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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Military life & institutions
The Royal Flying Corps, later the Royal Air Force, was formed in
1912 and went to war in 1914 where it played a vital role in
reconnaissance, supporting the British Expeditionary Force as 'air
cavalry' and also in combat, establishing air superiority over the
Imperial German Air Force. Edward Bujak here combines the history
of the air war, including details of strategy, tactics, technical
issues and combat, with a social and cultural history. The RFC was
originally dominated by the landed elite, in Lloyd George's phrase
'from the stateliest houses in England', and its pilots were
regarded as 'knights of the air'. Harlaxton Manor in Lincolnshire,
seat of landed gentry, became their major training base. Bujak
shows how, within the circle of the RFC, the class divide and
unconscious superiority of Edwardian Britain disappeared - absorbed
by common purpose, technical expertise and by an influx of pilots
from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. He thus
provides an original and unusual take on the air war in World War
I, combining military, social and cultural history.
In New York City in 1939, neither eighteen-year-old Jack “Jake”
Jacobson nor his comrade Murray “Duke” Davison had any
intention of joining the military. Their sights were set on playing
club dates in what Duke called the “upholstered sewers” of
Manhattan. Jake, a comic, and Duke, a jazz trumpet player, were
amateur entertainers looking for their big break, not men in
uniform readying themselves for war. That all changed after Pearl
Harbor. Newly inspired, Jake and Duke decided to act honorably and
enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps. En route to their first
assignment in North Africa, Jake and Duke persuaded Gen. Lewis
Brereton of the Ninth Air Force to allow them to perform for their
fellow soldiers and boost morale. Spurred by Jake and Duke’s
success, Brereton subsequently created the first Combat Special
Services Entertainment Unit. The eventual formation of this
fifteen-piece troupe of comics, singers, and musicians—dubbed the
“Sky Blazers”—lightened the spirits of combat troops across
the Middle East, England, and France during the war. In their two
and a half years overseas, they would have many close calls with
the enemy as they struggled to put on their shows for the weary
Allied forces. The Sky Blazers would also be privy to the glitz of
the entertainment business, even performing for Egyptian royalty
and at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Rife with glamorous highs
and lifethreatening lows, Jacobson’s wartime story continues to
entertain.
The Left-Armed Corps: Writings by Amputee Civil War Veterans
collects and annotates a unique and little-known body of Civil War
literature: narrative sketches, accounts, and poetry by veterans
who lost the use of their right arms due to wounds sustained during
the conflict and who later competed in left-handed penmanship
contests in 1865 and 1866. Organized by William Oland Bourne, the
contests called on men who lost limbs while fighting for the Union
to submit "specimens" of their best left-handed "business" writing
in the form of personal statements. Bourne hoped the contests would
help veterans reenter the work force and become economically viable
citizens. Following Bourne's aims, the contests commemorated the
sacrifices made by veterans and created an archive of individual
stories detailing the recently ended conflict. However, the
contestants and their entries also present visible evidence-in the
form of surprisingly elegant or understandably sloppy handwriting
specimens-of the difficulties veterans faced in adapting to life
after the war and recovering from its traumas. Their written
accounts relate the chaos of the battlefield, the agony of
amputation, and the highs and lows of recovery. Editor Allison M.
Johnson organizes the selections thematically in order to highlight
issues crucial to the experiences of Civil War soldiers, veterans,
and amputees, offering invaluable insights into the ways in which
former fighting men understood and commemorated their service and
sacrifice. A detailed introduction provides background information
on the contests and comments on the literary and historical
significance of the veterans and their writings. Chapter subjects
include political and philosophical treatises by veterans, amateur
but poignant poetic testaments, and graphic accounts of wounding
and amputation. The Left-Armed Corps makes accessible this archive
of powerful testimony and creative expression from Americans who
fought to preserve the Union and end slavery.
During the Second World War, thousands of American servicemen were
uprooted from the US and deposited in rural England and immediately
thrust unceremoniously into the frontline of the largest conflict
the world has ever seen. Fortunately, many remembered to pack small
cameras in kitbags and snapped photographs of their everyday lives
as the war unfolded. Yank Bomber Boys in Norfolk: A Photographic
Record of the USAAF in the Second World War features over 500 of
these personal photographs to produce a unique flavour of life in
and around these airbase plots of 'Little America' in Norfolk. None
of the photos used in this fascinating book have been utilised from
professional sources; the shots from the station's own Photographic
Section were the top of the admissible list. Many of these
photographs were taken on cheap box cameras and the single prints
they produced have been kept for decades by the GIs and their
families in the States. Others have been painstakingly collected,
documented and restored by a group of British archivists who have
kindly allowed the author access to their priceless collections.
This is how the Second World War looked to those airmen who were
there.
'Drawing on the stories of the soldiers who were there, this
dramatic history of the SAS is full of bravado. Forged to fight
guerrillas in the sweltering jungles of Malaya... Ryan writes with
the authority of a man familiar with every nuance of the regiment's
tactics, training, weapons and equipment.' - Sunday Times Culture
Tasked with storming mountain strongholds in the desert. Trained to
hunt down the world's most wanted terrorists. This is the
extraordinary story of 22 SAS. The history of the modern SAS is one
of the great successes of post-war Britain. Since it was revived in
1950 to combat Communist insurgents, the Regiment has gone from
strength to strength, fighting covert wars in Oman, Borneo,
Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Persian Gulf and beyond. In
the process, it has become one of the most indispensable, and at
times controversial, units in the British army Today, the SAS is
regarded as the world's leading Special Forces unit, renowned for
its demanding Selection course and its relentless ability to adapt
to the changing nature of warfare. More than anything else,
however, it is the determination and ingenuity of the SAS soldiers
that has made the Regiment what it is today. Drawing on his
extensive network of contacts and his own experiences, Chris Ryan
tells the story of the men on the ground. From the earliest patrols
in the Malayan jungle, through to the storming of the Iranian
Embassy, the daring raids behind enemy lines in the Gulf War, and
up-to-minute missions to capture or kill notorious terrorists -
this is the gripping, no-holds-barred account of Regiment
operations. Above all, it is a story of elite soldiers fighting,
and triumphing, against seemingly impossible odds.
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