"I am not pressing you to fight the weather as well as the Germans, never forget that." So wrote Winston Churchill to Arthur Harris, the Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command, after the terrible events of 16 December 1943. In the murky dusk almost five hundred heavy bombers, almost entirely Lancasters, set out for Berlin from their bases in eastern England, from north Yorkshire to southern Cambridgeshire. They lifted off at around 4 pm to bomb the target four hours later and were expect...

The Second World War saw many people consigned to long periods of exile, far from home. How did the exiled keep in touch with home? Why were some exiles silent when others wrote frequently and at length? Posted in Wartime explores the nature of such exile and considers what could be written in diaries and letters, given that letters were censored and diaries were, at best, frowned upon. At the books heart are the stories of three very different exiles: a Liberty Ship captain; a doctor in t...

"Reveals the extent of MI5's methodical and implacable investigation into the lives of such people as the writer George Orwell." — UK HistorianDuring the 1930s, the British intelligence agencies became increasingly concerned about Communist influence in the country. They reacted by spying on thousands of ordinary British citizens. Amongst them were many artists and writers who, in tune with "the spirit of the times," had become sympathetic to left-wing caus...

The Trio tells the story of three war correspondents, two Englishmen and an Australian, all in their 30s, whose friendship was forged during the Second World War. They became so close that their colleagues dubbed them ' The Trio', sometimes out of disgruntled rivalry. Alan Moorehead, Alexander Clifford and Christopher Buckley worked for the Express, Mail and Telegraph respectively. Clifford and Moorehead lived together more closely than most married coupl...

During the Second World War, British artists produced over 6,000 works of war art, the result of a government scheme partly designed to prevent the artists being killed. This book tells the story of nine courageous war artists who ventured closer to the front line than any others in their profession.Edward Ardizzone, Edward Bawden, Barnett Freedman, Anthony Gross, Thomas Hennell, Eric Ravilious, Albert Richards, Richard Seddon and John Worsley all travelled abroad ...

All-India and Down-Under is the dramatic story of two cricket tours undertaken in the aftermath of the Second World War. For seven years the war had put the careers of England' s cricketers on hold. Then, in 1946, England played three Tests against ' All-India' . However, it proved to be the last such tour: by mid-1947, Indian partition had cut the country in two, a process that was violent and bloody. While the tourists were in England, struggling in a cold, wet summer, their own...

She stepped to the front doors and tried the door. It swung open as a look of surprise overtook her. "Did you leave the place unlocked?"Malachi looked a little surprised too. "No. I locked it, just a couple of hours ago." He walked over to the door, a little perplexed. He inserted his key in the open door and inspected the lock. It seemed to work perfectly. "Well, that's odd."She tentatively walked into the foyer and stopped looking around when a smell of cat urine and dust...