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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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 Posted -
13/06/2005
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19:06
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I was asked today abbout books on the more esoteric side of WW2 and said I'd put some titles up.
Books on strange weapons and systems; 'The Small Back Room', 'The Secret War', and one on camouflage and deception, I can't remember the title. Best book on tanks is 'Tank', by Patrick White. New bbook by Frederick Taylor is 'Dresden' best book I have read on the raid of Feb 13th 1945. Read 'Slaughterhouse Five' by Kurt Vonnegut. Anthony Beever's two books, 'berlin' and 'Stalingrad' are magnificent but extremely depressing.
That's enough to be going on with..... Enjoy!
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk
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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 06/12/2007 : 06:48
Malcolm, best account of WSC and Gallipoli I have ever read is in William Manchester's 'The Last Lion' vol i. I have vols i and ii, great shame he never finished vol iii, perhaps someone will complete it some day. I have a lot of time for Manchester who seems remarkably balanced and lacking in bias. He certainly had the support of the family.....
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk  |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 06/12/2007 : 07:01
PS. I first read Manchester in Oz and when I left there I went to LA and drove across what was left of Route 66 to Chicago, exactly the same trip that WSC took in 1929 when his broker Bernard Baruch got his friend Charles Schwab to lend WSC his car and chauffeur. In Kansas there is one of the famous rainbow bridges still preserved and I went to it and stood on it reglecting that WSC had driven across it on his way to finding out that while he was on his trip, the US economy had lost $30billion and his personal stocks had suffered badly.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
belle
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Posted - 06/12/2007 : 12:21
Yes sofsuv, I am more than aware of that...it was the perspective of the time and the photo's that I thought would be useful to other's. That is the point of historical docs they give you an insight into what people thought at the time.
Life is what you make it |
softsuvner
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Posted - 06/12/2007 : 12:49
Belle
Totally agree, didn't intend to patronise you.
Stanley, I haven't read "The Last Lion", but it will go on my list. One fascinating book I did find was "At Suvla Bay" by John Hargrave, had to import a copy from the States, now I find it is posted on the web. It covers aspects that are not well known. Like my Grandfather, Hargrave joined up in the first few weeks, and then hung around for 6 months in his own clothes until the Army organised a uniform and equipment.
I had never heard of Hargrave, you may well have done because of his political involvments between the wars. His Wikipedia biography shows quite a character: expelled from the Scout Movement by BP,
formed his own movement, a split from that produced the Woodland Folk - the Cooperative Youth Movement (which Mum belonged to in the 1930's). I am ashamed to say I had never heard of the Social Credit idea.
Malcolm
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thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 06/12/2007 : 15:28
I have quite a number of books on the Wars and the men and machines that were involved. The largest at 650 pages being "Spitfire" the history, by Eric B Morgan and Edward Shacklady. Every Spit ever built is within these pages. My oldest book is probably "Dreadnought" dating back to 1912. Another good one is "Forgottten Voices of the Great War" by Max Arthur. "Gallipoli" by L A Carlyon is a solid read. At the other end of the scale, I have the full set of Spike Milligans War Memoirs. Another good book that I found whilst helping a friend clear a house was written by an ordinary seaman as a tribute to a little known Destroyer that saw most of its service in the Med. This book makes the point that a lot of the hype and glory attached to HMS Kelly is in actuall fact this mans ship, Kelly having spent a great deal of time during the main actions, under repair.
thomo |
frankwilk
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Posted - 06/12/2007 : 16:45
Hi Thomo
"Another good book that I found whilst helping a friend clear a house was written by an ordinary seaman as a tribute to a little known Destroyer that saw most of its service in the Med"
My Uncle was awarded the DSM whilst serving on HMS Kelly. He was presented it by the King at Holyrood, which really peed him off seeing so he was born on Tottenham Court Road. He so much wanted to go to Buck House, but HMS Kelly was on the Tyne being repaired !!!!!.
What's the name of the book please ??
Frank Wilkinson Once Navy Always Navy |
The Demo Man
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Posted - 06/12/2007 : 20:23
Spike Milligans War books, now they are truly fantastic, I couldn't put them down when I first read them and have been through them many times since, top stuff. Particularly liked the part when he says he and his Father knew something thing was up as they stood watching Mother digging a pit for the Anderson Shelter!!
Titch |
Rossie
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Posted - 06/12/2007 : 22:25
Hi Titch,
Perhaps I should have more accurately described the pamphlets as 'booklets' as the majority contain about 100 pages of fairly intensive text and photos and they are 7 x 9" in size - in other words quite a lot to photocopy!!
The HMSO booklet on the Battle of Egypt is WW II. It is a bigger format - newspaper supplement size - and is 32 pages of text report descibing the battle, and a great many b & w photographs.
We are having trouble locating the booklet on the Battle of Crete - my husband is as we speak scouring the house for it, as he had it last, but for now it is being elusive. However, in another HMSO booklet I have called 'The Mediterranean Fleet Greece to Tripoli' there is a chapter on the Battle of Crete 1st May - 20th May 1941, from the Admiralty's point of view, then the evacuation of troops from Hora Sfakion on the south coast of Crete is covered. This covers 26 pages of a 100 page booklet, but I could (I think) copy them as a pdf doc and email it to you if you like.
Ros
Edited by - Rossie on 06/12/2007 10:29:29 PM
Kalh mera oi filoi mou
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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 07/12/2007 : 06:06
Malcolm, I haven't heard of Hargraves but any man who got expelled from the Scouts by BP gets my attention if not my vote! I like thw books that tell you something that you didn't know because it was kept secret at the time. In Last Lion Manchester dug out the fact that at the point where the naval expedition forcing the Dardenelles turned back because of the intensity of the fire from the shore batteries the Turks only had one shell left. in 'Tank', Patrick White reveals that the man who first appreciated the value of the tank because it allowed blitzkreig was not regarded as sound by the War Office because he was into Alastair Crowley and devil worship. He reckons Guderian read his reports and took notice of them.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
softsuvner
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Posted - 07/12/2007 : 11:17
Stanley
If like me you have never heard of John Hargrave check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hargrave
There is a whole area of working class politics between the wars that I knew nothing of, beyond the Coop Movement and the "Woodland Folk".
I was a conscientious objector to the Boy Scouts, always thought there was something odd about BP. and I don't mean the obvious. Seems clear that BP and Hargrave were never going to agree, they were both similar authoritarian types.
Grandfather left very few memories of Gallipoli, but one that survived was his bitterness that they were sent out in tropical kit, only a few weeks before the onset of the Crimean Winter. A lesson that the Army should have learned 60 years before (they were still using maps from the Crimean War after all). Apparently, Grandfather's lot were lucky, their MO had been on Polar Expeditions and could recognise and treat frost bite. Yet another thing that I need to find out is this chap's name, will have to try the Regiment for that.
Malcolm
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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 07/12/2007 : 16:25
Manchester says the War office sent people round Cairo buying tourist maps in the run-up to the invasion..... I've had a look at Suvla Bay and downloaded it......
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 08/12/2007 : 09:25
Frank.I will dig that book out this weekend as for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the ship.
thomo |
frankwilk
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Posted - 08/12/2007 : 09:38
quote:
thomo wrote:
Frank.I will dig that book out this weekend as for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the ship.
Cheers, No hurry just thought I might find it interesting
Frank Wilkinson Once Navy Always Navy |
Rossie
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Posted - 08/12/2007 : 12:53
 
Hope these are readable - thought Titch might be interested.
Frank & Thomo - HMS Kelly was sunk on 22 May 1941 off south coast of Crete.
Ros
Kalh mera oi filoi mou
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The Demo Man
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Posted - 09/12/2007 : 11:10
Ros, thanks very much, they are very interesting as they clearly show the stages of the battle. I didn't realise that they would have so many pages in them. Thanks for the offer of the PDF's but I'm sure you have better things to do coming upto Xmas, than scanning all of the pages in!
Titch |
War books
