Download or read book Magennis VC written by George Fleming and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Forgotten VCs written by Brian Best and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-10-30 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fought amid the most challenging terrain of any theater during the Second World War, the campaign in the Far East saw heroic actions against the unyielding Japanese that resulted in the awarding of more than forty Victoria Crosses greater than a fifth of all the VCs of the war.Such actions include that of Major Frank Blaker, whose battalion of the Gurkha Rifles was held up by Japanese machine-guns on 9 July 1944. After climbing for five hours up a 2,100-foot hill, Blaker crawled on his hands and knees through dense jungle alone until he was close enough to stand up and charge the strong enemy position. Though mortally wounded, he urged his men to follow and the hilltop was taken.During the famous Chindit operations, Lieutenant George Cairns was with the South Staffordshire Regiment as it attacked a Japanese position on top of Pagoda Hill. The Chindits reached the summit and, charging into the Japanese, a vicious hand-to-hand battle ensued. In the fighting a Japanese officer hacked off Cairns left arm but, astonishingly, the young Londoner then killed the enemy officer, picked up the sword with his right hand and carried on fighting. He died the next day.The Gurkhas are renowned for their courage and it is unsurprising that many of the Fourteenth Armys VCs were won by these tough Nepalese soldiers. Rifleman Bhanbhagta Gurung found his battalion of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles pinned down by an enemy sniper. So he stood up in the open and killed the Japanese soldier. As his battalion advanced again, it once more came under enemy fire. Bhanbhagta Gurung charged the enemy positions, taking five Japanese foxholes, one by one in the face of almost pointblank fire.The wide-ranging nature of the conflict in the Far East saw awards being granted for actions not just in Burma but also in India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaya, Borneo, New Guinea and even off the coast of Japan itself. The recipients came from across the Commonwealth, including Australia, Canada, Fiji, Great Britain, India and Nepal.These VC actions are told in great detail in The Forgotten VCs, the first book to examine in depth the Victoria Crosses of the war in the Far East. Brian Best brings to life the daring deeds of a group of courageous men in the most inhospitable of battlefield conditions, filling a glaring gap in the historiography of Britains most prestigious award for valor.

Download or read book Submariners Vc written by William Jameson and published by Periscope Publishing Ltd.. This book was released on 2004-04 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

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 Glory and Dishonour written by Brian Izzard and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2018-02-15 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The flawed characters of 27 men who were awarded the world’s most prestigious bravery award, some of whom ended up in prison or were shunned by officialdom and a once adoring public.

Download or read book Forgotten Voices of the Victoria Cross written by Roderick Bailey and published by Random House. This book was released on 2010-10-14 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'It wasn't until after he was safely back in the aircraft again that I heard that he'd actually been out on the wing to try to put the fire out ... Remember that we were flying at about 90 miles an hour at a height of 13,000 feet' Squadron Leader RP Widdowson on Sergeant James Ward, who earned his VC in 1941 The Victoria Cross, awarded to the most courageous and determined servicemen, is the highest military decoration that can be bestowed. In Forgotten Voices: Victoria Cross, first-hand accounts of soldiers, sailors and airmen describe the incredible events that earned these extraordinary men the VC in the last century. Captivating and often humbling, these stories depict exceptional acts of bravery in unimaginable situations, of men who would say they were just doing their duty. Introduction by General Sir Richard Dannatt.

Download or read book Yorkshire VCs written by Alan Whitworth and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2012-10-24 with total page 503 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today the Victoria Cross remains the supreme British award for bravery. It takes precedence over all other awards and decorations. During its 160-year history, since the first of these medals were given for gallantry during the Crimean War in the 1850's, 1,357 have been won, and no less than 69 of them have gone to Yorkshiremen. Alan Whitworth, in this carefully researched and revealing account, describes in graphic detail the exploits and the lives of this elite group of heroes.

Download or read book Beyond the Legend written by Derek Hunt and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-09-02 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beyond the Legend is the authorised biography of William (Bill) Speakman,who was awarded one of only four Victoria Crosses for action in the Korean War. It covers his sometimes controversial life, from his childhood in Altrincham, Cheshire, to his later life in South Africa – about which little has been known previously. Authors Derek Hunt and John Mulholland also explore the myth of the ‘beer bottle VC’ (in which Speakman was said to have fended off the Chinese Communist Army by throwing empty beer bottles at them after they ran out of grenades), bringing to light what really happened on United Hill in November 1951. Speakman held the attacking Chinese army at bay for over four hours and led a final charge that allowed his company to withdraw from the hill. After Korea, he saw active service in Malaya, Borneo and Aden before retiring from the army, with the rank of sergeant, in 1968. Bill Speakman is one of only two surviving VC holders of the British Army and a true British hero.

Download or read book Naval Frogmen written by T. J. Waldron and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-05-17 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Silent Killers written by James P. Delgado and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-06-20 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Silent Killers is a triumph that is educational as well as highly entertaining.' - Clive Cussler James P. Delgado, President and CEO of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, presents a detailed and visually stunning examination of the history and development of the modern nuclear submarine. Calling on his training as a nautical archaeologist who was among the first explorers to dive the Titanic, Delgado recreates the story of the submarine from the bottom up – that is through eerie photographs of subs at the bottom of the sea. In addition, he explores submarine technology, from wooden to iron to steel hulls, from hand-cranked to nuclear-powered propulsion, from candlelight to electricity, from gunpowder 'torpedoes' to nuclear missiles. An esteemed underwater archaeologist and marine historian, Jim Delgado has compiled an extraordinary history of the dragons of the deep.

Download or read book Fight for the Sea written by John Frayn Turner and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-07-10 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of popular naval stories covers the entire span of World War II, beginning when the British Royal Navy faced fascist forces on its own until the final Allied victory over the Japanese in 1945. Fight for the Sea offers a rich mixture of accounts about such large and well-known battles and operations as the Battle of the Coral Sea, as well as lesser-known actions such as the submarine attack on Corfu harbour, the loss of the USS Leedsdown, and the saga of the USS Rich to characterize the breadth and variety of the war at sea. Also included are memories of John F Kennedy's heroic actions with PT 109 and George H W Bush's near-death experience with an aircraft known as the 'flying casket'.A sailor's eye view of the war at sea, this compelling compilation has broad appeal. John Frayn Turner's prose crackles with action and tension to keep the reader's attention, and even those who know little about the war will find the stories to be a welcome introduction to the subject. Among the book's special attractions are the little-known contributions of rescue ships and merchant seamen and the adventures of civilians, including Johnnie Ferguson, who spent three weeks adrift in an open boat when her ship was torpedoed. Readers will come away with not only a clear understanding of the giant scope of World War II but of the individual grit and determination that produced victory.

Download or read book Culture Northern Ireland and the Second World War written by Guy Woodward and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Culture, Northern Ireland, and the Second World War presents a new cultural history of Northern Ireland during and after the Second World War, examining the often-neglected period before the onset of the Troubles and exploring work by the generation of artists and writers that preceded Seamus Heaney and his contemporaries.

Download or read book Northern Ireland in the Second World War written by Brian Barton and published by Ulster Historical Foundation. This book was released on 1995 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What was the full impact of the Second World War on Northern Ireland and how important was its role in the allied cause? This book assesses Northern Ireland's contribution to the war effort—its industrial production, its use as a base and training center for British and American troops, its strategic importance in the Battle of the Atlantic and the contribution of its volunteers to the allied campaigns. Using recently released papers in Dublin, it looks anew at the Blitz, particularly on whether the lights in neutral Eire helped the German bombers in their devasting raids. It recreates much of the atmosphere of what it was like to live for over 5 years under the combined attentions of German bombers, shortages, bureancracy and American soldiers. It examines the sensitive issues of why there was no conscription, the initially lacklustre performance of the Unionist government, de Valera's persistence with neutrality, and the extent of the tensions between locals and GIs stationed here. The long-term significance of the War—on inter-community relations, on governmental relations north and south, and between Stormont and Westminster - is assessed. It contends that in many of these areas, and in the establishment of the post-war welfare state, the Second World War was a major turning point in the history of Northern Ireland.

Download or read book Familia 1999 Ulster Geneological Review Number 15 written by Trevor Parkhill and published by Ulster Historical Foundation. This book was released on 1999-12 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Familia, " which was first published in 1985, aims to provide informed writing on sources and case studies relating to that area where Irish history and genealogy overlap with mutual benefit. Members of the Foundation's Guild receive "Familia "and the "Directory of Irish Family History Research" as part of the return on their annual subscription.

Download or read book Operation Pacific written by Edwyn Gray and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 1990-09-27 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hollywood's version of the Naval War in the Pacific has led many people to believe that it was an all-American affair and that the Royal Navy took no part in it. But, as Edwin Gray shows in Operation Pacific, Such a scenario is a travesty of the truth. In fact, the Royal Navy and its Commonwealth partners played a very significant role in the Pacific War and waged a vigorous non-stop battle with the enemy, from the earliest days of defeat and disaster though to the ultimate triumph of Victory. And, indeed, it is not generally realised that Japanese troops actually landed in Malaya and opened hostilities in Britain a full ninety minutes before Nagumo's dive-bombers swept down on the unsuspecting American pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour to bring the United States into the war. Operation Pacific is the first book to provide a full and detailed account of Britain's Naval contribution tot he ultimate defeat of Japan – a saga that ranges from the darkest days pf December 1941, to the vast carrier operations and kamikaze attacks of the final battles in 1945. And, while in no way disparaging the heroic achievements and fighting courage of the US forces in the Pacific, Edwyn Gray reveals that the Royal Navy's cooperation was not always welcomed by her over-mighty Ally and that America's top brass, notably admiral Ernest King and General Douglas MacAuthur , were implacably opposed to British involvement in the Pacific for both practical and political reasons. Offering a clear, concise, and comprehensive picture of the part played by the Royal Navy and Commonwealth forces in the Far East War, Operation pacific is an absorbing story handled with all the skill which readers have come to expect from one of the leading popular naval historians of our day.

Download or read book Victoria Cross written by and published by PediaPress. This book was released on with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Midget Submarine Commander written by Paul Watkins and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2013-01-19 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of all the acts of gallantry in World War II few were as audacious as the attack by midget submarines on the pride of the German fleet, the battleship Tirpitz, lying in her fortified mooring in a Norwegian fjord. Lieutenant Godfrey Place was in command of submarine X7 in September 1943 and traveled over 1000 miles, negotiating minefields and antisubmarine nets to accurately place four tons of high explosive under the hull of the Tirpitz. He was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944, at the age of 22. Taken prisoner he was repatriated to England at the end of the war, and continued to serve in the Royal Navy for 25 years, flying with 801st squadron in the Korean War, and served on aircraft carriers at Suez, Nigeria and the withdrawal from Aden. On his retirement in 1970, he had the distinction of being the last serving naval officer to hold the Victoria Cross.Using many first-hand accounts, the book details his life, from a childhood spent partly in East Africa to being Chairman of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association for over 20 years. It draws on previously unpublished material, including his own recollections on the attack on the Tirpitz and his time as a prisoner of war.