Railway of Hell - War, Captivity and Forced Labour at the Hands of the Japanese, Reginald Burton.

Railway of Hell - War, Captivity and Forced Labour at the Hands of the Japanese, Reginald Burton.

A thoughtful autobiography, originally written in 1963 and revised in 2002, and recounting the author's experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese between 1942 and 1945, including a period spent building the infamous railway from Siam to Burma.

read full review

Images of War: Berlin, Victory in Europe, Nik Cornish.

Images of War: Berlin, Victory in Europe, Nik Cornish.

A pictorial guide to the Soviet offensives that broke through the last German defensive lines in the East and the desperate battle for Berlin, the last major battle of the war against Nazi Germany. A good selection of Soviet and German photographs supported by useful captions and a concise account of the campaign.

read full review

No.156 Squadron

No.156 Squadron was a bomber squadron that was a founder member of the Pathfinder Force, serving with it from August 1942 until the end of the war.

No.155 Squadron

No.155 Squadron was a fighter squadron that served in India and over Burma, performing reconnaissance, ground attack and bomber escort missions.

No.154 Squadron

No.154 Squadron was a fighter squadron that had two incarnations during the Second World War, first serving in the UK briefly late in 1942 before moving to the Mediterranean and second providing bomber escorts from the UK.

No.153 Squadron

No.153 Squadron had two incarnations during the Second World War, first as a night fighter squadron which served both at home and in the Mediterranean, and then as a Lancaster squadron in Bomber Command.

No.152 'Hyderabad' Squadron

No.152 'Hyderabad' Squadron was a fighter squadron that took part in the Battle of Britain, and the campaigns in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, before ending the war as a fighter bomber squadron operating over Burma.

No.146 Squadron

No.146 Squadron served as a defensive fighter and ground attack squadron in India and over Burma

No.145 Squadron

No.145 Squadron was a fighter squadron that fought in the Battle of Britain and the cross-channel sweeps of 1941 before moving to the Mediterranean, where it took part in the campaigns in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, ending the war as a fighter-bomber squadron.

No.143 Squadron

No.143 Squadron was part of Coastal Command, and formed part of the first 'Strike Wing' at Coates, as well as the Banff strike wing in Scotland

No.141 Squadron

No.141 Squadron began the war as a day-fighter squadron equipped with the two-seat Defiant turret fighter, but after a costly first contact with the Germans became a night fighter squadron, ending the war with Bomber Command's No.100 Group.

No.140 Squadron

No.140 Squadron was a photo-reconnaissance squadron that was based in the UK for most of the war, before moving to Belgium in September 1944.

No.137 Squadron

No.137 Squadron was a fighter-bomber and ground attack squadron that was one of only two squadrons to receive the Westland Whirlwind, before moving on to the Hurricane and finally the Typhoon.

No.133 Squadron

No.133 Squadron was the third 'Eagle' Squadron, RAF fighter squadrons manned by American volunteers

Polikarpov I-195

The Polikarpov I-195 was Nikolai Polikarpov's last design for a biplane fighter, and was to a more powerful version of the I-190.

Polikarpov I-190

The Polikarpov I-190 was the last of Nikolai Polikarpov's biplane fighter designs to take to the air, but only the first prototype was completed and the project was abandoned early in 1941

Polikarpov I-170

The Polikarpov I-170 was a design for version of the I-153 biplane fighter with a wooden fuselage structure in place of the metal tubing used on the standard aircraft.

Lucius Scribonius Libo (fr.56-34 BC)

Lucius Scribonius Libo (fr.56-34 BC) was a supporter of Pompey the Great in the civil war between Caesar and the Senate, commanding part of Pompey's fleet in the first year of the war

Lucius Nasidius (fl.49-31 BC)

Lucius Nasidius (fl.49-31 BC) was a Roman naval commander who fought against Julius Caesar and later against Octavius, suffering defeats on both occasions.

No.136 Squadron

No.136 Squadron was a fighter squadron that was on its way to the Far East when the Japanese invaded Burma, and spent much of the war operating over that country.

No.135 Squadron

No.135 Squadron was a fighter squadron that was caught up in the retreat from Burma in 1942 and spent the rest of the war operating on the Burmese front.

No.134 Squadron

No.134 Squadron was formed to take Hurricanes to the Soviet Union to help defend Murmansk, before going on to serve in Northern Ireland, North Africa and Burma.

Gunner Sidney Fowler's Account of Dunkirk

This account of the British retreat to Dunkirk and the evacuation that followed was written by Gunner Sidney Fowler and was originally published in the Newsletter of the Friends' Hall Gooch Street, Birmingham.

No.132 Squadron

No.132 Squadron served as a fighter squadron based in Britain from 1941 until the end of 1944, before moving to the Far East in preparation for the invasion of Malaya

No.131 Squadron

No.131 Squadron was a fighter squadron that spent most of the Second World War operating from Britain, flying a mix of defensive and offensive duties, before moving to the Far East where it never began fully operational

No.130 Squadron

No.130 Squadron was a fighter squadron that spent most of the Second World War on offensive duties, including fighter sweeps in 1941-43 and armed reconnaissance over Germany towards the end of the war

L. Calpumius Bibulus (d.48 BC)

L. Calpumius Bibulus (d.48 BC) was a political opponent of Caesar's who was unable to stop his fleets crossing the Adriatic in 49 BC, and who died of a fever while isolated on his fleet

Sabura (d.46 BC)

Sabura (d.46 BC) was a Numidian general who fought against Caesar during the Great Roman Civil War, defeating one of his generals in 49 BC before dying in battle in 46 BC.

Polikarpov I-153 Chaika

The Polikarpov I-153 Chaika was the last of Nikolai Polikarpov's biplane fighter aircraft to enter service, and despite being the most advanced entry in the series was already obsolete when it first entered service in 1939

Polikarpov I-152

The Polikarpov I-152 or I-15bis was the second in the series of biplanes that began with the I-15 and ended with the I-153, and in some ways was a step backwards from the earlier aircraft

No.129 Squadron

No.129 Squadron was a fighter squadron that was based in the UK from 1941 until the end of the Second World War, providing bomber escorts, taking part in the D-Day landings and the campaign against the V-1 flying bomb

No.128 Squadron

No.128 Squadron had two incarnations during the Second World War, first as a fighter squadron in West Africa and then as a night intruder squadron based in Britain.

No.127 Squadron

No.127 Squadron was a fighter squadron that spend much of the Second World War in the Mediterranean before returning to Britain to take part in the D-Day campaign.

No.126 Squadron

No.126 Squadron was a fighter squadron that took part in the defence of Malta in 1941 and 1942, the invasion of Italy in 1943 and the D-Day invasions in 1944.

No.125 Squadron

No.125 Squadron was a night fighter squadron that generally served in a defensive capacity, as well as taking part in the D-Day campaign

No.124 Squadron

No.124 Squadron was a fighter squadron that served as a high-altitude interception unit, before joining Fighter Command to carry out bomber escort duties, ending the war attacking V-2 sites

Lucius Afranius (d.46 BC)

Lucius Afranius (d.46 BC) was a supporter of Pompey the Great who was defeated by Caesar in the first major battle of the Great Roman Civil War at Ilerda (49 BC), and who survived to be present at the battles of Dyrrhacium, Pharsalia and Thapsus, being killed soon after the last battle.

Marcus Petreius

Marcus Petreius was an experienced solder and a supporter of Pompey during the Great Roman Civil War. He was defeated at Ilerda in Spain in the first year of the war, but survived to take part in the defeats at Pharsalus and at Thapsus, committing suicide after the second of these battles.

Battle of Ilerda (May-2 July 49 BC)

The battle of Ilerda (May-2 July 49 BC) was Caesar's first major military success during the Great Civil War, and saw him defeat Pompey's most experienced armies, posted in Spain where Pompey had gained one of his earliest victories, against the forces of the Roman rebel Sertorius, and which had been his proconsular province in 55 BC.

Siege of Gomphi (48 BC)

The siege of Gomphi (48 BC) was a minor victory won by Caesar in the period between his defeat at Dyrrhachium in May and his victory at Pharsalus in August.

The Amber Treasure, Richard Denning

The Amber Treasure, Richard Denning.

Well written and entertaining historical fiction set in the early days of the Angle invasion of northern England, one of the most obscure periods of the Dark Ages, following the adventures of a young man caught up in the conflict between the Angles and the peoples they had displaced.

read full review

Fighter Aces - The Constable Maxwell Brothers, Alex Revell

Fighter Aces - The Constable Maxwell Brothers, Alex Revell.

An unusual double biography, looking at two brothers who served as fighter pilots, one in the First World War and one in the Second. As a result we get a clear picture of the vast increase in the complexity of aerial warfare in the two decades between the wars, from the standing fighter patrols of the first war to the radar guided interceptions of the Battle of Britain or the complexities of the night fighters, both on defensive and offensive duties.

read full review

The Pacific: Hell was an Ocean Away, Hugh Ambrose

The Pacific: Hell was an Ocean Away, Hugh Ambrose.

Closely linked to the HBO TV series, this sizable book follows the experiences of five US servicemen (four Marines and a Navy aviator) during the four years of the Pacific War, tracing their experiences from the Japanese invasion of the Philippines to the preparations for the invasion of Japan, through the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal and the long island hopping campaign that followed.

read full review

Some Desperate Glory - The Diary of a Young Officer, 1917, Edwin Campion Vaughan.

Some Desperate Glory - The Diary of a Young Officer, 1917, Edwin Campion Vaughan.

This diary covers the experiences of a young and very inexperienced infantry officer (as he admits himself) from his arrival in France in January 1917 to his participation in the Third Battle of Ypres in August. Casts an unusual light on the relationship between junior officers and the men under their command

read full review

No.123 Squadron

No.123 Squadron served as an army co-operation and fighter squadron in the Middle East in 1942-43, then provided fighter escorts over Burma before ending the war as a fighter-bomber squadron.

No.122 Squadron

No.122 Squadron was a fighter-bomber squadron that formed part of 2nd Tactical Air Force during the D-Day period, before flying bomber escort missions to the end of the war.

No.121 Squadron

No.121 Squadron was the second 'Eagle' squadron, manned by American volunteers

Polikarpov I-15

The Polikarpov I-15 was a gull-winged biplane that made its name fighting for the Republican cause in Spain, where it earned its nickname of 'Chato', or 'Snub Nose'.

Polikarpov I-13

The Polikarpov I-13 was a design for a sesquiplane fighter aircraft produced during a period of some turmoil in the Soviet aircraft industry and that never progressed beyond the design stage

Polikarpov I-11

The Polikarpov I-11 is one of the more obscure Soviet aircraft designs of the 1930

No.120 Squadron

No.120 Squadron was the first squadron in Coastal Command to receive the Very Long Range Liberator, the aircraft that closed the Atlantic Gap and played a major part in the defeat of the U-boats.

No.119 Squadron

No.119 Squadron had two incarnations during the Second World War, first as flying boat squadron originally formed to operate three Short S.26 class flying boats, and then as a land plane squadron operating against German E-boats

No.118 Squadron

No.118 Squadron was a fighter squadron that spent most of its existence flying fighter sweeps and escorting bombers over occupied Europe.

No.117 Squadron

No.117 Squadron served as a transport squadron in the Middle East, before moving to Burma where it carried out parachute supply drops

No.116 Squadron

No.116 Squadron was a support squadron, providing aircraft to help anti-aircraft batteries calibrate their predictors and radar sets

No.113 Squadron

No.113 Squadron was a bomber and fighter-bomber squadron that served in North Africa and Greece before moving to the Far East to take part in both the unsuccessful defence of Burma and its eventual reconquest.

P. Attius Varus (d.45 BC)

P. Attius Varus (d.45 BC) was one of Pompey's generals during the Great Roman Civil War, holding North Africa against Caesar's lieutenants in the first year of the war, thus ensuring that the Pompeian leaders still had a base after their defeat at Pharsalia in the following year

Juba I, king of Numidia (d.46 BC)

Juba I, king of Numidia (d.46 BC), was an Africa king who allied himself with Pompey during the Great Roman Civil War, defeating one of Caesar's armies in 49 BC before being defeated by Caesar in 46 BC.