Download or read book Awards of the George Cross 1940 2009 written by John Frayn Turner and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Early in the Second World War, King George VI was deeply impressed by the heroic deeds of servicemen out of the front line and civilian non-combatants in acts connected with the war such as bomb disposal and rescues after air raids. So, in September 1940, the king instituted the George Cross 'For Gallantry' to be awarded to civilians and servicemen and women away from the battlefield. ..."--Back cover.

Download or read book The Complete George Cross written by Kevin Brazier and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2012-10-24 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The George Cross, the highest civilian decoration, is awarded for acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger, and all the recipients of this exceptional honor are recorded here. As a complete chronological record of George Crosses awarded in Britain and around the world, this book is an essential work of reference for anyone who is interested in the history of the medal and in the acts of bravery and self-sacrifice it commemorates.

Download or read book British Military Medals written by Peter Duckers and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-09-16 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fully revised second edition of Peter Duckers best-selling guide to military medals. This second edition of Peter Duckers best-selling British Military Medals traces the history of medals and gallantry awards from Elizabethan times to the modern day, and it features an expert account of their design and production. Campaign and gallantry medals are a key to understanding - and exploring - British and imperial military history, and to uncovering the careers and exploits of individual soldiers. In a series of succinct and well-organized chapters he explains how medals originated, to whom they were awarded and how the practice of giving medals has developed over the centuries. His work is a guide for collectors and for local and family historians who want to learn how to use medals to discover the history of military units and the experiences of individuals who served in them.

Download or read book Portsmouth s World War Two Heroes written by James Daly and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on research into 2,549 servicemen and women from Portsmouth who were killed during World War 2, this book uncovers stories that have never been told before: a naval bomb disposal Petty Officer awarded the George Cross; a 16-year-old Para; a Battle of Britain hero; men killed in battleships, submarines, bombers and tanks throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. By using database software, the author has been able to analyse all 2,549 casualties and look at statistics such as their age and where in Portsmouth they came from. As well as telling the stories of individuals and units, it has been possible to build a picture of the effect that World War 2 had on Portsmouth's communities.

Download or read book Manual of Military Decorations Awards written by United States. Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force Management Policy) and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Victoria Cross written by Anthony Staunton and published by Hardie Grant Publishing. This book was released on 2005-10-01 with total page 689 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now updated to also include all our George Cross winners, VC has been considered a classic work of Australian military history ever since its first publication in 1963. Together with detailed descriptions of the battles they fought in, VC contains full biographies of all Australians who have won the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth's supreme decoration for gallantry in battle. Fully illustrated with rare photos from the Australian War Memorial, the book also sets out the history of the Victoria Cross itself. These dramatic stories will arouse both admiration for the courage of these gallant me.

Download or read book The Spellmount Guide to London in the Second World War written by James Beardon and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-11-04 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the lead up to and throughout the course of the Second World War, London was a city transformed, as it simultaneously became the front line and the command centre of Allied operations. The scale and speed of London's transformation are unparalleled in its history as the government requisitioned buildings and built defences while bombing wrought devastation across the city, changing it forever. This book will guide the reader – as an armchair tourist or a real one – around wartime London. Buildings that had a specific wartime use or have a link to an important event that occurred during the war are revealed, along with the often secret activities, known to only a select few, of the organisations that occupied them. Structures used as air-raid shelters, iconic landmarks damaged by enemy bombing and other ways in which London changed are all brought to life in this user-friendly guide. Sections cover the seven central London boroughs, from Hammersmith to Tower Hamlets, together with chapters on Greater London and on memorials and museums, accompanied by maps and photographs of the city then and now.

Download or read book Victoria Cross Heroes written by Michael Ashcroft and published by Headline. This book was released on 2012-10-25 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ebook edition contains the full text version as per the book. Doesn't include original photographic and illustrated material. VICTORIA CROSS HEROES tells the stories of over 150 individuals whose bravery has earned them the Victoria Cross, Britain's most prestigious medal for courage in action. The book is introduced by Michael Ashcroft, who owns over ten per cent of all VCs ever awarded. He explains the history of the medal and the story of his fascination with it. The main text of the book tells the stories of both those recipients whose medals are in his collection and those whose stories featured in the television series. Each chapter covers a different conflict, from the Crimean War to Iraq.

Download or read book The Bader Wing written by John Frayn Turner and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2007-06-21 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Douglas Bader remains a legendary figure, and the best known of all the Battle of Britain aces. Having lost both his legs in a pre-war flying accident, Bader overcame this disability to become not just a superb fighter pilot but a tough and charismatic leader. At a critical time in the War, Bader persuaded his superiors that fighters were best employed in Big Wings and was given the chance to lead five squadrons. This he did with conspicuous success until shot down over France and captured. In addition to describing the dramatic aerial actions of the pilots involved, this book examines the tactics and strategy of the Big Wing principle drawing on the views and opinions of some of the greatest pilots of the Second World War including Johnnie Johnson, Laddie Lucas, Hugh Dundas, Alan Deere and Sholto Douglas.

Download or read book Bravest written by Robert Macklin and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2011 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Victoria Cross is the highest award for valour that can be won by an Australian; just 97 Australians have been awarded the VC in conflicts from the Boer War to the Afghanistan War. And only fourteen Australians have been awarded the George Cross, the ultimate medal for heroism away from active combat, since its inception in 1940. But what is it that makes these remarkable soldiers risk everything in defence of their country and their mates? Noted biographer Robert Macklin tells the inspirational story of fifteen Australian recipients of the Victoria and George Crosses, from Neville Howse in South Africa in 1900 to the heroes of the Great War such as Albert Jacka, 'Diver' Derrick in the Second World War, and Keith Payne in Vietnam in 1969. 'An excellent book on a subject that has understandably retained public interest over the years.' - Steve Gower, Director, Australian War Memorial

Download or read book The Complete Victoria Cross written by Kevin Brazier and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2015-09-30 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fully revised paperback edition of the complete chronological record of VC holders is an essential work of reference for every student of military history. All the British and Commonwealth servicemen who have been awarded the highest honour for exceptional acts of bravery and self-sacrifice are commemorated here. The first VCs awarded for the Crimean War and in the nineteenth-century colonial wars are described, as are the VCs awarded in the world wars of the twentieth century and the most recent VCs awarded during present-day conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The extraordinary exploits recounted in this fascinating book make unforgettable reading.

Download or read book One Step Further Book A written by Marion Hebblethwaite and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents biographies of George Cross recipients whose names begin with 'A'.

Download or read book Service Most Silent written by John Frayn Turner and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2008-04-30 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the very outset of war Nazi Germany demonstrated its determination and ability to lay siege to the British Isles by the laying of mines in shipping lanes. Losses to both merchant ships and naval vessels became a serious factor. If supplies continued to be lost by a combination of U-Boat and mine attacks the very survival of the nation was at risk. Finding counter-measures to the German mine offensive was thus a top priority. The responsibility for this vital work rested with a small group of highly skilled and courageous naval specialists based at HMS Vernon, the RN's mine and torpedo shore-base at Portsmouth. Ranged against them was a growing and ingenious array of weapons: magnetic, acoustic, oyster, booby-trap mines to name but four varieties. Some were laid by boat, others dropped from the air. The story of HMS Vernon's contribution led by men such as Commander JGD Ouvry DSO and Captain R L Lewis DSO and many other courageous figures has been written by John Frayn Turner, the distinguished historian who served with them.He adopts a fast moving style to describe the near continuous struggle to detect, understand and master the best efforts of the German war machine. He brings home the constant deadly danger faced by these highly skilled and dedicated men.

Download or read book Fortress Malta written by James Holland and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2013-01-31 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The extraordinary drama of Malta's WWII victory against impossible odds told through the eyes of the people who were there. In March and April 1942, more explosives were dropped on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta - smaller than the Isle of Wight - than on the whole of Britain during the first year of the Blitz. Malta had become one of the most strategically important places in the world. From there, the Allies could attack Axis supply lines to North Africa; without it, Rommel would be able to march unchecked into Egypt, Suez and the Middle East. For the Allies this would have been catastrophic. As Churchill said, Malta had to be held 'at all costs'. FORTRESS MALTA follows the story through the eyes of those who were there: young men such as twenty-year-old fighter pilot Raoul Daddo-Langlois, anti-aircraft gunner Ken Griffiths, American Art Roscoe and submariner Tubby Crawford - who served on the most successful Allied submarine of the Second World War; cabaret dancer-turned RAF plotter Christina Ratcliffe, and her lover, the brilliant and irrepressible reconnaissance pilot, Adrian Warburton. Their stories and others provide extraordinary first-hand accounts of heroism, resilience, love, and loss, highlighting one of the most remarkable stories of World War II.

Download or read book Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005 2008 written by Lawrence Goldman and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013-03-07 with total page 1253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who made modern Britain? This book, drawn from the award-winning Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, tells the story of our recent past through the lives of those who shaped national life. Following on from the Oxford DNB's first supplement volume-noteworthy people who died between 2001 and 2004-this new volume offers biographies of more than 850 men and women who left their mark on twentieth and twenty-first century Britain, and who died in the years 2005 to 2008. Here are the people responsible for major developments in national life: from politics, the arts, business, technology, and law to military service, sport, education, science, and medicine. Many are closely connected to specific periods in Britain's recent history. From the 1950s, the young Harold Pinter or the Yorkshire cricketer, Fred Trueman, for example. From the Sixties, the footballer George Best, photographer Patrick Lichfield, and the Pink Floyd musician, Syd Barrett. It's hard to look back to the 1970s without thinking of Edward Heath and James Callaghan, who led the country for seven years in that turbulent decade; or similarly Freddie Laker, pioneer of budget air travel, and the comedians Ronnie Barker and Dave Allen who entertained with their sketch shows and sit coms. A decade later you probably browsed in Anita Roddick's Body Shop, or danced to the music of Factory Records, established by the Manchester entrepreneur, Tony Wilson. In the 1990s you may have hoped that 'Things can only get better' with a New Labour government which included Robin Cook and Mo Mowlam. Many in this volume are remembered for lives dedicated to a profession or cause: Bill Deedes or Conor Cruise O'Brien in journalism; Ned Sherrin in broadcasting or, indeed, Ted Heath whose political career spanned more than 50 years. Others were responsible for discoveries or innovations of lasting legacy and benefit-among them the epidemiologist Richard Doll, who made the link between smoking and lung cancer, Cicely Saunders, creator of the hospice movement, and Chad Varah, founder of the Samaritans. With John Profumo-who gave his name to a scandal-policeman Malcolm Fewtrell-who investigated the Great Train Robbery-or the Russian dissident Aleksandr Litvinenko-who was killed in London in 2006-we have individuals best known for specific moments in our recent past. Others are synonymous with popular objects and experiences evocative of recent decades: Mastermind with Magnus Magnusson, the PG-Tips chimpanzees trained by Molly Badham, John DeLorean's 'gull-wing' car, or the new British Library designed by Colin St John Wilson-though, as rounded and balanced accounts, Oxford DNB biographies also set these events in the wider context of a person's life story. Authoritative and accessible, the biographies in this volume are written by specialist authors, many of them leading figures in their field. Here you will find Michael Billington on Harold Pinter, Michael Crick on George Best, Richard Davenport-Hines on Anita Roddick, Brenda Hale on Rose Heilbron, Roy Hattersley on James Callaghan, Simon Heffer on John Profumo, Douglas Hurd on Edward Heath, Alex Jennings on Paul Scofield, Hermione Lee on Pat Kavanagh, Geoffrey Wheatcroft on Conor Cruise O'Brien, and Peregrine Worsthorne on Bill Deedes. Many in this volume are, naturally, household names. But a good number are also remembered for lives away from the headlines. What in the 1980s became 'Thatcherism' owed much to behind the scenes advice from Ralph Harris and Alfred Sherman; children who learned to read with Ladybird Books must thank their creator, Douglas Keen; while, without its first producer, Verity Lambert, there would have been no Doctor Who. Others are 'ordinary' people capable of remarkable acts. Take, for instance, Arthur Bywater who over two days in 1944 cleared thousands of bombs from a Liverpool munitions factory following an explosion-only to do the same, months later, in an another factory. Awarded the George Cross and the George Medal, Bywater remains the only non-combatant to have received Britain's two highest awards for civilian bravery.

Download or read book The Plot Against America written by Philip Roth and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2004-10-05 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philip Roth's bestselling alternate history—the chilling story of what happens to one family when America elects a charismatic, isolationist president—is soon to be an HBO limited series. In an extraordinary feat of narrative invention, Philip Roth imagines an alternate history where Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the 1940 presidential election to heroic aviator and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh. Shortly thereafter, Lindbergh negotiates a cordial “understanding” with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism. For one boy growing up in Newark, Lindbergh’s election is the first in a series of ruptures that threaten to destroy his small, safe corner of America–and with it, his mother, his father, and his older brother. "A terrific political novel . . . Sinister, vivid, dreamlike . . . creepily plausible. . . You turn the pages, astonished and frightened.” — The New York Times Book Review

Download or read book 16 Cases of Mission Command written by Donald P., Donald Wright, Ph. D. and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2013-12 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the US Army to succeed in the 21st Century, Soldiers of all ranks must understand and use Mission Command. Mission Command empowers leaders at all levels, allowing them to synchronize all warfighting functions and information systems to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative against a range of adversaries. This collection of historical vignettes seeks to sharpen our understanding of Mission Command philosophy and practice by providing examples from the past in which Mission Command principles played a decisive role. Some vignettes show junior officers following their commander's intent and exercising disciplined initiative in very chaotic combat operations. Others recount how field grade officers built cohesive teams that relied on mutual trust to achieve key operational objectives. Each historical account is complemented by an annotated explanation of how the six Mission Command principles shaped the action. For this reason, the collection is ideal for leader development in the Army school system as well as for unit and individual professional development. Mission Command places great responsibility on our Soldiers.