have been translated by the daughter of the original interviewer who was an official German war correspondent. There are two books in this series and are available for free download on Amazon unlimited.

Edited by johnwardle
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  • 1 year later...

This has just arrived. Some interesting changes from the 1916 edition where some forms have become obsolete the allocation is used for another purpose eg:

A 2012   1916     Lunatic Asylums; List of (England & Wales).

A 2012  1944      Application for enlistment of man whose parents are not British subjects

 

B 264     1916       Discharge with Ignominy; Certificate.

B 264     1944      Time Table for Cooking.

 

I 1221    1916       Truss or Boot, for Pensioner; Application for.

I 1221    1944       Maternity Chart.

 

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Another wartime book arrived today. I'm a little surprised to find that I was the only bidder as usually WW1 & WW2 publications are at a premium & publications outside those periods regarded with destain & hence cheaper.

This is the 1943 edition & is much larger than the 1932 edition I have. Bulging with many appendices & amendments lots of nuggets of info from an authoritative archive.

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  • 2 months later...
1 hour ago, andym said:

Aha - "Support to the Civil Powers"  🙂

Andy

Andy indeed & a lot of support needed at times.

This for the Army in Ireland 1789, you need to put the correct teef in to fully grasp the text.

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  • 2 months later...

Been trying to get hold of this long out of print book for a few years now. Then suddenly they pop up from around the world! I had to get this one from Germany as it was the cheapest. Not that cheap, but when you consider the original price & allow for inflation it is not unreasonable.

It is a mixture of historical record with a catalogue of PRO files on the entangled intricacies of the War Office. It is an extremely complex subject, which I doubt I could ever fully grasp. It is useful to dive into to follow such things as the comings & goings of the War Department, which in common culture is thought to be interchangeable with the War Office, which it ain't.

It describes the early development of the Ministry of Defence, which in one national MV magazine is stated to have been formed in 1964, which is tosh!

You can also trace the fortunes of the Secretary-at-War & the Secretary of State for War which are not the same offices at all.

Some of the histories are distillations of periodic summaries in certain editions of the War Office List (not to be confused with Army List) I have quite a few of these & have I think spotted an error about the War Department that is trumped by a statute I have from 1880ish that annoyingly I can't find now.

 

 

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43 minutes ago, fv1609 said:

Andy is it mainly missiles & aeroplanes? Anything ground based?

It's essentially a summary of what went on in the various defence research establishments that eventually became DERA (and then DSTL/QinetiQ) up until 1990.  It's pan-environment, there's a chapter on Armoured Fighting Vehicles and another on Ground based Air Defence, others on radar, command systems and thermal imaging, for example.

Andy

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  • 1 year later...

Just delivered today Catalogue of British Official Publications Not Published by HMSO. These are usually priced for around £150 which is ridiculous, got this one for £5.58 including delivery on a Sunday considering it weighs 2.5kg, I think I got a bargain.

The MOD section include a lot of News Releases & scientific publications relating to defence. I have catalogues of HMG HMSO publications from 1894 to 1984, but can't afford to build up the same for non-HMSO publications!

 

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I was given a copy of the very worst book ever. 'Catch That Tiger' by Noel Botham & Bruce Montague it is an otter fairy story but is supposed to be true. I will give one episode, when bringing the captured Tiger back to England. On the deck of the transport the chaps who so called captured it engage a U Boat with he the 88mm gun. I quote' The Tiger lifted several inches despite the heavy ropes lashing it to the deck' What is several ? 3 or 4 inches and heavy ropes. would it not be chains ? It is written like a comic, there is worse....

 

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