Today we have a guest post from Pen and Sword author James Goulty, looking at the experiences of soldiers during World War Two.
The Second World War Through Soldiers’ Eyes is due to be published in a paperback edition in May. It is currently available to order in hardback and digital editions here.
Today on the blog, Julie Cook tell us what inspired her to write her new book The Titanic and the City of Widows it Left Behind.
In August 1914 a mere 640 women had a clearly defined wartime role. Ignoring early War Office advice to ‘go home and sit still’, by 1918 hundreds of thousands of women from all corners of the world had lent their individual wills and collective strength to the Allied cause.
As well as becoming nurses, munitions workers, and members of the Land Army, women were also ambulance drivers and surgeons; they served with the Armed Forces; funded and managed their own hospitals within sight and sound of the guns. At least one British woman bore arms, and over a thousand women lost their lives as a direct result of their involvement with the war.
In this insightful talk, Pen and Sword author Vivien Newman explores the role of women in the First World War.
THE RHINE CROSSING
OPERATIONS PLUNDER AND VARSITY
23 March 1945
Tim Saunders
The optimism amongst the Western Allies following the defeat of the German armies in Normandy, was dissipated by the failure of Operation Market Garden and the bitter fighting on the borders of the Reich, all of which condemned Europe to another winter at war. In the new year having contained Hitler’s Ardennes offensive and reduced the resulting ‘Bulge’, the Allies concentrated on closing up to the Rhine. In the north, Second Canadian and Ninth US Armies fought through mud and floodwaters to clear the Rhineland’s woods, towns and villages. Their objective was to secure a firm grip on the banks of the, Rhine from where they could mount an assault crossing and envelope the engine of the German war machine, the Ruhr, thus bringing the war in Europe to a close within weeks.
We have a guest post from author and journalist Julie Cook. Here Julie explains her family connection to the Titanic, and the research that went into writing The Titanic and the City of Widows it left Behind.
You can preorder a copy here.
1917 looks like it will become an award-winning blockbuster film, but how accurate is it?
Whilst the story behind the film is not strictly factual, it is based on a number of events that took place in 1917 which have been adapted into one script. Here we try to pick out those events and suggest further reading if you would like to delve deeper into the facts behind the fiction you see on-screen.
The 12th January 2020 mark the 20th anniversary of the lifting of the British Armed Forces ‘gay ban’. Pen and Sword’s new release Fighting with Pride, brings together a selection of LGBTQ servicemen and women who have served in the Armed Forces since the Second World War. Their stories are profoundly moving testaments to their loyalty, their courage on the battlefield, and their unswerving sense of right and wrong.
Today on the blog we have an exclusive look at the Foreword and the 1995 Memorandum from Sir Michael Howard. Later in the week, we will be sharing the chapter The Unsinkable by Lieutenant Commander Craig Jones MBE.
We hope you enjoy this first look at Fighting with Pride, you can order your own copy here.
This weekend will see the return of Lincoln’s Medieval Christmas Market. Pen and Sword author Joanne Major will there signing copies of her books. Find out more about the event below.
In this lecture, author Dilip Sarkar relates some of the deeply moving stories of casualties included in his book ‘Arnhem 1944: The Human Tragedy of the Bridge Too Far‘. In the audience are relatives of the Fallen, Sophie Lambrechtsen-ter Horst, daughter of Kate, the ‘Angel of Arnhem’, ‘Flower Children’ Willi Rieken, Ans van Wijke-Hobe and Wim van Zanten, and Arnhem expert Dr Robert Voskuil. The evening was hosted by Sarah Heijse, Director of the Airborne Museum.
Today on the Pen and Sword blog we have an exclusive author interview with Chris Goss. Having retired from the RAF with the rank of Wing Commander, Chris Goss is a regular and highly sought after contributor to major aviation publications in the UK, France and Germany, as well the author of 35 critically acclaimed books covering the air war between 1939 and 1945. Chris completed an MA with Merit in War Studies in 2001.