Kategoria BISAC: History >> Europe - Great Britain - 20th Century

An allotment is a small area of land, let out at a nominal yearly rent by local government or independent allotment associations, for individuals to grow their own food. However, the humble allotment has a surprisingly turbulent history. Initially the right to an allotment was proposed as a charitable means by which the poor could grow their own food and stave off starvation, but it quickly entered political and social debate. During the World Wars the allotment became the focal point on the home front, as families took part in the 'Dig for Victory' campaigns.

The post-war years saw...

An extraordinary memoir from a man in his nineties who remembers everyday life in a North London now long gone: the hardships and deprivations of a life of poverty but also the resourcefulness and fortitude of a community determined to survive between the wars.

'When I look back, I can picture the old gels chinwagging on their steps in the Bay like it was yesterday. Little did they think that young Sid, passing by with his arse out of his trousers, would one way publish his memoirs '

'Ordinary' people do not write their stories, believing their lives to be unremarkable. Some,...

" With Wings Like Eagles is] bold and refreshing... Korda writes with great elegance and flair."--Wall Street Journal

From the New York Times bestselling author of Ike and Horse People, Michael Korda, comes With Wings Like Eagles, the harrowing story of The Battle of Britain, one of the most important battles of World War II. In the words of the Washington Post Book World, "With Wings Like Eagles is a skillful, absorbing, often moving contribution to the popular understanding of one of the few episodes in history ... to...

During World War II, few groups within the Royal Navy fought a harder, more intense war than the men of Coastal Forces. Their job was to operate the Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs), Motor Launches (MLs) and Motor Gun Boats (MGBs) that protected coastal convoys, attacked enemy ones, and performed a myriad of duties, which include the dropping of agents and commandos on a hostile shore, raids on enemy ports, and near-suicidal attacks on larger enemy warships. While the MTBs were the "bombers," delivering their payload of high explosive torpedoes, the crew of the MGBs used their machine guns and...

In August 1917, at the height of the First World War, a small biplane landed on the makeshift flight deck of HMS Furious - the first ever carrier landing in aviation history. This small act ushered in a new era. Two decades later, when Britain stood on the brink of another World War, the Royal Navy had a small fleet of aircraft carriers, with several more nearing completion. When war came the newly-formed Fleet Air Arm would demonstrate that what it lacked in modern equipment, it made up for in skill and daring.

The first of these carriers were converted from existing ships. Then in...

This Osprey Command title looks closely at the early life, military experiences and key battlefield exploits of Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, first Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1887-1976), perhaps the best-known, most highly respected and most controversial British general of World War II. "Monty's" reputation was made while in command in North Africa, in the Mediterranean and then North-West Europe. Arguably his best-known achievement was rebuilding a dispirited and defeated eighth army and inflicting a decisive defeat on Rommel at El Alamein.

Montgomery's style and...

For centuries the seas around Scotland were notorious for shipwrecks. Mariners' only aids were skill, luck, and single coal-fire light on the east coast, which was usually extinguished by rain. In 1786 the Northern Lighthouse Trust was established, with Robert Stevenson appointed as chief engineer a few years later. In this engrossing book, Bella Bathhurst reveals that the Stevensons not only supervised the construction of the lighthouses under often desperate conditions but also perfected a design of precisely chiseled interlocking granite blocks that would withstand the enormous waves...

'If Hitler fails to invade or destroy Britain, he has lost the war, ' Churchill said in the summer of 1940. He was right. "The Battle of Britain" was a crucial turning point in the history of the Second World War and now, acclaimed British historian James Holland has written the definitive account of this battle based on extensive new research from around the world including thousands of new interviews with people on both sides of the fighting. Had Britain's defenses collapsed, Hitler would have dominated all of Europe and been able to turn his full attention east to the Soviet Union. The...