The Final Curtain: Burma 1941-45 Veteran’s Stories

The Final Curtain: Burma 1941-45 Veteran’s Stories written by Jeremy Archer and

published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 312

The Final Curtain: Burma 1941-1945 comprises interviews with some of the very few

surviving veterans of this most arduous of campaigns. In their own words, soldiers, sailors

and airmen now aged between 95 and 101 vividly recount the experiences that they

endured more than seventy-five years ago. This is oral history at its best, from officers and

men of 14th Army, which comprised some 100,000 British and other Commonwealth

personnel, 340,000 from the Sub-Continent and 90,000 East and West Africans. The

interviewees include individuals from all these groups. Their accounts cover the retreat

from Burma, the Chindit operations behind Japanese lines, the hard-fought struggle in the

Arakan, the crucial battles at Kohima and Imphal, and the final advance to Rangoon,

culminating in a decisive victory.

The veterans featured in this fascinating collection include a Primus (Archbishop) of the Scottish Episcopal Church, a former Chairman of Manchester City Football Club, and the Principal of the Accra Polytechnic in Ghana as well as two career Army officers. Regardless of their post-war achievements, all the contributors share the distinction of having served in a hugely demanding and ultimately victorious campaign against a merciless enemy. Their accounts make for inspiring and unforgettable reading.

Burma, one of the hardest types of battlefield to fight in due to the heat, terrain and jungle conditions. This book The Final Curtain: Burma is a fantastic book where the reader hears from a good number of allied servicemen who fought in connection with Burma, these stories come from men who served in all branches of the armed forces. I call this book fantastic because it is a book containing stories from the men involved, their experiences, thoughts and the events that happened to them. This is so important because it is first-hand experiences, such a valuable resource in history. The author Jeremy Archer has done a great job in getting these stories and putting them together in such an easy-to-read manner, the maps in the book are good and there is a good number of photos throughout. I would certainly recommend this book highlighting such an important part of WWII.

The Forgotten Giant of Bletchley Park Brigadier John Tiltman

The Forgotten Giant of Bletchley Park Brigadier John Tiltman written by

Harold Liberty and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

In recent years, the work of the Bletchley Park codebreakers has caught the public’s

imagination with books and films. While men such as Alan Turing and Dilly Knox have

been recognised, Brigadier John Tiltman has been hardly mentioned.

This overdue biography reveals that ‘The Brig’, as he was known, played a key role. After distinguished Great War military service, he established himself as a skilled codebreaker between the Wars, monitoring Russian and other unfriendly powers’ messages. During World War Two he was regarded as the most versatile of cryptographers, cracking a range of codes including Japanese ones. He made the first breakthrough against the German High Command Lorenz system and what he found led to the creation of machines including Colossus, the first recognisable computer. His lack of recognition may be down to his apparent lack of association with Enigma but, in truth, he was closely involved at the start.

In addition to his cryptological brilliance, ‘The Brig’ was a gifted communicator and team-builder whose character combined charm, intelligence, determination and common sense. He was key to building a special relationship with our American partners both during and after the war.

Harold Liberty’s biography shines light on a man whose contribution was essential to Britain’s survival and triumphs in the Second World War.

I must admit I have heard of the Enigma machine, Alan Turing, Codebreaking at Bletchley Park and I’ve even visited the museum site, but I have little knowledge of Brigadier John Tiltman. So in a way it has been great to read about this man and his influence on the codebreaking world at Bletchley and his success. John Tiltman it turns out was a man of great experience, especially in the Great War and was able to establish himself as a leading mathematician and codebreaker specialising in European languages like German and Russian. While it seems shameful having not previously heard about him, it was great to read about him and the importance he had on breaking codes and advancing the first computer. This book is an interesting read about a very interesting man.

What Happened to the Battleship 1945 to the Present

What Happened to the Battleship 1945 to the Present written by Chris Baker and

published by Seaforth Publishing - £30 - Hardback - Pages 304

In the hundreds of books written about battleships, the authors tend to draw down

the curtain on the careers of these great vessels in September 1945, with the surrender

of Japan. Yet, on that day some ninety-eight battleships or ex-battleships might be

spotted around the world, and eleven of them were in or around Tokyo Bay for the

surrender itself. What happened to all those ships?

This new book takes a fresh look at the slow demise of the battleship. It examines the decisions made by the major world powers after 1945, and their aspirations to retain battleships in their navies, despite financial stringency. It places the history and role of battleships after 1945 in their geo-political context, centred around the Cold War and the need for the West to face down an aggressive Soviet Union. It also examines the impact on battleships of operational analysis of the Second World War and new technological developments, notably the atom bomb and the guided missile.

The book uses the wealth of information from ship’s books, ship’s logs and gun logs to document in considerable detail what the ships actually did after the Second World War, with a particular focus on those of the Royal Navy. It covers United States battleship operations in Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War, as well as the deterrent role played by battleships for NATO from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Finally, it brings the story up to date by documenting the preservation as museum ships of the eight dreadnoughts which still exist today in the United States.

Extensively illustrated with photographs of the huge range of activities of battleships after 1945, from their use as Fleet flagships to Royal or Presidential yachts and more poignantly as target ships, this new book will appeal equally to the historic ship enthusiast and naval specialist, and provide a novel perspective through a battleship–shaped lens on late twentieth-century history for the more general reader.

This book is a fascinating insight into the world of the Battleship with regards to all the major players in the world with strong Navies. Whereas the world you might think is now dominated by aircraft carriers from the major countries, when you look at the size of the American Navy but especially the Chinese in recent years. But there was always major importance in naval circles to always have a strong Battleship class because these were more easily adaptable, quick and could always be sent out to solve problems much quicker than an aircraft carrier. I found this book to be a little less about technical details and specifications, but I enjoyed this and enjoyed the fact there was more about educated opinion. Now I’m not going to claim to be an expert on Naval history, just a mere enthusiast, but I found this to be a very interesting book, one that would suit many levels of knowledge. As usual, there was great photography throughout the book and certainly one I’ll be reading again for all kinds of information.

Heydrich Butcher of Prague

Heydrich Butcher of Prague written by Ian Baxter and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 144

Reinhard Heydrich along with Heinrich Himmler, whose deputy he was, will always

be regarded as one of the most ruthless of the Nazi elite. Even Hitler described him

as ‘a man with an iron heart’.

He established his fearsome reputation in the 1930s, as head of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the intelligence organisation which neutralised opposition to the Nazi Party by murder and deportation. He organised Kristalnacht and played a leading role in the Holocaust, chairing the 1942 Wannsee Conference which formalised plans for the ‘Final Solution’. In addition, as head of the Einsatzgruppen murder squads in Eastern Europe he was responsible for countless murders.

Appointed Deputy Reich-Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, he died of wounds inflicted by British-trained SOE operatives in Prague in May 1942. The reprisals that followed his assassination were extreme by even the terrible standards of Nazi ruthlessness.

Heydrich’s shocking and leading role in the Nazi regime is graphically portrayed in this Images of War book.

For some reason, I have a little fascination in Reinhard Heydrich, not in a fanboy way but because he looks and acted like an arrogant and pompous oaf. I learnt about him in university before I saw him, so having heard what a cruel man he was, eventually finding out what he looked like just confirmed what I had been told. What this man carried out in Czechoslovakia was sick and cruel and this is explained in this great little book which explains his rise to his position, and what he did to endear himself to Hitler and Himmler. But finally, the book talks about his death at the hands of SOE operatives, and I suppose this adds to the story in that there was such drama around his death and how it happened or very nearly didn’t. This book is an Images of War book and although the pictures are limited, this is down to the fact that there are little ‘action’ type photos but the ones there are, are good but a bit formal in nature. But I would still say this is an excellent read and a good addition to the Images of War series.

RAF in Camera - 100 Years on Display

RAF in Camera: 100 Years on Display written by Keith Wilson and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £50.00 - Hardback - Pages 472

In July 2018, the nation looked skyward over Buckingham Palace in awe as the Royal Air Force celebrated its first 100 years with a spectacular parade and flypast over London. This event demonstrated a very different perspective of the RAF; well away from its operational commitments.

The expertise and precision of those RAF pilots flying in some of the most famous aircraft in the world has been displayed since the very first days of military aviation. The Inter-War period was dominated by the Hendon Air Pageants; where many aircraft made their public appearance. Post-war, it was the turn of the jet display teams, with the Black Arrows and Firebirds’ laying the foundations for the aerial mastery that is today’s Red Arrows.

The various anniversaries have seen a growth in special artwork being applied to aircraft flown by squadrons celebrating key anniversaries. This is covered in considerable detail within this volume.

On the ground, the RAF is represented at major celebrations and key public events by the Queen’s Colour Squadron, which demonstrates its world-famous continuity drill routine while providing a guard of honour for visiting Heads of States. They are frequently accompanied with the Service’s own bands; which have grown from those created by its squadrons over a century ago.

From the Berlin Airlift in 1948; to flood relief in Kenya; and the international relief effort in the Caribbean following Hurricane Irma in 2017; the RAF has been deployed overseas in response to numerous international crises. But aid operations have also been mounted at home. Under the banner of ‘Military Aid to the Civil Powers’, helicopters and aircraft have airlifted food and supplies to areas cut off by severe weather; Sea King helicopters have rescued villagers stranded by flash flooding in Boscastle; while Chinook helicopters have assisted with the rebuilding of flood defences breached by severe floods across the country.

Keith Wilson takes us on a journey through the Royal Air Force’s public persona during their 100 year history. All landmark events are referenced in this thorough, well-researched and image-packed publication.

This book is a huge book, packed with many great photographs and lovely text, one of those big coffee tabled size books. Celebrating 100 years of the RAF, but this book concentrates on the PR or displays side of the RAF, celebrating such things as the Red Arrows, Air Pageants, Air Displays, the Berlin Airlift, International relief and Rescue Operations. All through the 100 years of progression, growth, design and technical advancement. Having started the book I must admit I was expecting it to just be full of Red Arrow pictures, but the book is a whole lot more. With some great photos of Air Pageants, the involvement of the jet-engined planes in the emergence and I quite enjoyed the latter part of the book that looked at how the RAF would be in the near future with the new modern planes such as the new Tornados. I found the book very well written, very informative and that’s from someone whose family was in the RAF. This book is a fantastic look at the RAF and the way in which it celebrates and promotes itself to the world.

Captured at Singapore

Captured at Singapore written by Jill Robertson & Jan Slimming and

published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 296

What would it be like to leave your loved ones behind knowing you may never see

them again? Then depart on a ship in the dead of night heading for an unknown

destination and find yourself in the heat of a battle which concludes in enemy

conditions so terrible that your survival in captivity is still under threat?

Cultivated from a small, faded, address book secretly written by a young soldier in the Royal Army Service Corps, Captured at Singapore, is a POW story of adventure, courage resilience and luck.

In 1940, Londoner Stanley Moore became Driver T/170638 and trained for desert warfare along with many others in the British Army’s 18th Division. Their mission, they thought, was to fight against Hitler and fascism in the Middle East. But in a change of plan and destination, he and his fellow servicemen became sacrificial lambs on a continent much further from home.

Using extensive research and personal documents, the authors’ account - via their father’s small, faded, diary and his 1990 tape recording - tells of Stan’s journey and arrival in Keppel Harbour under shellfire; the horrific 17 day battle to defend the island, the Japanese Admonition and the harrowing forced labour conditions after capitulation.

Only a small percentage of the 85,000 British troops returned after the war. Captivity and years of trauma ultimately stole years of the young soldiers’ lives, which they were later ordered to forget by the British Government. The aim of this work is to provide information for future generations to understand how ordinary men died under horrific conditions of war, and how the lucky survived.

From the basic of sources of information evidence, the authors Robertson and Slimming have discovered the small diary and an interview from their late father Stanley Moore. Stanley, a driver in the 18th Division served out in the Far East fighting the Japanese, although it should be said the 18th were rather under-prepared in many aspects. 

Robertson and Slimming present a book and a story of their father showing the worry, hardship and harsh conditions their father was forced to endure under an oppressive regime. All this from the rarest of information, their father's diary and an interview. But they have presented an excellent story which really does show the suffering of the fellow soldiers and others around them. A really well-written book and works very well to make an excellent account of having to be a Japanese prisoner of war.

Hitler’s Spy Against Churchill

Hitler’s Spy Against Churchill written by Jan-Willem van den Braak

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 312

From the summer of 1940 until May 1941, nearly twenty German Abwehr agents were

dropped by boat or parachute into England during what was known as Operation Lena,

all in preparation for Hitler's planned invasion of England. The invasion itself would never

happen and in fact, after the war, one of the Abwehr commanders declared that the

operation was doomed to failure.

There is no doubt that the operation did indeed become a fiasco, with almost all of the officers being arrested within a very brief period of time. Some of the men were executed, while others became double agents and spied for Britain against Germany. Only one man managed to stay at large for five months before eventually committing suicide: Jan Willem Ter Braak. Amazingly, his background and objectives had always remained unclear, and none of the other Lena spies had ever even heard of him. Even after the opening of the secret service files in England and the Netherlands over 50 years later, Jan Willem Ter Braak remained a 'mystery man', as the military historian Ladislas Farago famously described him.

In this book, the author – his near-namesake – examines the short and tragic life of Jan Willem Ter Braak for the first time. Using in-depth research, he investigates the possibility that Ter Braak was sent to kill the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and discovers why his fate has remained largely unknown for so long.

This is quite an intriguing little book that has all the elements of an espionage thriller,

with a bit of light fiasco thrown into the mix. This book follows the story mainly of one

man, Jan Willem Ter Braak, although he was part of a group of people trained to act

as agents or spies in order to start an invasion of Britain during the war. Ter Braak

was a rather evasive or reclusive character who nobody really got to know well. So

here lies the mystery around a man who nobody really knew or what he got up to.

This book I found was quite gripping and was a really quick but enjoyable read, and

I had never heard of this story before either. A book I really enjoyed and would most

certainly recommend it.

Running The Gauntlet: Cargo LIners Under Fire 1939-1945

Running the Gauntlet: Cargo Liners Under Fire 1939-1945 written by

Bernard Edwards and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

The British Merchant Navy dominated the world trade routes in the years leading up

to the Second World War. The star players of the fleet were the cargo liners, faster

and larger than the tramps and offering limited passenger accommodation. At the

outbreak of war, these cargo liners became crucial to the nation’s survival using

their speed and expertise to evade Nazi warships, raiders and U-boats.

Initially operating alone, but increasingly relying on Royal Navy-protected convoys, these key elements of the Merchant Navy plied the oceans and seas despite mounting losses, throughout the war years.

This superbly researched book describes numerous dramatic incidents. Some ended in disaster such as the New Zealand Shipping Company’s Turakina which was sunk after a running battle with the German raider Orion. Others were triumphs for example Operation Substance when six fast cargo liners succeeded against all the odds in reaching besieged Malta with vital supplies.

The common denominations in all these historic voyages were the courage and skilled seamanship of the Merchant Navy crews. As Running The Gauntlet vividly illustrates, their contribution to victory, too long overlooked, cannot be overstated.

You could say that the merchant navy who transported cargo around the seas and oceans are the unsung heroes of the war. This book is all about the various triumphs and disasters faced by the merchant navy who were responsible for feeding and supplying a nation such as the UK but also transporting cargo to smaller destinations. Without Royal Naval protection these ships were sitting targets for the enemy, whether it be from u-boats to aircraft, as these cargo ships had little or no defence. Even with the Royal Navy protection wasn’t an assurance for safe passage to the destination. The merchant navy was a lifeline for Britain bringing in food supplies to keep the nation going, and the bravery of these men was very high and gutsy.

The research in this book is great and the book was an easy compelling read, most one to recommend. In a way, these guys were just as brave as those fighting on the battlefields of WWII.

On the Eastern Front at Seventeen

On the Eastern Front at Seventeen written by Sergey Drobyazko and published

by Greenhill Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 240

This is the true story of a young Red Army soldier during the Second World War,

told in his own words. Recruited into the army aged just seventeen, Sergei

Drobyazko’s introduction to battle is a violent one: forced to retreat from his home

city of Krasnodar after it is set ablaze by German forces. Later, Drobyazko is

captured by the Germans and placed in a concentration camp, where prisoners

are reduced to eating scavenged rubbish and bathing battle wounds in urine.

After a daring escape from the camp, he enters service once more, rising to the rank of sergeant in an infantry regiment. During this time, he witnesses the execution of deserters and the routine ill-treatment of German prisoners of war by vengeful Soviet troops. After surviving an attack that decimates his detachment, Drobyazko is almost court-martialled. Seriously wounded in 1944, he retrains as a radio operator, but he never returns to the war front.

In this gripping memoir, Drobyazko sets down his experience of the war as it unfolded around him. He claims to have consulted no historical sources and to have simply relied on his own memory, making this a deeply personal account. Translated into English for the first time, this unique account will be enjoyed by readers with an interest in military history.

These diaries/personal accounts from former Russian soldiers come up every so often and some are translated very well and still capture the imagination, and this is one of them. There does seem to be common threads that run through all of these books and that is how harsh the treatment and daily life is being a Russian soldier at most levels of command. It’s no wonder that so many of them try to desert or end up being captured because the training is almost negligent or non-existent. The equipment and conditions are usually very basic and there is certainly no respect or pride in the everyday soldiers, they’re almost treated like cannon fodder right from the start. Sergey was actually captured by the Germans, I’m not sure which situation would have been better really. I really enjoyed this book, one of the better personal accounts of Russian soldiers, well worth a read, and quite interesting.

POW on the Sumatra Railway

POW on the Sumatra Railway written by John Geoffrey Lee and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

John Geoffrey Lee (always known as Geoff) joined the RAF on his 20th birthday in

June 1941. He left Liverpool on a troop ship in December 1941, with no idea where

he was going. He eventually arrived in Java, where he was captured by the Japanese,

along with many others. During his time in captivity, he survived several camps in

Java, Ambon and Singapore and three hell ship journeys. After being washed ashore

in Sumatra, (as a ferry he was being transported on blew up), he was then recaptured

and suffered sheer hell as a slave on the Sumatra Railway. Enduring bouts of malaria,

beri beri, tropical ulcers and a starvation diet was bad enough, but this was exacerbated

by the searing heat and extreme cruelty meted out to the prisoners by the Japanese

and Korean guards. Geoff miraculously survived, weighing just 6 stone when he arrived

back in Liverpool in December 1945.

After his release he found he had difficulty in convincing people where he had been as no one had heard of the “Sumatra Railway”, only the other one, thousands of miles away in Burma. Letters to newspapers were returned as ‘Just another Burma Railway story’.

The Ministry of Defence, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and The Imperial War Museum had no records of POWs building a railway in Sumatra.

So began Geoff’s journey, his aim… to prove to the establishment what he already knew to be true. This is Geoff's story of his captivity, release, and subsequent efforts in achieving his aim.

POW on the Sumatra Railway follows the story of John Geoffrey Lee who as a young man joined the RAF, he was moved out to the Far East where unfortunately he was captured by the Japanese. Having been caught he was forced to experience a number of POW camps and the sad treatment and punishments that went on in these camps at the hands of the guards. John manages to survive his time being captured but I think he was released weighing just 7 stone. The story then follows his mission to prove he was where he was as it seems nobody seemed to know or have heard about the Sumatra Railway at the time, and then follows his journey to provide that information.

A really good read, very informative but I should say a very sad read too. The book was a quick read but I took a lot away from it and it really does give you an idea into what the men were suffering out in the Far East. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

Air Power Supremo

Air Power Supremo written by William Pyke and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 280

Sir John Slessor was one of the twentieth century’s most distinguished wartime

commanders and incisive military thinkers, and William Pyke’s comprehensive

new biography reveals how he earned this remarkable reputation.

Slessor, a polio victim who always walked with a stick, became a First World War pilot in the Sudan and on the Western Front and a squadron and wing commander in India between the wars. When aerial warfare was still a new concept, he was one of the first to develop practical tactics and strategies in its application. In the Second World War, as the Commander-in-Chief of Coastal Command during the Battle of the Atlantic and the RAF in the Mediterranean during the Italian and Balkan campaigns, he made a remarkable contribution to the success of Allied air power. Then, after the war, as a senior commander, he established himself as one of the foremost experts on strategic bombing and nuclear deterrence. That is why this insightful biography of a great British airman and his achievements is so timely and important as we enter a new era of strategic doubts and deterrence at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

William Pyke follows each stage of Slessor’s brilliant career as a pilot and commander in vivid detail. In particular he concentrates on Slessor’s writings, from his treatise on the application of air power in support of land armies to his thinking on nuclear deterrence and Western strategy.

Well, this was a book that was full of surprises, having not read the info about the book from the back I had just gone by the front cover so I expected something detailed, dry and about an ‘office’ man. But I was quite wrong in that what this book provides us with is a story about a wily, courageous and distinguished fellow. A pilot in the first world war and during the inter-war years, he would eventually fly during the second world war and become an instrumental person in aerial tactics and the introduction of the new heavy planes of the nuclear weapon future. This was an enjoyable read and it was nice how the author took a linear approach to the book, I would certainly recommend this book about a man who had many talents and stories to tell.

Hindenburg, Ludendorff & Hitler

Hindenburg, Ludendorff & Hitler written by Alexander Clifford and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 368

They are two of twentieth-century history’s most significant figures, yet today they are largely forgotten – Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff, Germany’s First World War leaders. Although defeat in 1918 brought an end to their ‘silent dictatorship’, both generals played a key role in the turbulent politics of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazis.

Alexander Clifford, in this perceptive reassessment of their political careers, questions the popular image of these generals in the English-speaking world as honourable ‘Good Germans’. For they were intensely political men, whose ideas and actions shaped the new Germany and ultimately led to Hitler’s dictatorship.

Their poisonous wartime legacy was the infamous stab-in-the-back myth. According to the generals, the true cause of the disastrous defeat in the First World War was the betrayal of the army by politicians, leftists and Jews on the home front. This toxic conspiracy theory polluted Weimar politics and has been labelled the beginning of ‘the twisted road to Auschwitz’.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff’s political fortunes after the war were markedly different. Ludendorff inhabited the far-right fringes and engaged in plots, assassinations and conspiracies, playing a leading role in failed uprisings such as Hitler’s 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. Meanwhile Hindenburg was a vastly more successful politician, winning two presidential elections and serving as head of state for nine years. Arguably he bore even more responsibility for the destruction of democracy, for he and the nationalist right he led sought, through Hitler, to remould the Weimar system towards authoritarianism.

There are some books that come along that you just want to dive into and this was one of them. I’ve long been learning about the First World War & the Second World War but often some of the most fascinating places in history is the ‘in between’ wars section and this particular part of history is fascinating as Alexander Clifford explores a part of that history, Hindenburg, Ludendorff & Hitler. The period of the Weimar Republic was basically 10 wasted years where life in Germany just festered and all the surrounding upheaval was no surprise that a mangled relationship between these three men would sow the seeds for another global conflict.

Although in my opinion, Hitler has to carry the can for this relationship and what would eventually happen, it was very much interesting reading about the relationship, conflict and suspicion between these three, it really does enlighten the reader as to how things went wrong and in a way shows clearly who was the aggressor, the yes man and the fooled in this bad political relationship. This has been a fascinating read, comprehensive, detailed and very well written and with all the other characters in the book would in other world’s make a really good thriller. From beginning to end this was a really good book, I would have no other choice but to recommend this book and if you want to learn about the relationship between these three men, this is one of the best books I have read on this subject.

British Escort Destroyers of the Second World War

British Escort Destroyers of the Second World War written by Les Brown and 

published by Seaforth Publishing - £16.99 - Softcover - Pages 64

The ‘ShipCraft’ series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject, highlighting differences between ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the subjects, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic gallery of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references – books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites.

This volume covers the many variations of Royal Navy wartime escort destroyers, both the purpose-built ‘Hunt’ class and the conversions from older fleet destroyers. The ‘Hunts’ were built in four groups (Types I to IV), while the old ‘V&W’ classes were modified to Long Range Escort, Short Range Escort and ‘Wair’ (anti-aircraft) variants. Also included are the fifty ex-US ‘flush-deckers’ that became the ‘Town’ class.

With its unparalleled level of visual information – paint schemes, models, line drawings and photographs – this book is simply the best reference for any modelmaker setting out to build any of these numerous escort types.

This is the first book in the ShipCraft series from Seaforth Publishing that I have read. Wow, I have really enjoyed reading and reviewing this book looking at British Escort Destroyers in the Second World War. Based on the same basis as the TankCraft books this book is fantastic looking at the various destroyers that made an appearance during WWII. Looking at these Royal Navy fast escorts we learn about the types or classes of destroyer, we also learn about the different paint schemes, models, designs and photographs of the actual ships at sea, but also the models. I would like to thank Seaforth Publishing for allowing me to review this book as I have learnt so much about these ships and the Royal Navy and all about the ships’ specifications, designs and the reasons why. This was a thoroughly interesting read and I would most certainly recommend this book and the series.

York at War 1939-45

York at War 1939-45 written by Dr Craig Armstrong and published by Pen & Sword Books

- £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 128

York has often been overlooked when it comes to Britain’s wartime experience. The city was not though to have many industries of great wartime importance and it was not a part of the initial evacuation scheme. Yet this does not accurately reflect the wartime contributions of the city, as several of its large confectionary factories were converted to wartime use, while it was also a key rail hub, forming a vital link in the national network.

Unbeknownst to the people of the city, York had been selected as the latest target in the Luftwaffe’s Baedeker Raids. In a short, sharp, blitz raid in the early hours of 29 April 1942, more than 3,000 houses were destroyed or damaged and almost 100 people killed while others were left seriously injured.

Wartime York had a particularly close connection with the RAF as the city was surrounded by airbases. People became very used to seeing the uniforms of men and women from Bomber Command and the city was to prove very popular with airmen seeking relaxation. Places such as Betty’s Bar became infamous as airmen of almost every Allied nationality came to blew off steam. The nearby presence of the airfields also meant that the people of York and the surrounding area were witnesses to tragedies when aircraft crashed on their return to the bases.

As I have said previously, this series published by Pen & Sword, Your Towns & Cities in World War Two is one of my favourite series. The authors they get to write for these towns and cities are excellent and succeed in writing so comprehensively about local history during the war with the war outside enveloping the story. What I love about these books is that we get the local story of a town and its citizens living through a world war, and how the war affects them in their town.

In particular, this book concentrates on Civilians, The Blitz and the Military service of people from York which is fascinating but I actually think the conclusion in the book sums up the whole book. We learn more about Warrant Officer Harry Coates and how his death affected his family and those around him. This in my opinion summed up the war in which York was affected in small ways during the war, but for some of the people of York, the war brought huge effects and consequences. This is a really good book and one that nicely fits into the Towns & Cities series.

The Brookwood Killers - Military Murders of WWII

The Brookwood Killers - Military Murders of WWII written by Paul Johnson and

published by Frontline Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 256

Nestled deep in the Surrey countryside stands the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial. Maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, its panels contain the names of nearly 3,500 men and women of the land forces of Britain and the Commonwealth who died in the Second World War and who have no known grave.

Among the men and women whose names are carved on the memorial are Special Operations Executive agents who died as prisoners or while working with Allied underground movements, servicemen killed in the various raids on enemy occupied territory in Europe, such as Dieppe and Saint-Nazaire, men and women who died at sea in hospital ships and troop transports, British Army parachutists, and even pilots and aircrew who lost their lives in flying accidents or in aerial combat.

But the panels also hide a dark secret. Entwined within the names of heroes and heroines are those of nineteen men whose last resting place is known, and whose deaths were less than glorious. All were murderers who, following a civil or military trial, were executed for the heinous offence they had committed. The bodies of these individuals, with the exception of one, lay buried in unconsecrated ground.

As Paul Johnson reveals, the cases of the ‘Brookwood Killers’ are violent, disturbing and often brutal in their content. They are not war crimes, but crimes committed in a time of war, for which the offender has their name recorded and maintained in perpetuity. Something that is not always applied in the case of the victim.

This book is packed with a large number of killers and sadly their victims during World War II. But the disturbing thing about this book is that we read about 20 murders, which is bad enough but then you realise the vast majority of these killers you have never heard of. This is both very sad for each victim but also sad that it kind of feels a little like because of who and when then these crimes occurred the killers have got away with something, as in without being known in a notorious manner.

I enjoyed this book and reading about crimes as a bit of a true crime buff, especially as I had not really ever heard of these crimes. The book is very well written, concise but comprehensive, I also enjoyed the fact that you got the crime, investigation, trial, appeal and finally the result. The author Paul Johnson has done a really good job and this book is an enjoyable read, just like his previous book Hertfordshire Soldiers of the Great War. As this book says it is staggering that these names appear on a memorial and yet even the victims' names are not, it is surprising that nothing has been done about this. This is a good book if your into true crime, it makes a change from the usual true crime books.