Second World War

Normandy: Fighting among the graves at Breville

~ jonkilkade ~ Leave a comment

STA77011 The village of Breville stands on a hill looking towards Ranville, where the 6th Airborne Division had made its HQ in the days after dropping into Normandy on D-Day.

STA77012

I took these photographs on June 7 this year. The village remains a place of pilgrimage for many.

STA77013

STA77014

The village was taken during fierce fighting on the night June 12, 1944, and into the early hours of the 13th.

STA77015

These memorials stand in the village today near the church yard, which was the scene of ferocious combat.

STA77016

Now among the old graves lie some of the 162 British troops who died taking this small village.

STA77018

 

Captain HW Ward, of the 53rd (Worcestershire Yeomanry), Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery.

STA77020Private CJB Masters, 12th Battalion (Yorkshire), The Parachute Regiment.

“Love WW2 books & this was the best I’ve read for a long while.”

~ jonkilkade ~ Leave a comment
Farewell Leicester Square, now only 77p on Kindle.
Farewell Leicester Square, now only 77p on Kindle.

 

Lovely new 5 star review on Kindle:

“An excellent well written story. Could not put it down. Love World War Two books and this was the best I’ve read for a long while.”

Thanks!

 

The three nights Blitz, February 1941

~ jonkilkade ~ Leave a comment

In February 1941, Swansea became the first place outside London to suffer three consecutive nights of bombing.

 

During the dark nights of February 19, 20 and 21 the bombers came back almost constantly, killing 230 people and injuring more than 400 more.D 235-1-7 Ben Evans

Ports like Swansea had become priority targets for the Luftwaffe.

On duty in the city that February 1941 was Elaine Kidwell, a 17-year-old who had lied about her age to become one of the youngest air raid wardens in Britain.

D 235-1-33 Castle Street-College Street

During one of the raids she almost lost her life when a parachute mine exploded.

“Everybody was blown, and I was blown right across the road, crashed into a wall, and I didn’t have any breath in me,” she told me a few years ago. “Anyway I was coming around and I went into my pocket, and I wish I hadn’t it, because I’ve had my leg pulled about it ever since, I took my lipstick out and I put it on.

“I got my breath back, and he said to me – one of the wardens did – ‘That’s your armour, isn’t it?’. ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘As long as I’ve got my lipstick on I can face anything!’

P-PR 95-4-3a Blitz from Milton Terrace

 

 

“A story I didn’t want to end”

~ jonkilkade ~ Leave a comment

Lovely new five star review for ‘Farewell Leicester Square’ on Amazon:

“Good Story, Well Written, Recommend, Well Edited…

“This book starts with an intrigue and in the present time but quickly moves back to WWII and a different perspective, that of the Channel Islands, the only part of the UK to be occupied by the Nazis during WWII.

“It quickly pulled me in and was full of pathos, well told and a story that flowed well with some twists and turns that took me off track but I pulled myself back quickly.

“It was a story I didn’t want to end and I enjoyed the book and would like a sequel!”

Farewell Leicester Square
Farewell Leicester Square

 

Five Stars: “A great tale of WW 2 daring, intrigue and heroism”

~ jonkilkade ~ Leave a comment
Farewell Leicester Square
Farewell Leicester Square

2005. Terrorists target London in an attack which makes headlines around the world.

Elsewhere, a fishing boat makes a remarkable find: a World War II bomber, hundreds of miles from where records show it disappeared.

The two events combine when journalist Jon Kilkade takes a blood-curdling phone-call.

It describes a suicide mission to destroy London. Not in 2005, but during the chaotic final months of the Nazi Third Reich.

The action in this fast-paced novel switches from occupied Jersey to the lives of SOE and Resistance fighters in Belgium.

At its heart is a deadly circle of Nazi fanatics intent on creating a final blitz which would see the people of London wiped from the face of the earth.

A riveting thriller in the tradition of Jack Higgins and Alistair MacLean.

SOME OF THE 5***** REVIEWS ON AMAZON:
“A thoroughly enjoyable read. Full of intrigue and some shocks along the way. Historical wartime descriptions are incredibly accurate and deftly pull you into the story. It’s almost as if you’re there. Looking forward to the next one by Mr Kilkade.”
*****
5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of intrigue and heroism
“A great tale of WW 2 daring, intrigue and heroism told in a gripping way. Well researched and I’m sure based on detailed gleaned from true stories of the people who risked their lives to help other. Recommend.”
*****
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb thriller
“The book starts in the modern day but soon goes back to WWII and sets up an interesting character who escapes Jersey before the island is occupied by the Nazis. I didn’t know where the story was going and it really zipped along once the main mission started. Lots of action and intrigue. Loved it and well worth a read.”
*****
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!
“I loved this novel for so many reasons – believeable characters, excellent research and an exciting plotline. I was caught in the storytellers trap from beginning to end.
If you like history and true to life characters and a smashing plot, this is the book for you.”