Download or read book The Second World War and the Other British Isles written by Daniel Travers and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-06-28 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is often held to be Britain's 'finest hour' – the Second World War – was not experienced so uniformly across the British Isles. On the margins, the war was endured in profoundly different ways. While D-Day or Dunkirk is embedded in British collective memory, how many Britons can recall that Finns were interned on the Isle of Man, that enemy soldiers developed British infrastructure in Orkney, or that British subjects were sent to concentration camps from Guernsey? Such experiences, tangential to the dominant British war narrative, are commemorated elsewhere in the 'other British Isles'. In this remarkable contribution to British Island Studies, Daniel Travers pursues these histories and their commemoration across numerous local sites of memory: museums, heritage sites and public spaces. He examines the way these island identities assert their own distinctiveness over the British wartime story, and ultimately the way they fit into the ongoing discourse about how the memory of the Second World War has been constructed since 1945.
Download or read book Loving Arms written by Karen Schneider and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2014-07-15 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Loving Arms examines the war-related writings of five British women whose works explore the connections among gender, war, and story-telling. While not the first study to relate the subjects of gender and war, it is the first within a growing body of criticism to focus specifically on British culture during and after World War II. Evoking the famous "St. Crispin's Day" speech from Henry V and then her own father's account of being moved to tears on V-J Day because he had been too young to fight, Karen Schneider posits that the war story has a far-reaching potency. She admits -- perhaps for all of us -- that such stories "had powerfully shaped my consciousness in ways I could not completely resist." How a story is narrated and by whom are matters of no small importance. As widely defined and accepted, war stories are men's stories. If we are to hear an "other" story of war, then we must listen to the stories women tell. Many of the war stories written by women insist that war is not the condition of men but rather the condition of humanity, beginning with relations between the sexes. For the five women whose work is examined in Loving Arms -- Stevie Smith, Katharine Burdekin, Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Bowen, and Doris Lessing -- this latter point was particularly relevant. Their positions as women within a patriarchal, militarist culture that was externally threatened by an overtly fascist one led to an acute ambivalence, says Schneider. Though all five women perceived the war from substantially different perspectives, each in her own way exposed and critiqued the seductive power of war and war stories, with their densely interwoven tropes of masculinity and nationalism. Yet these writers' conflicting impulses of loyalty to England and resistance to the war betray their ambivalence. Loving Arms will interest students of twentieth-century British literature and culture, gender studies, and narratology. Even today, we maintain an unabated love affair with the war story. But unless we listen to what the women had to say fifty years ago, we are doomed to hear only "the same old story."
Download or read book The Second World War and the Other British Isles written by Daniel Travers and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-06-28 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is often held to be Britain's 'finest hour' – the Second World War – was not experienced so uniformly across the British Isles. On the margins, the war was endured in profoundly different ways. While D-Day or Dunkirk is embedded in British collective memory, how many Britons can recall that Finns were interned on the Isle of Man, that enemy soldiers developed British infrastructure in Orkney, or that British subjects were sent to concentration camps from Guernsey? Such experiences, tangential to the dominant British war narrative, are commemorated elsewhere in the 'other British Isles'. In this remarkable contribution to British Island Studies, Daniel Travers pursues these histories and their commemoration across numerous local sites of memory: museums, heritage sites and public spaces. He examines the way these island identities assert their own distinctiveness over the British wartime story, and ultimately the way they fit into the ongoing discourse about how the memory of the Second World War has been constructed since 1945.
Download or read book Hitler s British Isles written by Duncan Barrett and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: True-life recollections from the Channel Islanders who were the only British subjects to live under Nazi rule in WWII.
Download or read book Britain at Bay written by Alan Allport and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2021-10-26 with total page 641 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From statesmen and military commanders to ordinary Britons, a bold, sweeping history of Britain's entrance into World War II—and its efforts to survive it—illuminating the ways in which the war permanently transformed a nation and its people “Might be the single best examination of British politics, society and strategy in these four years that has ever been written.” —The Wall Street Journal Here is the many-faceted, world-historically significant story of Britain at war. In looking closely at the military and political dimensions of the conflict’s first crucial years, Alan Allport tackles pressing questions such as whether the war could have been avoided, how it could have been lost, how well the British lived up to their own values, and ultimately, what difference the war made to the fate of the nation. In answering these questions, he reexamines our assumptions and paints a vivid portrait of the ways in which the Second World War transformed British culture and society. This bracing account draws on a lively cast of characters—from the political and military leaders who made the decisions, to the ordinary citizens who lived through them—in a comprehensible and compelling single history of forty-six million people. A sweeping and groundbreaking epic, Britain at Bay gives us a fresh look at the opening years of the war, and illuminates the integral moments that, for better or for worse, made Britain what it is today.
Download or read book Somewhere in England written by Jenny Cousins and published by Imperial War Museums. This book was released on 2016-02-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World War II represented the height of the close relationship between America and Britain, as they banded together to defend the British Isles and attempt to roll back the Axis armies on the continent. A key component of both efforts was the nascent United States Army Air Force. At its peak strength in 1944, the USAAF employed 450,000 Americans in Britain, a huge force that served alongside British RAF pilots and soldiers to help protect the island and project force throughout Europe. Somewhere in England celebrates the Americans who served as part of the USAAF in England, offering an unprecedented look at that group of airmen and support staff, and their effects on the communities in which they were stationed. Drawing on the 15,000 photographs in the Roger Freeman collection, the Imperial War Museum has assembled a book that shows us the USAAF at work and play, including a large number of photographs in color. The resulting book is a testament to the power--and success--of the US-British partnership in the darkest days of World War II. In May 2016, the IWM will be re-opening the American Air Museum at IWM Duxford after a major refurbishment, and the publication of this book will coincide with that event.
Download or read book Channel Islands Invaded written by Simon Hamon and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the summer of 1940 the British Isles stood isolated and alone facing the might of a seemingly unstoppable German war machine. Never before had the United Kingdom been in a state of such uncertainty and possible peril. Fortunately the full breadth of the English Channel held back Hitler's armies, and his ambition. Not so for the Channel Islands which stand just a few miles from the French coast. To abandon British territory to the enemy was unthinkable, yet the defence of the Channel Islands was impracticable, if not impossible. It was decided, therefore, to evacuate as many as wished to leave. This is the story of the muddled evacuation, of homes, animals and families left behind, of the German bombing of the islands, the fear of those left behind, and of those first days of German Occupation, told by the Islanders themselves through memoirs and letters, the local newspapers, and the politicians who decided the fate of tens of thousands of men women and children.
Download or read book Channel Islands Invaded written by Simon Hamon and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2024-06-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the summer of 1940 the British Isles stood isolated and alone facing the might of a seemingly unstoppable German war machine. Fortunately the full breadth of the English Channel held back Hitler's armies, and his ambition. Not so for the Channel Islands which stand just a few miles from the French coast. To abandon British territory to the enemy
Download or read book When the Germans Came written by Duncan Barrett and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-06-14 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: True-life recollections from the Channel Islanders who were the only British subjects to live under Nazi rule in WWII. 'An absolutely fascinating account of life under German rule in the Channel Islands during the war. As a Guernsey girl I grew up with these stories and recognise family and friends in these pages. Duncan Barrett has done a brilliant job of reflecting the peculiar challenges that existed for those living under occupation. It is an under-told story of an extraordinary time in recent British history.' - Sarah Montague, The Today Programme presenter. **The new book from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Sugar Girls** In the summer of 1940, Britain stood perilously close to invasion. One by one, the nations of Europe had fallen to the unstoppable German Blitzkrieg, and Hitler’s sights were set on the English coast. And yet, following the success of the Battle of Britain, the promised invasion never came. The prospect of German jackboots landing on British soil retreated into the realm of collective nightmares. But the spectre of what might have been is one that has haunted us down the decades, finding expression in counterfactual history and outlandish fictions. What would a British occupation have looked like? The answer lies closer to home than we think, in the experiences of the Channel Islanders – the only British people to bear the full brunt of German Occupation. For five years, our nightmares became their everyday reality. The people of Guernsey, Jersey and Sark got to know the enemy as those on the mainland never could, watching in horror as their towns and villages were suddenly draped in Swastika flags, their cinemas began showing Nazi propaganda films, and Wehrmacht soldiers goose-stepped down their highstreets. Those who resisted the regime, such as the brave men and women who set up underground newspapers or sheltered slave labourers, encountered the full force of Nazi brutality. But in the main, the Channel Islands occupation was a ‘model’ one, a prototype for how the Fuhrer planned to run mainland Britain. As a result, the stories of the islanders are not all misery and terror. Many, in fact are rather funny – tales of plucky individuals trying to get by in almost impossible circumstances, and keeping their spirits up however they could. Unlike their compatriots on the mainland, the islanders had no Blitz to contend with, but they met the thousand other challenges the war brought with a similar indomitable spirit. The story of the Channel Islands during the war is the history that could so nearly have come to pass for the rest of us. Based on interviews with over a hundred islanders who lived through it, this book tells that story from beginning to end, opening the lid on life in Hitler’s British Isles.
Download or read book The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places written by Neil Oliver and published by Random House. This book was released on 2018-09-20 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Everyone should have two copies - one for the car and one for the house to plan journeys. . . a reminder to think more about the places you pass and less about your route, because every British journey is through rich history." (Edward Stourton) From much-loved historian Neil Oliver, comes this beautifully written, kaleidoscopic history of a place with a story like no other. The British Isles, this archipelago of islands, is to Neil Oliver the best place in the world. From north to south, east to west it cradles astonishing beauty. The human story here is a million years old, and counting. But the tolerant, easygoing peace we enjoy has been hard won. We have made and known the best and worst of times. We have been hero and villain and all else in between, and we have learned some lessons. The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places is Neil’s very personal account of what makes these islands so special, told through the places that have witnessed the unfolding of our history. Beginning with footprints made in the sand by humankind’s earliest ancestors, he takes us via Romans and Vikings, the flowering of religion, through civil war, industrial revolution and two world wars. From windswept headlands to battlefields, ancient trees to magnificent cathedrals, each of his destinations is a place where, somehow, the spirit of the past seems to linger.
Download or read book The forgotten French written by Nicholas Atkin and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-19 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. It is widely assumed that the French in the British Isles during the Second World War were fully fledged supporters of General de Gaulle, and that, across the channel at least, the French were a ‘nation of resisters’. This study reveals that most exiles were on British soil by chance rather than by design, and that many were not sure whether to stay. Overlooked by historians, who have concentrated on the ‘Free French’ of de Gaulle, these were the ‘Forgotten French’: refugees swept off the beaches of Dunkirk; servicemen held in camps after the Franco-German armistice; Vichy consular officials left to cater for their compatriots; and a sizeable colonist community based mainly in London. Drawing on little-known archival sources, this study examines the hopes and fears of those communities who were bitterly divided among themselves, some being attracted to Pétain as much as to de Gaulle.
Download or read book If Britain Had Fallen written by Norman Longmate and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2012-03-19 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ÔIt is good to see this book back in print . . . a distinguished contribution to the canon of alternate histories.Õ Ð Gary Sheffield in Military History The question Ôwhat ifÕ Germany had invaded the British Isles has long preoccupied writers, but none have dealt with the subject as comprehensively and effectively as Norman Longmate. Based on a classic television film of the same name, If Britain Had Fallen covers every phase of the subject, from the German pre-invasion maneuvering and preparations, the landing of troops, to the German seizure of power. What follows is a fascinating contemplation of what it would have been like to live day to day under German occupation, creating a new reality that is thoroughly believable and thus all the more frightening. What would have happened to the King and the Government? Would America, Canada or Australia come to the rescue? Would the British people have come to accept the occupation? Would the deportation of friends, the flying of the swastika from Buckingham Palace incite passive compliance, or brave resistance? All these questions and more are explored to their full in this thought provoking and chilling pastiche of the centuries most enduring and darkest episodes. This is a classic book, with fresh material from Norman Longmate.
Download or read book To Keep the British Isles Afloat written by Thomas Parrish and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-04-10 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Thomas Parrish’s account of Anglo-American relations in 1941 is a carefully researched and deftly written slice of history showing FDR’s hidden hand at work. It is a lesson on the virtues of diplomacy.” — Ted Morgan, author of CHURCHILL Parrish’s book brings Hopkins and Harriman vividly to life--each was indeed a character, and the author’s perception of FDR’s thinking is exceptionally sensitive. For historians most useful. For the rest of us a very good read, a page turner for me. — Curtis Roosevelt, author of TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN: Growing Up in the Shadow of my Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor “A vivid portrait of crucial maneuverings in the most crucial yet little-noted of years, Thomas Parrish’s new book...offers a fresh look at how Churchill’s Britain survived while Roosevelt’s America moved ever so slowly toward forming what became the Grand Alliance.” — Jon Meacham, author of FRANKLIN AND WINSTON “In an engaging, and authoritative voice, Thomas Parrish vividly depicts Harry Hopkins and Averell Harriman, and delineates their crucial role in saving Great Britain and, thus, America during the early part of World War II. This book shines a new light on Franklin Roosevelt and his partnership with Winston Churchill” — Will Swift, author of THE KENNEDYS AMIDST THE GATHERING STORM “Plays a valuable role in highlighting an often overlooked period of the Second World War, after the Battle of Britain but before Pearl Harbor, when President Roosevelt struggled to find and implement a policy of all possible material aid and support short of American military involvement and war. — Alan Packwood, Director, The Churchill Archives Centre “Parrish is a skilled writer, adept at conveying an authentic sense of the prevailing atmosphere...1941 is the compelling story here, now illuminated by this account of the successful efforts of two pathfinding American statesmen to help bring the liberal democracies together.” — Fraser Harbutt, Department of History, Emory University, author of The Iron Curtain Parrish, the author of several books about World War II, uses Clare Booth to back into his thesis that a sleepy, isolationist America needed to be roused, and that Roosevelt relied on two remarkable men – Hopkins and Harriman – to help sound the alarm and secure aid for Britain. — New York Times Book Review
Download or read book THE DEFENCE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM written by Basil Collier and published by Naval & Military Press. This book was released on 2022-10-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first in the 18-volume Official History of the Second World War covers the defence of the British Isles on land, sea and in the air, from the Phoney War, through the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, to victory in Europe.
Download or read book Women Warriors of WW2 written by Jeanette B Reid and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2015-09-17 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's 1939 - war is imminent for the people of Britain. It is becoming increasingly clear that every able bodied man will be needed on the battlefront and that British women will have to take over the jobs the men left for military service. This is the narrative of Scottish women in particular - through their stories, experiences, and sacrifices - how they not only kept Scotland and Britain alive but helped change the course of history. "Some historians like to think that the British were very fortunate when Hitler grew impatient with his attempt to run over the British Isles, becoming distracted, then moving his attention to the Russian Front. I take a different perspective. Hitler found that it was much tougher to defeat the British people than he or any of his top aides ever imagined. We had many losses in our military and civilian population, but we were able to call upon every available man to fight on the frontline because we had a secret weapon at home keeping the country surviving - Our Women!!!" - Jeanette B. Reid
Download or read book The Forgotten French written by Nicholas Atkin and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is assumed that those French in Britain during World War II - Dunkirk refugees; servicemen; Vichy consular officials colonists - were supporters of De Gaulle. This study examines the hopes and fears of these communities: how they fitted into British life and how the British viewed them.
Download or read book Empire Lost written by Andrew Stewart and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2008-11-18 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using government records, private letters and diaries and contemporary media sources, this book examines the key themes affecting the relationship between Britain and the Dominions during the Second World War, the Empire's last great conflict. It asks why this political and military coalition was ultimately successful in overcoming the challenge of the Axis powers but, in the process, proved unable to preserve itself. Although these changes were inevitable the manner of the evolution was sometimes painful, as Britain's wartime economic decline left its political position exposed in a changing post-war international system.
