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The 1994 crash of Chinook with top Northern Ireland intelligence experts on board into the Mull of Kintyre has remained the source of intense speculation ever since. The book is not only a full account of the incident itself and the subsequent and on-going controversy over blame, but also attempts to solve the mystery about this accident. After the accounts of those who witnessed the crash or communicated with the aircraft on its fateful journey, the book analyses the activities of the crew on the day in question, including the maintenance record and the behaviour of the aircraft. It then deals in sequence with the various investigations; that by the AAIB, the RAF and the FAI held in Paisley in 1996\. It then describes the various parliamentary inquiries and their conclusions. Finally, it reviews the evidence for the strength and weaknesses of the various claims about the cause, including allegations that there was something wrong with the aircraft and/or its computer systems. This book will largely justify the claim of the RAF hierarchy that the cause was gross negligence by the crew, but not for the reason they give.

From the very beginnings of torpedo craft, all naval powers have seen the occasional need for larger, more powerful or in other respects special designs that stand outside the contemporary norms for flotilla craft. The driving forces were often different from country to country and varied over time, but all the resulting ships may be conveniently defined as ‿super destroyers‿. This book is a history of these out-of-the-ordinary vessels, the specific conditions that produced them, and their impact on naval warfare, especially during the two world wars. Notable highlights of this story include the introduction of ‿destroyer leaders‿ during the Great War, the Japanese ‿Special type‿ of the late 1920s, the British ‿Tribal‿ class, German ‿Narviks‿, and the interwar Franco-Italian rivalry that produced some of the fastest of all super destroyers. By the end of the Second World War only the largest designs seemed adequate, so although built in quantity the US _Gearing_ class were effectively super destroyers by the standards of the day and pointed the way to the future.. A final chapter explores the way that after 1945 the big destroyer slowly evolved into the contemporary all-purpose warship ‿ whether described as cruiser, destroyer or frigate ‿ that has become the dominant surface combatant in the world‿s navies. Although it concentrates on exceptional designs, in broader terms the book provides a valuable overview of destroyer development as a whole so will be of interest to any warship enthusiast and historian.

The French Revolution was a period of radical political and societal change in the eighteenth century. Everyone knows about the guillotine and the grisly processions of tumbrils, but less is generally appreciated about the much greater violence in provincial France. This book examines the beliefs and assumptions about the French Revolution which have become popularised in films and novels but also accepted in standard accounts to see if they stand up to scrutiny. There is no attempt to deny the intense drama of the whole revolutionary period but rather to separate myth and reality. There are chapters on the development of the constitutional monarchy and its failure and also on the tragic period of the Terror which for many is the most characteristic period. The role of women in this period is one of huge turmoil as well as the impact of the Revolution on the French colonies and in particular Saint-Domingue in the West Indies. This book looks at the leading figure in the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint Louverture, with some myths being challenged and attempts to reach a realistic judgement as well as exploring some of the vivid, if at times horrifying, events of this key part of the history of colonialism. It includes a critical look at commonly held beliefs about the Revolution and its aftermath. It is also an account of many of the highly colourful and dramatic events and personalities for those who want to get beneath the surface of one of the most absorbing periods of history. The range of extraordinary people in the Revolution has led to many fictional accounts and we look at many of their lives, but also at the way that a period of intense belief impacted ordinary people with often tragic results. It really was ‿the best of times and the worst of times‿.

The Nazis‿ dream was to populate their future Greater-German Reich exclusively with ‿racial valuable‿ people and Himmler became the main executor of this gruesome and unimaginable plan. For this purpose, millions of ‿inferior‿ people had to be expelled or killed, while as many men, women and children of Germanic descent as possible had to be brought together in the territory of the Third Reich. Children were the key players in Himmler‿s sinister plans, and the  Lebensborn programme exploited luxurious maternity homes, led by SS-officers, for selected women with the required Aryan features. The pregnant women, often not married, and the fathers of their future children, usually members of the SS, had to comply with very strict racial requirements: Himmler considered their offspring as the future nobility of the Germanic empire. Obsessed with racial purity and birth rates, the Lebensborn programme fell directly under Himmler's personal control, and arguably became his favourite project. He spent hours drawing up selection criteria, regulations and dietary requirements, personally studying the files of mothers and children and using his private aircraft to transport them to other Lebensborn establishments. The organization was active throughout Germany and the occupied Western European countries, and was also involved in the abduction of 'Aryan' children from Eastern and Central Europe. On Himmler‿s orders, tens of thousands of blond, blue-eyed children in Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and other countries were abducted for ‿Germanisation‿, partly in Lebensborn children‿s homes. Himmler was so absorbed by the racial delusion, he was convinced this policy served a dual purpose: by abducting the ‿superior‿ children, he robbed the subjected countries of their future leaders, while at the same time, strengthening the ‿Germanic race‿.

Arthur volunteered for aircrew service with RAF in 1940 at the age of 19, as soon as his school examinations were completed. He completed his training in Canada and Florida. After further training in UK and crewing up with a pilot and other crew members, he joined 97 Squadron flying Lancasters in December 1942\. The following April the crew transferred to Pathfinder Force, where their operations included the shuttle-service attack on Friedrichshaven and the attack against Peenemunde. In September, having completed two tours, he was posted to the Mediterranean theatre, initially in Libya and later in Italy. He flew five further operations, three in Halifaxes and two in Wellingtons, the latter in support of the Yugoslav resistance. In December 1944 he returned to UK and joined Transport Command before being seconded to BOAC. Arthur's direct and detailed account of his experiences is a fascinating and valuable document of an astonishing feat to be exposed to such danger and to survive to tell the tale.

Between December 1943 and August 1944, Second Suffolk, as part of the 5th (Indian) Division, played a key role opposing the Japanese in Burma and later at the critical battle at Imphal. The odds could not have been higher or the challenges greater. The Japanese had already earned an awesome reputation as a formidable and ruthless enemy who could only be described as fanatical. The rugged jungle terrain, over which the Battalion had to fight, was tough and unforgiving and pushed all ranks to the limits of their physical and mental endurance. Against them too was the harsh tropical climate and the extremes of the monsoon season. The combination of these three factors called for the highest standards of leadership and discipline. Supplies too were often not forthcoming but despite these difficulties and a lack of appreciation of their efforts in the press at home, morale of the stolid regular Suffolk soldier and his newer drafted comrades, always remained high as they learned to fight their enemy in the way that he fought him. For over seventy-five years their story has remained largely forgotten and untold but, now drawing on previously unpublished accounts of those who served there, together with unpublished photographs, this book describes the Battalion‿s outstanding service during the Burma Campaign.

On February 25, 1941 Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, made his first approach to the Australian and New Zealand governments seeking their approval for the use of their troops in his Greek venture. While the New Zealand government was adamant that their forces should have the support of an armoured brigade, the Australian government was more concerned that it would end in an evacuation, a fear also evident among the British planners, a view they were reluctant to share. Fast forward two months and it is now April 14\. Ten days have passed since the German invasion of Greece and the Anzacs are in trouble, even if they don‿t yet know it. The small German motorcycle battalion that has just reached the 21st NZ Battalion positions at Platamon is a harbinger of the panzer battle group yet to come. To the south is the strategic town of Larissa. North of it almost the entire Anzac Corps is spread out along the line of the Olympus mountains, with its western end anchored on Kalabaka, where a small brigade group waits for the appearance of the 1st Armoured Brigade further north. Larissa is their only escape route and the German thrust is aimed straight at it. Worse still, as the fighting intensified at Platamon, the Anzac Corps high command seemed slow to react and almost turned a blind eye to it as they continued to reinforce the west against what was only a perceived threat. That this lone battalion, with four 25-pounders in support, managed to hold off the attackers for as long as they did until Anzac Corps Headquarters finally reacted was certainly not due to the latter‿s commander, Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey. There is a view in some quarter that this successful delaying action only became possible for the intervention of Blamey‿s Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier Sydney Rowell. However, the complete evacuation of all Anzac troops north of Larissa may owe much more to the propensity of the New Zealand soldier for misappropriation of other people‿s assets, in this case British anti-tank mines. In the end this situation was turned around thanks to the actions of small groups of men, whose resilience and resourcefulness, often under extreme circumstances, helped delay the advance. The Germans in turn made a number of blunders, not the least of which were logistic but it could also be put down to overconfidence on their part after their easy victories in France. In the end the entire Anzac Corps escaped the trap, albeit by the skin of their teeth, and the British avoided the wider political ramifications of what could have happened had they lost what was, in New Zealand‿s case, their sole contribution to British land forces in the Middle East. Just how the Anzac troops in Greece succeeded in the face of what was thrown against them from both sides of the hill is the subject of this book.

THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE account of Britain‿s complex plans to fight a secret war in the event of a Nazi invasion. When Winston Churchill made his ‿we shall never surrender‿ speech in 1940 he was speaking in the knowledge that Britain‿s Secret Intelligence Service had already created a civilian guerrilla organisation to oppose any invasion and a separate resistance network to mobilize if the country had been occupied. There then followed a fierce battle between the Secret Intelligence Service and the War Office for the control of guerrilla warfare, and conflicting ideas over the legitimacy of armed civilians. A multi-layered system of secret organizations was the result. The Auxiliary Units are now the best known of these ungentlemanly forces, but in this perceptive new study Malcolm Atkin unravels the considerable mythology that has grown up around them. He explains their origins and how they were never intended as a resistance organization. Instead, the Auxiliary Units patrols were designed as uniformed guerrilla to support an active military campaign, whilst their Special Duties Branch would spy on the British public as much as any Nazi invader. other Home Guard and army units were also preparing to 'go to ground'. Meanwhile, deep in the shadows, was the real resistance organization known only by its cover as Section VII of SIS ‿ so secret that the first detailed account was not published until 2015, by the present author.

Step into a world of darkness!Towering castles‿magical spells‿demonic creatures‿certain DEATH. The gothic video game has crossed generations, from 8-bit computers to the most powerful 4K PCs and consoles, to deliver dark thrills filled with atmosphere and peril. Gathered in this book are some of the most prominent and enduring games to be developed under a veil of gothic presentation, from their gloomy settings to spine-chilling audio design. Follow the histories of some of gaming‿s most popular franchises, such as the decade-spanning Castlevania series and FromSoftware‿s “Soulsborneâ€? titles (Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring). Packed with over a hundred screenshots that encompass all generations of gaming - with home console, handheld and PC gaming included - and featuring trivia and recommendations across a variety of genres such as strategy games, hack-and-slashers and first-person shooters, _The History of the Gothic Video Game_ is an essential book for fans of all things macabre. The shadows await‿

In May 1902, a great storm hit the small village of Peasenhall, Suffolk. The following morning, the body of Rose Harsent was found in the house where she worked. Whilst originally believed by the doctor to have been suicide, her brutal injuries, alongside evidence of an attempted fire, told a different story. When looking for a murderer, there were very few suspects, but as more details unfolded, the evidence started to point towards one William Gardiner. William was a respected figure in the community, with a loving family, a job as a foreman carpenter at the local Seed Drill Works, and several positions within the local church. However, the previous year, William had been involved in a scandal that suggested an affair between him and Rose; one that had brought an inquest into the matter and could not be forgotten in such a small village. This made him a person of interest for the police, and when a medicine bottle filled with paraffin was found near her body with the Gardiner family name on it, alongside letters from him amongst Rose's things, it comes as no surprise he was arrested for her murder. Rose was also pregnant at the time of her death; was this the motive?_The Peasenhall Murder_ explores the crime in great detail, from the original scandal through to the aftermath of the trial. It's the perfect read for lovers of true crime and a murder mystery, and those with an interest in Edwardian England.

The Victorian and Edwardian periods saw the development of the steam locomotive in Britain from a comparatively simple machine to a powerful main line express capable of speeds of a hundred miles an hour. The book starts with an introduction dealing with the main line of development and that is followed by a picture section with over 190 photographs. Each illustration has an extended caption giving details of the engine and its history. The material is arranged geographically, starting with the railways of southern England and ending with Irish railways. The Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man are also included, and there is a section on English light railway. The photographs are all of the locomotives in their working days, many showing them in action on both passenger and goods trains. This splendid collection shows the rich diversity of Britain‿s railways and how different companies and their engineers produced engines of great individuality. This is a book that will be enjoyed by all lovers of the golden age of steam railways.

_Martin Packard is an extraordinary man who has led an extraordinary life. An idealist and a man of liberal instincts, his enthusiasms resulted in him having an inside track in several major events of recent decades, including the coup and bloody dictatorship in Greece and the unravelling of the Soviet Union. Easy going, warm and generous with his friendship, his life story is a ripping read_.‿ **Peter Murtagh, journalist and author of The Rape of Greece (Simon & Schuster, London, 1994)**_His story needed telling_ ‿ **Peter Preston, ****editor of The Guardian 1975-1995**_This gripping biography is a classic tale of fact being stranger than fiction. Martin Packard was an incurable romantic who thought he could do ethical business in the chaos of Gorbachev's perestroika Russia, but was constantly thwarted by more ruthless rivals or incompetent partners. He was a Don Quixote of the Cold War. His story is a fascinating, alternative and very personal view on the confrontations of his times, from the cynical US and UK policies towards Greece and Cyprus, to the chaotic collapse of the USSR. His tale suggests that cock-up, not conspiracy, is usually the most plausible explanation of history._ -  **Quentin Peel, former Moscow Correspondent and Foreign Editor of the Financial Times.**_Wonderful. They don‿t make men like that anymore._ - **Helena Smith, Correspondent of The Guardian for Greece and Cyprus.**This biography describes how a British naval officer became a Kremlin favourite and CIA target as Gorbachev‿s Moscow tried to open its economy to the West. He would gear the riches of Siberia and they would gain technology and foreign exchange. But, as the Communist Party imploded, this previously-undescribed offer turned into a Faustian bargain, and his life became a captivating saga of rags-to-riches-to-rags. In 1985, Gorbachev‿s Kremlin decided to open the Soviet economy to the west. It reached out to Martin Packard, a retired British naval commander, who rose briefly to become to some Russians the most important foreign businessman in the Soviet Union, but then precipitously collapsed. This book describes his rise, the details of his freelancing for Gorbachev - and his fall. A former intelligence analyst at the British Mediterranean command in Malta, Packard‿s role as Scarlet Pimpernel of the Greek Colonels saw him forced out of the Royal Navy. He then became one of the largest jeans manufacturers in Europe. In this capacity, the insiders of Gorbachev‿s perestroika made him a focus of their efforts to lift the life of the Soviet peoples, an unlikely partnership of the Kremlin and a quintessential Briton, a scion of Empire, Church and Navy, but a non-conformist in every sense. It is a political tale, where Packard finds himself at odds with the British Foreign Office and the CIA in Cyprus and the Colonels‿ Greece. Forced out of the Navy, he begins to head the English Cell of the Greek resistance, shipping printing presses, passports and petards across Europe to Athens. He then becomes an intimate of the wayward but brilliant Dom Mintoff and survives a mysterious poison attempt by “Ericaâ€? at a Moscow airport. It is also a deeply human tale, of a charismatic figure who rose so high, mingled with the mighty of East and West, and then lost it all.

On the evening of Monday, 5th June 1944, the people of Britain went to bed with a sense of great events impending. They knew that any day now would come news of the battle that would forever alter the course of their lives, and the lives of their children and their grandchildren. The following day‿s morning newspapers and early radio news bulletins were full of the fall of Rome to the Allies, which had been announced the day before. But then, at 9.33 am on that Tuesday, came the brief announcement: Allied naval forces, supported by strong air forces, had begun landing Allied armies on the coast of France.‿ D-Day had finally dawned. _D-Day to VE Day_ tells the story of the last year of the Second World War in Europe, from the Normandy landings and on through the hard slog to that long-awaited day ‿ 8th May 1945 ‿ when Britain broke out the bunting, rolled out the barrel, and celebrated victory over Hitler. The air-raid sirens were silenced, the lights could be switched on again, and the boys would be coming home. In many homes, festivities were muted because the war in the Far East was still to be won, but for a few short hours at least, the nation could afford to let its hair down and dance in the streets. Using contemporary accounts ‿ interviews, newspaper reports and official documents ‿ of those final months, _D-Day to VE Day_ looks at life in Britain during those vital months, at the events that brought an end to war in Europe, and at the redrawing of national borders that would shape a new world order.

Napoleon Bonaparte held absolute political power in France and his influence stretched across Europe and beyond. Yet he remained ‿ between leading his armies and ruling over a vast empire ‿ an indefatigable reader who even carried libraries into battle. Bonaparte‿s love of the written word, birthed in childhood and nurtured as an adolescent and young adult, never left him. He was a lover of literature for its own sake ‿ often swooning over melodramatic love stories ‿ but he also understood the value of books as instruments of power. Before his campaigns, he poured over dozens of texts relating to the relevant theatres‿ geography, population, trade, and history. When contemplating grave decisions, such as his divorce to Empress Josephine, he consulted the historical record for useful precedents to justify and inform his actions. To bolster his troop‿s morale during challenging times, he constantly referenced history in his proclamations, making his contemporaries feel as if they were actively shaping history. They were. The library of an individual is the key to his mind. Behind the grandiose paintings of the victorious conqueror and the constructions of the propagandist, stands the reader. This book is an attempt to glimpse Napoleon‿s character without the veneer of imperial glory. What was he like, alone at night by his fireplace? What thoughts percolated in the mind of the ambitious 20-year-old, isolated in a little room while theorizing about man‿s happiness? Who are the literary and historical figures which can claim to have had impacted his life? Who were his favourite authors?Through this book the reader will embark on a literary promenade with the great general and statemen. In these pages are found the emperor‿s favourite authors. And with them, the key to understanding his mind.

This book is a comprehensive history of all the 0-6-0 tender locomotives built by the Great Western Railway or by railways absorbed by the GWR from the very earliest broad gauge engines designed by Daniel Gooch to the Collett 2251 class of the 1930s some of which were still under construction at nationalisation. It includes the Joseph Armstrong ‿Standard Goods‿ and the famous Dean Goods, many of which served overseas in the two world wars. The text of 40,000 words describes the design, construction and operation of eight GW and five ‿Absorbed‿ broad gauge classes, and thirteen GW and thirteen ‿Absorbed‿ standard gauge classes. The book has over 250 black and white and 30 colour photos, weight diagrams and drawings.

Is there a shark movie that is scarier than Jaws? What is the sneaky secret hidden in the Loch Ness monster‿s name? How did the Gill-man in Creature from the Black Lagoon become a romantic hero? Do mermaids count as sea monsters? What terrifying sea creature was discovered to really exist, and just what on earth is a globster?From Kraken to kaiju, Open Water to The Shallows, monsters of the deep have fascinated and horrified us for centuries. There‿s even a name for the fear of deep bodies of water: thalassophobia. Humans have a natural fear of predators in the water, and yet we just can‿t stop thinking about them! There are a lot of deep water monster movies out there; good, bad, strange and ‿so bad it‿s good‿. This book has collected some of the best, worst and most interesting out there to tell you about. If you ever wanted to know your crocodile from your Cthulhu and find out how they make the monsters come alive, whether you like your monsters in the ocean or in lakes, based on real animals or totally made up, with fins or tentacles, one head or five, if you love your movie monsters of the deep then this book was written for you.

_Taylor Swift for Adults_ is a tantalising opening salvo in Swiftology - the study of the work of Taylor Swift. While Swift's private life has been covered to death, her talent as a lyricist has rarely been analysed. Until now. Swifties are well aware that she's a lyricist par excellence but this book makes that case to the unbelievers. Swift's gift as a songwriter is not merely sentimentality and circumstance - and this book takes a deep look at her 10 albums to isolate what makes her a beloved lyricist for millions. Any serious study of a lyricist or poet needs to establish what are the tropes, the patterns, and the style of that artist, and this book does precisely that. With careful attention to poetic detail, the scansion, flow, and form of her writing, this brings out those details that pass by in a flash on the radio, bringing them fully into focus. Many have made the argument that Swift is a gifted lyricist - in online forums and YouTube comments - but this is the first time in writing those arguments have been given shape and serious attention. It's a book aimed at adults but not po-faced bores - taking a subject seriously can also mean laughing at swearwords and sex metaphors. Rather than po-faced and straitened, this is a lightly witty book expressing, at its core, a deep affection for this generation's favourite songwriter.

The personal side of James II and VII has long been obscured by the propaganda storm emanating from the “Glorious Revolutionâ€? of 1688, one of the great founding myths of modern Britain. Justine Brown unveils James the man, teasing out a fresh dimension. The Private Life of James II details the romantic adventures of a true Cavalier‿handsome, courageous, loyal, pleasure-seeking, lusty, determined and soulful. The Stuart “spareâ€? briefly experienced a golden childhood before, aged nine, he was flung headlong into the English Civil Wars of 1642-1649\. After escaping England in disguise, he endured the execution of his adored father, Charles I, and years of exile on the Continent. In 1660 the Duke of York returned to his native land in triumph. He rode into the capital at the right hand of his brother, Charles II. James fully embraced the role of Restoration rake, headed up the Royal Navy, fought the Fire of London with gusto, and was a great patron of theatre, painting, and music. “The darling of the peopleâ€? until his dramatic conversion to Roman Catholicism transformed him into England‿s scapegoat, the heir to the Crown had a turbulent road ahead. Come to understand what truly drove James, and learn about his complex relationships with his children, his two remarkable wives, Anne Hyde and Mary of Modena; his many mistresses, as well as the extraordinary friends and rivals who helped shape the fate of this consequential Stuart monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland.

There has always been a romance around ocean liners, but this book looks behind the romance to show the reality of travelling the oceans of the world. The book starts with the first scheduled transatlantic crossings in the age of sail, then moves on through the development of the steamers and ends in the present day, when ocean liners have given way to airliners. All aspects of the subject are discussed. The experience of travelling by sea varied enormously from the luxury of first-class travel to the often brutal conditions endured by immigrants. Ship design developed in the race between competing companies to provide the most powerful ships. But while technology came into the fundamental design, when it came to décor, for many of the great liners the interiors looked back with a romanticised view of the past. It is not always realised that a great liner might have almost as many crew as passengers, and this looks at all those who kept the ships running, from the black gang in the engine room to the captain on the bridge. The result is a rounded view of what it meant to travel on some of the greatest ships ever built.

Soaring over forest fires, a moonlight New Year‿s Eve flight over the Pennines, bungee-jumping from a paraglider as a birthday celebration, jumping off Mount Everest, or numerous several-hundred-mile flights over open country and on different continents. This book covering many exhilarating and enthralling stories from New Aviation ‿ including paragliding, hang-gliding, paramotoring and micro-lighting ‿ has them all. There is even the story of a pilot using flexwings to teach geese how to migrate ‿ and of a marriage proposal at 500 feet. The challenges explored by the renowned New Aviation expert Brian Milton includes Rich Pfieffer‿s legal charges of assault with a deadly weapon for flying a hang-glider over California‿s Rose Bowl American College Football competition, or Judy Leden‿s balloon drop from 40,000 feet over Jordan, with Israel on one side and Saudi on the other, despite her eyes being frozen shut. Along with this latter story, the author also discusses how women overcame prejudice and scorn to take on the men in the deathly arid wastes of Owens Valley, and the ways in which eagles and vultures ‿ and sometimes crows ‿ reacted violently to humans flying in their air and at their speed. The author describes the return to competitions in which the original British innovators lost their dominant status and how new champions emerged. A chapter is also devoted entirely into the tragedies that have befallen some pilots. This includes a chilling account of the Great Italian Killer Storm of 1989 when six top pilots lost their lives in just one day. As well as relating the dramatic stories about those that died, the author explains why, despite the risks, the New Aviators keep flying. The final story is about the _Beau Ideal_, the great Swiss pilot Didier Favre, ‿Vagabond of the skies‿, who travelled 1,111 kilometres from Monaco to Slovenia. Brian Milton also explains how the ultimate ambitions of the best flyers is to learn how to migrate, using only the power of the wind and the sun. The author concludes this book by exploring what the future might hold for the various forms of New Aviation and those who enjoy the thrills that they create.

In 2022, Volvo Bus UK celebrated fifty years of trading in the UK and Ireland. The first right-hand drive B58 chassis arrived on these shores at the end of 1971\. The double deck front engine Ailsa came in 1973\. Over the next fifty years, the various different models have been upgraded, redesigned, lengthened and fitted with bigger more powerful engines. And now, in 2023, Volvo electric single and double deck models are beginning to appear on UK roads. Volvo Bus is a subsidiary of the Swedish Vehicle builder Volvo AB, with a global presence worldwide. MCV is based in Salheya in Egypt. It was established in 1994 and has the capacity to build up to 6,000 buses and coaches per annum., with up to 5,000 employees. MCV and Volvo are collaborating in the development and building of the electric bus for the UK marketplace.

Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery had a dynamic personality that often led to difficulties with political or military superiors but made him an immensely effective leader of men. He identified himself closely with his soldiers whose welfare was his continual concern and whom he treated almost as family. In return, they fought for him magnificently in some of the most important battles of the Second World War. These battles varied in type, terrain and tactics: defended river crossings including that of the Rhine; amphibious landings including the D-Day landings; defensive encounters including Alam Halfa and the Ardennes; mobile operations including the capture of Tripoli, the ‿left hook‿ at the Mareth Line and the dash from the Seine to the Scheldt culminating in the daring attempt to seize the Rhine bridges; ‿set piece‿ conflicts against enemies in prepared positions equipped with often superior weapons including Alamein and Normandy. In addition to describing the battles that made Montgomery the legendary military commander for which he is rightly remembered, this fascinating book examines both his qualities and weaknesses. Notwithstanding the latter, there is no doubt that he fully justified the trust and loyalty that soldiers gave to the man they knew as ‿Monty‿.

For Ireland, the year 1798 saw a major rebellion breaking out against rule from London, a time in which Britain was in its fifth year of a hard-fought war against revolutionary France. Set in motion by the Society of United Irishmen, an underground organisation with links to Paris, the rebellion was eventually crushed by an overwhelming force of arms. In this new, dramatic account, Philip MacDougall shines a light on a little covered aspect of this history: the United Irish plot to capture a number of British warships and the planned use of those vessels in support of the rebellion that broke out in 1798\. The means by which those ships were to be taken, not by direct external attack but by mutinous intrigue directed from on board, is fully explored. While ships blockading the French port of Brest returned to re-victual in Cawsand Bay, with many of the officers on shore leave, it was an ideal time for the plotting of mutinies. United Irishman alongside English and Scottish republicans could safely mix with those on other ships to develop a unified strategy. This book offers a micro study of how the planned mutiny plot developed and was co-ordinated. Personalities, cliques and idealists are seen as taking leading roles, with attention given to the motivating issues that lay behind those risk takers who knew that failure would result in likely hanging from the yardarm. Based on research from the National Archives, contemporary newspaper reports and the detailed hand written minutes of the courts martial held upon those identified as rebel leaders and some of their supporters (containing the actual words of the people of the lower deck) this is a full and balanced account of the plot which, if successful, would have re-written history.

Although Che Guevara was murdered almost sixty years ago, the famous red-and-black image of him is still widely seen around the world: at leftist political demonstrations and, ironically - given his strong opposition to capitalism - on many commercial products. However, he was a controversial figure during his lifetime - and remains so today. On both the political left and the political right, attitudes to him vary widely: while some see him as a romantic, highly-principled and legendary fighter for the world‿s poor and exploited masses, others depict him either as an unrealistic and thus irrelevant adventurer, or even as a ruthless and cold-blooded butcher. Consequently, biographies about him over the decades have ranged from the overly sympathetic, to the extremely hostile. As well as covering aspects of his family life and his loves - and his early, sometimes less-than-revolutionary, attitudes - this biography, as expected, deals with those areas for which Che is best known. These include his adventurous explorations, as a young man on a motorbike, of Latin and Central America; his leadership and bravery during Cuba‿s Revolutionary War; his practical and theoretical contributions to the conduct of guerrilla warfare; and his emergence as an international revolutionary legend who inspired radical young people in the 1960s, and who continues to inspire rebellious people around the world today. However, this biography also explores other aspects of Che‿s life which are not so well-known. From an early age, he developed a keen love of reading, covering an eclectic mix of adventure stories, poetry, history and philosophy - and, from his teens, he began a lifetime habit of making notes on what he read. He also became a strong chess player, able enough to draw with one of the world‿s leading grandmasters. Even during guerrilla campaigns, he managed to maintain those loves. Since his murder, he has emerged as an original contributor to Marxist economics and philosophy. It was his wide-ranging studies that led him to become an outspoken opponent of the ‿orthodox‿ communism followed in the Soviet Union - and of its Cold War foreign policy of ‿peaceful coexistence‿. His tolerance of, and willingness to work with, those having different views saw him accused of Maoism - and even Trotskyism. More accurately, Che has bequeathed the unique strand of revolutionary socialism known as ‿Guevarism‿.

_Daily Life in Victorian Britain_ sheds new light on the most remarkable era in British history. Here is a tapestry of time, unpacked and uncovered from January 1st to December 31st, a rich mosaic of facts, events and tales, exploring the most extraordinary moments of the most extraordinary age. Each day offers a different, vivid and accessible snapshot into our past, intermingling famous or renowned events, with rare, quirky and fun facts. What was the mysterious Sheep panic of 1888? Who was the notorious Spring heeled Jack? Why was William Gladstone run over by a cow? The Victorians transformed British society forever. From the Great Exhibition, to the Industrial Revolution, Dickens and Darwin, Entertainment and Empire, the 19th century was an epoch of momentous political, cultural and social change, charted day by day in this book. With meticulous research and a compelling, gripping narrative, _Daily Life in Victorian Britain_ is essential reading for anyone looking for great stories and absorbing events on every day of the year between 1837-1901\. Written in an accessible, easy flowing format, this can be dipped in and out effortlessly, time and time again. A handy reference guide at your fingertip, this books offers a unique, crafted window into our not-so-distant past, a period which still continues to enrapture, influence and shape British life even today.

Transcribed for the first time from Commissary General Tupper Carey's handwritten journals, this is the second of two volumes which cover the lively career of a Commissary who served throughout the Peninsular war and Waterloo campaign. Written with vivid detail, these journals offer a truly unique window into the life of a Commissary and the campaigns in which he served. Although a civilian and greatly discouraged from putting himself in mortal danger, Tupper was often to be found watching the fighting from some nearby vantage point and often describes the actions he witnessed, particularly where it affected his own charge, whether a battalion, a brigade or even later an entire division. Interspersed with these primary roles, he was often seconded to form supply bases in the rear of the army, or to hastily remove or destroy stores when threatened by enemy advances. He also talks freely about fellow officers, and being a private journal written simply for the eyes of his immediate family, he is not shy in giving his honest opinions of both his subordinates or indeed his superiors. This volume covers the period from the launch of Wellington‿s great advance into Spain in 1813 until the end of the war in 1814, the Waterloo campaign of 1815 and the Army of Occupation in France from 1815 to 1818, when Tupper became arguably the most important Commissary working for the Duke of Wellington.

During the period covered by this new book the Royal Navy faced some of its greatest challenges, both at sea confronting the increasingly capable and impressive Soviet Navy, and on shore when it faced policy crises that threatened the survival of much of the fleet. During this remarkable period, the Navy had rarely been so focussed on a single theatre of war ‿ the Eastern Atlantic ‿ but also rarely so politically vulnerable. The author sets out to analyse shadowing operations and confrontations at sea with Soviet ships and submarines; the Navy‿s role in the enormous NATO and Warsaw Pact naval exercises that acted out potential war scenarios; individual operations from the Falklands and the 1990‿91 Gulf War to the Beira and Armilla patrols; the development of advanced naval technologies to counter Soviet capabilities; policy-making controversies as the three services fought for resources ‿ including the controversial 1981 Nott defence review; and what life was like in the Cold War navy for ratings and officers. The book, the first to cover this subject in depth for more than thirty years, will make use of the full range of archival sources that have been publicly available over the last two decades, but of which little use has been made by historians. This work is destined to become a definitive naval history of the period, and also provide a fascinating and gripping narrative of a navy under threat from many directions but which survived and eventually prospered, winning a remarkable victory in the far South Atlantic more than 7,000 miles from its expected battleground in the North Atlantic. Elegantly written for a wide audience, it will be a very significant volume for professional and enthusiast alike.

Ernest Grimaud de Caux was _The Times_ correspondent in Madrid from 1910 to 1939, encompassing the period of Primo de Rivera‿s Dictatorship, the fall of the monarchy, and the Civil War. With his deep knowledge of Spain‿s history, culture and politics, he was widely respected in his profession and highly valued by _The Times_. _It Happened in France_ covers the immediate post Civil War years, when de Caux was living in France, under German Occupation. It contains a series of so far unpublished essays, written at the time, and recounting his experience of the Occupation, including the flight from Paris under the German advance, daily life in the Southwest, his three weeks in prison after arrest by the Gestapo, reflections on Vichy‿s political leaders, and what today we would call the geopolitics of the time. These essays, accompanied by a biography and personal appreciation of de Caux, constitute a fascinating and intimate account of an important aspect of the Second World War.

The airborne landings on D-Day played a major part in the success of the largest amphibious operation ever mounted. Yet just over three months later Operation _Market Garden_, the largest airborne operation ever attempted, failed to take all its objectives. It is notable, however, that in the film _A Bridge Too Far_ Dirk Bogarde‿s Lieutenant General ‿Boy‿ Browning refers to a large number of cancelled operations since D-Day. What were these operations? Why do we know so little about them? And what can they tell us about Allied airborne planning, and the way that the allies fought, in 1944?As James Daly reveals, plans were considered or drawn-up for a number of ambitious airborne assaults that could have formed part of the Allies‿ efforts to break out of the beachheads. Of these, three, operations _Wastage_, _Tuxedo_ and _Wild Oats_, might well have been part of the fighting in Normandy itself. Operation _Wild Oats_, for example, was to see the 1st Airborne Division help capture Caen in conjunction with the British I Corps and XXX Corps. Three others, operations _Beneficiary_, _Hands Up_ and _Swordhilt_, were to be combined airborne and amphibious descents to seize the vitally important ports of St Malo and Brest, as well as the Quiberon Bay area in southern Brittany. Airborne planning was frenetic and wide ranging during this period. One operation would have seen gliders landing on a beach; another would have seen the airborne troops taking off without maps. Some of them were months in the planning; others were merely an idea that lasted for a matter of days. Far from being standalone airborne operations, all of them were part of a wider strategy and several were major combined operations, effectively small-scale D-Days, complete with seaborne landings. For the first time, this book looks at each of these operations in detail. Using new research and drawing on original planning documents, including maps of planned drop zones and operational areas, most of which have never been published before, James Daly explores a little-known aspect of the Allies‿ landings in France in the summer of 1944.