IRA Terror on Britain’s Streets 1939–1940

IRA Terror on Britain’s Streets 1939–1940 written by Dick Kirby written by

Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Softcover - Pages 240

It is little known today that, in January 1939, the IRA launched a bombing campaign,

codenamed The S - or Sabotage - Plan on mainland England. With cynical self-

justification, they announced that it was not their intention to harm human life but in

just over a year, 265 explosive devices resulted in the deaths of seven innocent

people, with 117 injuries and widespread devastation. London, Birmingham,

Manchester, Liverpool and many other towns and cities were targeted.

On 25 August 1939, detectives in London defused three devices set to detonate that afternoon at 2.30 and arrested four terrorists. At the same time an identical bomb exploded in Coventry city centre killing five civilians and injuring 72, the highest body count of the campaign.

Numerous arrests were made nationwide but ill-trained personnel and additional national security resulting from the threat of Nazi invasion caused the campaign to falter and fade away in early 1940. The author, a former detective, is well qualified to write this book, having spent 18 months in Northern Ireland combatting terrorism, for which he was commended by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Lord Imbert, for displaying ‘courage, dedication and detective ability’.

I think this is the second Dick Kirby book that I have reviewed, and I’ve had further confirmation that he is a really good writer, very informative, descriptive and actually quite often to the point. Dick Kirby. Kirby concentrates of real criminal cases mostly British but not exclusively, being a former policeman gives him a background and experience in what people want to know and how to tell that story. This book focuses in particular on the the IRA campaigns on the mainland but in the early days of the 30/40’s, and in a way it’s a kind of a book that looks at the early days of criminal behaviour by the IRA in Britian, where the UK police are having to work at a national level in order to defeat what we call today the terrorists. The book focuses on mainly the London trials but also a number of attacks in the north of England. This book is fascinating in that it looks closely at the early skills and tactics used by the police to detect and solve these kinds of crimes. Overall a thoroughly good book and very comprehensive, certainly a good book for anyone who love true crime.

Celtic Places & Placenames

Celtic Places & Placenames written by John Moss and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 304

‘Celtic Places’ are typified by some several hundred townships and villages whose

names still bear the imprint of their earliest Celtic roots, but the scope of the book is

not restricted to human settlements; it is also true of the many mountains and rivers

that they named, and to several thousand sites of standing stone monuments, Celtic

high crosses, henges, hill figures, funeral barrows and hillforts, which are all included

in the book.

What they all have in common is that they reflect the rich cultural heritage that was implicit in the names of places in the British Isles and Ireland as it existed before the Romans arrived.

This for me was always going to be a fascinating book, as someone who finds local history interesting this is an excellent book. I’m always one of those obsessive types who wherever he goes likes to learn about places, their origins and just what makes places be what they are. A lot of research and knowledge has gone into this book, just like the author’s previous book A History of English Placenames & Where they Came From. This book not only covers villages, towns and cities, it also seems to cover hills, areas and rivers to make it more than just about populated areas. I would say that if your into local history you would get a lot out of this book as I would highly recommend it.

Elizabeth I’s Final Years

Elizabeth I’s Final Years written by Robert Stedall and published by Pen & Sword Books 

- £25 - Hardback - Pages 328

Elizabeth I's Final Years outlines the interwoven relationships and rivalries between politicians and courtiers surrounding England’s omnipotent queen in the years following the death in 1588 of the Earl of Leicester. Elizabeth now surrounded herself with magnetically attractive younger men with the courtly graces to provide her with what Alison Weir has called ‘an eroticised political relationship’.

With these ‘favourites’ holding sway at court, they saw personal bravery in the tiltyard or on military exploits as their means to political authority. They failed to appreciate that the parsimonious queen would always resist military aggression and resolutely backed her meticulously cautious advisors, William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and later his son Robert.

With its access to New World treasure, it was Spain who threatened the fragile balance of power in Continental Europe. With English military intervention becoming inevitable, the Cecils diverted the likes of Walter Raleigh and the Earl of Essex, despite their lack of military experience, away from the limelight at court into colonial and military expeditions, leaving them just short of the resources needed for success. The favourites’ promotions caused friction when seasoned soldiers, like Sir Francis Vere with his unparalleled military record in the Low Countries, were left in subordinate roles.

When Spanish support for rebellion in Ireland threatened English security, Robert Cecil encouraged Elizabeth to send Essex, knowing that high command was beyond his capabilities. Essex retorted by rebelling against Cecil’s government, for which he lost his head.

Both Elizabeth and Cecil realised that only the bookish Lord Mountjoy, another favourite, had the military acumen to resolve the Irish crisis, but his mistress, Essex’s sister, the incomparable Penelope Rich, was mired by involvement in her brother’s conspiracy. Despite this, Cecil gave Mountjoy unstinting support, biding his time to tarnish his name with James I, as he did against Raleigh and his other political foes.

This fine book is written by Robert Stedall and covers the later years of Elizabeth I’s life and in particular the men or her favourites in later life. From Walter Raleigh, to Charles Blount, to Robert Devereux and Sir Francis Vere to name a few. It was nice to read about their influences, strengths and opinions in the various situations that came up in this particular period of history. With events like the Spanish Armada, Ireland and Catholicism and more.

The way these characters were played off against each, with each one trying to get somewhere or wanting specifics. This book is very comprehensive in its details and research and so the author Robert Stedall has written an excellent book which I think compares to others very favourably against other books of a similar subject. I’m sure I read Stedall’s previous book which if I remember rightly was also a fine and detailed book. Would I recommend this book? I most certainly would, whether you were new to the subject or not.