BRITAIN AT WAR - TEN MOST RECENT ARTICLES

The Greatest Souvenir of All

The remnants of the so-called ‘Amiens Gun’ on display at the Australian War Memorial in January 2009.

Everyone likes a reminder of their travels and experiences, and for a soldier a little “something” taken from the enemy is always highly prized. Imagine then what the people back home would think if you turned up with an entire German railway gun! full story

The Unreality of War!

Barbed-wire, barracks, boredom and brutality – that was the reality of life for prisoners of war. To family and friends back home, their loved ones held in enemy camps were now safe, no longer in the firing line. Many did not appreciate the appalling, often frightening conditions the PoWs had to endure – as is demonstrated by the comments in some of the letters sent to the men behind the wire. full story

Remembering D-Day

Lord Louis Mountbatten, third from right, and Raymond Triboulet (centre with stick), at the D-Day commemorations at Arromanches in 1966. (Courtesy of Arromanches Museum)

Mark Worthington investigates the first official D-Day service of remembrance that was held on 6 June 1945 – the beginning of a tradition that has continued to this day. full story

Hugh Malcolm VC – A Little-Known Hero

Trainee pilots at Cranwell – Hugh Malcolm is sitting far right. (Courtesy Chris Goss)

“Wing Commander knew that to attack … an objective without fighter escort … would be court almost certain disaster, but, believing the attack to be necessary for the success of the Army’s operations, his duty was clear. He decided to attack ...” So ran the words of the citation for the Victoria Cross awarded to Acting Wing Commander Hugh Gordon Malcolm. Chris Goss reveals a little of the life and courageous death of this memorable man – a little known hero. full story

Green For Go!

The Germans were convinced that with Fighter Command stretched to its limits in the south of England, northern Britain would be thinly defended. So, on 15 August 1940, a large formation of Heinkel He 111s, with Messerschmitt Bf 110s as escorts from Luftflotte 5, attacked North-West England. Catterick’s 41 Squadron went to intercept and Pilot Officer Ted “Shippy” Shipman led Green Section into the fray in what proved to be a disastrous encounter for the Luftwaffe. full story

PoW Vocabulary: A Whole Different Language

To the PoWs, a watch tower for German sentries was a “Goon-box”.

Every trade or enterprise develops its own terminology and slang. This was no different for the PoWs of the Second World War trapped within the confines of their prison camps. Robert Mitchell presents an insight into some of the words and phrases adopted behind the barbed-wire. full story

Stealing The Crown Jewels

The getaway ship: the V-Class destroyer HMS Walpole. This destroyer served with distinction throughout nearly the whole war, until she hit and exploded a floating mine on 6 January 1945. Two of the ship’s company were killed, five more seriously injured. Towed to Sheerness, she was subsequently declared a Constructive Total Loss and placed on the disposal list. (HMP)

Amsterdam has long been one of the world’s leading centers for the cutting of diamonds and when the Germans attacked Holland without warning on Friday, 10 May 1940, one of their key objectives was the seizure of the city’s large stock of diamonds – providing they were quick enough! John Grehan tells the story of an astonishing smash and grab raid. full story

An Opportunity Missed

By early 1915, the fighting on the Western Front had stalemated into static trench warfare. The death toll had reached such epic proportions that neither the British, French nor Germans could keep up the tactics of mass charges by their troops across no-man’s land only to be slaughtered in vast numbers by machine-gun fire or die entangled in barbed-wire. As Ken Wright describes, an answer had to be found. full story

Flying the Flag

Taken from the Beaufighter, this southward-looking view shows the 200ft-high dome of the Église Saint-Augustin de Paris, with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. (HMP)

Martin Mace investigates the Story of an audacious low-level sortie to Paris in the summer of 1942 – a mission intended to send a clear message to the people of the French capital. full story

Pieces of History ... in a Piece of History!

The captured French tank turret emplaced on the roof of the restored 10.5cm coastal casemate bunker that is home to The Channel Islands Military Museum, St. Ouen’s Bay, Jersey. (HMP)

As his tour bus turned on to the ‘Five Mile Road’ which runs along the length of the beautiful St. Ouen’s Bay on Jersey’s west coast, little would Egidims “Eddie” Dichmeiss have guessed what he was about to see. After all, writes Martin Mace, this was the first time that he had stepped foot on the island since 1945. We examine one of the main visitor attractions on the island of Jersey – the Channel Islands Military Museum. full story