In April 1942, the Allied Forces initiated an airborne supply line that crossed the Eastern Himalaya Mountain Range. This airlift supplied the Chinese War effort against Japan from India and Burma to the Kunming area and beyond. The C-46 Curtiss Commando and the DC-3/ C-47 Douglas Skytrain in the China- Burma- India Theater of War […]
via Intermission Story (2) – Biggest Airlift of WWII – The Hump — Pacific Paratrooper
Writers work hard in their little office, or at a desk on the end of their bed, or in a coffee shop, or wherever they have space and time to work…
They write about subjects they enjoy to research, stories they want to tell; and they hope it will connect with readers… Readers they don’t know and will never meet. People who enjoy a good story, like they do.
Like I do.
That’s why re
views mean so much to them. Writers really appreciate the readers who take a few moments to write a few lines on Amazon.
I’ve just received the following message on this site. It means so much that someone got to the end of ‘Farewell Leicester Square’ and then took the time to contact me.
Many thanks, Alistair. And to all of you who take the time to write a short review on Amazon.
Hello Jon.
Just read Farewell Leicester Square. One of the best books I have ever read. And that is not said lightly. I am a fan of all historical fiction especially WWII. The attention to detail was remarkable. Well done.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Alistair Nash.
Upcoming radio programme for those interested in World War One and Gallipoli in particular:
Quarry Boys: The Welsh at Gallipoli
To be broadcast on BBC Radio Wales Sunday, April 26 at 12:30pm. Repeated on Monday, April 27 (6.30pm) and Tuesday April 28 (5:30pm)
More info here soon.
Found this interesting article by Dan Snow while trolling through BBC archives about Ireland during “The Emergency”!
An attempt to recover a Spitfire from a peat bog in Donegal will highlight the peculiar story of the men – both British and German – who spent much of World War II in relative comfort in neighbouring camps in Dublin, writes historian Dan Snow.
In Northern Ireland in 1941, a routine Sunday afternoon sortie by a pilot flying one of Britain’s Spitfire fighters runs into difficulties.
Returning to base after flying “top-cover” for maritime convoys off the coast of Donegal, the Rolls Royce Merlin engine overheats and fails.
The pilot yells into his radio “I’m going over the side”, slides back the bubble canopy, releases his seat straps and launches himself into the air.
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Just love this sketch from Burnistoun, a sketch show from BBC Scotland featuring comedians Iain Connell and Robert Florence.
Have a great weekend!
Fascinating.
“I was horrified at the destruction that had been wrought in a matter of seconds.”
Captain Mitsuo Fuschida
Capt. Mitsuo Fuschida, Imperial Japanese Navy, pilot
Fuchida was the first pilot to fly over Pearl Harbor when the attack of 7 December occurred – here he describes his view of the Battle of Midway from the deck of the IJN Akagi;
“The first enemy [U.S.] carrier planes to attack were 15 torpedo bombers. When first spotted by our screening ships and combat air patrol, they were still not visible from the carriers, but they soon appeared as tiny dark specks in the blue sky, a little above the horizon, on Akagi’s starboard bow. The distant wings flashed in the sun. Occasionally one of the specks burst into a spark of flame and trailed black smoke as it fell into the water. Our fighters were on the job and the enemy again seemed to be without fighter protection.
IJN Akagi
“Presently a report came in from a Zero…
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Fascinating piece of antiwar art.
Un reggimento che va sottoterra (A regiment which goes underground), a work by Italian artist Paolo Ventura (2014), is probably one of the most interesting and well done works presented in the “La guerra che verrà / Non è la prima” exhibition held at the MART Museum in Rovereto.
It’s quite simple: paper soldiers (created from modern pictures of Austro-Hungarian and Italian soldiers) are presented together. They’re heading towards the same direction and little by little, are disappearing into the earth
Such a scene reminds the journey of soldiers from communication trenches to the front lines and simbolically show their disappearance.
A new five star for WW2 SOE/resistance thriller, Farewell Leicester Square:
“I have a strong interest in stories of the Second World War, and once I began to read Farewell Leicester Square, I could not put it down. The characters simply leapt from the page and the suspense and tension gripped me. I even found myself holding my breath at various points when a character was in a dangerous situation. This book is historically authentic and clearly was very well researched. I look forward to John Kilkade’s next book!”
Surviving the first winter in the trenches of World War One.
As Christmas approaches thoughts turn to trench life on the Western Front during the Great War. This image dates from a small private collection relating to the 1/13th Battalion London Regiment (Kensingtons) and was taken in France near Fleurbaix during the winter of 1914/15. The men are dressed informally as was typical of that early period of the conflict and aside from a great deal of personal kit being worn to keep the cold out, the man on the left has a typical goat/sheep-skin jerkin of this first winter. At least the rum ration is close at hand! The fact that the men are standing up and the parapet of the positions behind is low, would indicate this was in a reserve trench some distance from the actual front line.
jon kilkade 